Advice needed on A4 Cab purchase

[kstandsteve]

Hi,

Just joined the forum so hello everyone.

I have started to search for an A4 Cab for the wife. Poss 2.4/3.0 sport model.

Firstly any advice or links to buyers guide?

Is there any milestones within servicing that I should watch out for?

I have test driven one so far - I didnt buy it as altho the owner said it had done 46k it looked like it had been to the moon and back. Also the clutch didnt bite until right at the top of the travel - quite normal the bloke said, Hmmm??

Cheers

 

[JohnboyC]

Bloke at work has a 2.4 cab - he hates it - weird power band, crap fuel consumption.....

He drove my 2.5 and thought it was great.......

Opionion seems to vary about the 3.0 cab.....best of the petrol bunch seems to be the 1.8T (quattro?)....

 

[ScottyP45]

the clutches all bite late on audi's mate, its to do with the pressure plate release bearing.

Watch oil services, must be synth only, coilpacks on the 1.8T models and timing belt & tensioner & water pump changes needed on all models around 60k for safety.

Audi long-life servicing schedule is ******, they need new oil every 6k roughly, and no mineral oil or semi-synth must be put in them ever, the turbo cooks it into tar.

 

[1wheelonly]

not heard much about the 3.0 ltr but it must be a good strong lump with plenty of power, i have the 18t and cant complain at all really.
not heard anything good about the 2.4 though, poor power, poor economy and seem to loose more value than the others.
as for majors, cambelt goes without saying at i think 70,000.
i thought the same about my clutch until i had a new one and the new one is now the same, posted this up on here and everyone came back and said it was normal.
good luck with it mate, cracking cars.

 

[kstandsteve]

Cheers lads for the info.

Thats strange about the clutches - deff felt wrong! As you say you get used to it.

I am used to fully synth oil as most of my cars have used that altho 6k is about every 6 months - I tend to do it yearly (and do it myself).

Interesting about the 2.4 model - I must do some more homework I think.

What do you get on the sport model that you dont on the others?

Her first choice colour is red so 1wheel yours looks perfect - how much do you want!

Steve

 

[ScottyP45]

Sport model: - three spoke leather steering wheel and gearshift boot, cut down DIS with only range-to-empty (crap), brick hard suspension that feels a fag-end on the road, (lower suspension - cool looks), aluminium fishscale trim, and cloth seats.

No toys like FMH headlights, dimming/folding mirrors, satnav or any of the the cool stuff the S-Line gets

But it doesnt look like a shopping trolley and it goes round corners

 

[dans3.0]

A4 Cab sport pack
you get three spoke steering wheel. sports seats with elec lumbar support, sports suspension (not as hard as on saloon) not lowered, all cabs are lower than saloons, 7.5 x 17" alloys with 235/45x17 tyres, alloys are usually the five spoke star type full DIS on 3.0s whatever model.

Dan

 

[1wheelonly]

mines not the sport but have put most of the goodies i wanted on it, silver/ally inserts/dash and door trims, gear surround and ashtrays.
satnav/rns-e with the vim hack, screens in headrests for the kids.
mine has the full dis, full black leather ( not electric though ) but not fussed as the kids are in and out quiet often and find elecy seats a pain in the ****, being so slow.
i do wish i had heated seats though.
i put the 18" rs6 alloys on, along with the genuine matt mirror cases.
just in the prosses of doing the reverse camera mod.
got all i bought for her very reasonable and have enjoyed ever second of fitting stuff.
i found it hard to find a red 18T in red that was manual with full black leather and without wood trim (allthough i changed the trim )
pickings seemed to be alot slimer then though, i guess the credit crunch has put alot more on offer.
kstandsteve, where you at, your more than welcome to come over and have a look/drive in her.

 

[kstandsteve]

Thanks,

Sport models dont seem that attractive - I assumed they would have all the bells n whistles. Its nice to hear you can put the bits you like on tho.

