1.8T quattro buyers guide?

LSL

LSL

Luke
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Apologies for not introducing myself properly, I'm Luke, but I'm in need of some quick info!

I've been searching for a buyers guide/checklist for a facelift 1.8T quattro (or as specific as possile) on google and audi forums, obviously the search has been disabled on this forum so I haven't been able to find anything here either...

Any helpful links or threads would be great :icon_thumright:

I guess you get quite a few of these threads as well so apologies for that too!
 
Cheers, I clearly need to practice my google-fu...
That still didn't turn up much though, I was hoping for a sort of list of common faults and things to look out for?
 
You could just ask on here ? Ive got one, but dont know all the common faults really, just about look out for rust on the roof and the bottom of the doors. If the car feels sluggish then it could be boost leak, the maf etc. ?

Or is there something else your looking for. are you buying one?
 
I thought there would already be a guide somewhere, seems like there isn't!

Yeah I'm going to look at one tomorrow straight after work. I just wanted to know any model specific problems to check for and I guess service intervals for cambelts etc. would be helpful too.
 
erm theres a lot of threads there,no definitive guide to 1.8ts but FAQ's would surely help ?!
 
Yeah there was some helpful stuff on there thanks, no guide to problems though like you said.
Are there any commonly known faults? The only Thing I know about is the rusty doors bottoms.
 
1.8TQ is pretty much the same guide as an A3/S3.... only you have the rear haldex to consider servicing every 20k with oil....approx £50-£80 job...other than that a generic search on the afforementioned will help
 
Fair enough, I'll have a look at some S3 guides!

Anyone know after how many miles they're supposed have a cambelt change?
 
audi upgrades
If you're not mechanically savvy I would get a mechanic to check it over. Or if you don't know a mechanic get the AA or RAC

http://www.theaa.com/motoring-advice/vehicle-inspections.html
http://www.rac.co.uk/products-services/vehicle-inspections/

I used the AA myself. They seemed quite comprehensive. It's a small price to pay when you consider any "big" job on the car will cost you £1000 plus...

You really want to know about any jobs that are going to cost you big $$$$ to get fixed. Any old-ish car you buy is going to have some problems, so you should budget for that, but hopefully the problems are just smaller things that you can quite cheaply fix.

Look at it this way. If the AA cost you £200 to get it checked out. You could get four cars checked out for the price any medium\big job on a dodgy car is going to cost you i.e. £1000. Just look at it as an investment\risk.

The bigger things I'd be interested in are things like the following, all of which you could probably say about most cars...

- Is the turbo on the way out. Could cost you the best part of £1000 to get fixed
- Is the gearbox\transmission dodgy. Could cost you from £1000 up to a lot more!
- Is the clutch or flywheel on the way out. Will cost you the best part of £1000 to get fixed
- Any suspension or steering related problems. Could cost you from £500 upwards...
- Is the engine mechanically sound
- Has the car been in a crash...could end up costing you the majority of your investment!

Obviously checking that the required services are done on things like oil\filter change, haldex oil\filter change, brake fluid, timing belt etc. will all give you more confidence in buying the car and reduce the chances of it being a dodgy car.

As for timing belt, regardless of when it was done I would get it done immediately after buying it myself. Do you really trust a service history? Would you be surprised if the previous owner somehow managed to get a stamp without getting the work done? How would you feel if you drove the car for a week, timing belt snapped, and you engine is left in bits, then you find out the timing belt that was in looked a lot older and worn than you thought?

There's a risk in buying any second hand car. All you can really do is reduce the risk by doing things like I've said above. Personally I would do the following:

1) Check the service history and everything about the car yourself. Once you are happy, then...
2) Get a mechanic or the AA\RAC to check the car. If they give it the all cear, then..
3) Buy the car, get it a full service, and get the cambelt\waterpump changed straight away
 
If you dont that tqs, what sort of budget are you looking? Ill be selling mine soon, as much as i dont want to. 52 plate 69k miles. and the below.
 
Woah thanks for the advice, a friend of a friend runs a garage and I could get him to have a look in place of the AA or RAC.
I had a chat with the owner earlier and he says he got it from an audi dealer 4 years ago and has had an audi fsh, hopefully will be all good:icon_thumright:
I was planning on taking it to AMD to getting a full sevice aswell.
 
emery1990 said:
If you dont that tqs, what sort of budget are you looking? Ill be selling mine soon, as much as i dont want to. 52 plate 69k miles. and the below.
Click to expand...

£5k at most, I'll let you know if this one doesn't pan out.
 
I know you are looking for the "common things that go wrong with this type of car". But in reality they aren't the things you should be worried about, because they probably won't be the ones that cost you the most money to fix. Which is what it's all about at the end of the day, how much extra cash you're gonna have to spend on the car beyond the price you pay for it :)

Protect yourself against any big money problems, reduce the risk of buying a car with them. Then once you've bought the car reduce the risk of having them i.e. get the timing belt done regardless of what the service history says - read threads on here from guys whose engines need quite a lot of work after the belt went "snap!". It's a no brainer, £300 - £500 for timing belt\waterpump, how much for fixing a f&%ked engine???

