Buying an A4 with over 100K miles

[Matt17]

Hello to all. This is my first post. I am 16 years old and thinking about buying my first car. I am looking at an A4 with about 100k miles on it. Can any of you here give me some advice on the reliability and future expenses I might expect to pay in maintenance?

[Corrado_Guy]

How much money do you have put aside? Expect to pay at least $1,000 - $2,000 for repairs on any used car to bring it up to shape. These cars are pretty good but there are issues as the car gets older such as control arms and so on but searching will help here. If you have just enough money to buy the car then you may want to think about something else. Mine was in good shape when I bought it and it has had a timing belt & crap that goes with it, wheel bearings, brakes, steering rack, control arms for the front, ABS module, coils, and some other small things. Not too bad for a 13 year old car but it has never failed to start or get me where I needed to go. If you like spinning wrenches then I would not worry about it but if you are paying a shop you want to get the car inspected by a good shop that deals with these. If you don't know how to drive a manual then now would be the time learn because the automatics do have issues.

[1999blacka4]

I am not far ahead and bought an a4 at 16. You should expect to pay around 3 grand in maintenance right off the bat if you are having someone else do the work for timing belt and other things. If you do the work about half that. After that it should be reliable and last another 100k. If you have a job and are willing to put money into the car then I would go for it. DRIVE SAFE though I totaled my first a4 and all of my immature friends totaled their first cars too. Good luck

[Gberg888]

I bought my A4 with 163k on it last summer. She has 1 winter driving school and is now sitting at 190k.

I put a starter in her - crapped out and did the timing belt myself. Total of 700 dollars in must do maintenance and repairs including labor.

Parts I have bought to fix things:
ABS Sensor
Engine Mounts all around
Control Arms
SAI Block off and new tune for SAI removal.

She hasnt failed me yet aside from the starter, but that was cheap and easy.

[SN95Audi87]

100k Audi's can be a good thing. Just make sure all the proper maintenance was done it. If the car was neglected in any way shape or form stay away from it because as soon as you bring it home things will start to fail. I bought mine at 116k on the dash. It had a lot of work done to it all ready. For instance, heater core, radiator, new cat, new oil pick up tube, new valve cover gasket and cam tensioner along with a timing belt service. The car wasn't perfect and far from mint. It had the famous coolant leak in the back of cylinder head, I replaced both worn axles with raxles, failing rebuilt alternator with a new unit, replaced maf sensor, and did all the brakes. Overall these cars will make or break you. Its either your on top of maintenance and get it done, or it will leave you with many problems. Most of these issues can be taken care of, and not hard to do so do not be afraid.

[c0r3y.af]

I bought mine at around 130k. The clutch went at around 145k so I did the timing belt and water pump at the same time. Then the turbo went at 150k. A built block and a big turbo later, she's good as new.

These cars are awesome, you just need to make sure the big ticket maintenance items are taken care of in a timely manner or you'll end up stranded eventually. Other than that, no complaints. It's a pleasure to drive, fairly simple to work on compared to my old MK4 GTI, and is much more reliable as well.

[juxsa]

These are pretty pricey cars for a first car.

[zandrew]

There is 2003 1.8t 5speed Quatro with 136xxx miles where I live with all maintenance and absolute pristine for $4500 but you could get it for less. I would say that is an awesome price.

I bought 99.5 with $5,000 in mods for $1600 due to some minor body damage.

There is good deals out there. Just have to be patient.

[walky_talky20]

If you're paying $100/hr for labor, a high mileage B5 is going to eat you alive. You'll be dumping in cash in excess of the car's worth pretty quick.

If you have a desire to do the labor yourself (ex: replace all your control arms, t-belt and water pump, fuel pump, etc) and some interest in diagnostics (ie: what causes a lean code? Why do I have no heat? Why is my ABS light on?), then an A4 might be the car for you. You'll learn a lot and totally impress your friends that you have such a fancy ride at 16. Heck, the *doctors* where I work are impressed with my A4. Looks expensive sitting next to their boring late model Buick's.

[BayouB5]

All I can say is you need to be in it to win it lol.

[Cactus Avant]

I'm 16 and bought my first A4 a little over a year ago, its a 1999 avant and I'm loving it... it had 163k and I got it for $2500, thing is, if I didn't do the work my self, it would now be sold, or sitting in the junkyard. B5's are not cheap cars to maintain. I'd say if you are willing to do your own work, and know where and what parts to buy, find a good one that was taken care of well with no rust and go for it.

My timing belt actually broke and a huge sum of money went into fixing that, so if you get one, my only advice is do the timing belt service!! It doesn't cost too much if you do it yourself, and its not too hard. Theres plenty of help on these forums to do all your maintenance yourself.