Audi A4 - 2002 - What do I need to ask/know?
Discussion
Hey Guys
Hopefully beardy types can help me out here.
I'm quite happily smoking about in my 1999 Avensis, but my sisters bloke has given me first dibs on his A4. I know NOTHING about these at all, other than their reputation for reliability.
Here's what it is.
2002 Audi A4 Saloon.
1.9 Diesel which DVLA tells me is 130bhp variant.
Black
120k
That's all I know so far. I don't want to ask too many questions about it if they're best avoided. (You know - get his hopes up then smash him down).
Ultimately, something like this would do me brilliantly IF it works!! I do 30-35k a year. Whilst I'm currently driving a petrol car, it's cheaper at the forecourts and bulletproof Avensis reliability.
Thoughts really welcome on price too.
Ta
x
Hopefully beardy types can help me out here.
I'm quite happily smoking about in my 1999 Avensis, but my sisters bloke has given me first dibs on his A4. I know NOTHING about these at all, other than their reputation for reliability.
Here's what it is.
2002 Audi A4 Saloon.
1.9 Diesel which DVLA tells me is 130bhp variant.
Black
120k
That's all I know so far. I don't want to ask too many questions about it if they're best avoided. (You know - get his hopes up then smash him down).
Ultimately, something like this would do me brilliantly IF it works!! I do 30-35k a year. Whilst I'm currently driving a petrol car, it's cheaper at the forecourts and bulletproof Avensis reliability.
Thoughts really welcome on price too.
Ta
x
Just had a bit more info from him...
1.9 tdi 130bhp sport. If it helps it does easily 50mpg on motorway and only costs £10 for 80-100 miles around town. 5 speed manual. New brake discs and pads, master cylinder and servo at 112000 miles. New aircon motor and gas refill 4 months ago. 2 new front tyres last month. Cambelt done at 110000 miles. Oil and filter done 1000 miles ago and new glow plugs. Car has audi concert stereo with Bose speakers and subwoofer built into parcel shelf as standard. Heated mirrors, climate control. 15" alloys so cheap to replace tyres when needed.
All sounds pretty good.
Would you drop £2k on it?
1.9 tdi 130bhp sport. If it helps it does easily 50mpg on motorway and only costs £10 for 80-100 miles around town. 5 speed manual. New brake discs and pads, master cylinder and servo at 112000 miles. New aircon motor and gas refill 4 months ago. 2 new front tyres last month. Cambelt done at 110000 miles. Oil and filter done 1000 miles ago and new glow plugs. Car has audi concert stereo with Bose speakers and subwoofer built into parcel shelf as standard. Heated mirrors, climate control. 15" alloys so cheap to replace tyres when needed.
All sounds pretty good.
Would you drop £2k on it?
If its In good nick around 2k is as much as I would want to go.
Try and pay closer to £1500.
They can be quite a reliable car, my friend does mega miles in the exact spec car and just services it every10k and other than a couple of wear and tear type parts hasn't had anything major go wrong.
Has it had clutch and flywheel as that is an expensive job iirc?
Try and pay closer to £1500.
They can be quite a reliable car, my friend does mega miles in the exact spec car and just services it every10k and other than a couple of wear and tear type parts hasn't had anything major go wrong.
Has it had clutch and flywheel as that is an expensive job iirc?
I had one, an 02100bhp and did 25k a year, 118k to 140k
Mixed bag, I got one that had a hard life , was OK, I did 80 mile round trip a day
+ Points
-Good stereo
-Economical
-Looks OK for money
-Dull but decent handling
-Standard parts, branded tyres and tax was reasonable
-Pretty straightforward and simple, bar turbo issues.
-Points
-Small inside, boot is reasonable but small opening means it aint that practical at all, in fact I've had more practical coupes!
-Rear seats don't fold down by default, see above!
-Had boosting issues @ 3k in 4th gear that fixed itself, but garages couldn't advise what was wrong, common 1.9tdi issue.
-Broke down on holiday when alternator tensioner came off, bolt sheared off, common issue
-Kept getting vandalised (think I pissed someone off though!!)
