Skip the 2.7t. Maintenance is a nightmare. You have to remove the motor to fix anything.

The quattro system is based off the torsen (TORque SENsing) differential, is entirely mechanical, made specifically for lonitudinal motors. Haldex (aka 4motion) is mostly electical and was designed for transverse motors with tight space.
quattro torsen & haldex

Quattro is pretty much bullet proof. There are cars with over 700awhp on the stock drivetrain. I've never heard of a 2.8 manual tranny breaking. The tiptronic tranny's do have some issues with the magnets in them. It's not very common though.

Since it sounds like reliability is your main concern, skip the 1.8t and get a 2.8. The 1.8t is a great motor, but there are tons of little things that go wrong with it. If you don't have a maintenance history of it you'll find out the hard way that the parts costs can add up. The only real problem with the 2.8 motor is that the o2 sensors seem to be an issue on some of them. The timing belt on either motor needs to be changed every 80k MAX. Audi just sent out a notice because they're orignal service was at 100k and the tensioners broke, which lead to the pistons getting intimate with the valves.

For the rest of the drivetrain, the control arm bushings are an issue. When looking at a car, push down on each corner. If you hear what sounds like 2 baloons rubbing together, expect at least one of the bushings to be bad. If the fronts are bad you have to replace the entire control arm ($75-$150 each) since the bushing can't be replaced. The rear bushings can be swapped out, but you're still looking at labor. The front and rear wheel bearings tend to go out by 130k.

Here's a quick listing of things I've replaced on my car-
Hazard switch relay - The turn signal relay is in the same switch.
Fuel tank sending unit - Fuel gauge goes nuts or doesn't register any fuel
Wiper fuild resevior - Cracks over time and leaks fluid all over
ABS Module - The brake light will come on steady with the abs light flashing. The contacts in the circuit board corrode. The ABS may/may not work with the lights on, but the brakes will work.
am & fm antennae amplifiers -the internals corrode and you end up without a signal. The antennaes are the top 2 wires in the rear window. The amplifiers are located in the C pillars.

Of course if you can do the work yourself, you'll save a lot of money. As long as you stay ahead on maintenance, they will last a long time.

 

no, I read on the "off topic" that there are 2 audi forums, so i went to audi-forums.com, and i found the exact same treat by coincidence.. thats all

 

I'm new to owning an Audi, of which I drive a '98 A4 2.8 Quattro tiptronic. I've done my research on sites like these and from fellow vw/audi owners that the turbo versions of the a4 are in fact a great way to mod the car itself, but require more maintenance and care. All in all it's preference of what you choose to drive. I've been in a 1.8t and as someone mentioned in a post earlier, that engine itself from 97-2000 produced only 150hp, and in 2001 it was bumped up to 170. chipped and an upgraded turbo would be an awesome starter for mods.

 

Thanks for all of the info.

answers to a couple questions.

Which forum do I like better? This one so far. I am getting answers here. Not so much on the other.

I would lean towards the A6 with the larger engine. One of the reasons I am not getting a BMW 5 series is maintainence costs. I absolutely love the 5 series. But they require quite a bit more maintainence than a 3 series. I would suspect the A6 is the same way. I would look at an A8 too. I am 39 yrs old. So my tuning days are past and I want something I can play with on off ramps and back country roads yet can cruise in too. I've been around the rice cars and while I do most of the work on my own cars I would like to do less. Had a 88 MR2 SC that was really pumped up and had the engine out every year while I owned it. 15lbs of boost in a 1.6 liter proved more than the little engine could handle. Kind of turned me off of boosted engines. Well, that and a Dodge GLH turbo that I had out of college. I spoke to a gentleman last week in NE Ohio. He had an A6 2.7t. He loved it then told me about having to replace the turbo and some other things. It was CPO so he didn't have to pay for it but that scared me. Like the newer BMWs after the warranty period is up they are very expensive to maintain. Why else does a $80k BMW 740i drop to about $10k in 6 or 7 years. Just simply too much $$ to maintain.

