A4 Avant 2005 2.0TDI or 2007 1.9TDI

[Thom Cottrell]

Hi all,

New to all of this and Audi's in general. So I'm sorry if this is not the right place.

Im changing jobs and will be driving 60 miles a day (50/50 roads and motorways). I have a son and we regularly drive down to the coat from Surrey to see family (6+ times a year). In total I plan to be doing 16,000+ miles a year.

A friend of mine has an Audi A4 avant 1.9tdi and loves it and says they last.

I don't like the look of the models pre 2005 but 2005 to 2008 is gorgeous. When looking on auto trader and various other places there are loads of 2005 2.0TDI engines but very very few 1.9TDI's which are 2007. My friend says the 2.0 aren't as reliable as the 1.9, is he right?

As the 2.0 is more available and the mileage is lower at about 110,000 on most with a lower price. Should I go for this or go for the 1.9 with 120,000 mileage and pay a little more?

I'd also be looking at the S Line where possible.

I'm trying to keep to a £4,000-£5000 budget and need something that will last the mileage for at least a few years.

Thanks

 

[Charlie Farley]

Firstly welcome onboard this great site, you can be sure to find all the info you could ever want here if you do decide to go with a b7 ,well any Audi really.
Your are spot on with your chassis choice, the b7 chassis is probably the best looking of all, well I am biased anyway as an avant owner.
Spec wise , s line are the better option and with a good choice of other options available as well.
I am a petrol user , are you sure you want to go with an oil burner as the petrol version are not to bad economy wise if driven sensibly.
Anyway, I am sure more help will be along shortly from owners of the variant you are looking for, good luck with it.
Rob

 

[Charlie Farley]

Oh yes forgot to say, Avant's are the better choice......Well that's my view

 

[Thom Cottrell]

Firstly welcome onboard this great site, you can be sure to find all the info you could ever want here if you do decide to go with a b7 ,well any Audi really.
Your are spot on with your chassis choice, the b7 chassis is probably the best looking of all, well I am biased anyway as an avant owner.
Spec wise , s line are the better option and with a good choice of other options available as well.
I am a petrol user , are you sure you want to go with an oil burner as the petrol version are not to bad economy wise if driven sensibly.
Anyway, I am sure more help will be along shortly from owners of the variant you are looking for, good luck with it.
Rob

I've seen one 2.0 petrol 2005 with about 98,000 miles locally and well within budget but was told diesel is more reliable and would go further considering my mileage I'd be doing. But again I could be wrong which is why I'm here

 

[joinerman]

1.9 all day long, they go on forever, the 2.0 is a known problem engine with balance shaft & oil pump drives failing with no warning, new engine after that

 

[Charlie Farley]

You will get both sides of the argument here, petrol or diesel , both variants have there plus and negative points, but I prefer petrol and the consumption is acceptable if driven sensibly, maybe try both versions and then make up your mind , a lot of guys buy oil burners then wish they had chosen petrol.

 

[Toblahoe]

I've heard that the 1.9tdi's are the more reliable engine, plus the 1.9tdi engines don't suffer from the horrid balance shaft / oil pump failures that the 2.0tdis have.

(^^ From experience i have a 2.0tdi, absolutely love it, but the 'piece of mind' repair cost is around £600)

 

[Thom Cottrell]

I've heard that the 1.9tdi's are the more reliable engine, plus the 1.9tdi engines don't suffer from the horrid balance shaft / oil pump failures that the 2.0tdis have.

(^^ From experience i have a 2.0tdi, absolutely love it, but the 'piece of mind' repair cost is around £600)

£600 to repair it? That doesn't seem too bad if that's the only thing likely to go wrong with the 2.0tdi

 

[Toblahoe]

£600 to repair it? That doesn't seem too bad if that's the only thing likely to go wrong with the 2.0tdi

Aye true, for me it's a lot, but it's one of those things that you may never need to do, but if you don't and it fails, then the bill is a new engine

 

[joinerman]

By all means go with the 2.0 but you have been warned, you may be thinking the 2.0 will be quicker, I've driven a 2.0 & i own a 1.9 & that's as quick if not quicker, i also have a 3.0 & it's not that much quicker

 

[SDHA4SLine]

I've a 2.0 tdi and I'm doing similar milage to what you expect to do. If I hadn't spent thousands on mine getting it all nice and reliable (because of high milage I do) I'd swap to a petrol tommorow and just deal with the additional fuel costs.

