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Typical Euro car with high maintenance needs
I've owned the car since new with 220K miles. It has never been to the dealer or private mechanic except for the initial free maint and the few minor recalls. However, that is not to say it has not had its share of anomalies. Three timing belts, 3 water pumps, 3 batteries, One fuel pump, too many coil packs to count, one temp sensor, two valve cover gaskets and one thermostat. All this may sound horrible and it probably would be if I had no mechanical aptitude or desire to do my own repairs. The car is actually easy to work on. Very modular in the way things come apart. Information is readily available on the Net. I've kept this car because the 1.8T engine block is bullet proof. Update (4/22/16): I still own this car and it now has over 250K miles and still runs strong. The original turbo hasn't had any problems and the engine still has good compression on all 4 cylinders. Synthetic oil is a must for this engine. The clutch was recently replaced and that was a major project. Another fuel pump failed leaving me stranded at the office, again. It seems the "Check Engine" light is always about to illuminate as various high mileage sensors fail. New upgraded brake rotors on all four corners has improved braking. There are a lot of great resources on the web dedicated to these cars and I have been able to find detailed instructions for all issues I've experienced. Overall I'm pleased with this car as it is a well balanced performance sedan. However, if you are not mechanically inclined and don't enjoy the challenge of researching a given problem, order parts and installing the parts, then you're left with paying some mechanic big bucks to keep it road worthy. Update 10/22/16: My A4 now has more than 260k miles on the odo. Original engine and turbo still going strong. Getting close to needing its 4th timing belt service. The latest issues I'm dealing with: New radiator. FM reception is bad due to the small antenna amp near the back window. It's a common problem. Roof liner in the back is getting loose and sagging. Three window regulators have been replaced. The driver seat backing keeps popping out and falling off. Typical stuff for an old car. However, coworkers that ride with me can't believe how well it runs and looks. I often want to have a new car but can't justify it given the fact that this car just keeps going. One just has to stay on top of all the annoying little things that need attention.
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Take care of it and it will take care of you
Update: 6/24: No major updates. Still my daily driver. 230,00 miles and going strong. Mostly regular maintenance; Oil, brake fluid, coolant, transmission/diff oil changes and a few leaky seal replacements (top plate, valve covers, and PCV replacement). My best advice to keep old Audis going; change all fluids regularly and replace bushings, this keeps it feeling like new. Great car! No plans to replace it any time soon. Updated: 12/23: still using as my daily driver, 226,000 miles. Still fun to drive. Most of the recent work has been regular maintenance; engine oil, trans/diff oils, brake fluid, and coolant. Also some new oil gaskets, valve cover, top oil pan seal, and a new variable intake actuator. I have been replacing all fluids every two years regardless of miles (except engine oil which I continue to change at 5k or 6 month intervals). Great car and still no desire to replace. Updated: 6/22. still a fantastic car! Recently drove a friend’s new (2022) A4. Nice car, but I’m not sure why Audi has made the A4 so big? They have the A6, A8 and a whole bunch of SUVs, why make the A4 bigger? They don’t seem to have a true compact German Sport sedan. Anyway, very happy with my ‘02. Replaced front control arms and inner/outer tie rods. Still handles like new. Lots of fun to drive! Update - Still going strong! Lots of fun to drive! Appreciate the 6 speed manual more than ever now that they are becoming rare. Just so much more engaging to drive! 210k miles, no rattles or creeks, very solid car. Update - another two years with this fantastic car! Still my favorite all around road trip car. No major maintenance in the last two years. Everything below still applies. Update - I’ve now owned this car for 10 years. Everything below still applies. In addition to regular maintenance over the last two years I’ve replaced the radiator and control arms (normal stuff). Still love driving this car, especially in snow! I have owned this car for 8 years and 100k miles. I bought it from the first owner with 85,000 miles. It now has 200,185. In the ten years I have owned it, I have religiously changed the oil every 5k miles with Mobil 1 0w40 and Mahle oil filter. I have done all the work on this car myself (timing belt 2X... thank you Blauparts, all control arms, shocks, brakes and various sensors). Now that the car is getting older, there have been more aging items to replace (vacuum hoses, fuel pump, more sensors... this car has a ton). If you are not interested in maintaining the car, don't get it; it will be a major headache. If you can maintain the car, it will be one of the best cars you have every owned. Amazingly stable and confident driving in all road conditions. Comfortable and well laid out interior. I particularly love that it was one of the last generations before they started stocking them full of touch screen and navigation displays that distract. Also, one of the last generations to have the sport suspension and six speed manual with the 6 cylinder and "luxury" interior. It’s a car that doesn’t need all the infotainment garbage because the experience of driving is the enjoyment.
