What ya'll know about audis?

[Quik325ix]

Hey guys,
Im playin around with the idea of selling the IX. Are the Audi A4's descent cars? Or am i looking at a money pit? Please give me your honest and straight opinions! i actually do value everyones advice here....well most of ya'll

[Jean]

What year model are you looking for ? I am not a fan of the older ones, they did have more problems. My 06 have been flawless so far, and it's driven really hard (WOT on regular basis) and even some AutoX.

The old v6turbo models aren't too hot in terms of reliability though, but the new models are much much better imho.

[defekt]

OK, the full dirt.

I've had my A4 (1998 30v v6 quattro 5 speed) for 6 years and still think its one of the best cars ever built. In the 80,000 miles I've put on it (120,000 total), I've replaced the shocks and springs, battery, tires (and wheels - but for cosmetic purposes), timing belt, thermostat, water pump, radiator and brakes/ rotors. The abs controller does not work, I broke the oil pan once when I bottomed the car out, one of the rear rubber brake lines failed and the secondary air injection pump is bad. I've also changed the oil and put gas in it. So, considering the mileage and that most of the money I spent on it was typical wear items (or caused by abuse), I would recommend this car to anyone and everyone, it's been a fantastic car. I even istalled a supercharger kit on it and it hasnt effected it's reliability.

My other car is a 2004 VW Passat 4motion, same v6 but with tiptronic, at 30,000 miles it hasn't had a single issue. It's essentially an A6.

[neighborhood]

I owned a 98 A6 quattro (C5) before the e30, and I loved it. The front control arms get to be on the expensive side ( I had to replace all 4 of them due to the ball-joints being worn out, and at 136 a piece, it adds up quick).

Replacing the timing belt isn't for the faint of heart, you have to take off the whole front end to do it, since the engine sits north/south and is very close to the core support. Having a shop do it will run ya somewhere north of 700 bucks.

As far as safety, I walked away from mine after it was totaled and didn't realise it untill after I looked back at the car. ( Someone decided to turn left across 5 lanes of traffic and smashed into me).

Assuming you are looking at an S5 body style, get the 1.8t. the 2.8 engine doesn't have alot of support for it.

[trent]

I used to work at a shop that did a lot of work on Audi. Fucking trash money pit. Everybody I knew (probalby over a dozen people) wish they had walked from their cars...turbos every 30k if you get that POS turbo engine. That turbo engine is one of the worst ever built...look up the VW/Audi sludge problems. Lemon law baby! At least get the v6 like that guy above has...

"replaced the shocks and springs, battery, tires (and wheels - but for cosmetic purposes), timing belt, thermostat, water pump, radiator and brakes/ rotors. The abs controller does not work, I broke the oil pan once when I bottomed the car out, one of the rear rubber brake lines failed and the secondary air injection pump is bad. "

For some people that is a lot of crap, time and $$

ttt

[Mastrcruse]

I had a 1998 A4 2.8 Quattro. I loved the car. A lot of fun to drive but I don't know why but mine didn't like stopping in the snow...maybe it was because the performance tires I had on it haha. Anyways, it was a Fantastic car. I had some things go wrong with it, ingnition switch that was actually just a blown main fuse.

The things are expensive to fix if you are a 3 sport high school student like I was that tried to work as much as possble on the weekends to keep his car on the road. The most expensive thing was the ball joints I had to replace, can't remember how much they were but they were expensive. What made them more expensive was the dealer said I should replace both on the axle for some reason. Mine needed a new clutch but I got rid of it before the 1200 bill.

I don't think its a money pit, just don't beat the piss out of it and it will be a great car. Reviews said electronics are the worse thing about the car but I only had a blown fuse and mine had 150k on it.

Great car, if you are getting a B5. I really wish I had my beauty back.

[nando]

honestly I like audis, but I would never own one. Trent's post illustrates why.

[Vedubin01]

I had an Audi S2 for a short time. Talk about money pits but damn that car was super bad ass!

[WillisE30]

I work on Audis, compared to BMW and Mercedes they are SHIT. Nice to look at and fun to drive but everything on them will fail.

[Jean]

I used to work at a shop that did a lot of work on Audi. Fucking trash money pit. Everybody I knew (probalby over a dozen people) wish they had walked from their cars...turbos every 30k if you get that POS turbo engine. That turbo engine is one of the worst ever built...look up the VW/Audi sludge problems. Lemon law baby! At least get the v6 like that guy above has...