-Interior felt solid but very cheap, seats rattled @ 120k , plastic trim was badly marked. Rear seat bench was loose
-100bhp was slow, my misses had 1.6 Civic with 100bhp and that felt a lot faster, I imagine the 130BHP model is pretty decent.
Overall I would recommend them, but they aren't practical and the estate commands quite a premium. They hide abuse well, which is both good and bad. I think mine had led a tough life!!
Mixed bag, I got one that had a hard life , was OK, I did 80 mile round trip a day
+ Points
-Good stereo
-Economical
-Looks OK for money
-Dull but decent handling
-Standard parts, branded tyres and tax was reasonable
-Pretty straightforward and simple, bar turbo issues.
-Points
-Small inside, boot is reasonable but small opening means it aint that practical at all, in fact I've had more practical coupes!
-Rear seats don't fold down by default, see above!
-Had boosting issues @ 3k in 4th gear that fixed itself, but garages couldn't advise what was wrong, common 1.9tdi issue.
-Broke down on holiday when alternator tensioner came off, bolt sheared off, common issue
-Kept getting vandalised (think I pissed someone off though!!)
-Interior felt solid but very cheap, seats rattled @ 120k , plastic trim was badly marked. Rear seat bench was loose
-100bhp was slow, my misses had 1.6 Civic with 100bhp and that felt a lot faster, I imagine the 130BHP model is pretty decent.
Overall I would recommend them, but they aren't practical and the estate commands quite a premium. They hide abuse well, which is both good and bad. I think mine had led a tough life!!
The TDI130 engine is very reliable if regularly serviced.
A colleague has this engine in his MK4 Golf Estate, it's on 220K at the moment and causes him no issues. He's owned it for 150K and 5 years. No cambelt change in it's whole lifetime either! As you say, 50MPG is a reality as well.
To add - Check the rear ashtray lid and glovebox are not broken
A colleague has this engine in his MK4 Golf Estate, it's on 220K at the moment and causes him no issues. He's owned it for 150K and 5 years. No cambelt change in it's whole lifetime either! As you say, 50MPG is a reality as well.
To add - Check the rear ashtray lid and glovebox are not broken
Edited by Maracus on Monday 25th November 11:03
Maracus said:
The TDI130 engine is very reliable if regularly serviced.
A colleague has this engine in his MK4 Golf Estate, it's on 220K at the moment and causes him no issues. He's owned it for 150K and 5 years. No cambelt change in it's whole lifetime either! As you say, 50MPG is a reality as well.
To add - Check the rear ashtray lid and glovebox are not broken
lol @ rear ashtray, forgot about that!!A colleague has this engine in his MK4 Golf Estate, it's on 220K at the moment and causes him no issues. He's owned it for 150K and 5 years. No cambelt change in it's whole lifetime either! As you say, 50MPG is a reality as well.
To add - Check the rear ashtray lid and glovebox are not broken
Edited by Maracus on Monday 25th November 11:03
I had a B5.5 Passat 1.9 tdi which is based on the same platform I believe. Ran it up to 160k and still sold it for over £2k this time last year.
An area to check - have a look at the scuttle tray near the top right of the engine bay as you look at it with the bonnet open. The battery sits on a tray which has drain holes in it to allow the water to run through the scuttle and out. The drain holes can get blocked over time. The first sign is that you'll see the battery sitting in a pool of water. The second sign is that the water has pooled enough to start finding its way through the air vent which leads behind the glovebox and into the passenger footwell. Lift the carpets - if the passenger footwell is damp then that tells you what is going on. The issue here is that electrical ECU looms runs under the footwell and water/damp here will just lead to a long list of minor/major electrical faults and ballaches. If the ECU loom totally borks then it will right off a car of this value down to scrap.
It's an easy job to sort though - remove scuttle, remove battery, poke fingers through rubber drain holes, put back together and sweep up the litres of black water/gunk now sitting on your drive.
Just remember to swear a lot as you realise that the gap in which the battery comes out/goes back in is larger than the battery by about a 0.1mm.
