Wanting an A4, things to look for on a test drive?
#1
01-06-2012, 07:58 PM
Wanting an A4, things to look for on a test drive?
I'm going to be on the market for an A4 in the next few months and I'm just seeking any and all advise possible before purchasing one!
I've read the FAQ sticky and some other threads, and I know there's a search button lol, I just want to know what the most common problems are, or very important/obvious things to look for when I go to look at one.
I know timing belt/waterpump are important...
I want a 2001 1.8T, 5 speed... I would even buy a 2.8 5 speed if it was a good deal though, I am wanting to spend $5,000-$6,000 cash, should this be enough to get a decent A4 you think? I was looking into SUV's but I'd rather not plunge into that kind of MPGs.
Thanks for all/any advise/comments!
I've read the FAQ sticky and some other threads, and I know there's a search button lol, I just want to know what the most common problems are, or very important/obvious things to look for when I go to look at one.
I know timing belt/waterpump are important...
I want a 2001 1.8T, 5 speed... I would even buy a 2.8 5 speed if it was a good deal though, I am wanting to spend $5,000-$6,000 cash, should this be enough to get a decent A4 you think? I was looking into SUV's but I'd rather not plunge into that kind of MPGs.
Thanks for all/any advise/comments!
#2
01-06-2012, 10:05 PM
price range is good you can find some cheaper if your willing to do a little wrenching. even before buying access your DIY skills, if your not comfy with DIY start to save money for repairs
#5
01-06-2012, 11:57 PM
I bought mine this past july so i still have it fresh in my head what i looked for.
1. Maintenance records are a huge plus, one mine i got it for a great price, and the lady i bought it from before her, her friend owned it. She had a folder of all the maintenance records since it was bought, which is a HUGE plus cause you know people cared for the car.
2. Look at cleanliness. If its clean inside and out, you obviously know the car was at least cared for and not treated like dogshit. My interior looks like no one ever sat in it when i bought it. The engine bay was clean etc.
3. Check for any obvious noises, mine did not have any, and people on here will give you more insight as to what noises mean what kinds of trouble.
4. When i test drove it, it had a hum coming from the left rear. Expected it to be the wheel bearing which it was and i changed it out a week after i purchased it. Bearing + Pressed into hub for $90 total.
5. If the car is sluggish ( this all applies to a 1.8T as i never drove a 2.8 ), which mine was on the test drive i took. It wasnt a big thing for me cause i was going to do a bunch of basic maintenance on it after i got it anyways. When i got it i put in a drop in K&n airfilter, changed the fuel filter, 4 new denso iridium spark plugs, Mobil1 Fullsyn oil change and Mobil1 Filter. And the car probably felt like it had an extra 30hp and tq.
6. I dont know about 5spds, but mine is tiptronic, and without a chip, going from a stop, it is a little sluggish, but not too much. It does have AWD and is a heavy car. Now with my APR Stage 1 and 007n D/V, the car feels much sportier, quicker to response, and doesnt feel as heavy as it did before because the sluggishness is mostly all gone.
7. My mileage is i think slightly better with the APR ecu tune to be honest, but i dont care much for MPG because my Pathfinder and the way i drive it nets me anywhere from 13-16mpg so 20+ mpg i can notice already.
8. Do not buy this car if you are going to take it places for repair. You will get shafted hard. In the maintenance records after i bought my 01, i looked closely thru everything and what the lady spent for her right rear wheel bearing was like 250+ Parts, when i changed out the left for 90$ total, so you can see the difference right there. But in the year leading up to when i bought it, she had like decently new tires and the brake job they charged her an arm and a leg, she probably spent close to what i bought it for, which is why i can see she bought a 2010 camry instead.
That should help you
Oh and the only ugly thing on my car was paint peeled wheel caps. Which i then bought a set of 4 new ones on ebay for $25
1. Maintenance records are a huge plus, one mine i got it for a great price, and the lady i bought it from before her, her friend owned it. She had a folder of all the maintenance records since it was bought, which is a HUGE plus cause you know people cared for the car.
2. Look at cleanliness. If its clean inside and out, you obviously know the car was at least cared for and not treated like dogshit. My interior looks like no one ever sat in it when i bought it. The engine bay was clean etc.
3. Check for any obvious noises, mine did not have any, and people on here will give you more insight as to what noises mean what kinds of trouble.
4. When i test drove it, it had a hum coming from the left rear. Expected it to be the wheel bearing which it was and i changed it out a week after i purchased it. Bearing + Pressed into hub for $90 total.