Someone already mentioned one of the "common things", here's some more, I guess they'll help you in bargining the price if nothing else...

1) Rust on roof rails (as mentioned before)
2) Stereo volume problem (you try to adjust the volume and the volume either goes, or blares up, can't be fixed, you need to replace stereo)
3) Window clip problem (this will be pretty obvious, the window won't work! I think you may be able to tell if it's on the way out by looking at how jerky the window is as you move it down fully and back up)
4) Rear wiper (either it won't work or it will drag and jerk across the window, part needs replacing)
5) Keys missing (the car should come with at least two normal keys, one plasticy type key, and another solid key - a replacement key costs a good bit)
6) Oil Use (a lot of people say that these cars can just "use up" oil, but the oil has to go somewhere! Look for signs of an oil leak, look at exhaust fumes, it could be the Turbo letting oil past the seals)
7) Electrics on seats (check they all work! Can be quite expensive if you need to replace the seat)
8) ...

I can't think of any more of the top of my head, maybe others will have more.
 
LSL said:
£5k at most, I'll let you know if this one doesn't pan out.
Click to expand...

Save up for an S3! You'll regret it in a few months time when you'll be thinking "if I just saved another few pounds, I could have had the S3!!". I'm sure you'd even get an early S3 for 5K now, maybe with high-ish mileage http://www.dailycars.co.uk/205719/showroom.htm . Unless of course you're avoiding the S3 for insurance reason!
 
Thanks again, I'll make sure I check all those things out.
I get where you're coming from with preventing against the big things, it makes sense.
AMD do a cambelt and water pump change for £300 iirc.
 
metricspaces said:
Save up for an S3! You'll regret it in a few months time when you'll be thinking "if I just saved another few pounds, I could have had the S3!!". I'm sure you'd even get an early S3 for 5K now, maybe with high-ish mileage http://www.dailycars.co.uk/205719/showroom.htm . Unless of course you're avoiding the S3 for insurance reason!
Click to expand...

Insurance is fine, it's just from what I've seen you're looking at £6.5-7k for a decent (<80k miles) S3?
 
LSL said:
Insurance is fine, it's just from what I've seen you're looking at £6.5-7k for a decent (<80k miles) S3?
Click to expand...

Yep. I'd say you'd be looking in the 5.5 - 6.5K bracket for a <80k miles S3. But...they are the advertised prices. And just like adveristed house prices they don't really reflect what they sell for :)

Take a garage selling an S3 for 6.5k. I wouldn't give them the asking price, would you? I wouldn't be surprised if they sold it for 5.5K.

If it was me I would hold out for an S3. Either bargin down the price to a level you can afford. It's a buyers market, you've nothing to lose by offering what you can afford. There could be guys out there trying to sell S3's for months, and they may be desperate for the cash, and may snap the 5K out of your hand.

Or wait another few months for the prices to drop - which they will do.
 
How about this? http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1459289.htm

It used to belong to a guy on this forum (jimmeh) and kept immaculate when it was in his hands. Worth checking out. I know its above the budget and over the mileage you want, but these cars are strong even at that mileage.
 
£300 for cambelt and water pump :eek:O
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Getting a cheap s3 may sound good, but it doesnt always work out. Somestimes there cheap for a reason, or you could get lucky. Only thing better about getting an a3, is itll be newer with less miles, but with less power:(. when I sorts things out and im happy i can afford a new car ill definately be getting the s3.
 
no guarantee in getting a cheap A3 either...less risk sure but at the kinda miles your looking at..... luck will be key regardless as the surface issues may be covered, its future underlying issues you cant gauge that will cost you the most
 
Yer i know, but the same year ,mileage s3 and a3, the a3 will cost less, thats what i ment, but yer all cars can be ****.
 
na i know fella.... it is theoretically less risky but due to their age now.... i wouldnt let that dictate my choice regardless of difference in cost
 
Yer true, i think the body is more of a part for haggling down though. If i dont get the scratch on my bumper sorted out. I dont think i could get over £5000 that they are going atm for it.
 
i agree that he will have more money in theory to correct any probs but be mindful that he could end up spending wht an S3 costs making the A3 right if it is infact a hidden 'dog'.... horses for courses :)
 
Sorry guys I've put a deposit down on the A3!
Got it down to £4400 in the end, didn't have any problems you guys mentioned.
Only bad points were a couple of car park grazes on the bumpers and it being due a service next month, oh and the cubbyhole lid won't close :laugh:
 
AMK or BAM

Does it really matter? Both have a facelift and from reading the forums, both AMK and BAM electronic VVT. Only difference is 15bhp....:noway:
 
nope the only difference is that BAM equiped cars have a few lil things changed.....nothing worth mentioning but nevertheless BAM is the last model which is always preferred
 
I just brought a A3 1.8T Q and had it straight into my local Audi for a FREE health check, it came back a few little things like my indicator lights nearly showing white and then they dropped it on me that i need to replace my front ARB because it was loose, they quoted me £499 plus vat. took it too a local garage and they tightened it for £68 total.

I recomend using the Free stuff from the Audi stealers like the MOT and health checks then it's up to you who does the work.
 
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