I'm looking into getting an older car (as a change from my DD '95 Accord) to have a little more fun and what better than to get something with AWD?

I came upon this '88 90 Quattro w/ 111,001 miles and what appears to be a straight body and clean interior being sold for ~$2,200. I have yet to see it in person, but would like to know if it's even worth checking out. I don't know much about these cars, all I know is that this is listed as a 5 cyl. manual, AWD, and looks pretty good.

What can you Audi gurus tell me about this car? Goods? Bads?

I also found a '93 Audi V8 Quattro AWD w/ 119,000 miles for $3,900. Automatic and all that. What's the deal with these cars?

Thanks in advance.

 

Personally, for the difference in price, I would go for the '93, and, I, Personally, would go for the auto.

You are talking 5 years difference in the cars. A whole new body style, and the '93 was the second year of the run, so bugs should be shook out of it.

I'd pay 3900 for that one.

Cheers,

George

 

Personally I would stay away from the V8 Quattro. First it's a limited production model. Everything is going to be dealer only and you are going to pay through the nose. Second its an automatic, I doubt it was ever rebuilt and it is going to cost big time and rather soon. The only way I would buy a used car with an automatic is if it has low miles (<50K) and the design has been around for at least two model years (that is how long it takes to work the bugs out).

On the plus side, the V8 is fast and is capable of +150MPH.

The 88 90 Quattro is the first model year, so there might be some issues with "superseded parts" but there are plenty of 90 models at local salvage yards and most of the drive train is interchangeable with the 5000/200/100/90/80 models. IMO it is a much easier car to maintain then the V8.

Just my 2¢!

 

Alright, two completely different opinions! Haha, thanks for both of your quick input. Anyone want to break the tie? So far, 1 for the V8 Quattro and 1 for the 5 cyl Quattro.

 

EDIT: Whoops, double post.

 

If you want performance and have deep pocket$ go for the V8. I have looked at the V8 myself and I can tell you that for $3900 I doubt that it is going to be in mint condition.

 

My pockets aren't too deep, lol.

Would the '88 90 Quattro be a pretty reliable car? Enough to commute 45 miles for schooling three days a week and still have a little fun in between (ie, the occasional autocross or spirited drive)? I've done some research and found some pretty good reviews, minimal recalls (one thing about differential fluid needing to be higher performance), and figures like 130hp/140lb/ft which aren't too different from what I'm used to with the Honda. About the same gas mileage and such. But is there anything that an Audi guru could tell me about this car?

Again, thanks for your guys' help.

EDIT: Here's a pic of the car, btw:

 

The reliability as far as 17 year old car goes is OK. The Audi interior and exterior holds up rather well when compared to Japanese cars of the same vintage. Any car over 10 years is going to have maintenance issues. As daily driver you will probably like the Audi much better. For autocross you will need to some serious suspension modification. IMO the 80/90 have high center of gravity resulting in too much body roll. As far as performance goes, there are very few bolt on parts still available. Don’t bother re-chipping as you will not see any performance gains, as I was told by two Audi tuners.

 

For the majority, the only mods (besides maintenance and upkeeping) would be in suspension. Local to my area, there is a shop that specializes in Euro cars, ie, VW, Audi, Porsche, etc. so I'm sure they would be helpful in tuning and performance modifications. Thanks for your input, Offramp, as it's been very helpful. I will possibly be getting this car fairly soon.

 

go with 90 quatro, work on the price till like a 1000 and you be cool,
then with left money:
20V head
stronger clutch or double clutch
suspension
turbo
and you get a smile on your face whenever you beat a mustang or stupid asian car