uktena

This morning, I looked at a 1999 A4 1.8T for my daughter. Are there any big GOTCHAs out there to be aware of? Tiptronic transmission problems; or whatever? The car has been maintained regularly by the local dealer AND has had the timing belt replaced at 77K. Just looking for potential problems. Thanks in advance for your input.

Eddie3dfx

How many miles are on the car? How long does she intend to drive it?

uktena

83,500 miles and 2-3 years.

MyaLover

If it was just b/c who ever owned it previously wanted to keep their car well-maintained, that's good. It should be done. But if it was a clueless owner who just followed Audi's Maintenance schedule, you can bet that something failed. And you might want to look a little more into it.

JHam_CT

*Vacuum hoses - they start to crack around 4-5yrs. Broken hoses can sometimes cause a CEL (check engine light).

*Other common maintenance items which will cause a CEL(minor electronic failures - do not let these scare you into thinking the car's is "on it's way out"):
-Mass Air Flow Sensor (MAF)
-O2 Sensor
-Coolant Temp Sensor

SLUDGE!! One thing I would do - is flush the crankcase with some Fast Motor Flush before changing the oil to clean out any sludge and varnish. Also - check the health of the crankcase breather hoses - they can somethimes dry out and crack, and sludge/dirt buildup in them can also harm the engine.

Change the rear differential oil (If it's Quattro)- very easy, 2qts of Redline 75W90 gear oil.

Carbon Blast - 1.8T's sometimes need to have the upper engine and fuel injectors cleaned out of excessive carbon buildup. I use $5 seafoam from NAPA - email me for how to do this if you're interested.

Wheel Bearings could need to be replaced at 100-120k miles - simple, costly at the dealer - find an independent shop.

JHam_CT

But you might be right about something failing - typically the waterpump. Either way, if something failed, it's probably been replaced. I wouldn't worry.

RKA

Here's a list of stuff I would swap out before handing the car to your daughter:

Ignition Amp (do it yourself...$150 part online, or 4300+ at the dealer, 5 minute install with simple tools) - this part tends to fail around 4 years or so, and it will leave your daughter stranded with a poorly running engine.

Coolant temp sensor - nuisance item that won't leave the car dead or anything...but it should be replaced by now.

Primary O2 sensor - it's due to be replaced. It won't leave your daughter stranded, but a new one might improve drivability and fuel economy slightly.

JHam's suggestion about flushing the engine out is a good one. Audi has had some issues with these engines. For those of us that have run synthetic and changed at 5K intervals, we haven't had any issues. For the average consumer that's run plain jane motor oil for 7500 mile intervals, this seems to be a problem. If the original owner used regular oil but changed it every 3K, you should be fine (I wouldn't concern myself with flushing the engine).

Also, as mentioned, the vacuum hoses tend to get brittle. In particular there is on in front of the intake manifold that tends to break...replace it with a fresh 5/32nd's line from your local autoparts store. Also, follow that line down to the bottom of the engine on the pass side. It leads to a valve...I would change that valve as well. Do a search for 710N, and see if you can dig up a part # for that valve. Should be about $35, and this upgraded OEM part improves drivability imho.

As you can see, nothing really major to look out for. It is a used car though, and these cars do tend to be high maintenance cars. Be prepared to spend a few hundred $$ every so often for nuisance items. On the upside, they are very safe. In five years here, I've seen some pretty bad accidents posted, and by and large the passenger cell holds up exceptionally well to violent crashes.

Lastly, someone mentioned not to spend more than $10K. If the car is FWD, I would knock an add'l $1000-1500 off that price. The seller may tell you that quattro was an addt'l $1500 new, so on the used market it should only be a $500 difference. That simply doesn't hold true. In northern climates, FWD Audi's are largely unpopular. People shopping for a used Audi generally want quattro, so FWD prices tend to get driven down pretty hard.

dudleydorighta4

I did most of the work so it only cost me with parts which is 1/2 of what the dealer would have charged.