Advice - B5 A4 Avant

[RallyeBourne]

Hey all, new guy, new to audis.

I have an opportunity to get an Audi at a STEAL of a price. I'm looking for advice on what to look for and how much maintenance would need to be done right away.

The Details:
1999 Audi A4 Avant 1.8T 5/spd.
Has damage to the rear lift gate, needs axle boot (just recently tore, no damage to the axle), has original clutch, always has had fully synthetic oil, and run on 91 octane, has 80% tread on Yokohama S.Drive Summers. All shocks were replaced at 100k. Car is single owner, and a good colleague of mine (known for three years.) He got a new Mazda CX-5, and dealership lowballed the hell out of the trade in. He is willing to sell to me for the price the dealership gave him, otherwise he is selling for $2,500.

What else do I need to look out for?

Thanks guys.

(I'll post pics when I get them.)

 

[jbh]

whats the market price for the car in your country?
if its clean and cheap it should be worth it.

 

[RallyeBourne]

Market price is $2,500usd. I can get it for way less than that.

I was just wondering if there are any notorious things that need attention at this point in the cars life. I know Subaru's need the timing belts replaced at 100k. Stuff like that. I do know that the car was always serviced by a dealership until 100k. And he hasn't had any issues to warrant the need to take it in since then.

I have been looking on rockauto.com for the little things it needs like an axle boot and it's like $12usd. It's all been inexpensive like that. The only thing I haven't found yet is the rear lift gate, and I'm going to assume that'll be the most expensive. But I spent the first several years of my working career in auto body, so I may even be able to pull the dent out. I know the impact was minor and did not affect the functionality of anything.

 

[aragorn]

timing belt interval is 5 years or 60k miles, so its potentially due one soon, or possibly even overdue, depending on when it was last done. I'd guess it shouldnt cost much more than $500 for a shop to sort out the belt though, much less if you do it yourself.

Most consumable parts are pretty cheap, about the most expensive consumable on these cars is the front control arms, which are probably reaching the end of their life at this point. They must be replaced with a decent make or they'll last about 5 minutes, and parts alone expect to be paying $350-400 for a full set of arms.