"replaced the shocks and springs, battery, tires (and wheels - but for cosmetic purposes), timing belt, thermostat, water pump, radiator and brakes/ rotors. The abs controller does not work, I broke the oil pan once when I bottomed the car out, one of the rear rubber brake lines failed and the secondary air injection pump is bad. "

For some people that is a lot of crap, time and $$

ttt

Um...it was the 1.8t that had sludge problems, not the 2.0T fsi which is much different. Go sit and drive 06+ and you'll see how much different they are from the previous gen. I've been in many, and I've had the 1.8t before also (yeah it was crap and I got rid of it after about 2 years).

MB does not build cars like they used to, C class pure garbage inside but looks good on the outside.

[defekt]

"replaced the shocks and springs, battery, tires (and wheels - but for cosmetic purposes), timing belt, thermostat, water pump, radiator and brakes/ rotors. The abs controller does not work, I broke the oil pan once when I bottomed the car out, one of the rear rubber brake lines failed and the secondary air injection pump is bad. "

For some people that is a lot of crap, time and $$

ttt

Well, thats the complete list of everything I've had to do to it over the last 6 years, I don't consider that to be too excessive. The only times the car was rendered undriveable was when I hit the raised driveway into a parking lot with my oilpan (ordered one on my lunchbreak for $125 and had it delivered, replaced it in the parking lot at work), and when the brake line failed (In a pinch I replaced it with a spare I had for a vw rabbit gti, and never bothered to change it). If some people consider that to be a lot of time, crap and money, those people know nothing about the costs of maintaining a car and should be locked into a lease with a camry and trade it in every 4 years. I do all of my own work and I think total I've spent less than $1500 in running costs on the car for 80,000 miles. True, the abs doesnt work, and theoretically my car is not as clean running at startup as it should be due to a bad air pump (it has passed emissions tests for 5 years though). I really can't complain about the car. It's still tight, fast and looks great.

On the other hand, I have a friend with a 2001 A4 1.8t. He has had lots of problems with his car, but I attribute a lot of that to his levels of modification and the fact that even though he is a bit mechanically challenged, he insists on doing his own work. My sister has also had a few engine related problems with her 1.8t beetle. Hence, I am not a fan of the turbo engines, nor am I a fan of drive by wire.

To sum it up, I have owned this Audi for quite a while, I owned a 90 quattro before it, and my experience has been good, maybe I got the few good cars produced by them, or maybe it's all a matter of perspective.

[Mless5]

Make sure you hire an electrician if you get one. My friend shelled out cashola for a6, it never left the stealership. "Electrical problems".

[Jon325i]

I don't have any personal experience with Audis, but a mechanic friend whose been in business for 20 years turning wrenches on most things German prefers the B6 cars. He thinks the overall build quality of this series is quite good and the 3.0L V6 is a solid engine and the later variation 1.8L turbo four (180bhp) is better than the early ones. He got his wife an 2004 S4 which I've had the opportunity to ride shotgun in a few times. Despite being tiptronic equipped, its got GIAC software and that mo-fo scoots while still giving a comfortable yet spirited ride.

The verdict is still out on the new Audis with the 2.0L FSI motor but I've read mostly good comments on them at various sites. No car is completely perfect, you're bound to find a glitch here or there even in a relatively new one. Just do your homework before you start kicking tires and browse the Audi forums too.

This is one of the better ones out there...

http://www.audiworld.com/

Jon

[trent]

Um...it was the 1.8t that had sludge problems, not the 2.0T fsi which is much different. Go sit and drive 06+ and you'll see how much different they are from the previous gen. I've been in many, and I've had the 1.8t before also (yeah it was crap and I got rid of it after about 2 years).

MB does not build cars like they used to, C class pure garbage inside but looks good on the outside.

who gives a fuck what motor it is, it is still an OWWIE

[delatlanta1281]

Um...it was the 1.8t that had sludge problems, not the 2.0T fsi which is much different. Go sit and drive 06+ and you'll see how much different they are from the previous gen. I've been in many, and I've had the 1.8t before also (yeah it was crap and I got rid of it after about 2 years).

MB does not build cars like they used to, C class pure garbage inside but looks good on the outside.

My 1.8t is awesome.
That said audi and vw are ok. my dub has been in the shop once for mechanical problems (alternator). And tons of times for crappy little cosmetic problems that were covered under warranty.