ARM REST IN AN A4 AVANT '97?!?!?

[Baker21]

More questions I am afraid......

Picked up the A4 Avant last night and I am very happy with it for the money I paid but will be more happy once it's been lowered next week.

Anyway....the one thing that is missing from this model IMO is a front arm rest?

I can see that this is an option in the owner's manual and I was just wondering if anyone has retro fitted one? If so where can you source them? Or is this a dealer job? Looked on Ebay but no joy and they only seem to be the newer A4's available.....

If anyone has a picture of what they look like then that would be appreciated?

 

[macattax]

Ebay Germany is a great source for armrests. I got mine from germany.
Not too hard to fit I would give it a 1 spanner rating of difficulty.
Anyway here is a link For armrests
Just look out for any that say A4 B5 and you will be sure its the right one for your car.

P.S. Avoid the dealers with such simple jobs as it will probably cost a lot more than your bargained for.

 

[Baker21]

Ebay Germany is a great source for armrests. I got mine from germany.
Not too hard to fit I would give it a 1 spanner rating of difficulty.
Anyway here is a link For armrests
Just look out for any that say A4 B5 and you will be sure its the right one for your car.

P.S. Avoid the dealers with such simple jobs as it will probably cost a lot more than your bargained for.

Had a look on there but nothing yet, I will keep my eyes peeled then.

Did you have to cut a hole in your centre console then?

Are the fixing points there already in the floorplan?

 

[macattax]

You had a look but nothing on there?
Lmao are you blind!!?

What is this then

And this

And this

And there are many more on that first link I sent you.

Yes you need to cut a hole in console but once armrest is fitted it covers the hole.
~Fixing points are already there 2 or 3 bolts in place.

 

[icenutter]

Failing that try http://www.vagparts.com if what you want isn't listed then email and they get back to you with a price. Fitting is quite easy btw.

 

[Baker21]

You had a look but nothing on there?
Lmao are you blind!!?

What is this then

And this

And this

And there are many more on that first link I sent you.

Yes you need to cut a hole in console but once armrest is fitted it covers the hole.
~Fixing points are already there 2 or 3 bolts in place.

Sorry mate but I had assumed that these arm rests are not suitable for the B5 as they are the same ones used in the MKIV Golf / Bora platform?

Is that what the Audi A4 armrest looks like? I expected it to look squarer? Hence why I requested a picture of an OEM arm rest?!?!?

 

[macattax]

They are oem dont worry.

 

[Baker21]

They are oem dont worry.

Hmmmm......I think that I will re-think my plan.

 

[Nessy]

Sorry to put a fly in the ointment but virtually none of the armrests in the links above are Genuine /OEM IMHO..............unless the Golf Mk4 armrest is a different shape to the B5 armrest......
This is a job I only did a few weeks ago, managed to pick up on Ebay a Genuine base/leg unit for a decent sum and then purchased from VAG Parts a new leather lid to match my car interior.
The Genuine armrest bases come separate to the lids (as you can imagine there are so many colour combinations etc,cloth or leather etc) and in my case I ended up buying an Anthracite armrest base which even though my plastic interior trim is navy blue ,I guessed I could live with the slight colour mis-match as it was so reasonably priced, and to be honest its hardly noticeable when fitted!
The armrest lid was purchased to match the original interior colour code of my car (Royale blue leather) from VAG Parts and was only about £40 delivered and took less than a week to arrive.
Fitting was very easy as when you remove the plastic trim around the handbrake lever on the reverse side is a series of factory-made dotted lines where to cut the hole for the armrest mounting 'foot'!!!
A Dremel-type tool with abrasive discs made this job very easy.........
The 3 studs that secure the armrest foot are already present, one being used already to secure the plastic trim around the handbrake down, so all you need are 2 further nuts ........
Going back to why I reckon most of those Ebay items are not Genuine, mine is a totally different shape both in profile and the shape of the front edge of the armrest (mine is much squarer) and I know mine are Genuine as they came in boxes with Genuine Audi/VW/Skoda Parts stickers/labels!
I'll go out in a minute and take a pic of my armrest so you can all see what I mean.....

Here we go........

 

[macattax]

Yours is a volkswagen armrest nessy.
It seems to give you more clearence for the handbrake which is good.
The Audi armrest will extend over most of the handbrake maiking it a pain in the *** to use the handbrake.

 

[Les 51]

Yours is a volkswagen armrest nessy.
It seems to give you more clearence for the handbrake which is good.
The Audi armrest will extend over most of the handbrake maiking it a pain in the *** to use the handbrake.

Yep mines an 02 and the armrest on mine which was standard hits on the handbrake when you pull it up. You do get used to this though.

 

[Nessy]

Yours is a volkswagen armrest nessy.
It seems to give you more clearence for the handbrake which is good.
The Audi armrest will extend over most of the handbrake maiking it a pain in the *** to use the handbrake.

Have to say I don't agree.........lol
The base has part number 8DO 864 207 AJ 6DP which according to my ETKA indicates A4 12/97 to 12/98 in Onyx colour, the profile of my armrest base even matches the diagram on ETKA of the A4 item.....
This part number is an Audi-only item, so can't figure how mine could be a VW item?
The lid was purchased separately from VAG Parts using all the information from my cars data sticker in the spare wheel well, and fits the base perfectly.
The B6 from 2001 had a different armrest AFAIK so you can't compare a 2002 with mine as mine is a '99 B5......
If you still think mine is a VW unit I'd be really grateful if you could point out why you think it is so...

Many thanks..