Hi,

New to the site, looking at buying an A4.

I test drove one yesterday with 176km on it, a 2006 quattro 2.0T.

The body looked good, I noticed the oil pan looked a bit wet, maybe a small oil leak, and the oil was low and looked like molasses.

all was going well until we went onto the highway. When I was accelerating flat out in second up to 100km/h, the car juddered for about 2 seconds and the engine light came on solid, and did it one or two times more on the highway at a fairly constant speed. After that, we couldn't replicate the error even after flooring it a few times. We took it to my mechanic (not dealership), and this time it took quite a bit longer to turn on and there was a squeel about a second or two after ignition, which persisted the next 4-5 times we turned it on.

My question is, are problems like this "common" on b7's, and what do you think is the problem/how much would it cost to fix.

My mechanic said that it needs news rear brakes (calipers, rotors and pads) at about $1,000. Which the owner told me about.

He is selling the car as-is for 7k, but is willing to take the price of repairs out of the selling cost provided I do them after purchase.

Would you guys buy the car, or walk away? I love quattros and with Canadian winters the AWD will certainly make life a little less terrifying after my rx-8.

Thanks, and apologies if this is posted elsewhere!

 

The stumble could be lots of things. Did the mechanic pull the engine codes? Could be a coil pack going bad (inexpensive) to the cam follower (inexpensive) all the way to the fuel pump (not so inexpensive).

Not sure about the squeal. Initial thought was that the serpentine belt might need to be replaced.

$1k seems high for just rear brakes. Should only be around $100 to $200/wheel if you replace everything. Unless you are upgrading to Wildwood or Brembo brakes.

The fact that the oil looked like molasses is the most concerning thing to me. That would raise concerns about how well the car has been cared for overall.

 

The mechanic didn't pull them because it was near closing for them and he was just looking it over as a favour to me.

He attributed the squeel to the starter motor or a throw out bearing, it didn't squeel when you started it up and gave it some revs.

As far as the brake price goes, it seemed high to me too, but maybe that includes the lines as well, he didn't elaborate much.

The oil was a big concern of mine, there was a slow leak in the pan. Do these cars have a history of burning oil? I'm coming from an RX-8 so burning oil is not new to me.

 

Yes, these turbos tend to burn oil. I go through about a quart every 2500 to 3500 miles. Some go through it quicker and other's not at all. My car has over 182k miles on it and the oil consumption has gotten worse over time. Not horrible, as stated above. From what you wrote I would probably pass on this one.

 

You can get parts for a 4 wheel brake job for a little under $400. Figure 2-3 hours labor or DIY.

Usually coils cause a misfire which will flash the CEL, but it doesn't typically stay on (at least in my case). A solid CEL at WOT sounds more like a boost leak to me, but without codes, I'm just guessing. Could be a $70 diverter valve or much worse. Get it scanned if you're still serious. Also, it's worth paying a mechanic (if you can't do it yourself) to pull the HPFP off and check the cam follower. That's big money if it's worn through (new HPFP, cam, and follower plus the risk of cam follower pieces in your engine).

Some burn oil, others don't much. Mine usually doesn't have to be topped off unless I go more than 5k miles in oil changes. And honestly, that was when I had a leak at the vacuum pump, so I may not have been burning it--it may have just been blowing out under pressure.

Search around the forum. All the basics have been covered numerous times. Honestly, I feel like you could do better for $7k. That's probably about what I'd list my car for if I were selling it and it has lower mileage and doesn't have any of those problems (except a small boost leak that I'm working on and is only apparent because it's Stage 1 tuned). That one sounds like it's a bevy of problems at full price.

 

Thanks for the help thus far guys!

He wants to sell as is and negotiate the price down for me to fix it after purchase.
I am considering offering him 4-4.5k assuming it will be about 2,ooo to fix it.

What would you do in this situation? there are other cars, I'm looking at an '06 A3 fwd with 150km for $6,ooo.

I don't want to walk into a lemon or sign on to some large repair bill but I really like the car, save for the problems.

Thanks again!

 

Get a pre-purchase inspection at a mechanic familiar with these cars or an Audi dealership (if they'll even do one). I think in this case it's worth the money. Repairs could be $1000 (considering brakes and a few small things) or much much more. You can't be sure it'll come in under $2k. Just sounds like there might be better specimens around. You could also start haunting the For Sale forums over at Audizine. They're more active over there and lots of people sell well cared-for cars for reasonable prices over there. You might pay more, but you'll know its history.

If that A3 was quattro, I'd jump on that instead. Always wanted an A3, but the quattro ones are rarer than hen's teeth down here in the Deep South.

Good luck with it whichever way you go and we're always happy to answer questions if we can.