An area to check - have a look at the scuttle tray near the top right of the engine bay as you look at it with the bonnet open. The battery sits on a tray which has drain holes in it to allow the water to run through the scuttle and out. The drain holes can get blocked over time. The first sign is that you'll see the battery sitting in a pool of water. The second sign is that the water has pooled enough to start finding its way through the air vent which leads behind the glovebox and into the passenger footwell. Lift the carpets - if the passenger footwell is damp then that tells you what is going on. The issue here is that electrical ECU looms runs under the footwell and water/damp here will just lead to a long list of minor/major electrical faults and ballaches. If the ECU loom totally borks then it will right off a car of this value down to scrap.
It's an easy job to sort though - remove scuttle, remove battery, poke fingers through rubber drain holes, put back together and sweep up the litres of black water/gunk now sitting on your drive.
Just remember to swear a lot as you realise that the gap in which the battery comes out/goes back in is larger than the battery by about a 0.1mm.
Maracus said:
The TDI130 engine is very reliable if regularly serviced...
...with the right oil.Maracus said:
50MPG is a reality as well.
Easy to get 55-60. Somewhat agricultural but doughty engine, not blighted by all the modern technology and emimissions claptrap. The 130 PD is a sought after sweet spot of diesels.Issues with my '52 2.0 have been
Radio aerial amp u/s - common fault. Fixable with a bodge.
Heater doesn't work - common fault, still not quite got to the bottom of it - seems to be flap motor issues now having cleaned out the matrix.
Multitronic gearbox - bit knackered after 126k miles but not an issue for you by the sound of it.
Central locking can be problematic - check the wiring connecting the drivers door to the body - wires fatigue and break inside the rubber boot. Can also affect window and mirror operation.
As previously suggested check the passenger side carpet is dry in the footwell.
Other than all that I really like mine!
Radio aerial amp u/s - common fault. Fixable with a bodge.
Heater doesn't work - common fault, still not quite got to the bottom of it - seems to be flap motor issues now having cleaned out the matrix.
Multitronic gearbox - bit knackered after 126k miles but not an issue for you by the sound of it.
Central locking can be problematic - check the wiring connecting the drivers door to the body - wires fatigue and break inside the rubber boot. Can also affect window and mirror operation.
As previously suggested check the passenger side carpet is dry in the footwell.
Other than all that I really like mine!
JimmyConwayNW said:
Is that a pretty much unanimous 'yes' for the money? seems that way to me.
I'd say as with any 10 year old car, it's more about the condition than anything else. For every 10 people you ask, 5 will tell you it's the best thing since sliced bread & 5 will tell you it's worse than licking p
s off a thistle.Good cars -
Things to check, Variable veins on the turbo - Give it a good thrashing and make sure the limp home mode doesn't activate through over-boosting
Heavy on suspension bushes - check for creaks, groans and knocks.
Cambelt is a fairly big job on these - from memory, they are longitudinally mounted engines and I think I'm right in saying they require the front cross member to be removed to gain access so a good haggle point at that mileage unless its been done.
Check for oil in the coolant - usually a sign the heat exchanger/oil cooler has failed. simple to fix but haggle off a couple of hundred quid or claim the head gasket has gone and offer to buy it but for a stupidly low amount - this fault is often miss-diagnosed as HG failure.
Check the Matrix display on the dash - common to fail.
Other than that pretty good - engines are largely bullit proof and provided you look after them and run them on quality fuel (crap fuel clogs the variable veins on the turbo) and oil they can handle BIG mileages with ease.
Things to check, Variable veins on the turbo - Give it a good thrashing and make sure the limp home mode doesn't activate through over-boosting
Heavy on suspension bushes - check for creaks, groans and knocks.
Cambelt is a fairly big job on these - from memory, they are longitudinally mounted engines and I think I'm right in saying they require the front cross member to be removed to gain access so a good haggle point at that mileage unless its been done.
Check for oil in the coolant - usually a sign the heat exchanger/oil cooler has failed. simple to fix but haggle off a couple of hundred quid or claim the head gasket has gone and offer to buy it but for a stupidly low amount - this fault is often miss-diagnosed as HG failure.
Check the Matrix display on the dash - common to fail.
Other than that pretty good - engines are largely bullit proof and provided you look after them and run them on quality fuel (crap fuel clogs the variable veins on the turbo) and oil they can handle BIG mileages with ease.
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