I'm about [ ] this close to buying a 2003 A4 Cabriolet (2wd, 3.0, auto trans) and have a few questions. I'm new to the world of Audi's. (I know, I know, you're going to tell me to buy the "Quattro", but I'm just looking for a convertible commuter car, so the 2wd version is just fine.) This forum is a nice place, so thanks for the opportunity to ask a few questions.

The car I've found is a "Certified Used" car, so mechanically almost everything should be covered should something go wrong with the excption of brakes. This is where my questions come in..

1) Can someone give me a quick run-down on what it takes to replace a set of pads and rotors on this car? I do all of my own repair work, and just did all 4 corners of my wife's Impala today which wasa piece of cake. (Remove calipers, remove caliper mounting brackets, remove rotor, then reassemble with new parts.) Does the hub assembly have to come apart on a 2WDA4 to R&R the brakes? Is there anything else I should know about that would make this more difficult than what I experienced today?

2) I live in Wisconsin and plan to drive the car year-round. Does anyone see a problem with driving this car in the winter? I have a Suburban that I can drive during the 3 slushy days we usually seem to get now a days, but is there any reason why I shouldn't drive this car during the cold winter months we have?

3) Is there anything else (like the brakes) that I should expect to have to repair or replace on my own with a "Certified Used" car?

Thanks for all of your help!

 

honestly.. you would love quattro.. but its your decesion

and the brakes arent any different.. nothing out of the ordinary. besides on the rear brakes where the piston needs to be rotated as its compressed into the caliper (parking brake causes you to do this)

 

The rear brakes are a bit of a problem. The caliper pistons need to be screwed back in with a special tool. Autozone will rent you one or you can but the tool.

 

Thanks for the thoughts guys. Looks like the brakes are fairly straightforward.

I've been doing some more research on this car (mostly online) and I'm hearing that some of these cars have some substancial electrical problems.

Can anyone comment on this?

 

who writes the most reviews on the internet, and who usually screams the loudest- people who have problems or people who don't. most electrical problems are very simple and people are to novice to stupid to figure it out for themselves.

 

2wd - strike one....
auto trans - strike two....
3.0 - strike three, you're out.

At least find a quattro manual, if your sticking with the 3.0. At least it will be a little fun to drive. Personally, I would not buy an audi with an auto, theyare very slow from a dead stop, and quattro just gives the car so much more grip in cornering and launch that they should never have even made the dang FWD models.

 

i dont understand the electrical problem bs. i have read hardly any electrical problems on this forum. imo quattro is the way to go. snow wont be a problem at all. i used my quattro all the time in colorado when it snowed.

 

Yea, you make a valid point. I've been thinking about that too, and that's why I asked here where I'm likely to get the other side of the coin. Squeeky wheels definately get the most grease.

Acetrebo-
I understand the 2WD and Auto Trans being a "strike" against this car, but why is the 3.0 a strike? I'd think big engine = good.

 

Actually the 3.0 is a good reliable engine.

The reason its a strike (to me at least) is that you can do very little to it to modify the engine for more power. Installing a supercharger is about all you can do. With the 1.8t, there are many many things you can do to add power, chip, exhaust, test-pipe, fmic, bigger turbo, etc. There are many options for that engine.

So, thats why. For you, the reliability may be a bigger concern than power, the 3.0 is a solid engine with decent power to start with, I just included it as a strike based on my opinion / likings.

 

I think this is the first time I've ever done this but: ROFLMAO

The kicker is you live in Wisconsin and don't want the quattro?!?! That's like ordering a bottom round roast of Kobe beef... you've got the best animal but the wrong trim! Get the quattro, you'll love it not just in the snow should you have to but the rain.

A convertible auto transmission? WTF?

The 3.0 is fine. If you do your own maintenance that's one less thing to worry about.

Plenty of DIYs out there for maintenance - from brakes to timing belts.

GL