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- BaseMSRP: $3,5001,135 mi away
- 1.8T Avant quattro WagonMSRP: $5,9951,762 mi away
- 1.8T quattro SedanMSRP: $2,9992,502 mi away
Excellent car
02 audi a4 1.8t quattro manual speed. I owned it for a very long time and now has 233765 miles on it with still original head gasket, starter, turbo, alternator. No engine leaks and performs fantastic. No issue on shifting or anything else. Just a regular maintenance. AMS oil every 4000 miles, and 93 octane and it goes. I love it. Always Audi owner.
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Like the other reviews
Much like the other reviews, this car was fabulous from an interior fit and finish perspective, but something was always breaking and it was always costly; I had wiper linkage seize up which was over $300, H.I.D light (dipped headlight) which was $300, and many more. It seemed like everything that had an issue it was $300 or more. There were also odd electrical gremlins with the radio and sunroof (sunroof was blamed on a potentiometer, and the radio was blamed on lithium grease in the door connectors). I got great gas mileage on this car but overall it's a great car if you can afford the pricey repairs. - 1.8t six speed automatic, fwd model
Love my red a4 3.0 quattro
Great car, super fun to drive. Plenty of torque at normal rpm range and lots of grip around the corners! Front seats are plush and comfy although rear seating is tight. Car is equipped with power everything; mirrors, sunfoof, windows, seats, etc... This car's grip, power, and planted feel blew my mind when I first test drove it. Before i had a 2001 passat 2.8, and this thing just runs circles around that. Great car that i would recommend.
Disappointed
This thing is a money pit. Can't believe how much it costs to fix every little thing. Have had the car almost 4 years now & I can't take it any more. If you happen to be looking at one of these things, stay away.
The Audi A4 V6 3.0 Are Made for Speed Period
This car is a serious driving machine. It is not meant to be garaged or driven on Sunday's to church. Much worse driven leisurely. This car is a monster and I did nothing to the engine. The only thing I added was a K & N filter to replace the factory one which in effect added another 15 hp simply because of the additional air coming in. From the moment you turn the car on you can hear the engine which to me was like music to my ears. I drove this car to the limit and had more than enough fun doing it. If I had to put it in 6th gear I was over a 100MPH easily. The highway drive was phenomenal. Man what a car. I bought it with 30k and trade it at 102k. Perfect in every sense of the word.
Get the 3.0
Well it looks like I see a trend here. The 1.8T seem to have reliability issues while the 3.0 seem to run strong. I have owned mine for a year and love it. It's my second Audi, my first being an 80Q that I put 300k miles on. I will say that these cars require your attention. By that I mean don't skimp on maintenance. If there are issues, fix them IMMEDIATELY or it can get very expensive (i.e. ignore replacing a $25 coil pack and you could spend $1000 on a new cat). I will also say you need to keep the interior conditioned, it doesn't like being left to dry out on hot days.
Waiting for the other shoes to drop
I've put a steady 12K a year on this car in a mix of city & freeway driving, up to the 75K I have now. After the 4- year lease was up, which coincided with the 50K-mile warranty, I bought the car outright and on a hunch bought a 70K- mile extended warranty. Great hunch! It paid for itself twice over, but now that it has expired I'm dreading the next major expense and wondering what it will be. Though I still love the vehicle, its looks & ride, it may be time to move on before the pit of mechanical-breakdown hell opens up. One amazing point: At 75K miles I have never needed new brakes thanks to careful driving and downshifting rather than braking at every opportunity (though I will soon)
Audi does it best
I leased my A4 because I wasn't sure I would like driving a stick after a lot of years of automatics but this car changed all that. It has been a fantastic performer in all kinds of weather conditions and having a stick takes me back to when I was 16. I liked the A4 so much, I bought it outright and bought a 2 year warranty extension from the dealer. Had a couple of repairs made under the warranty but overall I have no complaints with the cars reliability up to this point with 58K miles on it. I got everything available except Bose audio and Xenon headlights. Heated seats are great in winter and very comfortable. This is the best car I ever owned.. and I've owned 11 different cars.