A4 TDI Avant buying help..

[approvedlunatic]

Hi, my name is Simon and I'm looking to purchase an A4 Tdi Avant early in the new year. Funds are limited to a very maximum of £1800 + my old polo coupe, so I need some help to stop me buying a lemon.
1.9 or 2.5?
Quattro or not?
Are there any major things to look for. Am i right in saying the body is galvanised so to walk away if there is any rust?
I can do most basic mechanical things myself. How important is service history?
Loads of questions, there will probably be more but thanks in advance..

[approvedlunatic]

Anybody?

[olds_kool]

budget should get you a nice 1.9 or maybe a quattro in need of a bit of work
avoid the 2.5, repair bills can be very expensive £1000 + if fuel pump goes
does it have to be a tdi?
drive a few, avoid ones with sqeaks and clonking noises from suspension, even high mileage cars should feel tight if looked after

check everything electrical works, sounds obvious but i bought my second a4 thought id checked everything untill it started raining and wipers only worked on full speed

[approvedlunatic]

Thanks, I've got a few to look at, a 2.5 quattro with 155k that smokes a bit. Theres also a 1.9 quattro with 165k that sounds a bit more together, and a couple of standard 1.9Tdi's.
2 reasons for the Tdi, first being economy and second, theres a possibility I will need to tow a trailer with my kit car on. Would you recomend any of the petrols?

[martinA4passat]

Thanks, I've got a few to look at, a 2.5 quattro with 155k that smokes a bit. Theres also a 1.9 quattro with 165k that sounds a bit more together, and a couple of standard 1.9Tdi's.
2 reasons for the Tdi, first being economy and second, theres a possibility I will need to tow a trailer with my kit car on. Would you recomend any of the petrols?

With your price range I would look for a 1.9tdi non quattro, the quattro's are worth more money so you are gonna get a lower milage better car if you go for a non quattro, you will get better MPG from a 2wd and you should be able to get a newer car. I wanted to get a TDi quattro and my budget was a bit higher then yours but all the quatrros I looked at were in poor condition and needed money spending so I went for a non quattro and was very happy!

[neil w]

That budget should get you a nice enough 1998/99 facelift 1.9tdi (110) Avant 2wd, try for something with decent service and less than 120,000.
The only potential rust spot on them at that age will be the front wheel arches which are susceptible on all of the B5 models.
Any serious rust elsewhere shows up bad accident repairs or a car that has been neglected badly.
Forget about a quattro at that price its not worth the hassle and the 2.5 is a gamble due to the head gasket problems on the earlier v6's.
Try and make sure that the cambelt has been recently done .
My B5 1.9tdi averages 43mpg in everyday use. My neice has a 2.4 V6 petrol saloon on a T plate which will manage 39 mpg on a run and 33mpg around the doors.
On any A4 check the suspension , if the front end is clonky it could mean any one of the eight front arms are worn (if all of them need changed it's £300 plus for decent ones) and make sure the rear shocks and springs are still okay especially if you intend towing.
A car already fitted with a tow hitch is a bonus and it will save you a couple of hundred pounds.

[neil w]

Oops forgot to mention try to look at them from cold all of the TDI motors will smoke a bit when started from cold but once they get up to temperature they should pull strongly and not be smokey at all.
They do need a good battery on them to start in this weather and it will give you a chance to see if the heater plugs are okay.

[daddy cool]

i was going to ask the same question as the op but dont need to now.

how much difference is there in performance between the two derv engines ?

[Jabez]

I'd sujest 1.9tdi 2 wheel drive.... look for good history, mileage for last cambelt change as these need doing every 60k and will probably cost £200>£300 to replace, and possibly double that if you went to a main dealer...
As already mentioned listen hard for the rattling, knocking and banging from fron suspension... as these can prove expensive if you have to replace a few of them..
I drive a 99 110bhp with 156k on clock and it drive like new pulls really well and is at present returning 54.3 mpg, I wouldn't drive anything else, they are a proper proper car....
Hope this helps you in some way
Cheers
Jabez

[martinA4passat]

i was going to ask the same question as the op but dont need to now.

how much difference is there in performance between the two derv engines ?

