Quattro, or not Quattro...?

[gjm123]

I've had a quick browse through, as all good new people should, but not seen an answer to a question we have...

We're looking to buy a B5 A4 TDi, preferably an Avant. The question is - are the Quattros significantly better to drive than the 2wd versions? We need an economical car for a small family, but I'd really like it to be interesting to drive too. Budget is small - no more than around £2500 - courtesy of unemployment, followed by self-employment, followed by clients not paying their bills! I'm good at what I do, just maybe not so good at being self-employed, but I'm learning fast.

I've read the warnings of wear and tear to steering, suspension and (sometimes) tyres.

Is the slightly later 115bhp model a significantly better car?

Any constructive advice is welcome!

TIA.

[dansansome]

if, like me, you do a lot of motorway driving, then the quattro probably isnt necessary. the 4wd will be far more sure footed around bendy B roads.

thats about as much use as i can be lol sorry...

(welcome to the forums )

[gjm123]

Thanks for the quick reply.

We have some fun roads around here (home) but I expect to also be travelling back and forth to London on a fairly regular basis, and thats a rally good reason to get an economical car. I've owned (older) Mercedes for years and the current one struggles to better 25mpg.

I'm not going to be hammering the living daylights out of the car, but I do like to make 'good progress'. Anyone who's driven the A11 will know the fun that can be had on some of the roundabouts along the way...

[dansansome]

save up for a remap. you will get "great progress" and better economy too

[jb1999]

Welcome to the forum!
quattro makes for a really great drive, sure-footed and a lot of fun in all weathers but it does cost a few MPGs, partly due to extra weight. I have a petrol version which does around 30mpg over a varierty of driving; think the equivalent 2wd version would do about 33-34mpg, but it is 30bhp lower. Wear-and-tear / servicing shouldn't be any more a big deal so long as tires are OK all round and the tracking and balancing has been looked after.
I've read that the 115bhp tdi is a bit improvement over the 110 version, not so much with peak power but with a much improved torque output.
As with any car, look for a good service record preferably with a VAG speacialist (don't worry about dealship service especially for that age). In my experience Audi owners can be proud of their cars, so take good care of them, and the B5 model was well built so I'm you'll find a good example. If in doubt with a car that's for sale, walk away and look at another!
Good luck with the search, and with the self-employment adventures!
J

[a8 tech]

I have 130 bhp tdi a4 quattro and its fantastic.
I came out of my much loved octy vrs estate and thought long and hard about my next car and i choose the b6 quattro because its bullit proof.I struggled with the power loss at first compared to the vrs but i fell in love with quattro and the fuel economy.
The vrs cost £60 quid to fill and returned 320 miles and the a4 costs £70 and returns 530 miles.
I never thought id go diesel but times are getting harder so it had to be a quattro avant to win me over.

[gjm123]

Quick update...

After a very disappointing experience trying to buy a VW Bora, I'm looking at a 1997 Quattro TDi Avant (red i - does that make a difference?) on Monday. It sounds good (but not too good), looks great (in pictures) and if it turns out to be above board, it'll likely have a new owner. And then the search for more power, better (less!) fuel consumption, and improved handling will start...

More news as and when it happens!

[gjm123]

The deed is done and we now own a white '97 TDi Quattro Avant. Initial impressions are mixed but this is largely due to what can only be descibed as a chequered history. Still, it was cheap!

As a model, it's fantastic and does what we want. Whether our car is a good example of this model remains to be seen... Gave it a once-over, bought it, drove it to France and back, and now I need to sort all those little problems a neglected car often has - like getting the wipers to work . Incidentally, and without driving like a wuss the entire time, the computer says we got an average of 58.4mpg on the French trip, peaking at 63mpg (driving like a complete wuss) when the gauge showed the tank to be virtually empty (although filling up suggested there might have been 2 gallons left). Splendid.

Just spoke to Chris about a cambelt change and will get this sorted ASAP.

[adamss24]

The deed is done and we now own a white '97 TDi Quattro Avant. Initial impressions are mixed but this is largely due to what can only be descibed as a chequered history. Still, it was cheap!

As a model, it's fantastic and does what we want. Whether our car is a good example of this model remains to be seen... Gave it a once-over, bought it, drove it to France and back, and now I need to sort all those little problems a neglected car often has - like getting the wipers to work . Incidentally, and without driving like a wuss the entire time, the computer says we got an average of 58.4mpg on the French trip, peaking at 63mpg (driving like a complete wuss) when the gauge showed the tank to be virtually empty (although filling up suggested there might have been 2 gallons left). Splendid.

Just spoke to Chris about a cambelt change and will get this sorted ASAP.

Good luck with the car, look for a noisy diff, oil leaks under the car, replace all 4 tyres if possible and you should be ok... Great cars, i used to have a 2.5 tdi Quattro fully loaded, still missing that .... I reckon 1.9 is a bit low on power for quatro, but gives better ecconomy though ! Red I means it has the 110 Bhp AFN engine, very strong lump, have a remap done and it will push close to 150 Bhp. Enjoy !

[gjm123]

Good luck with the car, look for a noisy diff, oil leaks under the car, replace all 4 tyres if possible and you should be ok... Great cars, i used to have a 2.5 tdi Quattro fully loaded, still missing that .... I reckon 1.9 is a bit low on power for quatro, but gives better ecconomy though ! Red I means it has the 110 Bhp AFN engine, very strong lump, have a remap done and it will push close to 150 Bhp. Enjoy !

I'm heading in the right direction... The car currently has 3 Kumho Ecstas and 1 'Triangle' tyres - these will shortly be replaced with Pirelli P6000s.

Diff sounds OK, but given the uncertain history all oils and fluids will be changed. I don't propose flushing but will check the subsequent condition of the fluids.

Loving the Quattro handling - enter corner on trailing throttle, wait for that hint of understeer, then feed in more throttle. Fabulous.

Remap is something I've thought of, but maybe after fitting PP520 nozzles. That'll be about the limit of the engine mods though as reliability and economy are very important and I don't have a fortune to spend on a new turbo. Brakes also need work as may the suspension... It was a good car when new and I'll settle for getting back to that.

Oil leaks may be a problem... When stopping after a lengthy drive there's a smell of hot oil. The engine doesn't appear to be using any (although as I've said to Chris the oil doesn't look good [to me]) and while there's none being dropped there are signs of dampness underneath. Further investigation to come.

When I have more time I'll post a "I've got a new car" thread. That'll raise a few chuckles!

By the way - Chris, YGM. And thanks again.