Audi A4 1.8T quattro: PH Carpool
Why there's a lot to be said for an old silver A4, especially after 250,000 miles
Car: Audi A4 (B5) 1.8T quattro Sport
Owned since: January 2015
Previously owned: "Where do I start? Ford Fiesta Supersport, Ford Fiesta XR2, Ford Fiesta XR2 Turbo Technics, Ford Fiesta RS Turbo, Ford Escort XR3, Ford Escort XR3i, Ford Escort RS Turbo, Ford Sierra 4x4, Ford Sierra 4x4 Turbo Technics, Ford Sierra Cosworth, Ford Sierra RS500, VW Golf GTI Mk2 16v, VW Golf G60, Ford Escort Mexico, Ford Escort RS2000, MG ZT 190+, MG ZS 180, Honda Accord V6 Coupe, TVR Chimera 4.0, Audi ur quattro, Skoda Octavia vRS x4 (er, and I confess to a Mercedes ML and a Range Rover recently) plus many more..."
Currently own: "Vauxhall Zafira Tourer SRI CDTI, ("the horror, the horror!", as Clarkson might say...) BMW E30 3 Series, Range Rover, and of course the Audi"
One previous owner. For 200,000 miles!
"I bumped into the owner at a local petrol station before Christmas 2014; he was 50ish years old, like me. I'd seen the car knocking about locally, and often commented to my wife on how clean it was and how carefully it was driven. He told me it had been his company car, and after three years he bought it as he loved it that much. Until I bought it, he had been the ONLY DRIVER; not even his wife was allowed to pedal it!
"He showed me around the car and it was pretty much mint, save for the driver's seat bolster being worn, three very small stone chips and the alloys needing a refurb. Apparently this is a very common problem on the Bolero alloys, which were replaced twice under warranty for a lacquer corrosion problem.
"The car had been treated to no-expense spared maintenance at Audi and a local specialist. When I contacted the specialist later that day and said "I'm thinking of buying a silver Audi A4 1.8T..." before I could finish, he said "Kevin's? Buy it, it's mega-maintained; if you don't buy it, we will!"
"The mileage? 248,000. Yes, that's right! 248,000 miles. With plenty of cambelt and water pump changes in that period..."
And here's the proof
"Nothing really. Having owned a ur, which was surprisingly my only foray into Audi ownership, and my wife previously owning a later model A4 quattro 3.0 TDI Avant, I was happy in buying the car. I also probed (not in that way!) my longest-standing friend (take a bow Mr Steve Townroe!) who is a font of knowledge on Quattros, and the specialist themselves, all of whom pointed to a couple of minor things to look for. However, as the history was so comprehensive, it made my mind up for me. That and the fact that the owner had a brand new S4 but still drove this car as he preferred it to its newer sibling..."
Things I love:
"Everything. It looks pretty much like it did when new, bar the alloys requiring a refurb and the driver's seat bolster needing a new leather panel letting in. Every single thing works on the car, even down to the climate control and headlight 'pop-out, squirt and pop-in' wash system, which I put down to the build quality. And maintenance. The car starts, drives and stops just like it did on the first of those 248,000 miles, and still feels deliciously, and surprisingly, tight. The other thing I like is that it looks like any 15 year-old Audi A4, except to those 'in the know' - the alloys, twin chrome exhausts and the small 'quattro' and 'Sport' badging on the boot lid being the only giveaways. Lastly, the old girl can still hold her head high, and keep up with most current 'warm hatches'. A spritely turn of pace and assured handling just add to the enjoyment, although I would never claim that it will out-perform and handle the modern equivalents."
Flawless service history sealed it for Andy
"The fact that SWMBO has told me I must now sell the Range Rover as "we don't need two 4x4s"; even though we live in the last house on a road before it heads off into Rural Ruralshire, which gets snow-bound in winter... Last winter I had a Subaru Forester Turbo S with snow tyres which made mincemeat of our road (which is usually like an ice rink) and was hilariously good fun. Hopefully the Audi will provide the same amount of fun. Under this heading I'll include the only thing that has failed on the car: the auto-dimming rear view mirror, which has suffered from a common problem where the fluid 'leaks' downwards within the mirror."
Costs:
"None as yet. Parts are pretty much readily available, so no worries there. Petrol costs are easily contained, around mid-30s to the gallon so far. I may treat the old girl to a filters and fluids service at the local specialist ('Chesterfield VW Specialist', Storforth Lane, Chesterfield); previous experience with them on the Octavia and Fabia vRSs SWMBO has previously owned suggests that they are the best people locally to fettle her. Oh, and the first owner even supplied a set of part-worn tyres with plenty of tread - bonus!
"To add to my happiness, I took the old bus for its MOT and all it needed was a new upper-right suspension arm, as the bush on one end of the original had perished. £35 for the part, £45 labour and £25 for the MOT - not bad for a car that been to the moon and is 23,000 miles of the way back....
"Having said the above, I've just invested in a set of 'part worn' winter Bridgestone Blizzak tyres (6mm of tread, no repairs) to ensure the quattro system maintains its 'edge' over normal cars in the forthcoming months of ice and, hopefully, snow..."
