Just signed up to this forum. Within the next few weeks or so I'm looking into buying a B7 to replace my B5 Passat Wagon that just turned over 192k miles. I've done some research about the B7s and I'm just wondering if there's anything in particular I should look at or what I can realistically expect for my budget.

I'm aware of the following issues:

coil packs
DVs
oil consumption (seems to me all VAGs have this)

I'm looking at getting a 6sp Quattro with lower miles for <17k. Ultimately, I would really like an S-Line 6sp Quattro but down here in the South I'm having a hard time finding them period.

 

Welcome to the forums!

Always nice to see posts like this where the poster has bothered to do a little research before asking questions that have been answered scores of times. For that, I commend you

You've pretty well found all there is to know, the only other thing to be mindful of is the fuel pump cam follower. This is only, as far as I know, applicable to the 2.0t motor, which I'm guessing is what you're looking for given that you've already acknowledged the DV problem that is also only applicable to the 2.0t. The cam follower is something to look out for on all B7s IMO, but most notably first and second gen (05.5-06) because they claim to have taken care of the problem for the 3rd and 4th gen (07-08) but its a cheap part, easy-ish (depending on your mechanical inclination) to check and change, and worth keeping an eye on due to the fact that when it fails, you go from paying $50 for the part and about an hour of labor, to paying several hundred for a new cam and several hours of labor to replace everything. Preventative maintenance is key on these cars (which, coming from a passat, I'm sure you're fully aware of) and if you take care of it, it will take care of you for longer than most cars on the road

The great thing about the DV and coils is that they're pretty much a one time replacement. If you can score a B7 that's already had those done, you're in good shape. There's nothing that can be done about oil consumption, that's just gonna happen no matter what; but as long as you keep up on it and keep it topped off, there'll be no problems with that. Pretty much any Audi dealership will top you off for free, and without appointment, and whether or not you bought the car from them. This is useful information because the factory recommended oil (castrol 5w-40 full synth) is pricy to keep on hand for how frequently it needs topped off (about every 1500 miles for me; but I typically drive pretty aggressive so if you're easy on it you can probably make it to 2000 before the low oil light will trigger at you). As for the cam follower, everything I've dug up on the matter is to check/replace every 30k-40k miles; if you get your hands on a 3rd or 4th gen, I'd say at least check it every 30k, but supposedly it doesn't need to be replaced. But again, its one of those things that keeping an eye on it, even though you technically don't need to, could potentially save you a lot of time and money in the long run for the hour it takes to check.

In regards to finding one in the price range you're looking, well, that depends on location as much as anything else it seems, so my advice may not be wholly applicable given our respective locations, but I would recommend finding one from a dealer- Audi or not- instead of local (unless the local seller is someone you know personally who you know has taken good care of it and isn't going to screw you over). This gives you peace of mind that its at least been inspected and major mechanical things and recalls have been acknowledged and verified to be up to par. I found when I got mine that getting it from a dealer that wasn't Audi gave me more wiggle room in the negotiations because they aren't as knowledgeable about the brand and therefore if they can't verify that certain maintenance things that *you* know need to be done by a certain mileage, they don't know that kind of stuff as well and you can squeeze a few more pennies off the price by saying "well, since I don't know if this has been done as it should have been by now, I need $xxxx.xx off the sticker so I can get these items done if I buy this." The other advantage to going through a dealer is you can look up the trade in price, which few people know, is NOT what the dealer is most likely to give you for your car when YOU trade it in, but rather what the dealer thinks its maximum worth is when they bring it in. Use this value as a starting place for negotiations saying things along the lines of "I know you brought this in for no more than $xxxxx, so I'll give you $xxxxx+500, which still gives you a profit, and me a good deal; everyone wins." This is what I did and was able to be out the door for what they were asking in the first place, rather than what the sticker was PLUS tax, title, and license. If you're hoping to get one with lower miles for that price range, these tactics are going to be your best bet, because private resale on a B7 with lower miles is still in the low 19k range, but the trade in value that I mentioned earlier is closer to 15k.

Anyhow, that's about all the more I have to offer. Best of luck to you!

 

Thanks for heads up on the cam followers! I like to think of myself as having some sort of mechanical ability. Can't be more tedious than a TB change on a 2.8 30v.

I took some time today to scope out some B7s. I've found a few in my price range. I've located one in SC with ~115k miles (more than I want) but it's an 08 Quattro 6 Speed S-Line in Dolphin Gray with full service records every 10k. Asking price is $14,995 but I'm a little hesitant because of the miles.

Also located an 06 Quattro 6 Speed Deep Sea Blue Pearl with 75k miles and service records for $12,900.

Both cars are at dealers. Thoughts?

Also forgot to add in my original post I'm not looking to finance but rather pay cash so hopefully that gives a little more wiggle room.