5. If the car is sluggish ( this all applies to a 1.8T as i never drove a 2.8 ), which mine was on the test drive i took. It wasnt a big thing for me cause i was going to do a bunch of basic maintenance on it after i got it anyways. When i got it i put in a drop in K&n airfilter, changed the fuel filter, 4 new denso iridium spark plugs, Mobil1 Fullsyn oil change and Mobil1 Filter. And the car probably felt like it had an extra 30hp and tq.
6. I dont know about 5spds, but mine is tiptronic, and without a chip, going from a stop, it is a little sluggish, but not too much. It does have AWD and is a heavy car. Now with my APR Stage 1 and 007n D/V, the car feels much sportier, quicker to response, and doesnt feel as heavy as it did before because the sluggishness is mostly all gone.
7. My mileage is i think slightly better with the APR ecu tune to be honest, but i dont care much for MPG because my Pathfinder and the way i drive it nets me anywhere from 13-16mpg so 20+ mpg i can notice already.
8. Do not buy this car if you are going to take it places for repair. You will get shafted hard. In the maintenance records after i bought my 01, i looked closely thru everything and what the lady spent for her right rear wheel bearing was like 250+ Parts, when i changed out the left for 90$ total, so you can see the difference right there. But in the year leading up to when i bought it, she had like decently new tires and the brake job they charged her an arm and a leg, she probably spent close to what i bought it for, which is why i can see she bought a 2010 camry instead.
That should help you
Oh and the only ugly thing on my car was paint peeled wheel caps. Which i then bought a set of 4 new ones on ebay for $25
Last edited by 01quattro; 01-07-2012 at 12:01 AM.
#6
01-07-2012, 03:47 AM
I bought mine this past july so i still have it fresh in my head what i looked for.
1. Maintenance records are a huge plus, one mine i got it for a great price, and the lady i bought it from before her, her friend owned it. She had a folder of all the maintenance records since it was bought, which is a HUGE plus cause you know people cared for the car.
2. Look at cleanliness. If its clean inside and out, you obviously know the car was at least cared for and not treated like dogshit. My interior looks like no one ever sat in it when i bought it. The engine bay was clean etc.
3. Check for any obvious noises, mine did not have any, and people on here will give you more insight as to what noises mean what kinds of trouble.
4. When i test drove it, it had a hum coming from the left rear. Expected it to be the wheel bearing which it was and i changed it out a week after i purchased it. Bearing + Pressed into hub for $90 total.
5. If the car is sluggish ( this all applies to a 1.8T as i never drove a 2.8 ), which mine was on the test drive i took. It wasnt a big thing for me cause i was going to do a bunch of basic maintenance on it after i got it anyways. When i got it i put in a drop in K&n airfilter, changed the fuel filter, 4 new denso iridium spark plugs, Mobil1 Fullsyn oil change and Mobil1 Filter. And the car probably felt like it had an extra 30hp and tq.
6. I dont know about 5spds, but mine is tiptronic, and without a chip, going from a stop, it is a little sluggish, but not too much. It does have AWD and is a heavy car. Now with my APR Stage 1 and 007n D/V, the car feels much sportier, quicker to response, and doesnt feel as heavy as it did before because the sluggishness is mostly all gone.
7. My mileage is i think slightly better with the APR ecu tune to be honest, but i dont care much for MPG because my Pathfinder and the way i drive it nets me anywhere from 13-16mpg so 20+ mpg i can notice already.
8. Do not buy this car if you are going to take it places for repair. You will get shafted hard. In the maintenance records after i bought my 01, i looked closely thru everything and what the lady spent for her right rear wheel bearing was like 250+ Parts, when i changed out the left for 90$ total, so you can see the difference right there. But in the year leading up to when i bought it, she had like decently new tires and the brake job they charged her an arm and a leg, she probably spent close to what i bought it for, which is why i can see she bought a 2010 camry instead.
That should help you
Oh and the only ugly thing on my car was paint peeled wheel caps. Which i then bought a set of 4 new ones on ebay for $25
1. Maintenance records are a huge plus, one mine i got it for a great price, and the lady i bought it from before her, her friend owned it. She had a folder of all the maintenance records since it was bought, which is a HUGE plus cause you know people cared for the car.
2. Look at cleanliness. If its clean inside and out, you obviously know the car was at least cared for and not treated like dogshit. My interior looks like no one ever sat in it when i bought it. The engine bay was clean etc.
