Buying a Audi A4 Convertible

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potnoodle

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Morning all.

I'm looking to be buying a Audi A Convertible on a 2002/2005 plate over Christmas.

I've been having a bit of a read up but am still not sure what to go for.

I am looking at the 1.8t or the 3lt but not sure what to go for. It will be a second car so fuel costs are not a worry of such but i don't want a car that going to cost lots of £s to fix when i only use it every other week.

I'm also not after setting any land speed records as i have a bike for that.

What i'm really after is a good reliable car that not to expensive to maintain and run but is nice to drive when the suns out.

Anything i need t look out for apart from the standard second hand car things?

Thanks
Dave
 
A 10/13 year old car is going to need some maintaining, simplez. Just try to get one that has been looked after Ideally by an enthusiast and defo' full history with regular oil changes is a must
 
Hi have you looked at the cars for sale section as there was a Cab being sold recently.
 
Ill have a look in the for sale section.

i know ill have to maintain it but dont want to be replacing parts every time i use it like i do on the low mileage for age and full main dealer service history BMW that i have at the mo.
 
My cab is the 2.4 which gives me about 330 miles on a tank for £65 quid. Its not the quickest car in the world but I do like it.

Check the roof rear window doesn't leak (check my earlier posts !) and heated leather is a good one if you can find it.

Just had my cab belt done for £600 quid too and 4 new tyres but apart from that touch wood mine has been great.

The 1.8 I known for blocked oil pick up pipe to frequent oil change is a must.
 
Personally I'd go for the 1.8t as it's pretty bullet proof, & very tuneable without spending big bucks. Sludged up oil pick up issue is usually caused by lack of & poor servicing with non VAG parts/fluids. A 1.8T with proven service history at the correct intervals shouldn't be a cause for concern. I wouldn't be put off by high mileage on any VAG car either, condition & service history are what you need to be looking for IMO. I've had 7 1.8T's all but one were plus 100k & all were stage 1 tuned & uber reliable (serviced correctly every 9k ish). The only sub 100k low miler for age was more trouble than the rest put together.
Servicing, maintenance & running costs of a 1.8T will be cheaper than the V6's too. 3.0 V6 is a very nice drive though.
 
The b7 roof motor is prone to letting you down, not a big problem unless the roof is down and it's starting to rain.
There is an easy fix on here though.
I've had a 3.0tdi for over 3 years, plenty of poke with the shark map, cheap to run, it's been a great car and I will be sorry to see it go.
 
I wouldn't touch the 1.8T
Mine 04 cab had fill Audi history and still suffered the sludge pipe issue, very costly
Also a very under powered unit for such a heavy car
I'd go for the 3.0ltr
 
Save your money and go for the 3.0 tdi quattro- very tuneable and frugal at the same time. The late 2.5 tdi units are also very reliable but they are only FWD... Stay away from multitronic/auto gearboxes and you will be fine. My missus is driving a 2003 cabriolet 2.5 tdi, they are 163 Bhp but map to over 200 on standard kit. Ours is on 190k
, never missed a beat...
 
2.5tdi v6 .....6 speed.
Great mpg,
Sound good with an exhaust.

BUY WITH HISTORY.
Also options lists where huge:-
Front parking sensors -rare
Rear sensors-more common
Auto dim mirror
Elec. Retractable door mirrors
Cruise
See you home lights

I would look for most of these.

What is your budget?
 
1.8t is 5 speed unless its a quattro

2.4 petrol is slow and thirsty

I looked for 2 years to find the right car.
Steer clear of blue leather (will be back in fashion in 10 years)

Some crap colour combos at there too.
 
Everyone is going to push you towards what engine they have in theirs, best bet is to test drive some, 1.8T, 2.4 V6, 3.0V6 and maybe some diesels if that's your fancy.

Incidentally, the 1.8T and 2.4 V6 are approx the same BHP (170) but the 1.8T can be remapped for £300 or so to nearer 200BHP, also V6 obviously has 6 spark plugs, harder to change the cambelt, basically dearer to maintain and run.

My 1.8T which I think has been mapped as it pulls really well between 2 and 3 K, can do 45 mpg on a steady run, when I have the roof down and the kids in the car I like to cruise around, so out and out performance was not on the top of my list.

As previous poster has said, regular oil changes for the 1.8T with the correct spec is fairly essential, I hate the long life service regime, I believe 5 to 7K max for oil changes.
 
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I had many cars and I drove many too, I would only consider the s4 as a convertible in the cabriolet as petrol engined, the 2,0 tdi, 3.0 tdi or as a compromise 2.0 tfsi... With a remap they are half decent as well !
 
If your not bothered about fuel costs then just buy an S4 convertible, the noise with the roof down would be epic :)
 
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