hoosierrealtor

2001 AR with a driver's side exterior door handle that will not work, interior handle works. I removed the door panel, anyone know how to remove the actual exterior door handle or know how to fix? I'll fix the rest as I can.

Other issues: leaking cam seals, leaking CV boot, upper control arm needs replacing, Leaking Air bags, leaking differential, leaking tranny, gauge cluster display fried, navigation buttons broken, cupholder broken, need alignment, I'm sure I missed a ton.

Even with all of these issues, I really enjoy this car. I would just like to be able to get in it. I just did not do any research before I bought it and am now paying for it.

Thanks for all the help.

Brian

joeyvaz

Sorry for your misfortune. Hopefully you didn't pay too much. Fix what you can as you can. Just do as much reading and research so you can prioritize your course of action with regard to repairs.

For reference, I found my 2001 allroad on craigslist. It had 83,xxx miles, a couple of door dings, mint interior, a few bumper scratches, etc. in the description. It was listed for $8,495 in the ad. It was located in VA and I am in NYC. So my brother and I drive 4 hours to VA and take cash to buy the car. When I get there, I notice the following: needed new tires, more door dings than described (already fixed with paintless dent removal), needed new expansion tank, front end seemed a bit sloppy, and suspension lights on and no movement. Long story short, I still bought the car, but was able to get the seller down to $6,500. I knew going in a would spensd a couple grand getting it up to its potential. So far, I've swapped out the suspension for Arnott's Bilstein setup, changed all tie rods, endlinks, etc. in the front end, new Hankook tires all around, new expansion tank, tune up, 1 O2 sensor, and the water temp sensor. All tolled about $3000 grand in maintenance. So I'm into the car for $9,500 and the car is running great. I may have found one for about $9-10,000 with no "known" issues, but who is to say they wouldn't creep up after some time owning it. At the very least, the parts I've upgraded/fixed should be trouble free for a couple of years.

Anyway, the point is, this is a great vehicle that requires maintenance. Especially in the 70k and over mileage. But once you get it squared away, you will enjoy it very much.

Good luck,
Joe

Pete@ECSTuning

There is still hope. You don't require anything hugely expensive to fix up your car.

The seals are all cheap, and the diff seals are really really easy to do yourself. The only seal that sounds rough is the motor/trans seal.

I priced out everything that sounds like it's leaking. You can do the rear diff in two hours and the valve cover cam seals in three. The only seal that sounds difficult is the trans/motor seal, or whatever might be in there. I priced out cam seals and valve cover seals, rear differential seals, upper control arm kit and a new cup holder for under 500 bucks. Your front bags are pricey, but you really going to have to check them out and make sure it is the bags leaking and not a hose or fitting.

Anyhow, here is a cart with everything you need: click click


As for the door pull. If they are built like my b5, there is a click with teeth on it that attaches to the rod which controls the latch at the end of the door. In my b5, this rod slid down from the plastic latch with teeth which grips it. Now it looks like it was still assembled, but a quick adjustment allowed me to operate the door pull fine. Take a look around the latching mechanism and see if your setup is similar.

paulroad

What you should have read:

http://wiki.quattroworld.com/index.p...ing_an_allroad

Also

http://allroadfaq.com/content/problems.shtml

One Info source

www.allroadfaq.com

Another source

http://forums.quattroworld.com/allroad/

hoosierrealtor

I think I did end up overpaying, $10,000 for 38,000 miles and not quite as good of shape as represented, but I flew from Indiana to DC to pick up, and I am not going to beat myself up if I did, I let that part go. I found one locally for $13,900 that was a 2003 but with nearly 80k on it. This one seemed a better deal but not knowing what is was and not doing the research ahead of time, I could have done better.

I would like to replace the suspension with new arnott gen II, but that will have to wait. The local shop and the dealership both want nearly $2000 to replace the seals and replace the timing belt and water pump. That is out of the question.

I was thinking of getting a Bentley, but am unsure how many of the repairs needed can be DIY, I need to replace a front axle and upper control arm. I have limited car repair experience but I am pretty handy, I have a full set of tools in the garage, and Autozone is pretty good with their tool rental if I need a specialty tool.



Thanks,
Brian