 

[Thom Cottrell]

By all means go with the 2.0 but you have been warned, you may be thinking the 2.0 will be quicker, I've driven a 2.0 & i own a 1.9 & that's as quick if not quicker, i also have a 3.0 & it's not that much quicker

I dont think the 2.0 will be quicker,it's just that there are 10 of them and only 1 with a 1.9 engine in a 20mile radius of my address and most of the 2.0 have lower mileage for the same if not less then the cost of the 1.9.

 

[Thom Cottrell]

I've a 2.0 tdi and I'm doing similar milage to what you expect to do. If I hadn't spent thousands on mine getting it all nice and reliable (because of high milage I do) I'd swap to a petrol tommorow and just deal with the additional fuel costs.

I assume I wouldn't have to spend thousands on the 1.9 though?

 

[Thom Cottrell]

Apologies if this against the rules but here is what I've found in a 30 mile radius:

2.0TDI
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201611159767781

1.9TDI
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201612060395889

2.0
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201611059483240

If I had to choose 1 of the 3, I'd go for the 2.0 TDI because of the black interior and the alloys on it. But I want it to last me and not have to sink thousands into it hence the 1.9TDI. All roughly the same cost apart from the petrol which is the cheapest and lowest mileage. Please help me choose

 

[Charlie Farley]

petrol still for me chap, I had a diesel merc and wont be going back to oil burner again , diesel car ownership is only going to be getting more costly now i'm afraid as its not seen as the friendly fuel with emmisions etc now and costs are going to rise a fair bit from now on, you know where are with petrol...

 

[adamss24]

YOU are only interested in a avant ? I have a fully worked 2.0 tdi for sale in the classifieds, it's a saloon though ! 2.0 tdi engine upgraded to later 170 Bhp engine, bv43a turbo with billet compressor, bigger brakes, 18" alloy wheels, s line spec, clean inside and out ! It's very economical and has had a ton of work done on it by myself: new rear brakes, new calipers, new battery, starter motor, etc. The engine is a late 2007 block with the balancer shaft gear upgrade- no worries of engine failure ! It's currently on 112k. Please give me a ring on 07789912128 if you need more details !

 

[Gazwould]

So it's definitely oem 100mm oil pump drive ?

 

[Thom Cottrell]

petrol still for me chap, I had a diesel merc and wont be going back to oil burner again , diesel car ownership is only going to be getting more costly now i'm afraid as its not seen as the friendly fuel with emmisions etc now and costs are going to rise a fair bit from now on, you know where are with petrol...

How many miles have you got out of the petrol engine?

 

[Thom Cottrell]

YOU are only interested in a avant ? I have a fully worked 2.0 tdi for sale in the classifieds, it's a saloon though ! 2.0 tdi engine upgraded to later 170 Bhp engine, bv43a turbo with billet compressor, bigger brakes, 18" alloy wheels, s line spec, clean inside and out ! It's very economical and has had a ton of work done on it by myself: new rear brakes, new calipers, new battery, starter motor, etc. The engine is a late 2007 block with the balancer shaft gear upgrade- no worries of engine failure ! It's currently on 112k. Please give me a ring on 07789912128 if you need more details !

Sounds great but yeah only the Avant, I like the size of the avant as it will be used as a family car at the weekends. I am interest how much the balancer shaft upgrade set you back though. Thanks

 

[Charlie Farley]

How many miles have you got out of the petrol engine?

To be honest I personally don't make a note of the mpg , when we go to cumbria from Guildford on a full tank its 288miles , when we get there its still showing over a quarter of a tank, now i'm no captain slow and it was fully loaded with a trailer and roof box so that was very good going.
urban mpg I never watch as the 2.0tfsi in mine is thirsty when driven properly, so the consumption is all a bit irrellavant on that basis , but m-way consumption it is very good, its horses for courses as they say.

 

[Thom Cottrell]

To be honest I personally don't make a note of the mpg , when we go to cumbria from Guildford on a full tank its 288miles , when we get there its still showing over a quarter of a tank, now i'm no captain slow and it was fully loaded with a trailer and roof box so that was very good going.
urban mpg I never watch as the 2.0tfsi in mine is thirsty when driven properly, so the consumption is all a bit irrellavant on that basis , but m-way consumption it is very good, its horses for courses as they say.

Sorry, I mean how many miles are on the clock now? I've been told the 1.9TDI can go over 200,000 without an issue giving it plenty of life but if I get the petrol 2.0 I linked above it has 98,000 already so I'm curious how long it would last me.

 

[Thom Cottrell]

I also haven't seen a 2.0TDI above 175,000 miles on the clock but I have seen the 1.9 above that which has me leaning more towards that one.

