2003 Audi A4 1.8T??????

[The Chad]

**Hey guys, please move this if it's in the wrong spot** Ok, My girlfriend is looking to get a newer, nicer car since she got a full time job. She's into the whole luxury market of European sedans. I took her buy a local Euro-dealer and amidst all the BMW's and Mercedes she spots a 2003 AUDI A4 4dr 1.8T sedan. --It's only got abt 35k on the odometer and it's paint and interior is Flawless!!!! --Down side is i don't know a whole about the long term reliability of this car or general down sides to it at all. i do know it has the same basic motor as my Mom's 1.8T Beetle which scares me a bit for performance...being kinda pokey. Any info this car would be great...here's a link to their site http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=221571146&dealer_id=553819&car_year=2003&model=A4&num_records=&systime=&make2=&start_year=1981&keywordsfyc=&keywordsrep=&engine=&certified=&body_code=0&fuel=&awsp=false&search_type=used&distance=75&marketZipError=false&search_lang=en&make=AUDI&color=&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&min_price=&drive=&default_sort=priceDESC&max_mileage=&style_flag=1&sort_type=priceDESC&address=23221&advanced=&end_year=2008&doors=&transmission=&max_price=19000&cardist=8

[DOOK]

take it froms omeone who was in the VW and audi scene, stay away. Parts are expensive and reliability sucks on the 1.8T especially. the Audi's also ran a 2.2T which is a much better motor when it comes to reliability, but still sucks on maintenance costs. Better off going with a 300 series BMW or mercedes.

[Cam B]

This question will be more suited for an Audi forum, but I'll put in my 2cents. My Uncle and brother in law are both Audi mechanics. They say that they're constantly getting different audi's back in the shop for stupid little problems. From my understanding, these cars will last almost as long as the average import, as long as you really take care of them; oil changes, go in for service when it is required, etc. Certain parts on these cars do go fairly quickly though, so just be careful. If I talk to my uncle today, i can get back to you with a more specific answer pertaining to the 03 1.8t. Hope that helped a little.

EDIT***
Don't get me wrong though, these cars do have more problems than other cars. You just got to take care of it as well as you can and hope for the best.

[brewster240]

check coil packs for arching or any kind of damage, they tend to go out.

check motor mounts for signs of leakage, they are liquid filled, and when they go can cause other problems, like the motor shifting and the clutch fan hitting the radiator for instance.

check suspension.

other then that, just look for what you would on any car you were about to buy that is used.

be prepared for more expensive repair bills though.

[The Chad]

looking good so far guys. Keep the input flowing :)

[eastcoastS14]

saw an audi TT 3.2 on the road today...sounded so badass...tell her to get one of those

[DUFFM4N]

tell her to buy a Acura TSX and call it a day....i own a BMW and i hate it...same boat as the Audis, expensive on maintenance

[bribot]

the audi 1.8T's are notorious for sludging. if you change the oil regularly and dont let it go for too long you should be fine but i know that audi and passat 1.8T's sludge easily if not taked care of meticulously.

i had a jetta 1.8T and didnt really have many problems with it but when i did it was a pain in the ass. i'd just get a lexus LS or something.

[The Chad]

Yeah i did assume that maintenance would be some money. I of course tried to steer her toward the Japanese market with no avail :( so Lexus and Infinity were out. I'm going with her to test drive it tomorrow, but i'm going to have her test drive a BMW 325 and 330 as well so she can see the difference in driving and anything else she may like. I might force her to test drive the Lexus IS300 they have on the lot as well :) Thanks again for all the feedback guys!!! ..and i'd keep up on the oil changes :)

[The Chad]

saw an audi TT 3.2 on the road today...sounded so badass...tell her to get one of those

They did have a TT 3.2 up there!! She said it was too small though, plus pretty pricey!! The Audi was a nice selling point at $17,000+ vs the TT at $45,000, if i remember right.

