thegetawaycar

i am a poor college student with an aging audi. my 4ks requires work which will keep it off the road for some time. however it is my only car and i need it to get to work. recently i came across the opportunity to purchase a 4kq in relatively good condition for aprox $650 to use as a daily driver while the 4ks remains a project car. under normal circumstances i would sell the 4ks but it has sentimental value to me and my mother. i have ~$300 but dont have the rest. any thoughts? <i>donations?</i> lemme know what you think i should do.

85-4kq-girl

(and maybe even parts) over receiving donations of money!! We're all nickel-dimed from these cars! I can't tell you how many times I dipped into student loan money while I was a student for 7 years to fix my 4kq!

Keep working on it...ask good questions, provide pictures, and this forum can easily guide you on how to fix your 4ks up so you don't "need" to spend the $650 on a 4kq. Plus, a 4kq at a price THAT low obviously will need some love of its own...leading you to spend MORE money that you don't have. Just fix the 4ks.

-morgan

thegetawaycar

my question was more over advice on what to do. the car is a need to sell by the way. thats the reason for the price.

87 4ks

I never had more money to blow on unnecessary stuff than when I was in school. Try being married with 4 kids and living in an old fixer-upper house! Then you'll have no time OR money to do fun stuff.

Anyway, I agree with Morgan, buying another car now would just be another money pit. Does your current car move under it's own power now, or is it non-running? Will $300 dollars fix it? I could do a lot to my car with $300. How long is your commute to work? You could always ride a bike - seriously. If I was closer to my work, I would ride my bike. Public transportation, maybe? Borrow your mother's car? When my car needed fuel lines, I drove my wife's Suburban back and forth to work. It ended up costing me more in gas to drive that thing than it did for the parts to fix my car, but I had to have something to drive while I waited for the parts to come in. Ah, the things we do to keep these cars going.

Anyway, let us know what is wrong with your car or what it is doing/not doing, and I'm sure someone here will have an answer. Troubleshooting the problem is usually the most difficult part. Sometimes the strangest problems have the simplest solutions. So don't be afraid to ask questions. Heck, you could ask me a simple question and get back a dissertation! The answer may not be right, but it'll sure be my opinion based on things I have noted or come across.

Let us know and we'll certainly devote our time and knowledge to helping keep your car going.

87 4ks

If so, even I would probably try to swing for the quattro. Stories about those automatics scare me. Sentimental value couldn't outweigh that for me, I'd sell it and get the quattro. Is the quattro in better shape overall?

Jretal

my 4000 was $600 on audifans, and I offered him $200 cuz no one else was biting... and he bit

thegetawaycar

the current car is an auto.

what needs to be done:
remount rad and ac condenser and move parts so those two will fit correctly. full alignment, new cat. full cooling system overhaul to find the source of overheating. new shocks and some tie rod and ball joint work. odo and power locks stoped working. something keeps clicking when the car is under load and the seat heaters are on.

thats just the mechanical work. im still working on the body that was decimated. it needs a headlight and some trim around the headlight. i need a new rear bumper after the tail pipe melted it after a botched tow.

thats another reason im reluctant to part with it. with all the body work ive put into it i doubt anyone would find it suitable and i doubt i would get much for it.

what a horrible decision... pass up a great deal or give up my first car.

thegetawaycar

its a 10-30 minute drive on the freeway depending on which store i work at. i live at school, 50 miles from my parents. my housemates and girlfriend all work at least 25 minutes in the opposite direction. northeast ohio in october hates bicycles. the public transportation in this city is borderline non-existant. cars are almost mandatory in this town.

i know what you mean about the dissertation. those emails you wrote me on the brake conversion were pretty intense.

87 4ks

That wouldn't be enough reason for me to pass up a deal on a better car, especially with yours being an automatic. Shoot, if I was sentimental about my first car, I'd still be driving a 1964 Cadillac Coupe DeVille with rusted fender tops, a flapping vinyl roof, and a non-charging voltage system. The leather and chrome interior was awesome, and it sure could fly down the highway, though! I ended up selling it to a guy that needed the bumper ends for his show car. Yeah, I miss it, but it would have taken too much work for me to make it the way I wanted it.

As far as your current car's condition, it doesn't really sound all that bad (to me, I've had worse), except for the overheating part. That could be something as simple as the fan coolant switch not functioning to as bad as a cracked head or blown head gasket. Wouldn't know without testing a few things, but switch failures are common.

Power locks not working on mine was just a broken wire in the boot that that goes from door to the jamb. Simple fix. I tested the pump first and it was o.k. so I started looking elsewhere for bad wires. Found 'em in that boot.

For new shocks, you could just buy some cheapies for now, but if you plan on keeping the car, some Boge Turbo-gas would be the way to go. However, the amount of work would be the same for the quattro - something to think about. Let's see...put effort into this car or put the same amount of effort into a (possibly) better car. That's just my thinking.

Supercoupe

If your 4ks trans is functioning okay you shouldn't need more than $300 to straighten out your issues.

First, forget playing with the AC condenser now and just mount the radiator.

Your car will run without a cat. ( sorry Brad )

Alignment? is the car driving screwy down the road or just eating tires? If it's just the tires you can drive the car. Tires are like 10 bucks at salvage yards.

If the head gasket is not your cooling problem, it's most likely a simple fix, thermostat, fan switch, fan motor, water pump.

Shocks are overated unless your car is bounding over the bumps and leaving the road.

Almost forgot, heated seats....who needs 'em...get a girlfriend....you'll get more than your seats warm

Locks and windows can be fixed on the fly.

I would fix the ball joint and tie rod issues though.

Most everyone here can appreciate your situation and would most likely volunteer/discount some extra parts if need be.
Right now I'd be looking at a long weekend of fixing up your currnet car.

It's not a myth....you get what you pay for....especially if it's an old school Audi.If it's that cheap, it's that cheap for a reason.

Ask me how I know....I just recently bought a "cheap" Urq.