Would you buy a used Audi?

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There is a reason it is $1500.

Other vehicles that sold for 3/4 of that car new, probably fetch 1.5x that for that vintage.

Used European vehicles of that vintage are highly depreciated for a reason.
 
As the proud owner of a 2001 TT Quattro Convertible, I can say it's been in the shop more than any other car I've ever owned. Really nice to drive but as it ages more problems are cropping up. (75k miles mind you). I guess I've been pretty lucky so far. I've had various suspension parts replaced but to no avail to cure the low speed clunking. The instrument cluster died and had to be replaced. Drivers side window quit working. Glove box latch broke (plastic) and at $700 it's still broke! Exhaust system split and needed to be re-welded. Convertible roof stopped going up and down. Ummm, we had the belt replaced along with the water pump. Oh, and it's amusing you need to force lube into the haldex unit from the bottom and need a special tool to get the the tiny filter on top. Other than that, it's been a great car. Oh, I forgot, the after-run cooling system stopped working so now the turbo bakes when you turn the car off. I've probably forgotten a few things... did I say this was in the first 75k miles?
 
Ill be the black sheep here and say go for it. I am assuming this wont be OP's primary mode of transportation and just a "tinker" car though.
 
Originally Posted By: Scout1
As the proud owner of a 2001 TT Quattro Convertible, I can say it's been in the shop more than any other car I've ever owned. Really nice to drive but as it ages more problems are cropping up. (75k miles mind you). I guess I've been pretty lucky so far. I've had various suspension parts replaced but to no avail to cure the low speed clunking. The instrument cluster died and had to be replaced. Drivers side window quit working. Glove box latch broke (plastic) and at $700 it's still broke! Exhaust system split and needed to be re-welded. Convertible roof stopped going up and down. Ummm, we had the belt replaced along with the water pump. Oh, and it's amusing you need to force lube into the haldex unit from the bottom and need a special tool to get the the tiny filter on top. Other than that, it's been a great car. Oh, I forgot, the after-run cooling system stopped working so now the turbo bakes when you turn the car off. I've probably forgotten a few things... did I say this was in the first 75k miles?


Might be able to help on the clunking--caveat: I do not know much about Audis. However, this is was taught to me by a dude with a FWD VW, and checking costs nothing and takes about ten minutes: With the car on a lift, carefully check where the steering rack mounts to the subframe. (Also, check where the subframe mounts to the unit body!) VW/Audi has some sort of bushings here...and even a tiny bit of play (his was >2mm) will cause a "mystery clunk".
 
Thanks, I'll have to look into those. Reading on the WEB it seems some think it is the anti-sway bar bushings that wear out so I was thinking of having those replaced. I've been under the car looking for anything lose or moving but I can't find anything...
 
Originally Posted By: Scout1
As the proud owner of a 2001 TT Quattro Convertible, I can say it's been in the shop more than any other car I've ever owned. Really nice to drive but as it ages more problems are cropping up. (75k miles mind you). I guess I've been pretty lucky so far. I've had various suspension parts replaced but to no avail to cure the low speed clunking. The instrument cluster died and had to be replaced. Drivers side window quit working. Glove box latch broke (plastic) and at $700 it's still broke! Exhaust system split and needed to be re-welded. Convertible roof stopped going up and down. Ummm, we had the belt replaced along with the water pump. Oh, and it's amusing you need to force lube into the haldex unit from the bottom and need a special tool to get the the tiny filter on top. Other than that, it's been a great car. Oh, I forgot, the after-run cooling system stopped working so now the turbo bakes when you turn the car off. I've probably forgotten a few things... did I say this was in the first 75k miles?
Wow even a Boxster of that vintage seems to more reliable assuming IMS bearing is taken care of. I mean it won't nickel and dime you to death in 75K miles.
 
