First Time Audi Buyer..Opinion/Advice

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Robdukes

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Hello Forum members,

I'm shopping for a used car and came across a nice looking Audi. It's a 2001 A4 2.8 Quattro, it's automatic, has heated leather, sunroof, Alpine headunit, clean interior, been debadged, and new tires.
It has 137k miles and the dealer said he just did the timing belt and the valve cover gasket.
He has it listed at $4995 but said I can have it for $4500. It comes with a 6 mo. warranty covering all lubricated parts..which I could extend up to 4 years.
He tells me there is some play in the steering, but he knows the issue and its a small part in the steering column. He said he wants me to drive it for a month and bring it back and he'll do the work and cover it under warranty.

The car does look very well taken care of. I looked under and it looked clean and new, no rust anywhere.

I've always worked on my own vehicles, but never owned an audi.
So what do you folks think? Anything in particular I should check out when I go there again this weekend and test drive.
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lovely colour but then... Im biased :)
just the normal on a test drive make sure there are no knocks or bangs from the front suspension as replacing the suspension arms can be a pain to do. again the same with the rear end listen for any knocks, bangs or whines. try and get a wee look under the rear end and see if theres any signs of the diff leaking at the output shafts.
I don't know of any common issues with the 2.8 but then im a derv man..

will the dealer repair the part in the steering column under you're 6 month warranty covering all lubricated parts?
I would be wanting that in writing.. better still I would want a better explanation of what is up with it.
 
where in the world are you? 500 pounds would be my top price on it if it was the uk
 
@Robdukes welcome to audi-sport.net.if the seller knows there is something needing replaced in the steering, why make you wait a month? He would be better off fixing it straight away. Just my personal opinion of course. Enjoy the forum. :) x
 
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it does seem expensive, but i presume your in the US? No idea what they sell for over there, but as above, here in the uk it would be a 500-1000 pound car, which is 800-1600 dollars.

This forum is primarily UK owners, it might be worth asking on www.audizine.com which is a US forum and people on there will have a better idea of the going rate in the US.
 
Thanks for the replies. Yeah in the US. Around here there isn't much you can buy under 5k that doesn't have 100k+ miles and isn't totally bland like a focus, sonata, cobalt etc.
 
Bought the car. He put in writing that they are going to fix the steering. Took it for a nice long ride tonight. Everything went well and im loving everything about the car so far.
 
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As an owner of a A4 for the second time i will not pass on buying another one. I have had a few rare cars in my time (carlton 2.6 diplomat and rover 827 coupe to mention a few). My Audi has had a few problems but they are nice easy cars to repair even if you are just a amateur mechanic
 
Welcome! My word, 5 grand for an old B5 automatic. Hope the gearbox is good for you, at that price, I would want a gold plated torque converter too. I always thought stuff was cheaper in the USA.
 
$4,500 USD = £2900 seems very dear as in the UKa similar car sell for anything between £400 ($623 USD) and £1500 ($2336USD) so even from a dealer that is pretty high priced
 
This has probably set the record for the most expensive pre-owned standard B5 sold to date, excluding RS4 models!

Love the colour, and you know what the B5 shape still looks great. If it's mechanically sound, then it will run for many more years to come. Suspect the steering might be a worn universal joint. Shouldn't fail, but if previous drivers used to park and use power steering while stationary, then that might point to the reason why.

Had a look on Autotrader here in UK. The most expensive B5 is a 2000 2.8 quattro Auto for £1,500. Finished in black, no leather, not half as nice as yours. Enjoy it... it's only money.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif.../model/a4/fuel-type/petrol/usedcars?logcode=p
 
Thanks spartacus. I have definitely been enjoying it. I may just be an audi man for life already. The dealership put a brand new steering rack in for me at no charge. The car idled a bit rough..and the dealer suspected the timing belt they installed was faulty. So they bought a better brand and installed that free of charge as well. Now its idling perfect and the steering is great. I love the sound of the engine when I step on it. And it is just phenomenal in the snow.
The previous owner took good care of it. Super clean, no rust, and everything still works. It may be the first car ive owned where all the accessories and electronics work. At least out of the cars that had accessories.
One of the reasons the 4500 usd price tag didnt bother me is I could see it was taken care of. All 4 tires were new and matching hancook performance all seasons, it was cleanly debadged, the aftermarket alpine headunit was installed clean, and underneath the car it looked new. Plus the 6 mo warranty and recent servicing/parts added up to a decent deal. After looking around a bit i thought, better than buying a 2000$ beater or a 4000$ boring car. And so far I don't regret it one bit.
 
Nice car buddy and welcome to the forum,if the U.S. is anything like Australia was then the price of 'foreign' cars were significantly higher then prices at home.but at the end of it all you get what you pay for and by the sounds of it the dealer seems to be looking after you.
 
Thanks Kevin. Yeah it's hard to find Audi, Acura, BMW around here. Here being northeast USA. For example there's a weekly publication called "the paper shop" where private parties and dealers list cars for sale. This week there wasn't even an Audi section. Last week there were 2 Audis. Both must have sold quickly. Compared to pages worth of Chevy, Dodge, Hyundai etc. And this is the biggest "for sale" publication locally. I found my car because the small dealer down the hill is into imports. The guy owns a Ferrari. Always has some cool cars down there. Right now he has an immaculate 2008 S4 in black. Its a beauty. Think it's priced at 11 to 12k. Something like that in a few years would be nice. Maybe when its time for my next car.
 
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Have you any plans for it or would you be keeping things mainly stock?has your dealer kept his word and fixed your steering issue?
 
Definitely looking at rims, thinking about grills, xenon conversion, maybe a few other small things. I won't be supercharging it or anything like that.
 
Oh and yes he replaced the steering rack and put a new timing belt in. Just brought it down there the other day because the one bumper clip wasnt right and the front bumper was sagging loose on the one side. They took it off and reset it and while they had it off they replaced a blown out parking light for me. Didnt charge me anything But i did tip the mechanic a 20 for saving me the trouble of getting at that parking light. So far they've kept their word and offered to fix anything I've mentioned without hesitation.
 
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