Known issues/things to look out for when buying a 2.0 TFSI quattro (171k miles!)

[bentwenty]

Hello everyone, I'm no stranger to the A3 8P section and indeed that car, but I'm brand new to the B7 chassis and you lot.
I'm in the market for a 2.0 TFSI quattro B7, I've owned and modified my 8P 2.0TDI for nearly two years and its been cracking, but now that I can afford to insure one, the power potential of the TFSI is calling me!

I'm going to look at a 2006 B7 avant S line tomorrow potentially with a view to buy it. It will be quite a little step down in terms of interior equipment from my SE, but it seems to be remarkably good value!
Now, it is on 171k miles, to me this would be cause for raised eyebrows on a turbo petrol, but its saving grace that it had a brand new engine from Audi (with receipts) at 102k miles, so the new engine still has a fair few miles... Am I likely to be buying a ticking time bomb?
This is the car in question http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...rch-target=usedcars&postcode=gl40yf&logcode=p

Initially I plan on keeping the car reasonably standard, probably add OEM xenons, cruise etc and stage one/two. But in the future (as funds allow), it will likely see a BT setup, hence the Torsion based quattro and manual.
Many thanks for your help!

 

[Charlie Farley]

hi and welcome chap.
In theory and in an ideal world at that milage a heck of a lot would have allready been replaced and any of the "normal" issues,and they do have a their fair share of them to be honest, that we suffer from with the tfsi may well have been addressed long ago.
But cars dont fit into the "ideal world" , if you're getting it at a good price i cant see you going far wrong, but its still done a few miles and there will be other issues that may come to up in the future.
Like they say "nothing ventured nothing gained".
good luck with it chap.

rob

 

[bentwenty]

hi and welcome chap.
In theory and in an ideal world at that milage a heck of a lot would have allready been replaced and any of the "normal" issues,and they do have a their fair share of them to be honest, that we suffer from with the tfsi may well have been addressed long ago.
But cars dont fit into the "ideal world" , if you're getting it at a good price i cant see you going far wrong, but its still done a few miles and there will be other issues that may come to up in the future.
Like they say "nothing ventured nothing gained".
good luck with it chap.

rob

My apologies for not replying earlier! Its been a very hectic week.
Many thanks for your advice! I looked at thew car on Monday, unfortunately it was a no.
Even for the price there were too many compromises for me. The spec was very basic, it was a couple of years overdue a cam belt, no service history for the last two years, tappet type noise on idle, sloppy gearbox etc.
So I think I dodged a bullet, I have decided to wait a week or two until I can afford a well specced example with more like 100k miles.
Ben

 

[SDHA4SLine]

Commend you on your patience, a lot of people would just get over excited an buy the 1st they see. Sure the right one will pop up soon

 

[bentwenty]

Commend you on your patience, a lot of people would just get over excited an buy the 1st they see. Sure the right one will pop up soon

Thanks! I enjoy the process of buying a car! I spent 6 months buying my A3.
I'm sure one will! I will be on a budget of about 3.8k next week, which I think just about puts me in the bracket for a decent spec 100k miler.
I'm currently weighing up Avant vs saloon, I think both look great, and I can imagine the practicality of the avant is great (I have had a full bedroom furniture set in the back of my 3d 8P, and taken it on a three week road trip this summer with 4 people...), but it seems to come at the expense of a little weight and therefore performance

 

[Charlie Farley]

nothing in it chap performance wise, and avant is by the far the best option.

 

[bentwenty]

nothing in it chap performance wise, and avant is by the far the best option.

Thanks for that! I getting close to the point of deciding on that now! There does seem to be a bit of a price premium on quattro Avants vs saloons, although perhaps there aren't enough examples around to really tell...

 

[gizze]

.....tappet type noise on idle.......

Be careful on this, the fsi engines can sound very tappety, but think it is more the high pressure injectors.
More so when you lift the bonnet, even my 3.2fsi sounded a bit tappety.

I had 3 litre BMWs and 3.2 litre Mercs previously and it was a bit of a shock.

The later BMW petrols sound similar.

 

[bentwenty]

Be careful on this, the fsi engines can sound very tappety, but think it is more the high pressure injectors.
More so when you lift the bonnet, even my 3.2fsi sounded a bit tappety.

I had 3 litre BMWs and 3.2 litre Mercs previously and it was a bit of a shock.

The later BMW petrols sound similar.

Ah that makes sense, thanks for the heads up just in case I dismiss a minter!
I was comparing the sound to my current 2.0TDi which surprising sounded pretty smooth by comparison to this one!

