I am going to buy a 1999.5 model Audi A4 1.8t 5-speed Quattro the car is is the half madel of 99 so it comes with the new interior. It has about 131,000 miles on it and is on the second owner. The guy says that they are all HWY miles. The car is stock and looks clean as hell. Does anyone here know anything about the 1.8t's like things that can go wrong with them. Also I am curious as to how the AWD drivetrain holds up against launches and what not. Thanks alot.

 

a 99 with 131k miles? EEEK!

 

Thats only 22k per year....2005 models are out

 

My girlfriend used to own a 98 A4 1.8T Quattro w/ tiptronic. My suggestion is NEVER buy a european car >60K miles without warranty unless you can afford >$2K maintance cost and down time.

131K is a lot on that car. Just after 75K miles on my girl's car right AFTER the extended warranty expired, we have to pay ~$3K in repairs...

- Power window on passenger (very common breakdown for VW/Audi), ~$600
- One of the pulley connecting the AC belt broke ~ another $600
- Engine misfiring - $1,500

We ended up decide that's way too much to worry and she trade in her car for an 04 model

My own TT, ECU alone costs ~$900 parts only. Labor is ~$125 /hr. However, I do have my extended warranty. In the 2 years that I own my car, my warranty is more than paid for itself....

IMO, I would stay away from high mileage european car...

 

Get a BMW 3 series.

 

I also agree and have heard the same bad things about Audi and VW cars with high mileage. Instead of going for a BMW 3 series, check out the 5 series.

 

hmmm....the audi is in my price range of under 7k. It is not going to be my dail driver just my toy car. My trailblazer I will drive everyday.

 

Alot of people have been telling me about some minor electrical problems, bad contral arms and wheel bearings and what not.....I can fix those kind of things.

 

I'm curious why you would consider buying an Audi A4 for a toy car? Other than the TT or S4 I wouldn't consider any Audi for a toy car. Audis and VWs are just so bloated as far as weight and parts are outrageously expensive. To me the money would be better spent some other way. I see you've already dipped into the Honda and Mitsu market, is it because you want to dip into the German market for a change of pace?

 

Well no one has an Audi in my area......I think it is a sleak, sexy car. Also from what I heard with some minor mods i.e. APR chip and exhaust it can get about 200hp. Not also to mention if I go bigger turbo and uprgade the fuel I can be at 300whp. It is also a AWD car which alot of people dont know so it would be a good sleeper. People would look at it and not think twice..unless they see the front mount intercooler I put on it. Which can be done easlily. Also the engine sits in the car front to back so it is very easy to work on. All and all it has potential. I mean people still buy the EVO even though they know they blow rear diff, transfer cases and clutches and warranty will not take care of it. With this Audi at least I know I have to fix it.

 

Well you've done your research . My roommate has a 2000 S4, so I've looked into things for him, but he doesn't have much money to spare. If you're willing to pour out a lot of money for parts (APR stuff is mad expensive), then I say go for it. Hopefully it's not Silver, there are way too many Silver Audis in my area (including my roommates) and I get sick of seeing them all the time .

 

Under 7k? Even with all that mileage that still seems ridiculously cheap to me. Perhaps its just in my area...In any case, this would be the very LAST car I would pick as a 'toy.' Why would you want to start a project with a motor thats already got that kind of mileage on it, especially with a car thats known to start falling apart piece by piece after 100k miles?

Just out of curiousity, where is it that you live that you never see any audis? Back home (Long island) and even here at school (DC area) almost every other car I see is an Audi A4.

 

You get what you pay for with APR. Go for it.

 

Go APR.....trust me (see sig)

I've owned two different A4's, a 99.5 and a '00, in just about every mod configuration out there. I'd say I know just about everything there is to know about the B5 and the 1.8T

The 1.8T is a VERY stout motor, make sure that the oil was regularly changed....also, if they switched to synthetic thats even better. The 1.8T has a few issues with sludge buildup in the oil pan which synthetics and frequent (3k) oil changes mitigate.

Check to see whether the control arms have been replaced or when the last time was. Believe it or not those can be common wear items....just depends on the car.

The k03 turbo on the 1.8T is an amazingly robust unit. You should have no problems from it.

As for the car itself, check the service records. You want to find an A4 that hasn't been in the shop much. The rule of thumb for Audis is that if its been in the shop a decent amount while new, thats just going to go down hill after that. It held true for my Audis, and for most peoples. If you see its had a lot of issues, walk away.

The drivetrain will handle everything you can throw at it. There are several stage 3 guys who drag fairly consisantly with nothing upgraded other than the clutch (one guy estimates over 600 launches!). A4's only pull low 1.8 60's on street tires, but nothing EVER breaks...the drivetrain, short the 6 speed tranny, is the same as the S4, which when modded has 400+ ft/lbs of tq. The 5speed box is stout as well.

Finally, they are wonderful cars. SO SEXY, you will get lots of complements if you lower it and throw some nice euro 18's on the car

Here's my old stage 3 car. I miss it from time to time

 

Thanks for some good advice...the 99.5 i am looking at has had the control arms and two wheel bearings replaced also the guy is about to change the timing belt. It has 131k on i though so that makes me nervous. I was told that the 99.5 modles have a better timing belt and tensior than the 98's annd earlier. Any other things I shoud look for?