After my first Audi (B7 quattro petrol)

[Danith]

Hi all. Looking to buy and tastefully mod a B7 A4 Avant Quattro (petrol) for my new motor.

Currently got an e36 328 sport and CTR as my toy but can't resist the urge for 4wd, turbo and estate practicality! So the e36 needs to go.

Gonna start my research now and keep my eye out in the classifieds. But yeah, B7 2.0T Quattro estate wanted!

What are the recommended models? 1.8T a much lesser version?

Thanks

 

[SDHA4SLine]

If by practicality you want more room as in boot space and rear passenger leg room then you need to be aware the b7 avant is shockingly small. Will let those with petrol versions give advice on which engine is best as I've a dirty deisel!

 

[SDHA4SLine]

Sorry welcome to the forum by the way, hope you get the help you need

 

[martin1984]

If by practicality you want more room as in boot space and rear passenger leg room then you need to be aware the b7 avant is shockingly small. Will let those with petrol versions give advice on which engine is best as I've a dirty deisel!

+1 on the b7 being small for a estate car also im a tdi fan lol

 

[Danith]

Ha really?! What would you say is the best in terms of build quality and performance? I love the look of estates and surely it can't be less practical than my BMW coupe.
I know the 2.0T isn't a rocket ship but it's more about maintaining a bit of fuel economy and having a decent sound to it (sorry I don't buy into diesel!)

 

[Danith]

There's a cheap (probably for a reason) 2.0Tfsi quattro on ebay on 120k. It's been on for ages though. Not sure if it's cos it's got something up with it or it's just a less desirable petrol?

 

[Charlie Farley]

well the A4 B7 isnt small chap, but, its the rear passenger legroom that can be an issue if you have the front seat right back.
I find that the b7 has one of the longest seat movement ranges available but that does effect rear legroom, load area is ok aswell, if you want a big avant then A6 is the way to go but its the same width load area just longer.
On the performance side, a well sorted 2.0tfsi is a rocket ship, get a good one and thats been mapped properly and they go like stink, get a quattro and they handle the power even better.
I really enjoy the power from mine, fuel consumption is never going to be brilliant with them , drive them as they should be driven then really dont expect sensible figures, drive them without any right foot action and you'll see avarage figures but no excitement .
the a4 B7 is really a compramise car, estate shape and functionality and sporty saloon handling but without having to get a full blown bus the size of a volvo 740 etc, also get the right engine and you performance too.

 

[Danith]

Yeah my mate has a 2.0TFSI B7 saloon and it seems ok. But then it's the ability to make a big difference with a map on a turbo and I've done RWD and hot hatches to death now so want a grippy 4WD.
Could get a Subaru but I think I'm past that. B7 2.0T quattro is really ticking all the boxes.
A lot different market to what I'm used to with hot hatches, all cars seem to be ex lease and 100k+?

What are the things to look out for? Are the 1.8T a noticeably inferior car or a decent bargain in comparison? What kind of price ranges for a dog and a minter?

ta

 

[Charlie Farley]

i sold my 2006 legacy 3.0 spec b estate for my avant, the audi is such a better car.

 

[Charlie Farley]

depend on your price bracket , there are a fair few out there in various specs etc, prices will vary accordingly but a lot have nice low milage too, id look towards the 2.0 but your choice, what about a petrol v6.

 

[Danith]

yeah they're ok, its not turbo though. ever since my teenage years (s2 rst era) i've always wanted a turbo

 

[Charlie Farley]

well sounds like you best get a turbo flavour then......

for me the A4 B7 avant is one of the best looking estates around, and in s-line spec /s4 or rs4 even better, they just look right, i prefer it over the saloon aswell.

anyway, good luck with it.

 

[Danith]

Thanks. Once I get my e36 back from the garage it's going up for sale and I'm on the lookout for a 2.0T or 1.8T. Spent a small fortune on it but hey ho, once I get the itch for something.............

There's one for sale near me in Cheadle on 102k but it's got Nexen tyres all round and that just puts me off!

 

[SootySport]

Hi de hi Danith. A4 Avants are not the biggest of the estates but are bigger than the BM 3 series touring, a bit. You say you don't like DERV's but I think you might change your mind if you drive a 3.0 TDI version. Good luck on your quest for an A4. loads to choose from.

