2003 Audi A4 Quattro 1.8T Reliability?

[11Past9]

I have a guy who is looking to trade me his 2003 Audi A4 1.8t Quattro for my swapped 240sx and I am trying to assess the risk of ownership. The only info I know so far is that it has 65,000 miles on it. I don't even know right yet if it's an auto or manual. I am interested in it simply because it's a nice basic car and it has 4 wheels putting power to the ground. I am as broke as a joke right now so modifications if it's currently bone stock are not an option but when and if the time ever even came I'd put some springs on it, a chip and probably some basic dumb things to spice it up.

My concern is reliability and cost of ownership.

I typically am scared ****less of owning an Audi or VW because of how expensive things are and the unpredictability of them. I currently have a lot on my plate and to have something serious go wrong with the car would cripple me. I have heard that at a certain year Audi did about a 90 degree turn and suddenly stepped up its game and corrected a lot of their typical issues. I think people advised to go with either a 2004+ or a 2003+... well this is a 2003 so it's all I have to work with.

I will be driving it alot, probably spirited but no high school behavior, I am coming from a 12 second car that could have been 11's with a little more love and I am just in a position where all I want is something fairly nice that will get me anywhere in pretty much anything (road weather wise, obviously this thing isn't going to be going offroad) and some snow storm doughnuts and drifts and that is about it. I need something I can depend on and am wondering if this is it and what I should expect out of it...

I am concerned with major things, stupid small stuff doesn't bother me, the expensive stuff does. I am resourceful and I am not one of those suckers that gets robbed be a dealership unless theres no other choice.

For example: Engine blew in my 1998 Accord, dealer wanted $3,000 for a replacement... Nope, I found a 65,000 miles junk yard motor out of the same accord that got rear ended and found a guy that did jobs on the side and total investment was $600 bucks.

I also do not know when vital servicing intervals are with these cars, the car has 65,000 on it now but I remember when I bought my accord it had 105k on it and sure as shit I look in the manual and I was broke as a joke and it needed a timing belt... when I brought it in they said it could have gone and toasted the motor within a few miles. A bolt broke and the timing belt was ready to follow! I can't have that again, money is tight and I need a good car. Some say Audi's are great and swear by them but those seem to be the guys who have the coin to just bring it to the dealer when something goes wrong.

Can someone give me some educated advice? I've heard if you can DYI youlle save TONS AND TONS! If you dealership the car you will die! How about a mix of resourcefulness, and much cheaper work done by forum guys in the area that know their stuff and want to make some extra coin on the side.

Help me out with some intel

[vintagespin]

Ask about the timing belt. If it's not done already, it should be done soon. that's a $250-$600 job depending on where you get the parts and whether you do the work yourself or not.

That's the really big one. Other than that, if the car isn't beat on and maintained regularly, it's not too bad for cost of ownership. Basically you heard right: DIY and you'll save a lot. Do regular 5k oil changes, and let the engine warm up before you beat on it and let it cool down before you shut it off. Easy-peasy.

[Sales@RAI]

saw the accord comment. If you can DIY stuff, Audi parts can be as cheap as honda ones

[Elliott]

If you are "broke as a joke" an Audi is probably not for you. Pick up an old beater for a couple of years (Ford Escort, etc) until you can afford maintaining a car you actually care about.

[11Past9]

Ok dude, I'm not in high school. In case you didn't see I am getting rid of a $15,000 build 240sx... I understand basic maintenance needs to be done, but I am wondering if that is it or if these cars are prone to random expensive issues or if they are pretty simple and durable just at a more expensive price in parts and maintenance.

I need it to do this and only this:

Handle playing in the snow... not a road courses and crunching launches at the track
I wake up, I have to be somewhere thats 2-3 hours away... oh crap it's snowing BADDD... It's ok because my car will start, run right and not let me down and get me where I need to be. I don't want to have to have that "I hope it starts and runs right today" pit of the stomach concern. I want to drive something that I can turn key, daily drive with some play and forget about the rest until regular maintenance comes up.

It doesn't need to compete with other cars. I just need a nice DD that isn't boring as hell or unreliable as a range rover. Tired of having a parked car

[russcul boi]

The only real surprises are coilpacks blowing. At least on the 1.8T engine idk about the 3.0 v6. But the good news is they are cheap($17-$20) and easy as HELL to replace them yourself. 02 sensors,ect. Big issues: timing belts(do the work yourself and you'll only spend about 230-250 bucks)

If you think you're up to that type of stuff, go for it man. Audi's are sexy cars, they arent EVERYWHERE like BMW's, and you cant go wrong with AWD.

[Lusticles]

really the only thing that has gone wrong with my '02 1.8t are bad coilpacks and now my clutch is starting to slip, but that's expected with 116k miles on it i guess

[diplomat128]

I don't even think twice about if my car is going to start or not. I know it will. Keep 2-3 spare coil packs in your trunk in case one stops working (didnt happen to me once). Otherwise timing belt is a once in 80k miles thing so once it's done you won't think about it for a few years.

The only problem I had was I had to change the fuel filter. Something like 80$ (can't remember) at a local VAG garage, they changed it for me. Even then, I could have drove it for a few weeks with the noisy fuel filter but I didn't want to risk anything.

great cars IMO.

[lave3k]

To be fair there are a few more issues you should be concerned with, especially before going through with the trade.

-Stock motor mounts are prone to leakage/failure so look for purple fluid/stains around the motor mounts.
changing them is fairly straight forward but they're not exactly cheap. (yes they can fail with that low of mileage)
-Inspect all of the suspension, as joints and bushings are prone to failure on these cars especially when driven hard.
-The 1.8t is prone to sludge problems, especially when synthetic has not been used so keep that in mind.
-Vacuum lines and check valves on these motors are sub-par so look for cracks/leaks

Dont F-around with the Timing belt and water pump if it hasn't been done, do it. Otherwise they are exceptional cars,
maintenance is a little steep considering G-12 vs. Dexcool etc., and AWD always means twice as much drive train to keep up,
and in this case three limited slip differentials.