It's not even costing very much to run
"Until two months ago, only local jaunts, but as we live on the edge of the Peak District, with some wonderful minor roads, I sense that there are some memorable drives ahead. Having said that, as SWMBO thinks I drive like Morgan Freeman in 'Driving Miss Daisy', the speeds will be kept respectable (that's just in case she is reading this. If not, scrub that last statement!). I'm also looking forward to winter, when I'll make a decision to stick with the present tyres or invest in a set of snow tyres for more fun.
"A few months ago we decided on a family holiday to France, and the natural choice was the Zafira Tourer (thinking of space and economy).
"Space and economy? Who am I kidding on PistonHeads?!
"Sod that, we went in the A4, and it lolloped down the M1, M25 and M20 before a 30-minute under-the-Channel rest preceding a gentle blast along French autoroutes (retracing steps of the original owner), which it took in its stride.
"With nearly a quarter of a million miles having passed under its wheels, it could have been forgiven for chuntering and grumbling a little, but it fairly flew along, with economy in the late 30s (the Zafira only averaged 44 mpg on the same trip, out of interest).
To the next adventure!
What next?
"Some might have questioned the sense in buying a 15 year-old, 248,000-mile car, but as it was so laughably cheap (cheaper than a family weekend in London including a Travelodge-type hotel and a couple of visits to some attractions) and the service history was so comprehensive, it would have been rude not to keep it.
"Jobs to do will be getting the alloys refurbished (a shout-out to James Robinson, 'Wheelrepairman' on Facebook, who is excellent with refurbs), and the drivers bolster replaced (Bielawski at Sheffield)."
TQS models with the optional Recaro half leather.Mine was an 9-year old Saab 900 turbo with 210,000 miles on but a full, main dealer only history and one company owner / driver. It's wrong to say (or expect) that they drive like new cars but you can certainly appreciate the build quality of something with that kind of mileage.
A 1996 B5 A4 Avant 1.8T with 156,000 miles on it, which I bought for £650. It needed a few bits doing cosmetically, but I remember being really quite impressed with the build quality and overall feel of the car when first purchased in 2010. The engine (AEB with larger heads than other models) was fairly energetic and the original turbo worked a treat. I fiddled and fettled until what you see above - and genuinely miss this car more than all others I've had before or since.
As others say, yours looks fresh and these B5s have really aged well. So much so that I'll be looking for an S4 of the same vintage very soon!
One thing that plagued my A4 was sludge - regular oil changes and flushes are a must on these as I seem to recall the lines being woefully inadequate. Mine was an early example though.
In answer to a couple of points raised, it has the standard sports seats, but if I could find a set of the optional Recaros, I'd jump at them (or alternatively, buy a cheap set of Recaros of similar age, and use the fabric from my seats to re-cover the Recaros)
I agree, some parts are not cheap via VAG, and some have to be searched for in a 'creative' way, but as yet I've not experienced anything that needs replacing and is difficult to source, other than common service parts.
And yes, the oil pick-up pipe was done early in X613's life, and then run on 5W40 Fully Synthetic ever since; I'm just going to service the old crate myself as it happens, so 5l of 5W40, air filter, spark plugs and possibly, as preventative maintenance, a new MAF, will be thrown at it soon.
One thing that does surprise me is how compact the B5 is, seemingly occupying a lot less road space than the current version, a point which is confirmed by how small the interior feels compared to the new A4.
But do you know what? It does what I ask it to, when needed, costs next to nothing to maintain, and genuinely makes me turn back to look at it and smile whenever I've been out for a drive.
Get to drive other things and sometimes mine sits for 6 months at a time. So long as the battery is disconnected it's always perfect. Still amazes me how tight everything feels too.
Get to drive other things and sometimes mine sits for 6 months at a time. So long as the battery is disconnected it's always perfect. Still amazes me how tight everything feels too.
As an aside, I've just received an email, via PH, from a member offering to buy the car if ever I decide to relinquish ownership. IF I ever decide to sell, the fourth owner will get themselves a car that defies its age and mileage, and that still does what it says on the tin.
My previous cheapie, that sat alongside my new car, was a Bora TDi, with 178k on the clock, with a service record inches thick, and that again looked and drove like new; my friend Mr Townroe (mentioned in this article) bought it from me to commute to his Roads Policing base, and sold it, around 30k and a few years later, for the same price that he bought it for. The only thing that was faulty at that point was the a/c compressor that rattled louder than SWMBO....
I used to live out in the sticks on a hill, during one of the snowy winters we had I was up early for work and the on board thermometer reckon it was -13. I let the glow plugs do their thing and it started on the button.
I'd have another one in Avant form tomorrow. In fact I'm looking for a new snorter.. so may now have a browse of the classifieds! Finding a clean one is a challenge - especially if you want a full compliment of lower door trims
The 'Sports' suspension is no longer as taunt as when new, but is still fine (a few track days may have contributed to this situation). With an APR chip, it continues to feel decent (200+ hp v. 170 stock), and is faster than my Mk1 MX-5 in timed events ;-)
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