OK, last time I had a thread about getting a new car it was about a TSX...well the wife and I ended up getting a used RX330 instead..so now it is my turn..(thanx for the help though! especially luvmytsx, whose dealer info ended up being where we got the RX)...but I am looking to get an 02+ used A4. Some of awesome deals I have seen are out of warranty, like 50k+ miles, but I know stealerships get you with maintenence. I'm a big DIY fan and have a buddy who is more experienced than me for this stuff...so my question is, for all the audi owners, how bad is the reliability? bad as the reputation? Adn if you end up doing the work yourself anyway, how much of the cost goes down from dealership work? (Everyone I know who has an audi and complains about the cost all seem to bring them into dealers for ALL work...so I have to take it with a grain of salt...) any advice from the audi fans?

 

Paging Jesel
Paging Jesel

edit: and i've heard about a lot of issues with them, but have never owned one. if it were me, i would look at something else, but speak to Crazy Sellout and any other Audi experts first

 

yeah...I was hoping he could shed some light here since he seems to be the resident Audi-man...

 

Are you (or your friend) comfortable with electrical work? Because that seems to be a common problem with Audis from what I hear.

 

You seem like the perfect candidate to be an Audi owner.

Known issues are

Coilpack failures - $30 part and all you do is unplug the coil and and replace it. Takes 2min. I keep spares because if they do fail then you end up getting stranded on the side of the road. A pain but not a major issue to me. Sorta like having a flat tire but faster to swap.

Fuel pump failure - I havent had this problem but some needed their fuel pumps replaced. Theres actually a recall on these and most dealers will replace them even if you are out of warranty. Replacing it isnt very hard also and the part is cheap.

Timing Belt and Water pump should be replaced around 65k miles. Its about $289 for the kit but the install takes time. Most shops will charge around $700 just on labor for it.


I made this thread a month ago to see how Audi Owners felt about their cars. Seems like a hit or miss.
http://audizine.com/forum/showthread...ht=Reliability

Most important about owning an Audi is doing PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE. If Audi tells you to change the oil every 10k miles, then do it every 5k. The 1.8t is known to sludge so taking care of oil changes is very important. Its also important when shopping for a used one. Get all the records of the maintenance that was done on it. It should have at LEAST had their oil changed every 10k miles with Synthetic oil. They used to just run dino oil in most of the 02 models and ran them for 10k intervals which of course caused sludge problems in the 1.8t. I want to say in late 03 models is when they switched to synthetic.

Lastly, the car is SLOW. Dont let anyone tell you that you can make it fast for cheap. You can make it livable for cheap.

Audis dont have major issues with their electrical systems anymore. This aint the 80s.

Im happy with my Audi but i would be nervous to buy a used one that i didnt know the history of. Hey at least im honest.

How about a 02-03 BMW 330?

 

Also let me add, you wont have fuel pump failures if you replace the filter every 30k miles like you suppose to. But most dont.

Including me

 

Wow, thanx for the awesome write up there! I expect it to be much slower than the TL, but is it bad for pulling power onthe highway? I know a chip can do wonders to it, but how much? Do you have yours chipped? as far as the timing belt, I assume they are as time consuming and difficult to replace as the one on the 2nd gen tl?

So I guess u are saying as long as I keep up with preventative maintenance on a good used one, I should be fine? Most electrical failures are easy as well? Like Luvmytsx said, I have heard a lot of electrical complaints, but what exactly electrical are the problems? btw...I owned a 98325i convertible and a 2001 325i sedan, and they were both maintenence nigthmares...especially the 2001. Every week literally I had to replace something. I don't mind diong my own work, but not every damn week...so BMW left a bad taste in my mouth. It'll be a while before I try them again...which is why I am trying Audi..I like german finish and AWD...and the one 99 i drove was fun as hell in stick! although it was a 2.8 (I think that's the size of the v6?) any other advice or things to watch for?

edit: btwsince fuel pumps are every 30k, how much are they (all parts necessary) and how long does it usually take?

 

My lil bro has an 2001 audi a4 only thing he had replaced was a headlight and the clutch. Audi dealerships however will always say the car needs maintenance since the dealerships like the car to be like brand new, so expect to pay a lot of money getting an audi serviced at a dealership. However 3rd party mechanics will do the work and make sure the car is maintained. Just find a good mechanic and you'll be fine.

 

Like Nancy said, "just say no!".

 

Really? How come if you don't mind me asking?

srk85, how many miles does the 2001 have? I actually prefer that body style the most but am curious as to reliability. If they seem to better than an 02+ then I may actually wanna look for one...that guy on here who recently did that rebuilt S4 was pretty cool..good look.

 

His car has like 62k miles now. Its still in great shape just needs to replace a few parts sooner than Japanese cars. I know hes gonna need to replace the timing belt and other parts. Thats the problem with German cars is that maintenance comes sooner than some Japanese cars. However if you take care of the car, Audis can last a long time. My dad has a friend who has an used A6 with over 100,000 miles and still works well. The only problem is keeping up with the costs of maintaining it which may be higher than Japanese cars.

