Someone needs to talk sense into me

"SaigaShooter - He's got an Impreza" (saigashooter)
10/23/2014 at 10:00 • Filed to: car advice

My wife and I found a very clean looking 99 A4 2.8 Quattro with a 5 speed and 76K miles, dealer wants 5K for it. I know it will need the timing belt done at around 100K miles.

What else should prevent me from purchasing this car? I already have a car that goes through control arm bushes like candy, has a ravenous appetite for intake manifold gaskets, and has a poltergeist instead of an electrical system. How much worse could the 15 year old Audi be? I'm hoping trading a 10 year old FWD slushbox with twice the miles for AWD and a manual will add enough fun to put up with the problems.

What do you think Oppo, am I out of my mind?

DISCUSSION (9)

Chris Clarke > SaigaShooter - He's got an Impreza
10/23/2014 at 10:07

I have a 98 2.8 slushbox. I love it. This is crack pipe maybe. 5mt and low miles though. Plan on $1000 for timing belt. I did it myself for a fraction. Fantastic car. I also have a similar vintage S4 6mt. 2.8 is pretty rock solid. Check for valve cover leaks, cam seal leaks. Any serious engine ticking, especially at first start. Check for sludge on the oil cap. Control arms usually knock around 100k. I go through wheel bearings pretty quickly, but that's fairly easy.

Ducky > SaigaShooter - He's got an Impreza
10/23/2014 at 10:08

you can always sell it if you don't like it, but you can't get it if someone else scoops it up.

if you've got the financial padding to not worry about it, then fuck it dude, do it. life's too short to drive boring cars.

treesmakewater > SaigaShooter - He's got an Impreza
10/23/2014 at 10:20

Dont forget to service the diff.

DipodomysDeserti > SaigaShooter - He's got an Impreza
10/23/2014 at 10:22

It's going to be just as if not less reliable than your current car. Unless your current car is a BMW or a Merc, the parts and labor will be more on the Audi. The Also, I would do the timing belt immediately, as even though it only has 75k miles on it, the belt is 15 years old. If you don't mind keeping up on a 15 year-old German car then I'd go for it. Just be prepared to replace lots of little expensive parts/sensors.

SaigaShooter - He's got an Impreza > Chris Clarke
10/23/2014 at 10:24

I found an article on how to do the timing belt and all the other odds and ends at the same time, did you need all the specialty tools that they are using to hold everything in place? Not trying to be cheap, just wondering if the specialty tools are really necessary.

http://www.happywrenching.com/a4/audi-a4-b5-…

I do a lot of work on my car now as it is, wheel bearings, lower control arms, plugs, valve cover gaskets, etc. this doesn't look terribly more difficult.

Chris Clarke > SaigaShooter - He's got an Impreza
10/23/2014 at 10:29

Yes, you absolutely need the cam bar at minimum. You can get away without the crank lock, I didn't use it but I'd still recommend it. You can find the tools cheap on ebay. The company I bought the timing belt bits from also rented me the tools including a few other helpful tools like a fan clutch remover, carrier pins, pulley removers, etc. etc. I did my TB at 120k, its fairly easy to check if you remove one of the plastic covers on one of the cam gears.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > SaigaShooter - He's got an Impreza
10/23/2014 at 11:15

Kinja'd!!!

Mustafaluigi > SaigaShooter - He's got an Impreza
10/23/2014 at 12:06

If it is like the passat and I think it is, you're going to be buying 7 quarts of synthetic every oil change. Not huge but it's something

PlasteredClover > SaigaShooter - He's got an Impreza
10/23/2014 at 12:18

the car itself sounds awesome. An audi with a manual that has less than 100k on the clock sounds like a sweet deal. of course it has it's troubles but by the sounds of it, going from what you have now to the audi sounds like it has way more value to an opponaut even with the reliability issues of a german luxury car.