I can only comment on the 1.9 110bhp, the 115bhp 2wd and the 2.5 quattro but I would say in everyday driving the 1.9's are fine and feel strong, I have only driven the 2.5 in quattro model and it felt good, smooth but didn't blow me away to be honest it might have been because of the 4wd soaking up some of the performance. If you are desperate for a quattrp I would go for the 1.9 but they are rare!

[approvedlunatic]

Thanks for all your help.

I've been to look at a Vreg with 238k on the clock. The car was in very good condition with main dealer history til 110k then specialist, the last service being at 220ish.
I would of bought it but the dealer wouldnt budge on price which is a shame as it needs a service and the belts are due. Also the airbag light is on and iit needs paint on the nearside sill.
I'm only looking on autotrader and ebay at the moment, can anyone recommend a good place for low priced Audi's.
One new question I have is how do you tell what BHP the engine is, I found the sticky label in the boot that told me it was an AFN engine but how do you confirm the BHP?
Also does anyone have any experience with the 1.8 or 1.8T engined estates?

Thanks again..

[neil w]

If your looking at a B5 the AFN (110hp) is the one to go for. Remember do an HPI on any car , the A4's hide their mileage very well. I looked at an R regd one advertised on E Bay, it was local and was showing 105,000 with a recent MOT (from 3 months previous ) which backed that up.
However, an HPI check showed that on a previous MOT , 3 years previous it had 103,500 miles recorded. When questioned about it seller then managed to misplace the full service history !
I bought my second A4 (the wife has a later B6 avant) as a dog car from an advert in the Adtrader, that was 16 months ago, It was a genuine 3 owner car 149,000 on the clock with a complete (albeit non main dealer service history) with 10 months MOT and three months tax for under £1100 .It was also fitted with a set of later 16" wheels and all new tyres. Plus it had just had a major brake overhaul.
It now has 165,000 on the clock and still gives 43 to 45 mpg and will still show some much more modern hatches a clean pair of heels.
The only real issue I have with the car is its disgusting metallic pea green colour .

[hz0j3m]

Hi Simon, am new to A4's and this forum myself and trying to get up to speed, but I can comment on my recent experience buying an A4 Avant for what it's worth....

I have a 1999 2.5 TDI Quattro Avant Auto (didn't see the point in having a manual gearbox with a torquey but rev-limited diesel and am clearly getting lazy in my old age!), which ticks all the boxes for me, despite the pitiful rear legroom, and is on 120k

I've noticed the following - too late for my negotiation, but hopefully will help you when you're looking at your cars

- the built in Concert stereo has the common volume problem (annoying, although it can be worked around by using the "power on" settings). Adjust the volume a few times to see if yours is broken too
- Cruise control doesn't work
- A couple of rear heater elements have failed
- Rear washer doesn't work (although not sure if it's clogged, frozen, etc as I've not had chance to examine properly)
- the driver's switch to control the n/s/r passenger window doesn't work, although the switch in the back operates it fine
- Main problem is the auto gearbox, which doesn't work from cold (I only test drove mine when hot as it was delivered to me). I get to around 20mph and all PRND432 light segments come on and the car goes into backup mode, basically staying in 4th gear, and tiptronic becomes disabled. Only parking, locking and alarming the car for 30 seconds or so and returning to it sorts this problem out (sometimes have to do this more than once), and it doesn't seem to be a problem once it's warm. Sorry if I'm rambling here, but long story short - test drive your car from cold if you can! Fortunately I bought from a trader and he's obliged to solve this problem for me, otherwise I'd be extremely upset!

I've not driven the car much because of the automatic gearbox problem, but early indications suggest that i may struggle to beat 40mpg. I'll get the diagnostics checked and use some carb cleaner on the intake plumbing & components (MAF, Airflow meters, etc) and do a few miles before I publish my results onto the recent MPG comparison thread!

All the best
Perry

[approvedlunatic]

Thanks again for the comments and help. I had an A3 before with the TDi engine and have done some research into commom problems, the volume issue affected the A3.
A friend had an A6 2.5TDi that suffered from a similar auto gearbox fault, he sold it on before it got fixed.
Prices at the moment seem to be very very varied, it looks like I may have to wait, poss until march and see what gets thrown up from the new reg part exchanges.
I'll keep you posted..