monsterness

Thanks for the help so far, I've learned an enormous amount looking through what people have to say on this site.

To A4_Novice - I live in Cambridge, MA, and would have it serviced around here, so if I go the Audi route, I'll need to find a mechanic here. The car itself is in Duxbury, MA (about 40 miles south), and is not currently properly registered, and so might present issues in taking it to a mechanic up here, so it'd be great if I found a mechanic down there to check it out... any ideas where to look?

It sounds like the general consensus here is that the A4 is a beautiful and wonderful car when its running and you're not paying to maintain it, but that I should be prepared to do just that - pay to maintain it. I've seen recommendations for all three engines the 30V 2.8, the 1.8T and the 12V 2.8... Ahh well, any other ideas anyone else has, will definitely be welcome.
Thanks,
Rich

TristanP

the Coolant Temp Sensor and a couple vacuum hoses. Under warranty I had 3 coilpacks fail (known issue), rear diff seals replaced at 49k miles, and another vacuum hoses. It's been maintained ok, but I may have gotten a good example. I would guess by the end of the B5 production, they solved some problems.

SilveRazeR

you would think then BANG SLUDGE ISSUE...I dont know why I am yelling !!!!!

kennyc

decaf is the orange pot...

gh0st

Have the brake fluid flushed. I recently had that done and it made a huge difference.

Reliability wise it seems like these cars can be hit or miss. Some people have to drop a ton of money into these cars, others won't have to put $1 into it, but overall its not a Honda or Toyota.

Other than normal(brakes, clutch) stuff I've had the following go
-Seat heater melted passenger seat
-Front wheel bearings went twice
-Control arms are making clunky noises now
-Cat seperated from the turbo

Perpetual Novice

Oh I know there are tons up in the boston area. Boston: who is your fav indie audie tech?

por911

We've had 3 A4's in the family. Our current 00 30v has been reasonably reliable, more so then my unk's 00 1.8. The later 30v's seemed to be the most reliable as far as daily driver's are concerned. If maintained, Audis are dead reliable. The problem is, most are not. The quattro systems are bullit proof and with a set of dedicated snows, are amazing in bad weather.
The car you drove was probably in need of brake work, though I would say that A4's are a tade under braked. We have found that our Audis need more maintenance then our Porsches, surprising, but true. There is a cost to driving with awd. If your going to buy an A4(30v) with 70-100k on it then make sure the following have been done or consider it to be coming up soon:
-timing belt /waterpump
-steering rack/tie rod ends
-control arms
-driveline mounts(trans/motor/etc)
-wheel bearings
-radiator
Definitely find a car that has been well maintained as it will pay dividends later on. If your going to buy a manual trans car , I would recomend finding one with the DWM transmission. It has heavy duty mounts along with gear ratios that get great mpg. A couple options worth getting(if you can find them) are the sport seats and sports suspension(code on option sticker reads: 1BE). There are two options stickers on the cars, one inside the maintenance booklet and the other on the inside of the spare wheel well.

mattarios2

all i had let go was steering rack and it was b/c i used the wrong power steering fluid (warranty covered) Other than that has been just as reliable as a toyota/honda

Perpetual Novice

Best steering wheel I've ever used.

por911

We needed a car fast at the time and the local dealer just happened to have a 2000 A4 with all the sport options available. Would have preferred a black interior(got light gray)but it worked out anyway.