98A4TQ

Hi Again, You are most welcome. I share your thinking about staying out of debt. Not knowing your driving circumstances I cannot say much more about the car. I did read many posts here from the first years of the forum. I did not know much about the car , so wanted to know what I had. While many were enthusiastic about modding the car for performance, there were many posts about the maintenance issues, which older cars do have. My understanding is that the blown oil seal is a rare issue, and once the timing belt/tensioner plus water pump and general oil gaskets are done they are good for years and many miles. So there are posts here which state that the owner has had the car for years and has put on over 150,000 or even 200,000 miles with no let downs/ major disappointments; just routine maintenance such as the control arms, wheel bearings and other related suspension/chassis working parts, timing belt/tensioner, temperature sensor, water pump, etc. Mine did have the radiator and some other things replaced by the original owner. With your access to parts and a DIY approach you may find this car a long term value.

On the plus side it has galvanized steel sheet metal; so rust need not be a near-term issue. And it was always rust that got my old cars. This car does have room for three children in the back seat, and a good-sized trunk. And it is good looking, if that matters to you. Like many others I do not get tired of seeing this car. It has a kind of classic good looks. When I had it in for service a few weeks ago there were several who asked the mechanic about it as they liked its looks. Oddly enough, this is actually important. Keeping an older car is more work; thinking and assessing issues as they arise is more common. So the thinking is more like studying/analyzing. I like to analyze things because this helps to prevent boredom. I make it fun for myself. And, knowing a lot of facts about the car I was in a better position to evaluate it, to assess its value to me.

Reading the early posts until about 2010 or so can be a chore. But I found many were entertaining, and the early camaraderie was great to see. So it is important to make it fun for yourself or after a while we become bored and start to neglect the car. And an older car can be like an old friend, something that helps us remember good times and look forward to more good times. One poster wrote that he would give his A4TQ to his son, and by then the car would be 26 years old. Another bought it for his daughter so she could drive to the university. The Quattro is liked by many for winter road handling.

I still have questions, of course. And my car is now 21 years old. So I am in uncharted territory for me. In your case the math is fairly simple. If you get four relatively trouble-free years from a $4,000 car then after that you have good money in your pocket. If after two years you have to trade it away as I did the Galant, you have given yourself two years to find its replacement. If you like math you can take this further. For example, by a net saving of $1,000 per year one can accumulate an aggregate of about $40, 000 after forty years. Finding several ways to save $1,000 per year, one can accumulate almost $200,000 by retirement, or more, for when money is needed for children's higher education, a wedding etc. I think it is possible to save even more by running an older car vs. buying and trading in every three years. Depreciation at 22% per year means half the value is gone after three years from a new car. That loss could be as much as $3,000 per year. Running an older car this money stays in your pocket. So, the $1,000 becomes more most years. And it is much more fun to feel like a winner by enjoying a good car that lets one accumulate a lot of savings, for supplementing retirement income etc.

So the work can be a way of paying yourself, tax-free money is great!, and let's one feel that the effort, the study, the Saturday mechanic car maintenance is actually part of a life plan that offers one freedom and independence.

Best of luck!

carkarl

Yes, I agree an older car can be financially sound when you take proper care of it. I also looked at it in the long view for cost of ownership. Because I don't drive a lot of miles, I found urban insurance to be a big cost component in the later years, once depreciation has slowed down. In some sense, I think depreciation is just another form of maintenance... you're paying down the original car's worth of new parts until eventually you are feeding it new parts on a regular basis. It's a bit like building a really big campfire and letting it go on its own for a while, before you start having to toss on a log every once in a while to keep warm.

I also came from a Volvo! My first car ever was a '78 240 wagon I inherited and drove in college and until I bought a '98 A4 sedan in 1997. By comparison, my second A4 was much more reliable as it approached 20 years. I didn't need to sell it, but after almost 20 years driving the B5 chassis, I was ready for a change, and the comfort aspects were starting to gnaw at me. Going from the '78 Volvo to the '98 Audi was a night and day difference in comfort, and it was a similar jump going from the '99 Audi to a 2017 Audi. I hope my old A4s are still out there getting enjoyed by someone who can appreciate them. But I am still happy we moved on and treated ourselves to something new again.

I cannot really say how much of the comfort improvement is a difference in engineering. The B5 sure felt comfortable when I first drove it in 1997, and any changes were so slow and steady I didn't notice them happening. One day around 2015, I started asking myself why I felt fatigued and my ears were tired after long road trips. I am sure the car got noisier over time, but then I can't look in a mirror and deny that I've also gotten older and maybe less tolerant of the road noise.

98A4TQ

I agree that some newer cars have qualities and features that are worth looking into. So if the dealer insists on $6,000 then, for example, a three year old Hyundai Accent for a little more than that might be a good alternative. Great gas mileage, and a six speed transmission, etc. Even with over 60,000 miles it may be possible for a Hyundai dealer to offer the Hyundai extended warrantee to 120,000 miles; it may include auto club AAA and be rather comprehensive. With a small deductible it may offer good value and peace of mind. Lots of good options.

Lyle Jenish

I just purchased a 2001 Audi TT quattro 1.8t
It has 36,000 miles on the dial
Took it for a complete PPI which I attended and was able to get up and under to personally inspect.
It looked like the car had never been driven. Spotless. All bushings were fine not even any of the usual oil and dust spots on the engine plate.
Timing belt, water pump and tensioner were replaced in May 2018 with full documentation - spoke with the garage.
Brand new tires.
OEM MANN filter and 5W/30 Liqui Moly service records
Going to swap out the thermostat for a failsafe.
Gauges are fine.

It was a Japanese vehicle which was warehoused since 2005, imported to Canada Spring 2018. Japanese licensing rules are stringent - after three years very expensive inspection and licensing process means many people trade in cars after a few years.
In Canada, we can import these vehicles 15 years out. Not sure about rules in USA.