If you can buy it for fifteen hundred and the car is generally presentable and not ragged out and if you have $1500.00 in spare change, not money you really need to put into reliable transportation, then why not?
If you have an itch to own an Audi, this might be a good way to scratch it.
This car might turn into a nightmare, but it'll be a fairly inexpensive one.
If you have an itch to own an old German status brand, any old four cylinder BMW or Mercedes would be a better car in every way.
No Audi was ever built with the component quality of an e36 or a W201 just as no older Benz or BMW was built down to the VW parts standards used in Audis, although many later DB and BMW cars had serious problems related to various supplier parts, especially electrical ones.
I'd probably pass on this bargain Audi, although when I was younger, I would have been all over it.
FWIW, our lone VAG product was an air-cooled Vanagon.
It was a durable and reliable vehicle in every way except for the cracked heads at around 105K, a known problem with the Type IV engine.
This was coincidental with a seized pilot bearing at about the same time, so the engine had to come out either way. There is no easier engine removal task than the flat four from the back of a Vanagon.
I actually removed the engine to replace the pilot bearing and then decided to do a quick rebuild while it was out, jug kits being so inexpensive, ya know. I discovered the cylinder head cracks upon tear-down and later learned that these were typical for the engine.
 
Originally Posted By: rustypigeon
I am looking at a '03 Audi A4 3.0 Auto transmission AWD. It has 150,000 miles. I have never owned an Audi before. I do all my own maintenance. I can get it just below KBB value. Should I buy it?


GHT, is that you?
 
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Possible check: disconnect the swaybar and see if it still clunks?


Well, from what I read, the bushings are shot anyway at this mileage so they'll need replacing regardless if it cures the clunk or not. This TT seems hard to work on in general and these sway bar bushings seem to be a bit of a bear to change as well. Which is why I was planning to take it in to my favorite independent.

On the Audi enthusiast forums I read about a lot about people replacing worn bushings all over and at very low mileages. What's up with Audi? Not using good enough rubber??? Maybe it's the way people drive the things... donno.
confused.gif
 
All rubber bushings on all vehicles wear out a lot sooner than people think. Some vehicles are just designed so you can ignore it.

Your car is 15 years old. Most rubber bushings, in my experience, have a working life of 10 years. Sometimes more, sometimes less depending on the suspension design and weight of the vehicle.
 
I wouldn't, in 2 instances friends of mine bought audis ( don't know what model ), both changed their mind after about a month when they kept breaking down. One of them traded it in for a corolla after a year, the other one is looking to get rid of it and buy a truck.
 
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
All rubber bushings on all vehicles wear out a lot sooner than people think. Some vehicles are just designed so you can ignore it.

Your car is 15 years old. Most rubber bushings, in my experience, have a working life of 10 years. Sometimes more, sometimes less depending on the suspension design and weight of the vehicle.


But I like "designed so you can ignore it"!!! I know my car is getting old and deteriorating parts factor in but I think with Audi's, the problems are much more frequent and at much lower mileage than with other brands.
 
Originally Posted By: GMFan
Originally Posted By: rustypigeon
I am looking at a '03 Audi A4 3.0 Auto transmission AWD. It has 150,000 miles. I have never owned an Audi before. I do all my own maintenance. I can get it just below KBB value. Should I buy it?


GHT, is that you?


Who is GHT?
 
For $1500 yes if no check engine light and could pass my state inspection. I'd be happy to get one year driving it more is bonus...is $1500 a lot of money to risk for you? If yes pass
 
I would buy a used Audi. Maybe an Audi 80, 90 or 100. Or an allroad quattro. Or an A8 L, or early S8. Not a TT. Anything after the 2000s.. maybe.

I'd have to drive them first, transmission rebuilds on those things can get outrageous.
 
No, you certainly can afford it, if you're willing and able to do much of the work yourself. Sometimes, the free time just isn't there. I got rid of my Audi not because of expensive repairs at all, but the time element of doing these things, and that being said, the individual repairs weren't terribly time consuming. Well, there's the two hour air filter, but I digress.

A few minutes here replacing valve cover gaskets (under $20), a few minutes here resealing the steering pump (under $2), and so forth, start to add up a bit in time and inconvenience, especially when trying to line the parts up. OEM parts were cheap, provided I could wait for them. The weekend long water pump repair pushed me over the edge; the OEM pump was only $60.
 
Had a 1991 Audi 100S quattro...lovely car, built like a tank. Had a '98 A4 1.8t...bought it cheap, dumped it as faast as I could. When it puked a gasket between the oil filter mount and engine block, and spit out 4 qts of brand-new $9 a quart oil on the ground, that was it for me. The tech who replaced the gasket cussed that car like a sailor, said it was the dumbest design he'd ever seen, and he was an Audi tech.

Not a fan of anything VAG builds, no way, no how.
 
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