Any A4 owners out there?

Joshua312

New member
Recieved an offer today for a straight trade on cars...



My 99 GTP 135,000 miles



for a 98 Audi A4 approx. 130,000 miles





Are these engines made to last or am I going to be screwed in 20,000 miles?



Thanks for the input guys, dont want to get stuck with a lemon if I go through with it.
 
Have you had a mechanic inspect the A4? I'd definitely give the car a good look-over, test drive, and professional inspection before I did a trade like that. The engine could be in great shape, or it could be on its last leg- you'd need a mechanic to tell you that.
 
Both the 1.8T(4 cylinder) and the 2.8(V6) are good engines.

If 1.8T make sure the timing belt was changed, it should have been at 90k if not it should be changed immediately. That is one of the main things to look out for. Like any used car

if the maintenance is up to date then you should have little to worry about.



A4 is a good car. You will love Quattro if it has it, amazing in the bad weather.



The 1.8T is very easy to upgrade as well. A chip will give it quite a bit more power for about $400-600, if you decide it is too slow. It also gets good mileage.



It is smaller than your current ride, and slower. It also will require 91 octane as a minimum.



Like jdhutchin said it would be a good idea to have a mechanic check it out.
 
I traded my '98 heavily modified GTP for a new '03 A4 and have no regrets. Since then, I traded my '03 for an '05.5 A4 with the new 2.0T FSI. That is an amazing engine!!



Make sure the coil packs are good on the A4...Audi, VW, and some Bentleys had major coil pack failures resulting in some 600,000 vehicles being recalled.
 
Hi



I would think about how much you have spent on GP recently and how much you plan to spend on keeping up the Audi.



The A4's do seem to have lots of issues, failing A/C units, ignition coil issues and prematurly breaking PAS systems. These are from UK cars but i suppose most of the parts will be similar??



You never know when they might break and if you have just put money in to the GP then you might want to think about how much money extra you will have to put in to the Audi.



Geoff
 
I had a first-gen A4 with the 2.8. I liked the naturally-aspirated powertrain better than the turbo but I wasn't planning to upgrade it either.



Be sure to drive it enough to know whether you really like it or not. The thing my wife and I both remember about it is the touchy brakes, they were like some binary on/off switch, more so than any of the dozens of other cars we've had. Switching back and forth between it and our other cars was weird because of this, just amazed us.



Much as we love our Audis, no way would we have one without knowing a *good* Audi mechanic who'll treat us right.
 
Thanks for the input so far guys. I am not sure on all the specifics of the car as of yet, I am hoping to see the car tomorrow so I will get more specifics.



The main reason I am considering this deal (if it is good condition mechanically) is because of the looks of the car and because of the luxury look it brings across and the possibility for modifications. I am tired of having such a large car which I have no use for, but I do like 4 door vehicles.



Hopefully everything mechanically checks out, I will for sure be bringing it to my mechanic to check it out. I will keep everyone updated, if anyone else has any input it is greatly appreciated. Thanks again, Josh
 
Josh: I was going to mention...The fit, finish, quality, and overall refinement will run laps around GM. I think you will really enjoy the *feel* of the car.
 
Even for a 98 do you guys still feel the quality, fit, and finish will be noticeable compared to my fully loaded GTP?



My heart melts when I ride in a car and it feels "luxury" Thanks for the help!
 
Joshua312 said:
Even for a 98 do you guys still feel the quality, fit, and finish will be noticeable compared to my fully loaded GTP?



My heart melts when I ride in a car and it feels "luxury" ..



I wouldn't worry about the model year in that regard. There are plenty of older cars that put modern GM stuff on the trailer when it comes to perceived build-quality. Audis just *scream* "quality!" to me. Maybe not as many "features", but better materials and fit/finish. Check out one with a quarter-million miles some time, and then think about how most cars are when they're that well-used.
 
If the Audi was well maintained, all should be OK. This is the same 1.8T that is in the VW Passat. Remember that issues with coil packs are defects of Audi's supplier. This is not necessarily an Audi defect. Those coil packs were in late model Bentleys, as well!! If the A4 you're looking at has a sport package, you will probably see an even firmer and sportier ride than your GTP. My old GTP, even with Konis felt like a land yacht compared to my non-sport '03 A4. My new A4 has the sport package.
 
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