Buying my first A4 avant 2.0tdi, what spec to get and what to look out for when buying?

[jakm15]

Hi everyone

Me and the Mrs are looking for a new car, we've current got an 06 fiesta zetec-s 1.6, we've decided that the a4 avant would be a good car for what we do. Were both into outdoor activities, walking, mountain biking, motorcycle Enduro riding so the space of the a4 and the towing capability would suit us great.

I originally wanted the 2.0T petrol as in the week the Mrs does a short commute to work and I didn't want the dpf blocking up on a diesal. Unfortunately after a bit of research the problem of the oil consumption has put me right off so it's the 2.0tdi now.

Weve got around £9000 to spend and I want a car with 100K miles or less.

We've test drove 2 140bhp s-lines and they were both very nice.

Now my first question is what bhp/spec etc would you recommend?

I've looked at the 170bhp s-line quattro executives and these seem to have the best spec, sat nav, cruise, auto boot, auto lights and a few other goodies.

Now my 2nd question and probably more important is what to check and look for when buying a 100k milage example.

So far I thought to

HPI check,
Full Audi service history,
Check all buttons, lights electronic gadgets,
Overall condition, no bad wear to drivers seat or pedals,
Full throttle in 4th from around 1100rpm to 4500 to check for clutch slipping,
Check for juddering from clutch when setting off or any noises,
Air con check,
Handbrake check,
Check engine bay and whole of car for signs of accident damage etc,
Check vin numbers for signs of tampering and that they match to v5,
Check both keys are present and the spare master key is presant,
Find out if cambelt and water pump has been done, if not budget £400 for job,
Check tyre condition,
Check for any exhaust smoke on cold start,
Feel and listen for problems during test drive,

I've also got a Bluetooth obd2 reader with an app on my phone, ive contemplated plugging this in and scanning for any fault codes whilst on the test drive.

Sorry for the long intro but I'd like to be as prepared as possibly and informed as possibly before I part with my hard earned cash.

Any comments, criticisms, advice etc would be greatly appreciated.

[niall campbell]

if it was my car, I would change the cambelt straight away then do it every 50,000 miles

change the oil & oil filter every 10,000

change the air, fuel & cabin filter every 20,000 miles

smoke on start up ......................... not so much with a diesel

all you need to do with a diesel is boot it once every 3 weeks by keeping the car in 2nd gear and drive with the revs just under the red for a few hundred yards and blast the rubbish out the exhaust

feel the wheel nut area in rear wheels on test drive to see if the handbrake is sticking on as they are electric, are the wheels hot ?