Brrman when you say closest to you, why would I need a dealer to be close to me? I thought I took it out and installed the new one myself?

Also, let's say I had no intention of getting a K04, then would APR give me an advantage over GIAC?

And the Dolphin Grey I was looking at is sold...so now I am looking at a 2002 A4 1.8T Quattro with 51300 miles, for $16,500 out the door. Think I have to take it...It's the crystal blue color which I like...a nice bright blue with deep undertones and the interior is nice although it was a smoker's car, the dealer and I can take care of that...Has the full range of options except power seats...very weird to me...will be a nice upgrade from my 1991 Mercury Capri with 220,000 miles which hopefully I can get some $$$ for...although the dealer wont take it...

This forum is great by the way and this thread will be a good resource for future first timers so I'll keep asking questions as I get them...

Is there anything I should be wary of before I drive it off the lot? From what I have read if the Audi is still good after this many miles it will be good for a long time...

 

to have a chip installed (GIAC for instance) you go to a GIAC dealer, they unsolder your old stock chip from your ECU. Then they solder in a socket (you don't want to try this yourself - believe me). Then you can plug in either the giac chip or the stock chip into the socket - so you can go from stock to chipped by switching.

I suggest a local tuner because if you have problems you wont have to send off your ecu for troubleshooting.

No K04 plans? GIAC has a sharper torque curve, APR is more smooth in its power band. So Giac will feel stronger for that instance, but apr spreads the power out more of the rpm range. In effect, both are fairly equal, but if you want to feel the pull in your seat, go GIAC. If you like the stock feel, but want it to be stronger the whole way through, go APR. That's if you don't care about having a local tuner nearby. (I don't have one near me)


crystal blue... is that the Ming Blue? Keep in mind a timing belt job should be done between 60-65K miles. Dealer suggests higher, but we have seen far too many people damage engines by an early failure of the belt tensioner. Thats a 600-800 job at an independent euro mechanic.

 

brrman, it's a hard color for some instance for the pictures on the internet to capture. It's the color of the links at the top of the forum. Not the Denim light blue or the Ming Dark blue but just a solid what I like to call "Cubs Blue"...

Well I have a few thousand to get an extended warranty from an aftermarket place but they want about 2500 for 25 months/25000 to cover a lot of stuff which is a pretty darn good deal cuz they include wear and tear. However I am thinking about putting this in savings and paying for repairs as the need arises...hopefully it wont be anything major, I think an extended warranty is really just protections against two things: Transmission, and total engine failure...hopefully I can avoid those for a long time...

Closest dealer for me for GIAC is in Illinois...but my parents live 10 minutes away so I could swing that...I would prefer body pushed against the seat...although I doubt I would get a turbo on there for at least 1-2 years...

And just out of curiosity why does the color of the DV Valve matter?

Thanks again...

 

So I have another question...the seatbelt in the car is rather nasty...can I get this replaced? And how much do you think it would run? I just want the fabric replaced...

 

Are you buying it from an Audi dealer of a used car lot?

If the latter have it checked out by an independent Audi/VW mechanic before you plunk down your $$$$.

The major weak spots, are the front control arms, wheel bearings, engine sludge, and various electronics. Have the mechanic check it out and run a Vag-Com for error codes before you buy. Have him check the usual wear and tear items. Make sure that the turbo isn't making unusual noises.

2500 dollars for 2 years of 25K miles, it pretty steep.

 

the color of the DV valve is merely cosmetic.
You talking about DubWerks in IL?

 

Yeah brrman they seem to be the closest to me...they any good?

I pick her up on Wednesday...16250 out the door. Well worth it in my opinion...

So will a chip and DV decrease this turbo lag everyone is talking about? Or does that require a new turbo?

And david9999 the Credit Union has a $250 deductible 48/48000 warranty for 2299...it literally is phenomenal coverage for a car in this situation...really is it worth it with such a high deductible?

 

Also, I have searched the forums and looked up the factory recode procedure for the stereo. However does holding down FM2 and RDMS work for the B6 version...everyone else seemed to have B5 or older...thank you...

 

Boy, that is a tuff call.

You are going to need a timing belt in the next 30K miles, but the insurance wont cover that unless it breaks. You would need to have at least 4-5 major malfunctions each resulting in a bill of at least 750 dollars in the next 4 years to break even. Plus, if you are adding it to the cost of your loan at 6% per year, that is roughly an additional 300 dollars in interest which brings the cost of the insurance to 2600.


My thought is to pass, and make sure you have the money to do what repairs are needed. and use some of the money you save in good maintenance

I bought my 2000 1.8tQ with 75K miles 7 months ago and now I have over 103K miles.

Total repair cost has been 400 dollars
(electric aux fan and headlight washer both of which were broken when I bought the car.) Your insurance would have paid out zero.

I have also done the timing belt, water pump, front engine seals, TB tensioner, changed all fluids, and put on new rear brakes, (plus a chip and DV) all of which are wear and tear items and on which your insurance wouldn't have paid out.

Regarding turbo lag, the K03 spools pretty quickly. A chip wont change that, but it does totally transform the character of the car. Puting in a new chip changed the car from a comfortable cruiser to a car that had some good kick.

 

So even though I hear about the high cost of maintenance really if I kept 2000 around and replenished it as needed I probably won't run into anything major...

Also, oil changes, I want to learn to do them myself on this car but until it warms up...dealership only? And fully synthetic?