Possibly a new owner of a 2.8 Quattro!

[Danneh141]

I'm in need of advice!

me and my brother are thinking of buying a 1998 Audi A4, 2.8 Quattro. with 90k on the clock, FSH, and in very good condition for about £2,000-2,500

What we want to know is:

What are the common problems? Should I stay away from a car like this?

I have a local guy that can service the car according to the guidelines and general maintenance. Do these cars at this age and milage break down alot? Are they hidiously expensive?

He only does 8,000 a year with msotly motorway/a road driving, so although thristy the running costs shouldn't extreme. (fuel wise)

So if you could please tell us everything to look out for, and any drawbacks, faults, faulire etc against this model age milage car it would be greatful!

 

[AndyMac]

The engines are totally solid (mines nearly on 200k and hasn't put a foot wrong).
Common issues are front bushes wear extremely badly, cambelt/tensioner/water pump are a ******* to change, and need doing every 5 years so ensure the car your looking at has had this done recently or at least use it to knock the price down as it'll cost you £450 at a VAG specialist (£800+ from Audi).
I've had mine for 10 years & have done 160k miles in it.
New gearbox & clutch at 160k (but I suspect this was caused by the muppets at my local garage brake testing the car on a single roller when they did the MOT!)
Steering rack was also replaced as it was leaking badly.
Also ensure the climate control is all in good order as this is an expensive fix.
The 2.8 is an excellent motorway cruiser, but don't expect more than 24mpg even at a steady 80mph, this drops to 17-18 around town.

 

[205man]

ive got a 1999 2.8 quatrro s and ive had it almost 4 years and never missed a beat or played up and its got 115,000 on the clock

the only things ive had done are because i wanted to lol like bigger brakes/wheels etc

check the trim along the bottom of the door that tends to rust and come away from door so look bit naff but the yare cheap to buy from main dealer

check all the electrics and toys if any fitted make sure they all work

and as andy says so buy if your looking for an economic car as they are very thristy in traffic but better well but better on open / motorway driving and i have the triptronic gearbox so i think that makes it bit worse

 

[aragorn]

also worth noting that 2500 for a pre-facelift V6 is a lot of cash. You can get late facelift models for that kinda cash. I'd expect more like 1500ish for a pre-facelift V6 in good nick.

 

[Danneh141]

Thanks guys!

I'll haggle the guy down a lot if I go view.

It's at a dealer.

When does the cambelt and waterpump need to be changed?

It's on 90k, good nick with all the optional extras you could porbably fit. Black, with cream leather and wood trim. Looks very nice.

What should I be weary of, and what to especially check?

 

[aragorn]

i think the cambelt interval is at 80k or so, so it should have been done recently

You want to check the front suspension arms for knocking and groaning/creaking when turning lock to lock at low speeds, as thats £300 in parts alone.

 

[Mr K]

Yup, cam belt and water pump at 80k, the water pumps fail, break the cam belts, and lunch the valves/pistons.

On the autos - watch the box, check it goes up and down the gears OK and it shows the right gear on the display in the middle of the dash. the gearbox is expensive to fix, so make sure its OK.

as has been said, the MPG isnt great.

£2500 does sound a lot; thats what i paid for mine (2000 X reg, facelift, pretty much every option, 2.8tiptronic quattro, 75k miles, etc), hunt around, and haggle hard as they are quite undesirable due to them being un-credit-crunch friendly.

 

[Mr K]

205man; whats yours go like with those mods? 0-60 is meant to be 8.7 stock, i cant beleive thats right, it really hauls its *** in tiptronic.