 

[Danith]

Yeah I probably would mate, I do think derv torque is addictive, it's just the sound and fact that everyone has one. Thanks pal

 

[SDHA4SLine]

Yeah I probably would mate, I do think derv torque is addictive, it's just the sound and fact that everyone has one. Thanks pal

Save a bit more money and get the b8 3.0 deisel bi turbo, Absolute peach of and engine apparently. Goes like stink and sounds throaty too, a friend at work (and member on here) has one, I thought it was a big petrol engine when he 1st pulled into the car park!

 

[Euans2]

If you are buying a TFSI then make sure the service history is up to date! Over and above the usual timing belt and service history, Ask questions like when was the cam follower changed? has the cam chain and tensioner been changed? Has the oil pick up pipe been changed? If no then you should really budget them in to be replaced or walk away. There is also a fair few things that can go wrong with a TFSI, the PCV is a weak point and is the main contributing reason why the engines carbon up on the inlet valves and get full of gunk, also the Divertor Valve is known to fail. The good news is that most of the parts are relatively cheap to fix (get to know a good mechanic) or replace

Im currently in the process of changing all the above on my car and i'm glad I did, some reports back from the mechanic have told me that my engine was living on borrowed time due to a "critical bolt that was holding my cam chain pulley on had snapped" could have been catastrophic!

If you are set on a TFSI Quattro A4 then look at the S Line SE versions, they come with the more powerful BUL engine and bigger brake disks which should be drilled (Most have been changed back to normal disks these days) and the DTM alloys and black tipped exhausts.

The only mods i've done to mines so far is to replace the exhaust and cat with a Milltek system and replace the induction system with a APR Carbonio, just by changing the exhaust and cat to a Sports cat mad the car feel much more lively! Now I cant wait to get all the preventive maintenance done so I can get the car mapped to Stage 2+ or if funds allow Stage 3.

 

[Danith]

Thanks a lot that's a brilliant bit of info. How much to budget to replace all those things for peace of mind?

How much did you pay for yours if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Charlie Farley]

SE is not the same as the special editions, only the A4 B7 2.0tfsi special edition and dtm came with the 220 BUL revision engine, SE is a different version A4 B7.
SE is used alot to shorten the model version down but they are two different model, and way different.

 

[Danith]

Oh right so only s line avants are 217? There was never a dtm avant (if only!)?

Im thinking to buy a cheap one and then spend a grand on it doing all the preventative work as peace of mind - good or bad idea?

 

[Charlie Farley]

what is 217 chap ? S-line is just an different level trim, bodywork parts and suspension upgrades (a lot of owners say downgrade ) avants and saloons can be fitted with s-line enhancement packs, alot of the s-line parts are retro fittable but expensive new, cheaper used , some can be a pain to fit aswell.
Alot of guys will go for a lower spec car and then spend more money on the mods they really want instead of paying a premium for s-line spec then changing half of it.
DTM was only a saloon, the special eds 2.0tfsi in either form avant or saloon is the closest you will get to it engine wise etc , s4 is great but a different beast alltogether.

dont assume all B7 2.0tfsi are the same, they arent, a standard non remapped 2.0BUL @220 drives way different to a standard non-remapped 2.0tfsi 200 vesrion, the mapped versions will vary widly depending on the map.
I have tried both engined variants that are standard factory issue and they are very different performance wise.

you may want to allocate a bit more than that chap to be safe.

 

[Euans2]

I'm still waiting to get the final bill for it all, I think the parts were around £250-300, if you know a good mechanic or you are willing to do all the work yourself then £1000 could well be enough.

I think it was around £6k that I paid for mines, had I of known as much as I do know about TFSI's then I would have walked away from it nd bout another but I was new to TFSI's back then and also new car syndrome took over!

Only he SLine SE (Special Editions) and DTM's were 217 the SLine SE comes in both Avant and Saloon but is more common in Avant guise, the DTM only comes Saloon guise.

 

[Euans2]

what is 217 chap ?

217 is in reference to the power output of the BUL

 

[Danith]

Ahhhh se means special edition? Thought it was just the generic version with a few bolt on extras, like the ghia on old ford's.

 

[Charlie Farley]

nope SE is not the same as Special Editon, if its a special edition it will say special edition, SE version is a different model.

 

[Danith]

Ah ok. There's this one by my house, worth a look?

 

[Charlie Farley]

if in doubt check the chassis number, dtm and 2.0tfsi spec eds have a different chassis code from other models , all that info can be found in another thread on here.