 

i'v had my audi for about 20k miles already 01 A6 2.7T 70k miles

no problems so far everything turned out great and the car is pritty quick.

If you are looking into 2.7T line up look to get a 2001+ because 01+ come with upgraded turbo oil feed lines. aside from that basic turbo care warm up and cool down proceedures / regular maintenance, you should be fairly happy with the car. the 1.8T's put out something like 200 wheel horsepower with the chip and have layed out times somewhere in the 14's with a good launch. engine space seems to be pritty easy to work around good luck with what ever you decide to do.

 

yep to SRK85 .

Japanese cars are a no-brainer in trying to take care of them. All you do it add gas and if you want, change the oil. Perfect for people like my parents who dont work on cars.

I consider this a hobby so i dont mind if things need replacing sooner. With that said im sure when im older and dont have time for this then i will switch to japanese cars.

Check out www.Audizine.com they have a big group of B5 and B6 owners. Browse around and see which platform had more issues. I would tend to think the older version (b5) would have more bugs than the B6 though.

 

The B6 (2002-05 a4) will not put down 200whp with the chip.

You still bein the 15s in the 1/4 with just software. The car is a heavy pig. The B5 i can see maybe hitting in the high 14s with just software since its much lighter.

To get ideas what you can do to the car, check out www.goapr.com

 

Yea but unfortuanely keeping Japanese cars up to date cost some money too.

 

Oh and I forgot to mention I was reading the new consumer reports and any audi from 2004 and up actually got a good rating. Better than the Audi A4s made from 2001-2003. Plus the S4 got a good rating too.

 

not sure about the B7's 1.8T

but the B5 A4 does put down about 200 wheel HP



The B7 is indeed a heavy pig but its alot nicer then the B5 imho, but who cares right? GT28RS Eliminator kit / tune / some big injectors and your back in the game.

i know the GTi 1.8T on Giac tune off 91 Crappyfornia octane gas is putting down 1320 numbers in the mid 14's but thats a bit lighter then the B7 and B5 i think the GTi weighs in at like 2800/2900 pounds similar to a S2000



Dyno Spot Racing is right by my house thats where im gonna get all my performance parts / Giac X tune for my 2.7T. anyone know anything about EIP / streetwerke ? speaking to the local bay area peeps

 

Well there is no B7 1.8t. You talking about the B6 A4 1.8t which is heavy.

The B7 is the new A4 with the 2.0t/3.2 engine.

Not fair to compare the GTI since it FWD. Quattro has a huge drivetrain loss compared to it.

Where did you get that dyno? APR site is showing 200hp/243lb-ft for the B5 a4 and thats at the crank, not wheels. I would find it hard to beileve that a b5 a4 can put down 202whp/247wtq with just software.

 

i ment B6 my bad.

i forgot where i got the dyno, but i tend to save dyno's / video's when i research things. I actually plan on buying a Golf / GTi and doing the GT28RS eliminator swap, but your right i forgot about the quattro. But didnt the B5 A4 come FWD as well?

 

Yes it did but i find it silly to buy a FWD Audi.

 

I own a B6 Audi 1.8t to and in order to get 200 hp at the wheels and the specs on that dyno posted above, you would have to have the ecu flashed, exhaust, and updgraded injectors. I think only then could you get those #'s at the wheels.

If you had the choice between the B5, B6, or maybe the B7 body A4 I would suggest finding a B6 in the '04 range if you are planning to get a manual tranny. The '04 has the extra 6th gear which will help drop your rpm's during highway driving. I would definitely get a service history. Audi/ VW engines especially the 1.8t are bulletproof if they are taken care of. It's not the engines that german engineering fail at but the electrical issues that make them worrisome. We went from a B5 S4 to a B6 A4 1.8 and have never had any problems with them except for the turn signal bulbs going out and the turbos on the S4 went out at 110k but that's normal. If you decide on the turbo, and the owner used synthetic during his ownership it would be fine but if they didn't I wouldn't purchase it because of the sludge issues they had. Audi later resolved the issue with a larger capacity filter (higher capacity helped with running a lower oil temp)and went synthetic (ability to endure higher temps) to resolve the problems caused by turbo heat. If they used the conventional dino oil the problem may not be apparent when you look at it and may be a problem down the road.

I agree with Crazy Sellout about the FWD Audi, it's just wrong.

 

wow...real good feedback. I agree, fwd audi is pointless. sanjoseroller, seem slike your a6 is doin well. i have seen ome for awesome prices lately...they come in stick right? do I have to get the barebones model to get stick though? And am I crazy in thinking that the 04+ A4's have nothing diffeernt except body colored moldings? or is there more? SRK, wa it the B5 S4 that got a good rating or the newer ones? This is kinda good news for me since I have grown to really like the A4 models...

edit: also what are the turbo cooldown/warmup procedures and how much is it to fix the turbos on the 1.8t?

 

Newer S4s got really good ratings not the older ones. But the newer s4s are really expensive.

