Hey everyone, I'm looking into buying an Audi A4 and I would like to get some advice from the professionals. I currently own a 2003 Mazda Protege5, and although I enjoy the car more than any I've driven before I think it's about time I moved onto something else. I've invested too much money into it and I keep pouring more and more money into it every day just to get nothing out of it in the end. So I wanna get a nice luxury/sports car that I'm gonna enjoy as it is and just not even mess with it, and I think the A4 might be it.

Now I'm not sure whether to get a 1.8T or the 3.0 V6 model. It's gonna be a Quattro for sure, I live in Iowa and AWD would be fantastic during the winter so I'm not even gonna consider FWD anymore. I did notice that the 1.8T has great aftermarket support but like I said before, that's something I'm trying to get away from cuz I don't want this car to become a bottomless money pit like the Protege5 ..

Anyway, what can you guys tell me about these cars? I'm curious about reliability and differences between the two models (1.8T vs 3.0) and which one you guys would say would be better for me. I suspect that the 3.0 is less problematic just cuz it's a V6 and they normally tend to last longer .. but it could be the other way around too so that's why I came to you guys.

Thanks for any and all help you can offer, I appreciate it in advance.

 

Definitely get Quattro! The 1.8t has tremendous modding potential, but the 3.0 has more stock power. A chipped 1.8t will be able to keep up with a stock 3.0. The 3.0 has almost no mod potential... the only thing you can do to a 3.0 is install a supercharger, but that will set you back roughtly $5k. Both are very good engines. The 1.8t will give you better gas mileage over the 3.0. My 1.8t gets me about 25-28 mpg and 360-400 miles/tank.

 

Will do mate, as I said Quattro would definitely be useful for me during the winters so that's been etched in stone already. Now could someone please tell me some of the differences in options between the 1.8T and the 3.0 model. I noticed just from browsing around that most 3.0 models come with a different steering wheel tha thas built in volume options, whereas the 1.8T doesn't. Is that the case, or am I just looking at the wrong year? What other differences are there, and just how much faster is the 3.0?

Thanks again fellas!!

 

Edmunds.com has a lot of good info like that withthe timelines and stuff. Just google audi a4quattro reviews. You'll find tons of info and photos.

 

ditto.... i had an a4 once and i was getting 30mph on the highway!

 

Now what's this I read about people replacing fuel pumps and having mad electrical problems? Does this happen a lot or am I just stumbling upon the wrong threads? It seems the fuel pump goes out at 50K miles in a lot of cases, and I'm sure if I'm liking the idea of having to replace that. Gimme some input everyone. Thanks.

 

audis do have some electrical gremlins but its a small percentage of people that do. think of it this way, people tend to post when something goes wrong rather then when something works how it should.

i havent heard of the fuel pump probems.. i have a b5 though and havent needed to replace it, may be different for the b6s though.

I say get a 3.0, the 1.8 is addictive and if your trying to save money definately dont get the 1.8.
chipping a 1.8 will put it at roughly same power levels of the v6 but once you start its hard to stop. with the 3.0 theres not really much you can do besides some bolt ons.
also with the 3.0 because it is a upgrade over the 1.8 it tends to come with more standard features.

 

Glad to hear it's not a big problem .. that's good news. I really like these cars and would hate for something like that to get in the way of me buying it.

I've looked through Edmunds and other sites that do car reviews, and I'm still not able to find out all the information I'm looking for regarding the differences between the different models. I noticed that the 3.0 comes with a different steering wheel that has more audio control buttons on it, and comes with a 6-speed manual instead of 5-speed. But what about the automatics? Is there any A4's with 6-speed automatic trannys out there as well?

 

Well I'm back again, and unfortunately I am disappointed. Every website I visit that has customer reviews has a lot of complaints. There are a lot of people that are very satisfied with their cars too, but 1 out of 5 complains about buying a lemon due to constant maintenance. I really don't wanna take my chances with that, as much as I like these cars I think I might be keeping the Mazda after all. Thanks to all who offered their help, I appreciate it a lot!!