 

[Charlie Farley]

looks right, check the chassis number to be 100%

 

[Danith]

Will go take a look tomorrow. Mileage shouldn't be a problem? What should've been done by then?

This is the one with the ditch finder tyres though. What size can you fit to these so I can Che k camskill

 

[Charlie Farley]

chassis number will start WUA not WAU.

to answer the next question would take a fair while, milage is not the only factor involved with these cars, you need to take a combined view of as much info you can get of the car and its history, then make a descision.
full service history and one owner is by no means the best buy format, trust me on this as i have first hand experience of one owner/low milage B7's , tyres will depend on what size rims you change to, if not changing then they should be 235/40 18 allround from factory on the ronal's.

 

[Danith]

Will go look at it tomorrow, it's literally a mile or two from my house.

So the main concerns are engine servicing, dv, belts, regular oil. Noisy tappets? Anything to spot and walk away from?

4wd system fairly safe bet/bulletproof?

 

[Charlie Farley]

another things to be mindfull of is this, the quattro vairant does by it's 4wd nature come with specific areas that will be very costly to repair , which the 2wd varaint is effect to a lesser degree.
clutch replacement, oil pickup replacement etc for example this due to the amount of labour involved in getting access to replace the parts.

 

[Simon Pearce]

Think i recognise you Danith from either bmw owner or cutters? I am also in the same position as you in terms of my next car, although im keeping both my E36's and selling the Z4MC for something more practical and to free up some funds for a new kitchen.

I am more or less looking for the same spec as you, though willing to consider a derv so reading this thread is very helpful.

 

[Charlie Farley]

you need to see as much paper work to backup proof of whats been done right upto date, also consider what is due to be done in the future wether thats next week or in 12months, just a stamped up book is not enough by any means with these cars.
buy a good one and you love it, buy a problem and thats what it will be and you'll hate it.

 

[Danith]

Think i recognise you Danith from either bmw owner or cutters? I am also in the same position as you in terms of my next car, although im keeping both my E36's and selling the Z4MC for something more practical and to free up some funds for a new kitchen.

I am more or less looking for the same spec as you, though willing to consider a derv so reading this thread is very helpful.

That's me mate! Danith on cliosport, type r owners, ctro and e36coupe.

Love my 328 sport but it's just not practical and I've always wanted a turbo. Can't sell my civic cos it's a track toy halves with my brother.

 

[Euans2]

Ahhhh se means special edition? Thought it was just the generic version with a few bolt on extras, like the ghia on old ford's.

It only means Special Edition if someone refers to it as an "SLine SE" where they have used SE in short for Special Edition

 

[gary_a4_quattro]

Will go look at it tomorrow, it's literally a mile or two from my house.

So the main concerns are engine servicing, dv, belts, regular oil. Noisy tappets? Anything to spot and walk away from?

4wd system fairly safe bet/bulletproof?

Lots of good advise from everyone.

Just to add as you mentioned engine noises, they do make a fair amount of ticking noise, which is from the injection system and quite normal. However, the cam chain at the rear of the head is a noise to look ( or listen ! ) out for.

This thread: http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/2-0-tfsi-pick-up-pipe-clarification.227639/ scroll thru# to post 48 where there are a couple of vids demonstating the rear chain noise. Also quite an interesting read through on the oil pick up / oil pump issues.

Have a listen out for clunks, creaks and chatter noise from front suspension, front arms can have issues and understand its not always straight forward to identify the source of the noise, as there are 4 seperate arms. can be a relatively expensive journey to eliminating those niggly noises .

Hope you find a good one !

 

[Charlie Farley]

It only means Special Edition if someone refers to it as an "SLine SE" where they have used SE in short for Special Edition

i just call mine " old bus now" .....

not come accross that yet, everytime i call audi or a garage etc, even mot station it comes up as the full description, nothing is shortened to SE.

this clip is from audi brochure, special eds are listed as such no sortening even with s-line .

i'll lookout for the short version then.

 

[Danith]

If anyone sees anything interesting please give me a shout!

 

[gary_a4_quattro]

On the V5 mine is detailed as : ' A4 SE Sline ' .....I guess it depends on what was entered into that particular data field at point of first registration. Part of me wants to get the model description corrected to ' A4 Sline Special Edition ', how are others Special Editions described on the V5 ?