I live in cheshire area 1wheel. As you say the red ones are alot rarer than the silver which seems the most common.

I am used to hard suspension - I have a 320 m sport bm which is the same - its too hard really but the styling is so much better than the normal salloon

Nobody mentioned reversing sensors - are they standard? The wife will deff need them

 

[1wheelonly]

parking sensors arent standard but there an easy retro fit as are many things.
the silver ally trim is very hard to get for the cabs and are alot more money than the saloon ones but they do look good, ashtrays and gear surrounds are the same fit as the saloons so easy to get,if thats your taste of course.
the rns-e (satnav) is a lovely addition and completes the dash/interior nicely but these are easy to get off the bay but you will need the double din dash insert to fit it in, mine only had the standard audi stereo in so i had to change to the double din cage aswell but all very straight forward.
steve, i wouldnt rule out the 2.5 tdi, a friend of mine has one and swears by it.
im in the midlands so i guess i wont be seeing you.

 

[kstandsteve]

Thanks 1wheel.

Will def think about the satnav and trim mod. Looking prob to fit a nice set of RS4 alloys too.

Hey, getting ahead of myself here, need to find a car first!

Cheers

 

[tonyrampanttiger]

i can absolutely recommend the 3.0 sport cab, its fairly nippy and sound good with an green cotton air filter.

i looked at all of the engines when i was looking to buy it and the 2.4 is not that good but imo does sound nice. the 1.8t is a good option because you can tune it to circa 200hp with not much problem

took me ages to find the colour combination that i wanted, carib blue and cream leather. dont forget the interior needs to look nice too because everone is gonna see it!

the bose sound system is a nice extra too

 

[1wheelonly]

as the rampant tiger says, it must be between the 3.0 or the 18t, dont know weather id want to hear the deisel lump when the roofs down, but i suppose that would only come into play when stationary.
interior is deffo important but again comes down to personal taste, i only wanted the all black look but thats just my taste.
rns-e is a must imho.
pleased with mine, just wished i had the heated seats, but hey, you cant have it all.
forgot to mention that i have the mfsw but sadly its the older one,not as nice as the later ones but still very handy, ill keep looking for one at the right money and get one eventually but will have to tell the bride it was only £20 lol

 

[quattrojames]

I don't know what your budget is Steve, but there's a 3.0 on ebay. Silver 2004 for £9500, just to give you some ideas.

LINKY

 

[sebbelcher]

took me ages to find the colour combination that i wanted, carib blue and cream leather. dont forget the interior needs to look nice too because everone is gonna see it!

the bose sound system is a nice extra too

I have exactly the same colour combination, but in a 1.8T, it looks very good, gets lots of looks and the Bose system is indeed fantastic, sounds good even with the hood down.

Just be careful, a lot of the cabs on ebay/autotrader now are the 03/04 models all coming up to thier cam-belt change services, so factor that into your haggling (£350)

Also, beware of the 1.8T oil sludge problem, I've just been struck by it despite an apparently flawless service history. Nightmare is that there is almost no way to tell that the problem exists before it strikes, unless you have a very generous seller willing to drop the sump for you!! So, be prepared to spend another £350 just in case.

Finally, when buying in good weather, give the hood a THOROUGH checking, preferably with a jug of water. Mine has a tiny, tiny leak, which I've yet to diagnose (hopefully just a rubber seal) which lets about a thimble full of water in over a day's worth of rain. Probably wouldn't have spotted it even with a jug though!

Anyway, despite all this, I love my cabrio, they are a really great fun car, but also practical, no problem going on holiday with one. One final piece of advice: get a wind deflector straight away, unless you are bald, they are invaluable!!

 

[Corb2000]

Bought my 52 plate 3.0 sport multitronic 5 weeks ago from a private seller via autotrader, 44k and 6 months MOT/road tax. It is a well specified car with xenons, headlamp washers, bose, symphony audio, heated electric seats, ski bag, folding mirrors, 18" RS4 9 spoke wheels, auto dimming mirrors, multitronic buttons on the steering wheel, cruise control and rear parking sensors. It is silver with black leather and the vavona wood trim so a classy look rather than eyecatching.

