cdu

I'm going to be looking at a 2004 6mt tomorrow.

I've been told that it has a new timing belt, breaks, and tires, full service records, and OEM suspension. All this indicates that it is probably a nicely kept car. I'll be double-checking the oil filler cap / visible cams for indications of decent oil change intervals, and I'll look under it for signs of rust, and otherwise I'll be checking the things (heated seats / windows/ suspension, etc)...

One thing I'm really worried about is the condition of the turbos -- the car has about 200k on the clock.

Is there any way to double-check against airbag leaks? Soapy water at the highest setting? Any way to get a good gauge on the health of the turbos? What's the typical life-expectancy of the turbos on one of these? At 200k, I'd imagine they've either been done or will need to be done soonish.

Chris

cdu

I took a look at it today.

When stationary the steering rack made a surprising groaning noise when I moved the steering wheel back and forth. It took about a minute to pump up the suspension and compressor ran a couple times when I left it at the upper setting. Also the AC was blowing hot and a brake warning light was blinking and an orange X came on when I turned on the headlamps. And lastly it was a little tricky getting it into 1st / second sometimes. I've only driven one other 6spd of this vintage, a 3.0 A4 and that transmission was a bit easier to find gears in. There were also interior bits that were broken off / held on with hot-glue.

Mostly, though, I have to say I just didn't enjoy driving the allroad because it felt like I was driving a really heavy car. The motor was *very* powerful and it really had power, but my daily commute is lots of side-streets and stop / go traffic, and it felt like it would be more work than fun grunting the allroad back and forth to work.

I'm sure I'd love it if I were to take it from Bern to Antwerp, but that's not my current commute...

Prospeeder

Sounds like the transmission is going to need removed and repaired, shift fork failure. Eventually it will be almost impossible to get first. The suspension compressor sounds like its on its way out. The groaning could be the pump, the suction hose on the pump, or if its not like powersteering groan more like bushings be like upper control arms.

As far as turbo life. If maintained well they shouldnt ever fail. Frequent synthetic oil changes, gentle driving when cold, and cool downs after a hard run will keep a turbo alive as long as the engine.

cdu

Yeah, that one is not going to pass muster with the wife, sadly.

I'm still on the fence about an allroad vs an A4 avant -- I was surprised at how much more massive the allroad felt. It was a @#$!% rocket, and the brakes were solid, but at the same time I was acutely aware of the sheer mass it was throwing around.

I drove an 03 3.0 avant that was quite nice to drive, I imagine the 1.8 is similar; the 3.0 had some nice options (memory seats) that I liked; that particular car hadn't had a timing belt and was 20k over the recommended change interval, and it needed brakes and an exhaust, and it was at the top of the price range, so I passed on that one as well.


I think I may be more of a "big engine in small car" vs "enormous engine in large car" person.

Prospeeder

I just recently got a chipped 01 S4 with the 2.7T and man what a hot rod, perfect size, just gobs and gobs of power. I got mine for 900$ with blown headgaskets from being overheated. But you can probably find an alright one for 3500-5500. There are Avant versions of it also. Stock 1.8T cars are quite under powered feeling.

cdu

Sounds like you stole that S4 -- I've been poking around craigslist and the 2.7t S4s are in the 4-9k range, with the 4k ones being wallered out messes and the 9k ones owned by delusional ricers who think their mods add value to someone else (but all of them seem to come with the check-engine light on for free though).

That said, I can't even find a manual avant S4 with the 2.7tt, though there are many with the V8.

The 2.0t looks pretty nice, though I'm a bit worried about the carbon buildup issue.