 

From what I've looked at about the com follower, its super simple to check- it sits right on top of the motor; the time consuming part is releasing pressure and such and making sure everything goes back together exactly as it came out; definitely couldn't be harder than a 2.8 TB.

As for your finds- first, paying cash will definitely give you more wiggle room. Go on NADA and look up each car, see what the trade in value is for sure worth, and offer the dealer 500 profit; if they're smart, they will jump on that because 500 profit without having to give the bank a cut should be very attractive to them. Also, don't let them take care of your tax, title and license; they will fudge your numbers in their benefit- and you'll be waiting for almost two months for your plates. Both of your finds are already reasonably low priced and well within your allowed range you mentioned so you're in pretty good shape as it is. Just don't play their games and you'll be set. As long as you know what the car is worth and what they most likely paid for it, you definitely have the upper hand.

As for which one to seriously consider- well, gotta look at it from both sides: get lower miles and have to take care of costly service jobs within a year or two of owning, or get higher miles with a perfect service record that's had all the big stuff done already? It all depends on what you want from the car; if you already are anticipating to work on it a lot yourself- tuning, upgrades, etc- then there's only the consideration of which color you like more, and if the s-line package is worth the higher miles. The mileage isn't a highly significant matter if you're already planning to make extensive modifications to the car. If you're just looking for something to last, modify mildly, and work on when needed, the only thing to really consider is if the lower miles is worth not having the s-line package and having to keep a closer eye on the cam follower since that one is a second gen. Personally, I'd go with the newer, s-line, 4th gen and not be overly concerned with the miles- because like I said before, if you take care of these cars, they'll take care of you for well over 300k miles.

 

Well quick update:

Within 24hrs of my last post both of the Audis I was gonna go take a look at were sold. There seems to be alot of B6s in my area. Audi of Charlotte dealer has a few A4s in stock but none manual. Just got off the phone with them and pretty much they will alert me anytime they pick up a stick. Until then, just gonna play the waiting game. I'll keep this thread updated with hopes of eventually getting the Audi. The Passat is just not cutting it anymore.

 

Stay with the quattro's, I've driven a front drive loaner B7. I hated it. It didn't take much throttle to break the front tires loose, and if you get into any slick situation, the front driver is almost as bad as my 2000 Jetta GLX was in bad weather. It's hard to explain, but if you drive both, you can tell the difference, even on dry pavement especially when pushing the car a bit.

 

Update:

Taking a look at a black on black 05.5 on Monday. Crossing my fingers its as good as it looks on paper in person!

 

Well I went and checked out some cars. Test drove an 05.5 2.0TQM with 82k. List price is 14,900. Showed me service records. Had everything done MINUS Tbelt/WP.

Second car I drove was an 01 S4 with 105k. List was 12,900. Just had maintenance to include tbelt/WP.

Both cars were a blast to drive. Both were clean in and out, no dings dents etc. Any suggestions?

 

The 05.5 isn't a wholly horrible deal; at 82k the tbelt should be good for a few thousand more miles; I'd have it done before 100k though to err on the side of caution. 14.9 seems a bit high though, for that old, even with the lower miles. Look up the NADA average trade in value and offer them that if you go with that one to start negotiations at. Personally, I'd sit a little longer and wait for a later gen to pop up to jump on to reduce worry about the cam follower; but if the one you looked at has a service record that directly says it was done less than 10k miles ago, it wouldn't be a huge thing to have done at 100k-ish when you get the tbelt done, so its all up to you and what you want most out of this car.

On the note of the S4; well, they're great cars, don't get me wrong, but I wouldn't deal with a B5 S4 unless I picked it up for absolutely dirt cheap. Even in the condition it seems to be in, unless you would be already planning to upgrade the turbos on it, from what I've read about the B5 S4s is that the stock turbos start to peter out around 160k, so you'd have that weighing on the subconscious, and if one straight up fails and you weren't planning on replacing it/them, its going to cost you upwards of 5k to fix, even if you do a lot of the wrenching yourself; replacing turbos on the B5 S4 requires the motor to be pulled, plus the cost of the snails themselves, so if you're looking for something to just be straight reliable and risk you the least about of headache, a B5 S4 is probably not the wisest choice for you... But again, its all up to what you want from the new car- reliability with the least amount of work needed, or something to build up a nice project from.

 

The B5 S4 is out of the picture. Just can't see myself driving one of those maintenance queens.

The B7 is a little steep. I'm going to go in tomorrow and talk price with them. Even with the money they have into the car, I'm going to try and talk them down a few. The cam follower was recently replaced <1mo ago. I saw all the work they've done to the car in the past few weeks before it went for sale PLUS all the Audi maintenance. I know trade in for that car is somewhere around 10-11k so I'll go in tomorrow with one car in mind and try to haggle on price.