3. Check for any obvious noises, mine did not have any, and people on here will give you more insight as to what noises mean what kinds of trouble.
4. When i test drove it, it had a hum coming from the left rear. Expected it to be the wheel bearing which it was and i changed it out a week after i purchased it. Bearing + Pressed into hub for $90 total.
5. If the car is sluggish ( this all applies to a 1.8T as i never drove a 2.8 ), which mine was on the test drive i took. It wasnt a big thing for me cause i was going to do a bunch of basic maintenance on it after i got it anyways. When i got it i put in a drop in K&n airfilter, changed the fuel filter, 4 new denso iridium spark plugs, Mobil1 Fullsyn oil change and Mobil1 Filter. And the car probably felt like it had an extra 30hp and tq.
6. I dont know about 5spds, but mine is tiptronic, and without a chip, going from a stop, it is a little sluggish, but not too much. It does have AWD and is a heavy car. Now with my APR Stage 1 and 007n D/V, the car feels much sportier, quicker to response, and doesnt feel as heavy as it did before because the sluggishness is mostly all gone.
7. My mileage is i think slightly better with the APR ecu tune to be honest, but i dont care much for MPG because my Pathfinder and the way i drive it nets me anywhere from 13-16mpg so 20+ mpg i can notice already.
8. Do not buy this car if you are going to take it places for repair. You will get shafted hard. In the maintenance records after i bought my 01, i looked closely thru everything and what the lady spent for her right rear wheel bearing was like 250+ Parts, when i changed out the left for 90$ total, so you can see the difference right there. But in the year leading up to when i bought it, she had like decently new tires and the brake job they charged her an arm and a leg, she probably spent close to what i bought it for, which is why i can see she bought a 2010 camry instead.
That should help you
Oh and the only ugly thing on my car was paint peeled wheel caps. Which i then bought a set of 4 new ones on ebay for $25
I'm typically a DIY type of guy, I'm in an automotive school right now but I'm doing collision repair not mechanics,, but I can typically find help from other people if I'm in a situation where I cannot do it myself... I usually stick to doing the more basic things myself, for example I wouldn't really want to do a timing belt myself... spark plugs, fuel filters, oil changes, wheel bearings, etc, that type of thing I can do...
May I ask you how much you paid for your A4? Considering it had all service records, etc... I would LOVE to find one with ~100k miles and all service records...
#8
01-07-2012, 06:43 PM
nice! that makes me feel better, i should be able to find a nice one then, and what exactly do you mean by the car feeling sluggish? meaning the turbo is bad, or the sludge problem?
I've seen a couple for sale and the owner says the turbo has seized but still runs, it's just awful slow.
I've seen a couple for sale and the owner says the turbo has seized but still runs, it's just awful slow.
#9
01-07-2012, 09:26 PM
First thing I look for on any audi for sale listing is if the coolant is pink. If so, it most likely has VW/Audi G12 coolant.
Don't be suprised if the clutch grabs really high. Mine doesn't catch til probably the last inch when letting it out. It's completely normal.
Don't be suprised if the clutch grabs really high. Mine doesn't catch til probably the last inch when letting it out. It's completely normal.
#10
01-07-2012, 09:27 PM
No basically, take a car, put worn/used plugs in it, a dirty air filter, oil with 5000 miles on it, and a dirty fuel filter. Lets just say before you did that it was all new parts. The car will feel alot more slow and sluggish.
Get what i mean?
So im my case i knew there was some minor things i needed to do which i did like plugs, fuel filter, etc. And the car ran tons better.
And the other thing is, i cant really "rip" out with the car from a stop cause its only a 1.8T, heavy for its size, and AWD. Even with my chipped audi right now, you dont have the i guess torque at hand from a stop like i do from my pathfinder, where if i hit it to 2.5-3k RPM it rips and my tires squeel, while the audi takes a little longer to even get to those 2.5-3k RPM;s from a stop if you know what i mean.
Get what i mean?
So im my case i knew there was some minor things i needed to do which i did like plugs, fuel filter, etc. And the car ran tons better.
And the other thing is, i cant really "rip" out with the car from a stop cause its only a 1.8T, heavy for its size, and AWD. Even with my chipped audi right now, you dont have the i guess torque at hand from a stop like i do from my pathfinder, where if i hit it to 2.5-3k RPM it rips and my tires squeel, while the audi takes a little longer to even get to those 2.5-3k RPM;s from a stop if you know what i mean.
Last edited by 01quattro; 01-07-2012 at 09:30 PM.