Audi A4

[AE92_TreunoSC]

Hey, I'm thinking about buying an A4 soon here, the B5's so 96-01, are there any common problems, and is it worth it.. etc?

[KGB]

i love the exterior styling, the interior of this car is the best imo in its price/year category, as for reliability... i have heard that they could have some problems that can be costly to repair, but in any case if car was properly maintained it shouldnt be bad, make sure no matter what you take it for an inspection.

[AE92_TreunoSC]

do these respond well to mods?

[Mitsu3000gt]

The S4, if it fits in your price range (2000-2002) responds to mods amazingly, cheap ones at that. The 1.8T A4 responds pretty well to mods, but the 2.8 V6 won't because there is no turbo to play with. Those cars are built rock solid and like a tank, all while having the best AWD system pretty much out there, and should never give you any problems, especially mechanical ones, if you maintain it properly and regularily - just like any car. In my opinion they are one of the best screwed together cars on the road. The interiors in the B5s are in my opinion nicer than even the brand new Audi's, and have a reputation for being the best interiors in the business (except of course cars that cost as much as a house). The only problem with the 1.8T in the eariler models is that I believe it started out at 150HP and was pretty gutless. Later on they changed it to I think 170Hp. The 2.8V6 also got a bump from 172hp to 190hp, not 100% sure on the year of the change, but I'd go for the 190HP V6 or the 170HP I4 and then chip it. Get a 5 spd too, it will be funner.

PS: lowering a B5 Audi seems to make it look 10 times better, because they usually come pretty high, at least to my eyes. Even the S4 is too high for my liking at stock level. And if they have mud flaps (some do) please remove them immediately =).

Mark

[AE92_TreunoSC]

I would love the S4, but unfortunately it is not in my price range, anyone know of any A4's for sale right now?
Mitsu thanks for your information :thumbsup:

[Zephyr]

these things are a biach to work on and so expensive to maintain..then again a lot of euros are expensive to maintain... but it's still a nice car until you drive the RS4 :drool:

[trieu]

the RS4 is amazing :eek:

[dino_martini]

I really like the 96 - 01 styling. Im looking into buying a S4...V6 twin turbo..pretty sweet.

[Evo prec]

Audi makes some pretty solid cars if you maintain them properly like stated above. But please look in to there silent recall with the A4 1.8T if you purchase one because it can significantly make your life alot easier if any thing does go wrong with the motor. And as for the year that the A4 bumped up to 170hp it was in the last year 2001.

[trieu]

what was the silent recall?

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by dino_martini
I really like the 96 - 01 styling. Im looking into buying a S4...V6 twin turbo..pretty sweet.

If you want to know anything about it just let me know.

Mark

[Mr_John]

Sorry for the :hijack:
but I'm also looking at getting an A4 except the 2003 model.
So how much more expensive and hard is it to work on an Audi?
Would I be able to do oil changes and all those minor things myself or is it a lot different and hard? I've heard that they are a little different but also just as easy as a Honda.
And if something breaks down people say its expensive to fix.
How much more expensive is it really to fix though?

[snow_daniel]

I have a buddy selling his 96 A4 (as i remember)
PM me for detail if interest:thumbsup:

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by Mr_John
Sorry for the :hijack:
but I'm also looking at getting an A4 except the 2003 model.
So how much more expensive and hard is it to work on an Audi?
Would I be able to do oil changes and all those minor things myself or is it a lot different and hard? I've heard that they are a little different but also just as easy as a Honda.
And if something breaks down people say its expensive to fix.
How much more expensive is it really to fix though?

They are not expensive to work on, you pay the same labor rate as anyone else. You can change oil yourself and everything, and thanks to some awesome audi forums, you can do just about everything yourself if something does go wrong if you have the motivation/skill. I would say they are very marginally more epensive, if more expensive at all, than any high end import either german or jap, but more expensive than cheap american cars to fix. The drive trains are all rock solid and should never break, its the little shit that if it goes, it can be expensive, like the LCD screen in the dashboard and what not, but then its the same old story - that will be expensive in any car. If there is more features and gadgets, there are more things than can potentially break. Thats why on JD power ratings you see the most problems with the cars with the most features, and its little crap that breaks, NEVER a tranny or motor anything major, and the cheap simple cars with marginally fewer problems. The problem is they don't specify the problem. For examples sake if a sunfire blows a tranny, it counts as 1 problem, and if a Audi blows a headlight, it counts as 1 problem. So when you think about it, a car with tonnes of features and only a slightly worse rating and sometimes even a better rating than more simple cars with way less features - Pretty good if you ask me.

If you like it, buy it. With german cars you get what you pay for - a solid car made with good parts. You won't have any mechanical problems for a long long time if you maintain it properly like any other car. If you abuse the shit out of it, prepare to pay - same goes for any car.