[gray6spd]

My car has been relatively trouble free for the most part. I bought it with 36k and am at 55K now. I have fixed one radiator fan (actually i rebuilt it), clutch, flywheel, motor mounts, coolant flange, coolant temperature sensor (3 times), and not much else. Cost of parts isnt as ridiculous as it could be but most mechanics charge ALOT for labor on the car. Including the dealer which charges 150 an hour. To me, thats ridiculous. If you can deal with stupid, shouldnt-have-happened issues, its a nice car that'll get you a decent amount of respect. Would I buy another one without a warranty? Not to save my life. Would I purchase a newer model with warranty? Hell yes. Overall, its been the least reliable car I have ever owner. Having said that, it is also the most luxurious, newest (more sensors, more things to go wrong), and the most high tech car I have ever owned. More complicated is always more prone to have more issues.. which is common sense to me. Good luck with the deal!

[j753301]

i bought my 03 1.8t sport about 6 months ago and im pretty broke too lol. so this is the story of mine.its my first audi and i have owned many mustang's, camaro's and i have owned a 11 sec grand national. i love the audi,the girls love the audi!! its a great car. now the bad lol. 2 weeks after i bought it the coil packs went,so i bought the bolt down ones fron ecs tuning,problem solved for about $150.next i did a couple small things like the sunroof switch fix and stuff.next i did the timing belt water pump job since my car has about 80k on it.i bought all the parts from ecs and that cost about $250.oh and i did the snub since i was in there. next i did the radiator that was about $200 for that. so after that i spent about $500 buck plus my time to keep it running good not including maintenence stuff.but i figure if i brought it to a shop it would have cost close to $2300. so im happy with the car so far.oh wait i had to get the car towed to the dealer last week and bought a new key and had my old one reprogramed,that cost $250.and right now i need to do the valve cover gasket,it smells like burning rubber when i romp on it. even after all that i still would have bought the car!

[HIERLEVELZ]

AS reliable as your pockets are deep. And even more so if you mod.

[11Past9]

I just found out it's an automatic...

I bet this changes things. How about reliability now?

[onlyaudis]

if its a quattro for sure (and not a FWD), the TIP Auto Tranny is a solid piece. Good to have the fluid service done about that mileage.

Most folks here prefer stick to auto, and the cars do drive better with stick.(you lose power at the wheels with the auto) I do like my TIP tranny though, because where I live, there is a lot of stop and go traffic, and it gets tiring working the clutch so much. I TIP shift when i am able to get out on more fun roads.

[11Past9]

if its a quattro for sure (and not a FWD), the TIP Auto Tranny is a solid piece. Good to have the fluid service done about that mileage.

Most folks here prefer stick to auto, and the cars do drive better with stick.(you lose power at the wheels with the auto) I do like my TIP tranny though, because where I live, there is a lot of stop and go traffic, and it gets tiring working the clutch so much. I TIP shift when i am able to get out on more fun roads.

I'd rather have a stick for sure but it's also an Ultra sport...

Dolphin gray...

I dont want an auto but this car has been dealer maintained all its life, looks nice and does the job so I guess I'll live with the auto if he decides to pull the trigger.

[vintagespin]

It's a 2003? Ultrasports were only 2004-2005...

[gray6spd]

you dont have a link to any pictures , do you? most of the folks around here can spot more than you'd imagine from a picture..

[A4-B6]

I bought an 03 1.8t Quattro Sport late last year with 90K on it.

A coil pack blew the day I bought it then again a month later, don't let this scare you away because there cheap and easy to replace. In fact dealers where doing the job for free, I'm not sure if they still are. Other than that, my temp gauge would go on the blink occasionally, this cost me about $20 for the sensor. I also had the T-belt,water pump, tensioner and pulleys done for around $700ish. I did have to do the sunroof switch/tweak because mine would momentarily tilt up on its own when driving on really bumpy roads. Every brand has its issues, some more serious than others. If you're OK with minor things and the occasional preventive maintenance then I think an Audi might be a good match.

As data point for the 1.8.t, I put 225K on GIAC chipped Jetta 1.8t that was my daily driver in the past. I bought the car brand new, chipped it when it had 500mi and then drove it for 240K miles with just regular oil changes and 1 T-belt job. I beat on the engine hard, numerous track passes, and hit full boost daily. It never leaked, overheated or blew a Turbo. The car dyno'd at 160/211 and made all those that got a ride grin every time. Made me a firm fan of the 1.8T engine.

Kelvin

[A4-B6]

It's a 2003? Ultrasports were only 2004-2005...

It might still have the factory Sport package, just not the Ultrasport bling.

[11Past9]

Made me a fan of your avatar. DAMN

[Mani]

Made me a fan of your avatar. DAMN

+1

[alpinestar180]

When you said you want to play in the snow.... dont lock your steering wheel in either direction. it will kill the ps pump. but i dont have any real reliability issues with my car very often. i have had maybe 2 problems with it in a year and each was about $40 to fix. (other than regular maintenance like oil, clutch, timing belt etc.) and like mentioned above, check out the suspension. it would shock you how much it costs to fix some suspension components on a4's if the previous owner cliped a curb and bent something, it could cost you big time. that was a concern when i was shopping for my car.

[boy412]

My '03 1.8T Quattro has been very reliable. Except for a failed fuel pump (covered under recall) and the occasional bad coil pack its been pretty solid. Most of the problems I've encountered have been self-inflicted.

:)

[italian a4 1032]

i have an 04 if your interested