 

[Gazwould]

The 1.9's aren't without there problems though , albeit rarer and sudden catastrophic failures .

 

[Charlie Farley]

Sorry, I mean how many miles are on the clock now? I've been told the 1.9TDI can go over 200,000 without an issue giving it plenty of life but if I get the petrol 2.0 I linked above it has 98,000 already so I'm curious how long it would last me.

well chap, its a "how long is a piece of string situation " many oil burners have years and bonkers high milage with little or no problems , other have issues from low milage onwards, same applies to petrol owner, some engines are more prone to problems than others but its not all of them ....
I thin k you will be hard pushed to find an oil burner with low milage to be honest as that the nature of there ownership whereas petrol users may not get the same level of usage and higher milage.
high milage is not a bad thing but depends on the history of the car and how the milage was put in the car over its lifetime.

 

[Thom Cottrell]

Been to see a 2.0TDI with 109,000 on the clock and I must admit I like it and they want £3800 for it. Has everything I need except parking sensors but I can do that myself. The dealer said they will check the fuel pump and everything too. It's this one http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201611159767781
Should I go for it?

 

[SDHA4SLine]

I assume I wouldn't have to spend thousands on the 1.9 though?

On the engine, no. But you only really need to upgrade the oil pump on the 2.0tdi. The rest I've spent is natural (if not paranoia induced OTT) maintenance / replacement. In fact I think the drive train maybe my least expensive cost tbh.

Edit, just be careful you don't get caught up in all the forum chat regarding things that WILL GO WRONG or you'll end up paranoid like I was and replacing things left right and centre just for piece of mind.

 

[Baka]

I used to get 36mpg average out my FWD 2.0 TFSI.

 

[Thom Cottrell]

After seeing the first car and being totally disappointed in its actual condition compared to the advertised, I'm gonna take the 2.0 TDI for a test drive with mrs tomorrow and see what she thinks.

The 1.9TDI is cheaper but so much further away, I hate the interior and I don't want to waste any more time looking for a car.

I have a mechanic friend that owns an A4 that can take a look over it after I've bought and let me know if there's anything majorly wrong. I just have to hope it's all good but it seems well looked after and has full history. The MOT is 6 months only though.

How much is it to replace the oil pump if needed?

 

[SDHA4SLine]

As above roughly £600 all in for upgraded after market balance shaft. I suspect way more than that just for a recon Audi unit alone which isn't as good as aftermarket mods in my opinion. If you're thinking of waiting for it to fail before sorting it I would strongly recommend against it as it'll likely be your engine and turbo would be toast if a failure occurred.

 

[Charlie Farley]

and don't even think about upgrades and small mods as that's just a long and never ending money pit.....once you start ...well enough said on that subject..

 

[Thom Cottrell]

I can get my friend to help fit it so the labour shouldn't cost anything. But I'll have to wait a month or 2 to get the parts. Hopefully the engine lasts that long :/

 

[SDHA4SLine]

On the engine, no. But you only really need to upgrade the oil pump on the 2.0tdi. The rest I've spent is natural (if not paranoia induced OTT) maintenance / replacement. In fact I think the drive train maybe my least expensive cost tbh.

Edit, just be careful you don't get caught up in all the forum chat regarding things that WILL GO WRONG or you'll end up paranoid like I was and replacing things left right and centre just for piece of mind.

Damn edit function has gone and I've noticed stupid spelling error...peace not piece!

 

[Charlie Farley]

It's Saturday steve , we can all make allowances for the odd spelling mistake......

 

[Thom Cottrell]

So going by what I already know we have the following:
2005 Audi A4 Avant S Line 2.0 TDI
109,000 miles
MOT till June 17
FSH
Cambelt changed at 65k
Cambelt and water pump changed at 96k
The car looks great, no dings, dents and scratches. Clean throughout and includes Sat Nav
Was £3895 and got them down to £3795 and they'll refurb the alloys.

The engine started fine and clutch felt fine but will drive it tomorrow.

Is there anything I should look out for or ask?

 

[Gazwould]

Your covered for 6 months buying retail.

 

[Charlie Farley]

looks very smart, make sure they sort the rims out properly aswell, not just a quick splash of silver paint...
those rims look bigger than 17" in the pics, have a look when you drive it tomorrow .

 

[Charlie Farley]

more like 18" like these.

 

[Thom Cottrell]

Your covered for 6 months buying retail.

So if I get them money together for the oil pump change within the 6 months I should be good?

 

[Charlie Farley]

have you checked all the receipts for work done on the car just in case its been done already....

 

[joinerman]

Thom, where are you located, i think you may be not far from me.