Hey Everyone... Have a car that I'm looking at and interested in, but need honest opinions....

1999 Audi A4 1.8T Quattro, 133,000 miles, Carfax Clean.
3 Owners, Bought in CO. 2nd owner moved it to Idaho. 3rd owner moved it to Washington and drove it to Alaska. His friend is selling it for him and knows nothing about the car. Maintenance on Carfax was consistent for the first 10-12 years.

Issues,
Exterior - Major clear coat peeling. Rock chips on hood pretty bad, chips have surface rust in them. Trim piece on pass front door tore off. No dents.

Engine - No chain slap, engine sounds \ looks pretty clean. No mods. Trim pieces will need fixed \ replaced (main one I noticed was the trim under the wiper arms is loose and cracked up. Seal along window is toast)

Looks like newer Front O2 sensor due to butt splices on wires near Air Box.

Interier - Driver seat is tore up pretty bad (bottom is, back rest looks pretty good). Locks seem to be sticky when you lock and unlock the doors.

Gauge Cluster will need to be replaced. center square display is damaged in some way and can't read wording that's displayed.

Check engine light AND Air Bag lights are on (almost deal breaker right there). I've read that the Clock Spring is a common issue.... Is that true? Is that like a $400 part? Don't know what the codes are for the check engine light at this time. Hope to find it out tonight.

Needs 4 wheel alignment and tires. No biggie unless parts are worn out. Needs new keys and remote purchased as well. Key is damaged.


I'm not a noob to turbo-ed cars. I owned a Celica GT-4 and Brother owned both MK-III and MK-IV Supras. So I know the time and $$$ it takes to keep them up to par or to mod. But I'm new to the Audi side of things.

Car being sold for $2800.

Going to offer $2K and go up $2500

Is this car worth it in your eyes or is it more of a hastle for a teenage kid. She will be only driving it several miles a day for a year or so at first and I have no problem working on it. But Audi dealership is 2 1/2 hours away and no local shops or junkyards would have parts to pull from other cars. Will be relying on forums like this for knowledge and parts (like I did with my GT-4, and I do for my 4Runner).

Looking for honest opinions as you look at the whole picture regarding this car. Sorry no pics at this time.

Thanks guys, any advise is welcome.
Shannon

 

$2500 seems to be pushing it for the amount of problems it has. None of them scream run away though, and most of the problems are pretty typical with these cars at this age (ripped seat, center screen doesn't work.) To fix the center screen you don't need to replace the entire cluster, there are companies you can send it to who will replace the screen for ~$150.

Before proceeding you need to find out why the CEL is on. The airbag light could be as simple as fiddling with the plug under the driver's seat, scanning for codes will reveal more.

Did you examine the control arms and tie rods? Don't bother getting new tires and an alignment if the front end is wobbling all over the place.

What about the axle boots? Are the rear differential seals leaking? You didn't specify manual or automatic, if automatic, is the tranny pan leaking?

Does your daughter need to rely on this vehicle or will there be a backup? These aren't the most reliable vehicles, and if you don't have easy access to a dealership or junkyard for parts your downtime could be significantly increased.

If at all possible, pay the $100 and have the vehicle examined at an indie Audi/VW shop or at the dealership. I can guarantee they will find and list enough problems to warrant haggling the price down.

 

Thanks for the response! Good to know about the center screen issue. I plan on talking to the guy soon to see if he ran the codes today. If not, I'll try to tonight. I already planned to. I haven't been under the car yet, but driving down the road, I was able to let go of the wheel and it was straight and true. Braking was the same thing. Steering wheel is turned to about the 11 o'clock position for it to run straight though. Already talked to alignment shop and they can do 4 wheel alignments and I quizzed them about how to straighten the steering wheel, so that is something they can \ will address.

It is an automatic. But again, I haven't been under the car yet.

This will be her primary car, but she can use my 4Runner as a backup if need be.

As for the price... Good call. I was just talking to the dealership about this and he was saying the same thing. Because of the key fob (or lack of...) that in itself, he said not over $2K. He's checking with his contacts to see if there are a supply of parts in Anchorage that I can pick from. As I said, junk yards are slim up here and I know that will be an issue.

I will call the alignment shop again and see if they could fit it in to inspect the under side of it.

Thanks again for your thoughts and opinions.
Shannon

 

Thanks for the reply. Between your help and the dealership, plus he wouldn't go down to $2K, I'm going to pass on the car. I'll be looking for something better.

 

Good luck! I'm sure you'll find something.

 

Ah, probably a good call to pass if he wouldn't go down to $2,000.
Just keep your eyes peeled, and be looking daily!

 

I think 2k would if been a little much to pay with the issues you listed. Not so much issues I guess but the condition didn't sound to be very good. Good call passing.

 

What's bad, is the more I was researching, the more I was getting sucked in to the 1.8T Quattro line of cars. Reminded me how much I missed my Toyota GT-4 (All-Trac), and the mods I did to it. That was such a fun car!! I was already making a list of things I was looking at to do it this one. It would've been the perfect "Sleeper" car. Hell, I'm old and crusty.... Do they even use that term anymore? LOL

Again, thanks for your help guys! I'm still looking!
Shannon
Kenai, Alaska

 

Of course they still use that term! Definitely keep looking they are great cars.