I'd say heated seats are preferable with any convertible but essential if you have leather seats. The bose audio is superb and rear parking sensors are very helpful as rear visibility is not great when reversing. Otherwise, I really like the multitronic buttons on the wheel.

Despite a FSH I still treated it to an engine and auto box oil plus filter change and a thorough valet, after which I could see what I'd got. It is in very good condition generally but does need some minor tidying up, such as where trim has been scratched. I bought an OEM wind deflector pdq and this does make a significant difference to comfort.

Only two minor faults have been found to date: a hole in an air inlet pipe which created an EMS fault and the roof compartment box in the boot only lifts halfway, (there are plenty about with this problem due to the potential for faults in the complicated cable and pulley arrangement).

I drove an 04 2.5tdi multitronic with 51k on the clock while looking for mine and nearly handed the keys back even before driving off (due to the diesel noise at tickover), I persevered with a test drive and was actually impressed with it 'on the move' but the dealer was asking £12,750 which was more than I was prepared to pay having seen A4 cabrios as cheap as £8k.

There seemed to be a lot of 1.8T and 2.4 models about, I can't see the point of the 2.4 given it has the same fuel consumption as the 3.0 and was concerned that an older / high mileage 1.8T could be problematic.

MPG on my 3.0 multi is between 24 and 32 depending on the type of driving, it soon drops if you have some fun. My multitronic is fine once you're rolling but can be a little odd at very low speeds, like it's not sure what ratio to use. This is avoided by using the 'manual' mode or just driving away gently until its over 10mph or so. The multi box with the 3.0 makes a relaxed and smooth cruiser but still allows for some fast 'manual' driving when you want it.

I find the combo of sport suspension and 18" wheels a little too firm although bumps are still well absorbed. My car had 17" avus style wheels originally according to the Audi records and I'm looking for a set of these to try out.

Overall I am very pleased with the car and would definitely recommend the A4 cab as a package, the engine / gearbox you go for is pretty much just a matter of personal priorities, (although I accept there will be some people who would not touch the multitronic and it's too early to say whether mine will prove to be a good buy).

 

[davidkoulakis]

whats your budget, iv just passed on a 3.0 quattro sport as im getting an S4 cab instead. . . i agreed a price of £11.5k, i would recommend that one if that your budget

its was 30k miles, top spec bar sat nav, and garaged and hardly used

 

[kstandsteve]

Chhers for further help.

My budget is about £9k and have set my heart on a 1.8T or 3.0 manual version. Understand the difference now between sport and se models and either would suit.

I know from Parkers guide that certainly the 1.8T had a few changes - still looking for a link to these changes so that I can home in on year.

 

[markyzs180]

Well I've had my 2003 52 plate 2.5 tdi sport for a couple of weeks now and I'm very impressed with it. Its got the Multitronic box which, as Corb2000 says, can be a little strange at low speeds (hope this isn't an early warning of some expensive bills!) but the manual mode can be fun. I can only comment on the diesel as it was the first one I tried and I bought it! Tickover is a little noisy but then hardly noticeable when moving, power delivery is good as is the mpg. I've got 18" BBS split rims (upgrade) and I've got to say that the ride is very smooth and comfortable, but again, I haven't driven one on 17's to compare! Got electric leather in it but no seat heaters so I might treat myself to a nice set of furry seat covers for the winter As people have said earlier, be mindful of the cambelt changes as three that I enquired about all needed them doing or were overdue, and make sure that the multitronics have had their oil changed at or before 40k intervals.

Overall I've got to say that I'm overjoyed with mine, with its rear legroom and big boot it is a very practicle luxury cabriolet!

Just for info, I paid £7500 for mine with full audi history and 90k on the clock.