The shop looked at my 325ix. Needs a drive shaft. I am going to have that done and have it looked over again. I asked them about A4s. From what they said if it has over 100k I should expect that the suspension bushings need to be done. So, I would spend approx. 6500-8000 for a car then expect to possibly spend another $1k on suspension parts. And possible the timing belt too. No one on here talks about doing any of this stuff themselves. Do any of you. I just redid the entire front suspension on the 325ix for about $400. Did the work myself. I have no idea how much that would have cost if I had a shop do it. So, anyway. I figure I can drop $6500+ all the other work on an Audi or keep the 325ix and drop $3000 on it and have a really nice old BMW. Right now I am leaning toward the BMW. But, we will see after the driveshaft replacement. Due to the vibration from the driveshaft they could not really check the rest of the car over like I asked them to. But they did not charge me as much as they said they were going to either.

I am in the "Random" land. Never heard it called that. Flyover country maybe.

Where do you guys get your parts? There are quite a few BMW discount part outlets. They have sourced the OEM manufacturers
and save us money by going direct instead of through BMW. That is another source of concern to me. I do not want to be limited to the local Audi dealer. Or Autozone.

 

I wouldn't discount the E39 5-series. Maybe my buddy got lucky with his 2000 528i, but its been trouble-free (compared to my Audi) in the 5 years that he's had it. It's just as quick as my A4 2.8 too.. He just did some tasteful body/exh/suspension mods and it looks like a brand new car.

But this isn't a bimmer forum, so I'll give you my experience with my A4. I got it from my mom in 05 with 104k on the clock. She's rough with cars - I still have nightmares about her doing 65 mph in 3rd gear, constantly. Despite that and 10 years/142k miles, the Audi's still dynamically solid as day 1 (no squeaks, rattles, odd noises, suspension in good shape), is rust-free even after 10 new england winters, and is a very versatile car. Not to mention its virtually unstoppable in the snow (if you have good tires of course). If you're looking for day to day reliability and don't wish to mod, look no farther than the 2.8. It's a great engine that sounds great, makes good torque (my prev car was a Jeep w/ the 4.2L torque monster and I appreciate how I can still do 2nd gear rolling starts in the A4) and will last a while if maintained properly. I haven't had to visit my mechanics shop in a year for any major repairs (I do routine maint. myself)...how many 10 year old cars can do that?

Things to look out for:
-If you care about asthetics, the lower trim on B5s is notoriously prone to falling off (mine included). My front bumper grilles also have fallen out
-Timing belt (can never be said enough)
-Wheel bearings
-I went through 3 mass air sensors in the first 4 months of owning the car, but since then I haven't had a problem
-Sunroof switches get dirty and the sunroof becomes self-aware (if you've seen T2 you know thats bad

All in all, the B5 is a very solid, reliable car if properly maintained. Its that last part that is the only $$$ about that car (since they are cheaper to buy than the comparable 3series)...good luck with the buy

 

You won't find a 4.2L with a manual transmission. They all came with slushboxes.

Working on Audis isn't very difficult, but some angles can be a complete pain. Timing belt jobs are pretty straightforward. All the engines are longitudinal and everything between you and the serpentine can be out of the way within 45 min your first time removing the bumper and radiator support.

You can get an entire front end suspension replacement (control arms, tie rods, and hardware) for $450. It took me most of a day to do mine with a coilover install. The rear suspension bushings can be replaced separatley. I believe a set is less than $250 for both sides.

Parts can be found much cheaper than the dealers on a lot of sites. Check here. The most popular ones are ECStuning, PureMS, and PerformanceCafe.

 

i have to get a new lower trim strip for my driver door, with the clips its like $60. its an annoying thing to see on your car

 

I guess there's the NW, SW, South, NE, Midwest and the RANDOM. lmao.

2.8's are solid cars. Some maintainence maybe be involved but if you buy a well taken care of B5 2.8 it'll last a while. I just saw an 01 2.8 quattro tip w/ 72k miles on CrapList for $3,600. Killer deal. But it sold right away. Just keep an eye out for a great deal.

 

I would say a cheaper option then if tuning is not your thing is look at the 2.8 30v engine Audi's or if in your budget the later 3.0 30v as these have a solid engine with very few issues less so than the BMW but like most cars each make has it's own thorn and the Audi's it's the control arms and bushes but once these are done you will have many more great miles.

Also there are loads of write-ups on how to do things around the forums which most of us will post up and most issues are resolved on the forums. I my self have only on a couple of occasions taken my car in to a garage to have work done and this was only because of time and ignorance.

My next garage trip is only because I'm having loads of work done (Upgrades) and having the other things done as it will be in the shop anyways other than that I do all the work myself in the street.