 

[Mike_B]

Other Issues:
Slow wipers - spindles seize.
Rear wiper - the water pipe goes thro the spindle and is known to fail.
Window lifter mechanisms.
Glove box hinge, release mech and damper all known to be problematic.
Rocker cover gasket.
Header tank and cap.
If yours is the same as mine, check the plastic breather pipe across the top of the engine, under the cover. These fail / crack as they get terribly hot. If it has failed, chances are it's worth replacing the large air feed pipe too as it's join to the breather will probably be dodgy too.
Water leaks from the temp sensor flange at the rear of the cylinder head.
Window switches - check the lock-out button in the drivers cluster for the rear windows.
Rear hatch lock - micro switch fails - at best, you lose the boot-open indication in the DIS and boot light coming on automatically. At worst, boot won't lock/open.
Alarm - internal batteries die and write off the circuit board. Alarm won't sound usually, while the indicators etc will still flash.
Suspension - bushes are likely to be on the way out at high mileages. Known problem getting the pinch bolt out!

Had all these, except window lifters. (Touching wood now - - )

 

[bentwenty]

Other Issues:
Slow wipers - spindles seize.
Rear wiper - the water pipe goes thro the spindle and is known to fail.
Window lifter mechanisms.
Glove box hinge, release mech and damper all known to be problematic.
Rocker cover gasket.
Header tank and cap.
If yours is the same as mine, check the plastic breather pipe across the top of the engine, under the cover. These fail / crack as they get terribly hot. If it has failed, chances are it's worth replacing the large air feed pipe too as it's join to the breather will probably be dodgy too.
Water leaks from the temp sensor flange at the rear of the cylinder head.
Window switches - check the lock-out button in the drivers cluster for the rear windows.
Rear hatch lock - micro switch fails - at best, you lose the boot-open indication in the DIS and boot light coming on automatically. At worst, boot won't lock/open.
Alarm - internal batteries die and write off the circuit board. Alarm won't sound usually, while the indicators etc will still flash.
Suspension - bushes are likely to be on the way out at high mileages. Known problem getting the pinch bolt out!

Had all these, except window lifters. (Touching wood now - - )

Wow, spot on, thanks! I couldn't have asked for a better list!
The first 4 on the list and the alarm sounder are also common faults on the A3 8P, presumably because of parts and design commonality. I have also suffered with most of them on mine!
I have 3.6k to spend at the moment, and 4.2k next month, so I'm on the lookout for good examples

 

[SootySport]

Just buy an S4, all the extra bits you want and 4wd. No need to tune for extra power, it has 338 standard.

See what I done there, just saved you a fortune on remaps and retrofitting stuff

 

[bentwenty]

Just buy an S4, all the extra bits you want and 4wd. No need to tune for extra power, it has 338 standard.

See what I done there, just saved you a fortune on remaps and retrofitting stuff

As much as I'd love one, I'm 20 with 3y ncb, so insurance would do me in, and if it didn't, I do 20k miles a year, so the fuel bills would! Tbh the drop in fuel economy with the tfsi is going to be a bit hard to swallow for me already.

 

[Charlie Farley]

ah yes insurance, thats why when you get old and grey like many of us on here car insurance becomes less of an issue in respect to what model to go for.

 

[bentwenty]

ah yes insurance, thats why when you get old and grey like many of us on here car insurance becomes less of an issue in respect to what model to go for.

That's one thing I AM looking forward to about becoming 'old and grey'
Insurence is the reason I've been chugging around in a tuned TDi... Although peak torque and boost at 2k rpm is a lot of fun!
I have considered a 3.0TDi Quattro, but decent ones seem to be a bit out of my price range.

 

[SootySport]

Only 20, hmmmm, yes insurance is a bit of a killer. Never mind you'll have to be a bit patient, say another 40years

 

[bentwenty]

Only 20, hmmmm, yes insurance is a bit of a killer. Never mind you'll have to be a bit patient, say another 40years

Perhaps by that time C7 RS6s will have dropped into my budget

 

[Euans2]

Sorry for the hijack but of interest, what's the difference in the running costs between a B7 TFSI and an S4? My mates B8 S4 is a lot less to run than I would have thought

 

[bentwenty]

Sorry for the hijack but of interest, what's the difference in the running costs between a B7 TFSI and an S4? My mates B8 S4 is a lot less to run than I would have thought

Advertised combined on a B7 S4 is 21, so maybe 18-20 real world.
Advertised combined on a B6 S4 is 22.
I have been working based on the assumption of about 32-33mpg real word on a B7 2.0TFSI quattro, but I'm sure someone will correct me

 

[Charlie Farley]

a better gauge would be how heavy a drivers right foot is, a car is what you make it, plenty of boot will make any car costly to run , a little more care and it can be a noticeable difference.

 

[Tfsi gone]

TFSI. Hmmm....
Goodnight..