A4 TDI Avant Buying Guide

[Axios]

Hello Forum members,

This is my 1st post and I hope it’s in the correct section (If not please could a mod move it to the right one. thanks.) and ok.
I did do a search first but not much came up, most results was about the cabs.

After a weekend of trying to find a car that meets our needs and that we are both happy to drive (she likes big 4x4s and i like my estate cars.),
We finally agreed on the A4 Avant.

I've never owned an Audi and not had many dealings with them, as a result I know almost nothing about them.
So I'm after some buying advice.

We are hoping to be able to have the cash by end of the next month and at the moment I’m just doing some research so I know what I’m looking at and for when buying one.

We got a budget of £4000 and a 206 GTI on V plate that we can part-ex as well.

My misses likes the look of them, she wants a manual and that’s her pretty much sorted. Its down to me to sort out every thing else. The engine, spec, colour, year, miles and so on.
I’m After a B6 1.9 TDI 130 avant (I think I got that lot right) but looking in auto trader I got a feeling we are looking at an early B6’s with high miles for our budget. I’ve mainly owned BMW and this normally does not bother me if the car has been look after and well serviced. I can only assume this stands the same for Audis?

What are the A4s like at high miles if they were looked after or not looked after?
Found this one and it’s just what I’m after. Shame it’s to far away from me.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201004350971487 (http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201004350971487)

I've read on a couple of forums and sites about a drain hole that blocks up causing the breaking system to rust and the breaks then fail.
I can’t remember what exact models it was that was suffering from this. Is it this one?

Is there any thing I should be looking for, recalls, fails or any thing to keep a eye open for?

Any advice, help or information would be great.

Thanks

[Braveheart1981]

Hi

I have a 2004 1.9TDi 130 Avant SE with 105K on the clock. I bought it 18months ago and the only 2 things i have had problems with is the alternator pulley and windscreen wiper linkages both of which are typical faults.

Depending on how practical you are both jobs are fairly straight forward to do yourself with the pulley costing about £40 to buy and about an hour to fix if you have the right tools.

The wiper linkage doesn't always need replaced - mine didn't - it can be stripped lubed and refitted without to much hassle.

Other than that I have had very little problem with mine.

[danclyon]

B6's suffer with the so-called Plenum Drain issue - the drain grommet/bung things get jammed up with crud and the water sits sloshing around in the battery/brake servo chamber and it leads to the problems you highlighted. Two of the drains - 1 under the brake servo, one under the battery....pull one of them off - job done (assuming the damage hasn't already been done). Also tends to come with a nice wet footwell and if you are lucky, a stuffed convenience module that is somewhere under the passenger seat I believe.

The B6's have a few things to look out for....I'll post from experience and also other things that the group have guided me to.

1. Cambelt. Depending on the year of the TDi engine - it'll either be 60k or 75k change interval.....change it at 60k. Change the water-pump too as they have a habit of packing up just after the belt is changed.

2. Multitronic....beware! I have one, love it, but I'm on my 3rd box and the car is only just 5 years old....and they are horribly expensive (thank you warranty!) Lovely to drive, bugger to fix....others will attest to this I'm sure.

3. Noisy Pulleys - get the odd few issues with pulleys on the various things that make a bit of a racket - you'll see plenty of posts about them :-)

4. Rear wiper motor...has a habit of packing up or the pipe comes loose and the washer fluid causes issues.....not hugely expensive to fix.

5. Boot lock solenoid. Don't last a huge amount of time so you find the boot doesn't open....not hugely expensive to fix.

6. Longlife maintenance......the general feeling here is that it's bad and a fixed interval regimen is much safer but using the long-life VW507 oil. Personally I'm on longlife, but I crack through a lot of miles and it get a service every 10-12 months anyway and I do 18k between that.

Other than all the above, mines been a dream to own for the 2.5 years I've had it....Done 45k miles and needed only routine maintenance other than the things listed, all of which were faulty and dealt with under warranty.

They'll do good miles.....200+k is not uncommon!

HTH,
Dan.

[mikeybutch]

My son has had a2002 19 sport for 6 mos and has to sell because its a manual and he has a chronic bad back and has now got a 2.5 auto .The 1.9 has done 118k and has been no bother but you have got to get a good history and 175k is abit too high for this one at £4k .He paid £5200 but its aquattro with heated leather seats so worth that or more after the bad winter 4WD is superb and worth considerng if you can find one .There are lots of extras so you should make sure that you dont miss out because some dont have many of the most desirable ones.Good Hunting

[Axios]

Thanks for the info lads.
all the things you stated seems pretty simple to fix, apart from the Plenum drain issue.

I guess the only fix for that if to clean the drain and replace to the Plenum if its started gettting corroded?
How much is that?

has any of you high milage A4 owners noticed any deteriation in the drive quality and or handling?

[danclyon]

Thanks for the info lads.
all the things you stated seems pretty simple to fix, apart from the Plenum drain issue.

I guess the only fix for that if to clean the drain and replace to the Plenum if its started gettting corroded?
How much is that?

has any of you high milage A4 owners noticed any deteriation in the drive quality and or handling?

The chamber where the brake cylinder/battery live is pretty robust - just the brake servo isn't :) A quick feel around given it's not that robust a component anyway should tell you whether it's got any obvious deterioration. Personally, I got fed up un-bunging the damn drains and just pushed the one under the servo out.....there was a recall to "fix" the problem.....according to my tech - the recall was just to pull the rubber bung/grommet out.....so i've just done the same :-)

No idea on costs to put the servo right though - others I'm sure will know :-)

Cheers,
Dan.

[glennh]

Hi, This is my first post,

I WAS looking at an Audi A4 2.0 TDi TDV SE 5dr Multitronic -- 2007 '56' with 120,000 miles and thanks to the advice here I am no longer thinking of the multitronic.

thanks folks

Glenn