Need advice on buying used Audi A4?

[ishyam79]

All,

I am a fan of Audi and planning to buy a X Reg (2000) - Audi A4 1.8 SE (Petrol) car, Automatic.
This car has full service history but it has done around 115,000 miles.

From talking with people in general, I have been told that used cars with Petrol engines should not have done more than 40-50K miles.

I would like to know your side of the story and suggestions / tips on what I should look for in the car.

Thank you very much

[Boxman]

I have an 01 2.8 6 cylinder that just hit 100k. I've never had a problem with it, it runs great and shows no signs of any wear and tear.

I won't prentend to be an expert on the turbo models of the A4, since I don't own one, but from what I've heard, the turbo starts to fail around 150k. So if you do pick this car up, keep that in mind.

As long as the previous owner took good care of it, 115k isn't much to worry about, besides of course the possibility of having to replace the turbo.

Good luck, I hope my post was somewhat helpful, maybe someone with more knowledge on the turbo engines will be able to help you out.

[mullardel34]

ishyam79,

There's no expiration date embedded in the design of any Audi model... ;-)

Unlike a number of Asian automotive products, the Audi's are not produced with an engineered design life-span. Consider the double-sided galvanized body panels, which are designed to protect the uni-body's steel from corrosion. The Audi engines are amazingly robust, easily attaining 250K+ miles of use before you need to consider an internal rebuild (turbochargers, which operate under extreme conditions, tend to expire a bit more regularly...). The manual transmissions are equally long-lived, with clutches wearing in accordance with usage (side-stepping the clutch to achieve rapid launch acceleration does take its toll on clutch life...). The Audi Quattro full-time all-wheel-drive system performs with astounding grace seemingly forever. With proper maintenance, your Audi can provide you with a very long product service life. My A4 is right at 100K miles on the odometer it still runs and looks like a new car.

Proper maintenance is the key and means that you must partner with a fully-equipped independent service shop, one with fully-trained and certified ASE technicians, who have specialized training on Audi subsystems. Remember that an Audi is a sophisticated over-engineered German car; maintenance is not "cheap", but in many cases it costs less than the regular maintenance for a number of high-end Japanese cars. Treat your Audi with the proper respect and you'll be rewarded with many years of driving fun and enjoyment.

[jaimesonlee]

Originally Posted by Boxman

I have an 01 2.8 6 cylinder that just hit 100k. I've never had a problem with it, it runs great and shows no signs of any wear and tear.

I won't prentend to be an expert on the turbo models of the A4, since I don't own one, but from what I've heard, the turbo starts to fail around 150k. So if you do pick this car up, keep that in mind.

As long as the previous owner took good care of it, 115k isn't much to worry about, besides of course the possibility of having to replace the turbo.

Good luck, I hope my post was somewhat helpful, maybe someone with more knowledge on the turbo engines will be able to help you out.

Hey Boxman, you ever considered supercharging your A4?

Originally Posted by mullardel34

ishyam79,

There's no expiration date embedded in the design of any Audi model... ;-)

Unlike a number of Asian automotive products, the Audi's are not produced with an engineered design life-span. Consider the double-sided galvanized body panels, which are designed to protect the uni-body's steel from corrosion. The Audi engines are amazingly robust, easily attaining 250K+ miles of use before you need to consider an internal rebuild (turbochargers, which operate under extreme conditions, tend to expire a bit more regularly...). The manual transmissions are equally long-lived, with clutches wearing in accordance with usage (side-stepping the clutch to achieve rapid launch acceleration does take its toll on clutch life...). The Audi Quattro full-time all-wheel-drive system performs with astounding grace seemingly forever. With proper maintenance, your Audi can provide you with a very long product service life. My A4 is right at 100K miles on the odometer it still runs and looks like a new car.

Proper maintenance is the key and means that you must partner with a fully-equipped independent service shop, one with fully-trained and certified ASE technicians, who have specialized training on Audi subsystems. Remember that an Audi is a sophisticated over-engineered German car; maintenance is not "cheap", but in many cases it costs less than the regular maintenance for a number of high-end Japanese cars. Treat your Audi with the proper respect and you'll be rewarded with many years of driving fun and enjoyment.

That was so nicely worded mullardel34....Amen!

[Boxman]

Yeah I am very interested in doing that jameison, I registered for that website you showed me before and have been looking into super chargers. But right now, money is tight since I just graduated college and have been working a low paying job while trying to find a "real" job.

Once I get a better job, I'll be in the market for a super charger. But right now I'm making just enough to pay for my car, insurance, student loans and don't really have the money to spend or save up for one. I will make sure to come back and talk to you about it when I am really about to get a super charger, which will hopefully be in the next few months.

[jaimesonlee]

Well i'm glad you graduated college, congrats! You won't go far nowadys with a legitimate job w/o college. I wish you would have seen my advertisement for my already supercharged A4 before you bought yours (assuming I put it for sale before you bought it).

I have mine for sale for 15K OBO; has supercharger, tune, upgraded brakes, HID's, new timing service, rims/tires, etc. But hey, you know your car better than anyone else so that alone is priceless.

I recently bought an S4 but still retain a lot of info for the 2.8 so please feel free to contact me here anytime!

[Boxman]

Thanks for the congrats jaimeson!

I've had mine for 2 months, but I have to say, it was a big time steal only $8k. Even though yours with the super charger sounds great, I most likely would have had to have gone with this one anyways, just because of how cheap it was. Plus, I will enjoy saving up the money and customizing the car the way I want.

Of course no offense to you or anything. Must be nice to have 2 Audis though bro! HAHA

But yeah, I'll certainly come here if I ever run into any problems that I can't solve myself and when I hopefully get enough for the SC.

[jaimesonlee]

Originally Posted by Boxman

Thanks for the congrats jaimeson!

I've had mine for 2 months, but I have to say, it was a big time steal only $8k. Even though yours with the super charger sounds great, I most likely would have had to have gone with this one anyways, just because of how cheap it was. Plus, I will enjoy saving up the money and customizing the car the way I want.

Of course no offense to you or anything. Must be nice to have 2 Audis though bro! HAHA

But yeah, I'll certainly come here if I ever run into any problems that I can't solve myself and when I hopefully get enough for the SC.

No worries man, non taken. I'm tempted to just sell my S/C and sell the car for like 9 or 10K.

[Boxman]

Well I just got offered a much better paying job (finally, the past 6 months of job searching have been mind numbing haha). So I'm thinking by the end of summer I will be investing in a Super Charger.

Now I won't pretend to be a mechanical master, so how hard is it to self install one?

[jaimesonlee]

Originally Posted by Boxman

Well I just got offered a much better paying job (finally, the past 6 months of job searching have been mind numbing haha). So I'm thinking by the end of summer I will be investing in a Super Charger.

Now I won't pretend to be a mechanical master, so how hard is it to self install one?

Not too bad. I would recommend doing the timing service at the same time since you will have the front end removed.

You gotta sign up at scaudi.com if you haven't already. My install thread is there. If you do get one you can call me anytime with any questions you may have. I took several pictures during my install so I have those if needed also.

Keep me informed.

Oh, also, I should be moving to MD in the Thurmont area around December or so. If you haven't done it at that point I may be able to come help.