Cory

Just bought an 88 90, non quattro, 5spd with the 2.3. Love the car, runs perfect with 173k, Just wanted to know if anyone knows of things to watch out for on this car, good place top get parts etc.. Thanks

ChuckH

Cory,<p>I have an '89, 90 quattro, and I know someone on the East Coast that has an '88, 90 FWD like yours (I'm on the West Coast). Between the two of us, we may be able to help. Ryan's car was a wreck when he bought it (totaled, not taken care of), so he's had quite a few problems. In general though, I think they are quite durable. There are quite a few places to get parts, and I have had almost no trouble locating specific parts. Probably my favorite source is Europarts in San Diego (619)451-0020. They are a small parts store specializing in Audi, Mercedes, Saab, BMW, and other European cars. They get their parts from the original equipment manufacturers, just as the Audi dealership does, but the prices are significantly better. Amount saved depends on the part, but I usually save between 20%-50% over dealer for the exact same parts. They don't offer rebuilts or any no nome replacements. I have only maybe twice had to wait on a part because it was backordered, but the wait was not excessive. Much less wait than the dealer usually. One thing to keep in mind though is that Europarts is a one man operation, so if Steve goes on vacation, you have to wait for him to return. I don't think he ever goes for more than a week though. Things to look out for:<p>1. Timing belt every 60K (180K would be your next interval, unless it hasn't been done yet)<p>2. Most will recommend replacing the water pump while the timing belt is being done. It usually starts leaking soon after the belt change, and it saves you money to do it at the same time. I skipped this option, but have been lucky so far. Fingers are crossed!<p>3. Brake booster vaccuum pump that is driven off camshaft. The hammering sound it makes when bad will be a very good indication that you need to replace it! (part is about $600 dealer, don't know Steve's price)<p>4. Brake rotors wear almost as fast as the pads. At about $40 a piece from Europarts, you may as well do them at the same time. The flip side is that I get about 80K miles on pads and rotors.<p>5. Exhaust system tends to rust easily. Good excuse for aftermarket, although I'm not sure what's available for the FWD cars. (about $1000 for factory system or $800 aftermarket. I went with Scorpion on mine.<p>6. Interior switchgear. Generally, they will operate normally, but the lights in them don't last long. <p>7. Sunroof motor and relay switch.<p>8. Engine management electronic parts such as the differential pressure regulator, throttle switch, and oxygen sensor tend to bite it once in awhile.<p>9. Clutch master and slave cylinders. If the clutch pedal starts to stick and not come up all the way, you'll know now what is causing it.<p>10. All other things would be the normal small things such as hydraulic trunk and hood supports, and things like that. <p>There's probably no reason to worry about the driveline in this car. If there's one thing Audi perfected, it's their 5 cylinder engine. They are virtually bulletproof (unless the timing belt snaps), as are the transmissions and clutch pieces (clutch master cylinder and slave cylinder excepted). My mechanic recommends changing the spark plugs every 15K miles, and flushing the coolant, brake fluid, and power steering fluid every 60K. He also recommends gear oil be changed every 30K miles or so.<p>This is based on my experience. Others may have more input. Remember that it's almost 11 years old, and don't expect not to have problems. Most of them will probably be little annoying things though. Go have fun with your car, and good luck! :-)<p>Charles<br>

ChuckH

Here's the link to Europarts! :-)<p><ul><li><a href="http://www.europarts-sd.com">Europarts</a></li></ul>