Buying help.

[ReDBull]

Hello I'm looking at a 1999 T reg A4 Avant tonight. It's been traded in and the dealer knows very little about it. He says it's a 1.8 5v but when asked he didn't know if it had a turbo. It's MOT'd for 10 months but has not been service for a while and comes with limited history.

I'm starting to brake my LCR soon and need a cheap car that will get me to and from work and move parts like the engine and gear box when they're sold. He's asking £695 for it and I'll want to replace the cam belt and water pump ASAP plus give it a service. Is there anything else I should be a wear of as potential problems when looking? I've had a look for a buying guild but if I've missed it could someone please point me in the wright direction please.

Thanks :icon_thumright:

 

[Sandra]

There may be some info in the link below that is of some help.

http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/a4-s4-...ting-loads-technical-information-a4s-s4s.html

 

[ReDBull]

Thanks I've already checked that out:icon_thumright:

 

[Sandra]

​im sure some of the guys will be along shortly to help and advise you. x

 

[ReDBull]

Thanks any help is very much appreciated!

 

[jcb]

10m MOT means you have 10 months to sort it before the next one!

front arm ball joints, any knocking on bump and rebound
not sure the did a non turbo 1.8 20v in the A4 did they
likely to be a 150BHP FWD version

check the carpets for damp, check the scuttle well for water
check the oil and look for any signs of water/moisture mayo etc

usual stuff really otherwise they are pretty solid

 

[jbh]

yea a boy down the street from me had a non turbo 20v

he had it for years so they cant be that bad

 

[aragorn]

the non turbos have a distinctive banana shaped inlet manifold, looks very different to the turbo engine:

http://www.motorstown.com/images/audi-1.8-20v-08.jpg

Whereas the turbo motors have a visible plenum:

http://www.motorstown.com/images/audi-1.8-20v-07.jpg

Personally i'd avoid an NA 1.8. If you want a slow A4, buy a TDI. At least then they've got enough torque that they're comfortable to drive. If your buying a petrol, the 1.8T is the only choice.

 

[jbh]

If you want a slow A4, buy a TDI. At least then they've got enough torque that they're comfortable to drive. If your buying a petrol, the 1.8T is the only choice.

I wouldn't say the TDi's are slow there not a rocket but I still wouldn't class them as slow.

 

[ReDBull]

Thanks everyone it's reassuring that there's not many faults with them. He said the tax was £128 for six months that sounds in 1.8t teratory to me.
Just off to look will report back.

 

[jbh]

With it being a t reg its to old for the tax to be based on emissions it will be the old tax rules where anything over a 1.4 is £125 for 6 months ( its just shy of this but can't remember exactly and I only taxed mine last week )

 

[aragorn]

Tax will be the same for either as its not based on CO2.

jbh: maybe read it as "not fast" then Standard TDI and 1.8NA A4's can hardly be called fast. 110hp in a 1300kg car is about on par power to weight with a 1.4 corsa... Its certainly on the slow end of the scale isnt it...

A stock 1.8T isnt really fast either, but at least theres the option available to tune it.

As i said though, the TDI makes its power in such a way that it seems more powerful than it is. Its a common trait of diesel engines because the powers all easily available low down in the revs, whereas a 1.8NA will need the nads revved off it to make it do anything and will feel MUCH worse to drive than the TDI.

My mates missus has a MG ZR, which has 100hp on paper and in a fairly lightweight car you'd think it'd be pretty brisk. But its not, because it doesnt do anything below about 4500rpm, so unless your ragging it, its just SLOW.

 

[crazy88]

Agree with aragon, my b6 is a 1.9tdi and pottering around it feels much more spritley than my b5 1.8t, as all the power is just there. I need to give the 1.8t some beans to wind it up, but it's definitely faster when going. It's about half as efficient too, ha. Why did I buy it? Haha.

 

[ReDBull]

Well it was a none turbo and a compleat S!!!!!er. I was very impressed with the build quality and the fact that for such an unloved car everything worked. So I've found two 1.8t sports locally so going to look at them.

One daft question will the Brembo's that I've got on the LCR fit on the A4?

 

[crazy88]

Are they quattros? If so, you're lucky getting two close. I have recently been looking when I bought mine and they were hard to find.

It's always good to look at a few cars anyway, gives you a feel of what is good.

 

[ReDBull]

No they're not Quattro unfortunately but I doubt I'd get one for the price they are £1000-£1300.

 

[crazy88]

There's a 1.8t in bradford for that price, FSH, but I went to test drive it and wasn't amazed by it, and it just felt a bit wrong to me. I'm by no means an expert though, but ifyou're handy with cars and it's local it may be worth a look. It's on autotrader... Audi A4 1.8 T Quattro Sport 4dr FULL S HISTORY, HALF LEATHER 2000

Oh, and i test drove it over a month ago, so it's not "just in" as the description says, so you could haggle down a fair bit i'd imagine.

 

[ReDBull]

Thanks for that. What didn't you like about it when you had the test drive?

 

[crazy88]

It felt slow, there was a few knocks from the front when driving, which i suspected was control arms. When he pulled it out the garage there was a slight whining noise, which sounded like it came from the rear diff. The service history shows it's done something like less than 3k miles the last few years, so probably just under-used. As said, i'm really not that great mechanically, so if you're quite handy it might be a good buy.

In fact, i wrote a post on here, i'll try find it as it was fresh in my memory back then ha!

Here is my thread about it...

http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/a4-s4-forum-b5-chassis/195082-b5-1-8tqs-test-drive-questions.html

 

[ReDBull]

That's that's very tempting! How much is a control arm and second rear diff likely to cost?

 

[crazy88]

I don't know mate. At a guess maybe £80 for a decent control arm? You can get a full meyle kit, front arms and everything for about 400. You could get a cheap ebay jobbie to get you by a few months for about £20 i reckon, but nobody really rates them.

As for the diff, I have no idea.