Audi 80 TDi Estate - A safe buy?

[Rorty_Corty]

Hello folks,

I'm looking to replace my daily driver with a diesel estate car. I've always liked the look of the Audi 80 though I've never owned an Audi, and have found that they have fallen into my meagre budget (about £1,000). I'm just a little concerned that I might be asking for trouble.

The classifieds are full of everyday french diesel estates such as pug 405 and 406 and Vectras for this money and they would seem the natural choice but I was thinking that prehaps the build quality of the Audi might make it more reliable and the fact that Audi are a bit more prestige than the others might mean they've been better looked after rather than used as a general hack.

Can anyone give me any idea as to how economical they are? Are they much worse than the newer A4 and A6? Is there anything to watch out for and how steep are parts prices?

Thanks for any help, all advice is much appreciated.

Cheers,

Smiler.

[OddBallBoy]

Hi there,

I agree, the 80 is a good looking car, I've said for years that I think it is one of the most timeless designs ever. However, whilst the galvanised bodies will last for ever, the diesel engines are rather agricultural. I reckon you'd probably be averaging mid 40's but it will be painfully slow and noisy.

I think a better bet would be an A4 with the 1.9Tdi (the AFN engine is one the most well renowned diesel engines I've ever heard of) as you'll have more power, more refinement and more mpg, easily high 40's in normal driving and well over 50 on a good run.

Obviously the bonuses of the 1.9 AFN above will be even greater with a modern diesel but there is a lot less to go wrong with the 1.9 AFN, and when anything does go wrong, it's a hell of a lot easier and cheaper to sort out.

Parts are a little more pricey than many other makes but they are not as bad as is often said and generally of a much better quality - once you've replaced them once on an older car Audi/VW, there's a high chance you'll never have to replace them again.

Peugeot diesel engines of old do have a good reputation for going on forever and French cars are often quite fun to drive. However, those are the only two positive things I can think of to say about them; they are made of thin, poor quality steel, they rust, they are incredibly plasticky and flimsy on the inside and the electrics can be an absolute nightmare. There's a good reason you see a lot more old VW's on the road than anything French - think how many 15-20 year old Golfs and Polos you see around as against 205s and 405s.

[zollaf]

great cars. slow, even the 90 bhp 1z engine is actually very responsive when tuned properly and the cat is binned as well as the egr. mine will give a 130 bhp a4 a run for its money, and they go on forever. parts are ridiculously cheap and there is a good used parts market, as well as a host of upgrades that can be done.
many are high milers and not had much tlc. subframe bushes, often overlooked , can cause strange handling. heater matrixes go, but they are £60 and a dashboard out job, but easy enough. they are not full of electrics apart from the edc pump (electronic diesel control), although they do have their problems in other places, but nothing that can't be fixed. shop around, find the best you can , spend some money on a good service and it will serve you well.
oh, and if you find its still not quick enough, some new big injectors and a chip in the ecu will see you 130 bhp.


edit : , blow me, the op was 5 years ago, do you think he bought one. ?

[Sam]

edit : , blow me, the op was 5 years ago, do you think he bought one. ?

Auto-TaT

Nope, he went all Malc on us and got a Rover

[Rorty_Corty]

Blimey! I've finaly had a reply?? Oh well, better late than never I suppose.

Thanks for the replies though.

I actualy ended up with a cheap '92 BMW 518 SE saloon for two tears that cost me the grand total of £400 with four new tyres and a fresh MOT. That lasted for two years without any expense other than a service until it was replaced by a '94 BMW 525 TDS Tourer. Now that was a good car! I fitted a pair of remapping chips and had two years of highly enjoyable motoring in it. I think it is probably the best daily smoker I have ever had. In the end it sucombed to ratten rear sills and a blown pump seal. Not bad for almost a quater of a million miles and over two decades!

The Rover referred to was bought as the Tourers replacement last december and so far has proven to be a great car (Rover 75 1.8Turbo, yes, that engine, with a blower fitted!).

How did you know I had a Rover?

[Sam]

How did you know I had a Rover?

I could tell you but....









...you had a photo of it on your website

[MalcQV]

Auto-TaT

Nope, he went all Malc on us and got a Rover

....and since had two Alfas which I still own and now back in the fold with a 97 ****-o-bile A4 eBay bargain basement 1.6.

[Rorty_Corty]

I could tell you but....



...you had a photo of it on your website

Blimey, you mean someone has actualy looked at my website? Crikey, I'd better get on and update it!