[BustedS13]

do her a favor and steer her towards japanese pseudoluxury cars. acura, lexus, infiniti. they're cheaper, they retain value better, parts and maintenance cost nothing, and they're far more reliable. european luxury cars are such crap. i used to have a volvo 850, and when it started having electrical issues, it almost totaled itself in parts and maintenance costs. on the flipside, i'll probably be selling my acura at a profit. i think i might go for a second gen 3.2CL six speed :d

[pbcstylez]

this is coming from an actual owner of a 2003 audi a4 1.8t quattro,

the car is great, i've had it since day 1, 0.7 miles on the odo, I now have ~90k miles, all I've had to change was my timing belt which was lately, i've never replaced a coilpack, my electronics all work great except my sunroof which has a gremlin. The car has been the most reliable thing i've owned til date. Maybe i'm lucky.

but if you want to read about the 2003 a4s, they're referred to as B6s

www.audizine.com click the forum section and read your heart away.

I honestly cant see a single person that posted above me with any real information.

#1 my engine never sludged, and if it does audi has a warranty good until 100k miles.
#2 just use the local forum guys to recommend mechanics, itll always be more reliable and cheaper.
#3 there is plenty of forum support just like zilvia, maybe slightly less active.

[rps13drift]

I also own a 2003 audi a4 1.8t and i drive mine to and from work about a 1000 miles a week and I also have had no real problems. The worst thing thats happened is i had to replace a 30$ coilpack wich took me not even 2 minutes to do. Plus the car is fucking unstoppable in the snow! i have dry performance tires on the thing and i still cant get stuck! the car has impressed me so much with winter driving experiences that im totaly going for an s4 real soon!

[Bobafreak]

^ a4 are the best cars to get away from the cops due to their drive ability in the snow. Heard this from several owners.

[brndck]

from personal experience, 1.8t compressor wheels frag. This = new head. i've seen it happen at least 4-5 times. granted, they were on irregularly maintained vehicles, but something to consider when ur buying a used car. only one of those cars didn't have major head damage when it happened.

[reflexdb]

I have a 99.5 A4 1.8T. APR chip gives it a nice power boost. Not overly quick, but fun enough for a daily driver. Plus, you can't beat the quattro system in the snow. Repairs can be pricey, but not bad at all for parts (if you do the work yourself). Ensure that you have the timing belt replaced at its scheduled maintenance mark ~70-80k miles, if it breaks, you'll have some bent valves.

[The Chad]

ooh positive feedback! :) Good to get some feedback from an existing Audi owner. But it seems like everyone is just saying the normal...watch out for used cars without a maintenance history and keep the car well maintained and i should be good to go.

I'll def spread the word of running from the cops in the snow, but we haven't had one good snow this year :( Damned east coast.

But thanks for all the input, my GF is going for a test drive in it this week, so i'll let you guys know what she thought. THANKS AGAIN!! :)

[pbcstylez]

also make sure if your buying an audi, that it is indeed quattro, no point spending that much money on a fwd piece of trash.

oh yah, the insurance is relatively inexpensive as well as this is an extremely safe car, ive been in several hard accidents, and the car is fine and so am I.

ie, a lady in a newer odyssey plowed in my rear end at 25+mph i barely got rear bumper damage (blew the internal shock absorbers tho) and barely any whiplash from the accident.

Most importantly when buying audi is the maintenance records, make sure its kept up to date, otherwise you'll pay for it in the long run. Make sure to run the VIN this way you can identify other issues. If you can call AoA (audi of america) run the VIN with them and you can see the service history and recall history.

Audi's are tempermental but just be precautious

[The Chad]

This car is definately a Quatro model as it has all the applicable badges and or course a rear diff. And that great to know that they are so safe and inexpensive to insure!! That was a big concern of my GF since she is currently insuring her Honda CR-V for pretty cheap.

Funny enough, my GF was reading the more recent posts from you guys and got pretty excited. :)

Thanks Again for all the input!! She's got to get her but to the dealership though so she can drive it!!! :)


--Also thanks for the Audi of America info!! Zilvians are awesome :)



also make sure if your buying an audi, that it is indeed quattro, no point spending that much money on a fwd piece of trash.

oh yah, the insurance is relatively inexpensive as well as this is an extremely safe car, ive been in several hard accidents, and the car is fine and so am I.

ie, a lady in a newer odyssey plowed in my rear end at 25+mph i barely got rear bumper damage (blew the internal shock absorbers tho) and barely any whiplash from the accident.

Most importantly when buying audi is the maintenance records, make sure its kept up to date, otherwise you'll pay for it in the long run. Make sure to run the VIN this way you can identify other issues. If you can call AoA (audi of america) run the VIN with them and you can see the service history and recall history.

Audi's are tempermental but just be precautious