seadouble

I am trying to decide which to buy between two allroads. Each have their pros. Please prvide your input, as I value all of your experience. This site has been very helpful so far in my research.

Car 1: 2001 2.7T auto, green exterior/green interior. 130k miles. All service records from audi dealer up to roughly 1 year ago. recently had engine pulled, turbos replaced with 10k miles used k03 turbos, timing belt, water pump rear and front main seals, valvecover gaskets. All recent work done at independent shop by seller. Reportedly is on its 2nd set of front airbags, in good shape. Good exterior cond.

Car 2: 2004 2.7T Auto, silver with black/grey interior. 90k miles. Timing belt, tensioner, t-stat, and water pump done at 65k. front air susp recently replaced. All service records from Audi dealer. Excellent exterior cond.

'04 is within $1k of '01

Dawoo

I would take #2

raj99

I'd take #1, but what's the baseline price for each of these...I'm guessing about $6K

seadouble

I can get #1 for 5k and #2 for about 6k, makbe 5800.

A couple 4.2s entered the equation today too. But they are closer to 8k which is more than I wanted to spend. But they are both silver with silver moldings and lookin sharp. One of them has been converted to regular suspension, both are 110 - 117k miles.

Decisions, decisions...

seadouble

My biggest worry with #1 is the trans/torque converter. That is trusting that all of the engine work was done right.


#2 has fresh front suspension and alot fewer miles on tranny...

John535is

I would take #2.

There was an engine change between the 2 models, the 04 has the newer.
I would also ask myself what sort of life has #1 had to warrant replacement turbos with only 130K and even then, why installed used. Also, I have the green interior and I would not again, it just looks dated compared to the grey.

seadouble

Update.

It looks like I am going with #2. Picking up on Friday, assuming it passes muster.

All of the recent service has been done by the current owner, with receipts and photos during the work. Arnott gen 1s in the front. Timing belt, tensioners, serpentine belt, water pump, valve cover gaskets, cam seals, spark plugs, radiator and fan were all done 20k miles ago. It still leaks a little oil, and apparently has recently developed an extremely slight coolant leak of unknown location. two drips were seen hanging during the last oil change (3 days ago), but no noticeable volume lost from reservoir. Due to this observation I am saving some money on the purchase price. Hopefully I can track down the source.

Interior and exterior are advertised as super clean and photos support that.

Only other downer aside from coolant leak is that the air bag light has been on for some time, and he was not worried about it, so has not looked into it. I don't belive I will be able to get ahold of a vag com before friday to troubleshoot that, so hopefully it is easily resolvable, otherwise it will continue to be ignored.

First projects with it will be tracking down coolant leak and doing a tranny fluid and filter change.

Thanks for all the info on here. I'm sure I will be around more, but hopefully for good reasons and not bad...

John535is

When you go to look at it on Friday, take a small flashlight (a pencil style LED type or similar). If you take the front triangle shaped plastic engine cover off, see if you can shine the flashlight in the centre of the V in the engine, under the inlet manifold. What you are looking for is if it is wet or dry. If it's wet in there, most likely the coolant leak is the secondary coolant pump. This pump is really only to provide water cooling to the turbos after the engine has been switched off but the turbo's are still hot. Therefore it doesn't run all the time so it doesn't leak much especially in cold weather.

The good news - a replacement pump is about $100. The bad - it's a bit of an ordeal to remove the inlet manifold to get to it. It's really just time, and a few bucks for new manifold gaskets and hose clamps, but DIY all the same.

There are two connecting hose set-ups for hot and cold climates, the pump is the same but the connecting hoses are different. We use the hot climate set up here in Australia.

Otherwise just check all the usual hoses and connections for coolant leaks, if the water pump was already done then the worst leak is covered.

After changing valve cover gaskets and anything else i can find, I have decided this engine just weeps oil. I don't like it, but i just give it an engine wash every 6-12 months. Never enough to drip on the garage floor, just enough to get dirty every time i put my hands in there to investigate.

seadouble

Thanks for the reply and info John. It does not look like it is coming from there , as there is no coolant pooled up. The leak is so slight, it may take awhile to pinpoint it. the oil leak on the other hand..,

So I bought it. The interior and exterior look great. It's Atlas grey metallic. It drives outstandingly. Just need to get these leaks taken care of and tranny fluid and filter. Then its on to k&n air filter and deleting these mufflers. Very stoked!

John535is

Congratulations - these are a nice ride.
I found I spent a bit of money in the first year fixing stuff up. As long as you are prepared to get a little dirty, even though the engine looks a bit daunting, take a few photos as you remove things and it all goes back together quite easily. If you haven't got these already you need to get yourself:
1. a little tool to release the electrical connectors - ECS have one part number 2628676 and I am sure others sell them as all VAG cars use them.
2. A set of torx drives and some spline drive sockets.
3. VAG code reader. There are a few basic OBDII readers on the market cheap ($50) but these only look at the basic engine codes, step up to a VAG specific reader to reset codes and service intervals (eg Autel VAG505), then step up to the standard for people modifying on these sites appears to be the Ross-Tech VCDS which you can read and erase codes, do adaptations and some coding deletes. You will need it if you are going to do the exhaust mods to get rid of the alarms. Not cheap at about $350, but when you need it, its worth every cent.
Enjoy