Mark

[Mr_John]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt


They are not expensive to work on, you pay the same labor rate as anyone else. You can change oil yourself and everything, and thanks to some awesome audi forums, you can do just about everything yourself if something does go wrong if you have the motivation/skill. I would say they are very marginally more epensive, if more expensive at all, than any high end import either german or jap, but more expensive than cheap american cars to fix. The drive trains are all rock solid and should never break, its the little shit that if it goes, it can be expensive, like the LCD screen in the dashboard and what not, but then its the same old story - that will be expensive in any car. If there is more features and gadgets, there are more things than can potentially break. Thats why on JD power ratings you see the most problems with the cars with the most features, and its little crap that breaks, NEVER a tranny or motor anything major, and the cheap simple cars with marginally fewer problems. The problem is they don't specify the problem. For examples sake if a sunfire blows a tranny, it counts as 1 problem, and if a Audi blows a headlight, it counts as 1 problem. So when you think about it, a car with tonnes of features and only a slightly worse rating and sometimes even a better rating than more simple cars with way less features - Pretty good if you ask me.

If you like it, buy it. With german cars you get what you pay for - a solid car made with good parts. You won't have any mechanical problems for a long long time if you maintain it properly like any other car. If you abuse the shit out of it, prepare to pay - same goes for any car.

Mark

I love it but I'm just worried about costs in the future. The A4 that I'm looking at is a non-quattro 1.8T. It's actually a 2002 and not a 2003 like previously stated.
I love the styling and I've wanted a luxury car for the last while but I just am worried about expenses. I can easily do minor stuff myself but anything advanced I'm not sure my pockets are deep enough to handle the repairs.

2002 will hopefully have warranty still too.

[nadroj23]

The silent recall was a problem that Audi discovered that the 1.8T should be using synthetic Oil and NOT using nON Synthetic that was originally recomended by the dealer until 2004. So this would cause a build up of oil sludge in alot of pieces of your motor and turbo and would in some cases cause the motor to blow or the turbo to blow. The only people they informed was the people that had purchased cars that would fall under this category. They will eventually fix your car if you can prove that you followed the required maintenence recomendations and get it serviced by Audi. But if not they will not cover any damages this recall might have caused. So remember buyer beware when your buying a A41.8T

[civicrider]

check out my A4 for sale
http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread.php?s=&threadid=133525&highlight=audi

if your interested pm me we can talk

[AE92_TreunoSC]

I am looking for a 1.8T, thanks though civicrider, so do you guys think thi would be a good car to buy, if not any other recommendations?

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by AE92_TreunoSC
I am looking for a 1.8T, thanks though civicrider, so do you guys think thi would be a good car to buy, if not any other recommendations?

Pick up the 1.8T quattro 5spd and chip it is what I would do, or get the 2.8V6 (190hp) 5spd and leave it as is.

Both motors are incredibly smooth, there is no more noticable vibration, especially in the 4cyl, at redline as there is at 3000rpm

Mark

[R-Audi]

I have had an A4 for the past 4 years (2yrs with a V6, and 2yrs with a 1.8T) and I have never had any major problem as both were properly taken care of. I am currently pushing 340hp on my 1.8t and it is still going strong at 150,000km. (S4 Eater!)

For the Oil sludge, it can be cleared up with Seafoam or various Oil treatments, but just looking under the valve cover can tell you the story.

As far as being expensive to maintain, I do most of the work on my own, and after that I found an awesome mechanic that is willing to do anything at a very good rate. If you do get one and mod it at all, if you have access to a laptop I highly reccomend getting a VAG-com, the computer diagnostic program. It will pay for itself 100 times over. Like Mitsu said, there are very good resources on the net.. my advice try snooping around Audiworld and Audizine.

If the cars you are looking at have around 70-100k be sure that the timing belt is replaced, as its an expensive fix. (1200iirc?) and you dont want to take the chance of not having it repaced. (kaboom!)

[trieu]

wow r-audi, that is sweet. I am also looking for an A4, does anyone have one or know of any?

[civicrider]

check out mine if you want the 2.8 model i did the timing belt and everything and im only asking 12 995

[R-Audi]

Originally posted by trieu
wow r-audi, that is sweet. I am also looking for an A4, does anyone have one or know of any?

There is a brillant yellow 01 1.8T for sale on www.eurodrivers.ca
looks to be in good shape, 70,000km, I think around $20

[Mr_John]

How is the gas in a 1.8T?
I've heard from 2 different Audi owners with different answers. 500km a tank and up to 700km a tank on 60 bucks of premium gas. Any truth to this?

[R-Audi]

With my GT28r and upgraded injectors I could get up to 600km/tank.. so I imagine 700 would be easy if you are stock.

Mind you I can get as low as 250 if I am driving hard..

[trieu]

thats some pretty sweet mileage!

[Countach]

2006 Audi A4 = Great luxary ride. Also has good mileage and hp. Maybe the A6 would be another bet. The interior is nice, but there could be more of a wood trim to actually compete with the other luxary cars in it's class.