I've been torn with this decision for quite some time now. I don't want to completely stop modding my car by any means. I'm just wondering how much time my car really has left before it's no longer practical to keep it as a daily driver. I've had big plans for my car for a while, including thousands of dollars worth of suspension components, aesthetic upgrades, etc. I also plan on putting at least a couple grand into a big turbo sometime in the distant future.

I love my car and I know it's entirely up to me, but I just wanted to know if you guys would think these upgrades would really be worth it with the amount of miles it has. Would an engine replacement or rebuild be practical if the rest of the car had that many miles? Are there any other major problems other than the typical A4 problems everyone is always talking about? How much would it cost to maintain if it had 250,000 to 300,000 miles? Has an A4 ever seen 300K?

 

mine has 118k on the clock and im currently building a BT engine for it. ive just about replaced all the stuff that normaly fail with age so its basicly a new car again. if your car is in good condition theres no reason to think its not going to last another 100k atleast.

 

Not sure if I've seen A4's with 300K but I've seen a couple with 250K.

I'm sure our cars will last long as long as we do everything the correct way.

Like ghost6303, I know couple guys who are going GT turbos around 130-150K.

 

My wife's car has 202k miles. Do a search to see what we've done so far. I've compiled a list and posted it. We just did the engine mounts. As it turns out, we didn't have to. We just back flushed the heater core and saved some serious money from the dealer wanting to charge $2000 for a new heater core. But THE most important thing we've done is done an oil analysis from blackstone labs for a couple of oil changes. First, they confirmed that the engine is wearing beautifully. Second, they confirmed that changing the oil at 10k miles or so (following the service light suggestion) is perfect. We have been using Mobil 1 0W40 Synthetic.

Overall, the repairs that we have done make it worth while since it's much cheaper than a car payment. She uses it as a "daily commuter car" since she drives 115 miles a day for work. The car has all the bells and whistles we would want: all airbags, heated seats, manual, AWD, etc. So why buy a new car at $500/month? Plus, with the amount of miles she does, we would be out of warranty too fast.

After all of that, we did decide that IF the engine did quit, that would be the time to actually get a new car since an engine rebuild would probably be about $5k.

 

thanx for the input guys. This game me some insight also. 108k ova here.

 

Keep your maintenance up to date and you can keep going for a long time. While our cars are expensive with everything that goes wrong, if you DIY it will be a lot better. Our engines are damn near bullet proof. Meaning, they don't usually conk out unless the TB breaks. Good luck with all your plans

 

Wow, I didn't expect it to be unanimous like that. Thanks guys, you've appeased my worries for the most part.

So, is internal engine failure usually what ultimately ends the life of our cars? If so, would it make sense to swap out the engine with either a short block or long block that's been stroked to a 2.0 liter? (since I wanted more displacement anyway). Are there any other more powerful engines that would be practical to put in our cars?

 

I have 222K on my 98 2.6.

I got it at 176K and it went fine until last february. Then everything started going left and right, I almost said "f*ck it!" since last february I have replaced.

5 of the 8 Ball joints
Timing Belt w/ pulleys and tensioners (it didn't go thank god, I just did it)
Water pump
Radiator
Ignition Switch
Both outer tie rods
CV Joint


As of a few months it's been running great. So I think I almost rebuilt most of it hahaha... My only worry at this point is the clutch.

Is anyone over 222K

 

well what are your goals for the car?

theres no one thing that fails on all cars making them junk. some cars have more problems then others and its up to the owner how far they want to go with repairs. the better you take care of it the less repairs will have to be made. but some things just break with age.

theres no other engines that just drop right in. but with modification and time you could put anything from a 2.7tt to a VR6 or an old I5 that people like to throw a turbo on. theres a project over on audizine where someones putting a 4.2 V8 into a B5. its just time and money. though unless theres something wrong with your current engine you wouldnt really be better off swapping it out.

 

Diecast, I take it that you're on your second clutch? I just installed a Southbend stage 3 street kit on my car, still not broken in yet. The clutch kit/flywheel set me back $900 and some change. The labor was more tedious than it was difficult. I did it with the help of a certified mechanic. Unless you know what you're doing I don't suggest doing it by yourself.

My goals:
I kinda' want to see some real hp from my car, but don't really want to get too crazy with it. I guess my primary concerns with my potential increased hp setup would be constant maintenance and I want to keep it under $6000. A GT3076r on a 1.8t really appeals to me, but are there better options if I swap out the engine? I'd like to keep my car as a daily driver for now, but I'm thinking about getting a small truck to drive to work, and keeping my A4 as a project car.

A V8 in a B5? Now that's exciting! Would you be able to turbo something like that?

So let's just say my car has 250K miles on it, all new suspension components, and the engine just croaked. Is it worth putting a new (not stock) engine into it? or are there other things that are likely to cause costly repairs?