Hi,

So a retired man in my neighborhood is looking to sell his 1989 Audi 80. It has 54k original miles (he has been the only owner) and only used it to drive to his business and back. It is a 5 speed standard transmission, power windows, sun roof, I am assuming the non quattro version. For how old it is, the interior and extrerior were kept really well...

He wants to sell it to me for 1,600. I am extremely interested in the vehicle for this price, considering the mileage and how well he maintained it. Unfortunately, he doesnt seem to have any of the old servicing paperwork, because he didn't feel the need to keep it after all those years.

I've been trying to search the internet for detailed descriptions and user reviews on the car, but it is quite difficult. I read that there was 60 minutes focusing on the dangers of 1984 Audis, and that subsequently hurt audi sales in the years following, which could explain why it wasn't so popular. I'm not suggesting that this is true, I'm only trying to gather why it is so difficult to find reviews of the vehicle.

I took it for a drive, and it rumbles a bit on idle, but some sources I found on Audi's from those years is that they did that anyway. Once driving, the engine sounds smooth and what you would expect from a maintained late 80's vehicle.

So, I'm wondering, is this a good year and model to purchase for 1600? I understand that the car parts will be more expensive, but I am hoping that since it's such ridiculously low mileage for a car that old, and driven by an older man strictly to work and back, it could be worth it.

tldr; are 1989 Audi 80 standard transmissions non quattro reliable? Is it worth paying 1,600 dollars for one that only has 54k miles on it?

 

My sister in law has one, fwd like this one too, still going at 250k. Headliner is falling down, some of the electrical switches don't work, sunroof probably doesn't work, but drive train is still going. Hasn't nickle and dimed them to death either. There will be interior parts that are discontinued, but this car sounds like it's in great shape so this shouldn't be a problem unless the car is broken into and the dash ruined because some crackhead stole your cassette radio.

The 60 min report was about an Audi unintended acceleration issue. A few people ran into their garage doors. Audi installed a relay and lever setup in the center console shifter area that made the driver step on the brake pedal before you could take it out of park. Now all cars have that, and manuals have a clutch switch requiring the pedal to be on the floor before the engine cranks.

You could check out the 80/90 section on this forum for more info.