 

yeah, well..i guess I'm gonna stick to looking around for an older S4. My cap for my own car is 25k (for either down payment or preferably to pay it all off). That's about fair for a used A4, right? Also, I notice on a 1.8t i was looking at that there were no steering wheel controls or power seats...is that the stripped down version or o they all come like that? (btw, thanx for all the feedback...the audi forums are rather audi biased of course and it's nice to get some objective feedback from typically non audi owners on other forums)

 

$25k? Hell you might be able to get a 2.0t A4 B7 for that price. That would be well worth it over the 1.8t.

Had one as a loaner and LOVED the engine even in stock form. Chip alone gets that beast into the low 14s already. Plus it doesnt look outdated. Also the B6 A4 never had radio control on the steering wheel. One of the things i hate. BUT if you went with the 2.0t A4 then they do come with them. My 04 has driver power seats but the passenger side doesnt. Im pretty sure the B7 has both power seats.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...000&cardist=88

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...000&cardist=63

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...000&cardist=52

Also if you buy a b5 S4 then make sure you save money on the side. Their turbos tend to blow since they get too hot under the hood. Theres not much room in there to cool them off. Even stock most fail and its pricey to replace since you have to drop the engine to replace them. But the S4 is a beast and fun as hell to drive. I wanted one but couldnt find any in decent shape around me when i was shopping.

A4 turbos are easy, everything is in plain view. I swapped turbos and it took about 4 hours to do. That was even with beer breaks.

 

The one reason the B6 S4 is more reliable is because they shoehorned a N/A V8 instead of the B5 S4's V6 bi-turbos. Turbos have a much higher engine fail rate than it's N/A counterparts. When I was getting prices for replacing the B5 S4's turbos they ran a minimum of 5k with labor for the K04 turbos which are upgrades.

I think that late build '03 A4's are the first years the 1.8t had electric adjustable driver seats. Passengers are manual which saves weight I guess.

Between the B6 and B7 the main difference is engine, front and rear sections of the car are different. With 25k though the B7 A4 with the 2.0t IMO is the better choice. Newer body and a direct injection fuel system. The turbo engines in any year is always lighter than the 6-cylinder higher range models which helps in handling and reduces the front weight bias of the cars. Aftermarket is better for the turbo to. The manual transmission is an option in any trim (base, or loaded). Just remember that the turbo cars will usually have less amenities than the more expensive 6-cylinder cars.

 

exactly what he said.. but i picked up a used one with 48k miles.. im at 63 now.. no major problems besides a tranny that was defective when i bought it (all under warantee tho)

 

pimpravi, what year is yours? How long have you had it and if you don't me asking, how much? I like the setup you've got going on yours very much! (in your avatar, right?)

 

going to see a local 2.0t after work today!!! WOOHOO!!! wish me luck!

 

Good Luck! I love that 2.0t motor!

 

24,500 for an A4 with 46k on the motor...pretty good, right?

 

What options and what year? Certifed?

That price is high if its for a B6 1.8t

 

i got it for a steal (almost one year ago) for 16.5k its a 2002 1.8t quattro.. i've invested over 10k right now so its going to take awhile for you to make it look like mine hehe

 

^ werd

His front bumper alone is over 1k retail. I hate him

 

damn...lol...well...first thing I was looking to do was the chip and some coilovers...just to keep it simple. Are the tubro motors intercooled? Does it help? Crazy sellout= as for the A4 I was referring to, it's a local 2004 4cyl ( I assume all the 4 bangers come with turbos?) pimpravi=what mods you got currently? I don't think I'll be spending that much on it unless you've really got some good gains out of it.

 

The 04 is the 1.8t B6, that price is way too high for that mileage. Should be closer to 19-20k for an OK deal.

All 4-cylinder A4 come with turbos and are intercooled with one side mount intercooler.

pimpravi is all show :gheylaugh:

 

ok...so i'm back to looking again. the A4 I went to see was pristine on the ouside except for a cracked rear windshield, but the beige leather was all grimey and it had cigarette burns in the headliner and smelled like shit...back to square one...so there's no point of a front mount intercooler? I have seen a few on the road with a front mount so I thought they came from the factory without...as for the all show...it's a pretty good show IMHO...however, pimpravi, how many horses are you pushing? I am expecting to take a hit as far as power is concerned going from a tl to an A4, but I am wondering what it is like with a few hearty mods..?

 

^^ I can't believe it was up for sale with a cracked windshield and cigarette burns, wow. Definitely keep looking! Are you using cars.com or anything to locate vehicles?

 

well the one I looked at was actually a guy who lived a few blocks from me. I saw him driving it around and it had a for sale sign so i callde him. He told me over the phone it has minor issues with the leather, but I didn't think it was as bad as it was! it had that look to it like someone was sweating their ass of in it for years and never cleaned it. But I am using all the sources I can, ebay, cars.com, carsense, carmax, newspaper, etc...I'm hoping eventually we stumble across a deal like when we did when i was looking for a tsx but got the rx instead...the windshield wasn't so bad, but bad enough in conjunction with all the other crap...

 

Yea you got to watch out the windshield for Audis are weak. When my lil bro got his A4 it had a scratched up windshield.