Looking at an Audi A4

[PlumLoco]

My son is looking for a car to get him to college in Sept. He found one with 135K but the guy has sent videos of a pretty complete rebuild done about 5000 miles ago.
It is pretty slim pickings out there right now with a budget of around $7000. Car looks to be in excellent shape, but German anything scares me.
Figured I'd get the inmates to fill me in on any real world experiences.
Sooo whatcha got?

 

[Swain]

I Had one for a year a few years back, When something brakes it costs a grip and its always something expensive.

 

[termiteguy]

Run don't walk wife wanted one I owned it for 2 years car looked great very clean what a pile of shit was . Breaking down constantly and very expensive to repair never again

 

[Motor Boater]

Don’t ever own an Audi out of warranty. That said they are very cool cars but super expensive to fix.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Owned one for a bout 6 months. Wouldn't own another. Find a Honda or something.

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

If you are looking at an old Audi, look away.

 

[bk2drvr]

What year is it?

 

[traquer]

Get a 328 Bimmer instead. I wish I never sold my 2007 328 coupe stick shift for 10k a few years ago at 100k miles. Nothing wrong with it over owning it 7 years, just stuff like oil pan gasket leaks, and misc stuff. I just wanted something faster. Can put those repairs off if you don't have the cash and the car will run fine. Non-turbo I6 BMW are pretty bulletproof. The older generation 3 series (e46) were excellent as well.

If you can find a good example from this generation I'd recommend it.

 

[satellitemike]

College car, Honda or Toyata, both will get the job done and if doesnt like after graduation can probably sell for close to same as purchase price!

 

[Crazyhippy]

German out of warranty is not a good choice for inexpensive transportation...

 

[PlumLoco]

Yeah that's what I was afraid of. He's pretty hard headed, not sure I can talk him out of it. He knows he's running out of time, but won't consider some of the more "practical " cars I showed him.

 

[Hydroman55]

Not the car for his needs….German equals high maintenance and not cheap.
There’s a reason a 5 year old $120K Mercedes is $20k.
I know from experience.

 

[pronstar]

Yeah that's what I was afraid of. He's pretty hard headed, not sure I can talk him out of it. He knows he's running out of time, but won't consider some of the more "practical " cars I showed him.

Well, you could always get him a service manual for Christmas [emoji4]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Javajoe]

Don’t do it. Wife had an S3. Low profile tires get destroyed easily. Lots of money to fix things that may go wrong. Buy a Honda or Toyota. Turbo replacement will be $$$

 

[Backlash]

RUN!!!!! Dont fall into that German sedan trap!!!! The Audi/VW platforms SUCK! I wasted so much damn money trying to keep mine on the road, and eventually just gave up. One transmission, two engines, axles, etc. all within a three year period.

There are very few good mechanics who can work on that car and try to make it right for you when something does go wrong. Tell your son to listen to you, and the twenty of us, who have told him to look at ANYTHING else!!!

 

[bk2drvr]

I currently own a 2012 A4. I bought it for my 17 yo daughter. 3 years ago with 90k miles on it. It now has 135k miles on it and it’s been pretty reliable. I did go through it when I bought it and had a couple surprise failures but I’m able to work on cars and did all the work myself so I didn’t have a huge outlay of money to fix it. It’s been rock solid since I did the work. Hopefully your son can do some car maintenance otherwise I would not buy it. If it’s 2013 or newer that’s better.

 

[PlumLoco]

Sadly, no. 2010

 

[Joker]

We had a 17 A3 and a 19 A5. Great cars

 

[HNL2LHC]

Was looking at a few Audis years ago. Happy that the wife Reuther went with the Havasu house. Had a Jetta GLX VR6 years ago. Great car new but the cost of parts along was staggering. We had it for 6 years and 75k in miles. Ended up getting rid of it rather than keep as a eater for the son. I can’t imagine how much the premium Jetts would cost you. If willing maybe buy it and if a dog dump it before something big goes bad. :dunno:

 

[$hot]

My 2012 Q5 has been great! If you know how to look for parts and can do stuff yourself it’s cheap

 

[HALLETT BOY]

Audi =

 

[TimeBandit]

$7,000 is not enough for a good used car anymore, closer to $10,000 for a basic GOOD car.... and Audi/BMW/Benz ain't on that list.

Toyota. Scion. Honda. The newer the better, no V6 engines, Under 125,000 miles.

 

[traquer]

Oh and for the record I say hell no as well on an older audi lol.

 

[Racer56]

In June of 19 I bought my daughter a 2016 Audi A4 lease return with 15,000 miles for 14K with a full warranty from Audi of Beverly Hills. The car now has 35K miles and been flawless. Audi of Beverly Hills sells 400 used cars a month and contrary to what you would think, has the best pricing and selection.

 

[Desert Whaler]

Had a room mate years ago . . . lost his audi key, had to come from germany . . .WEEKS later $550.00 . . . FUCK THAT.

 

[Backlash]

Let me try and help you out some more....

Audi/VW designed a self-imploding interference engine that utilizes 20 valves. Those valves are $105 each. When that timing belt goes, the entire top end of that motor is toast. Most if not all of those valves will be bent. There will also be damage to at least one piston. $2,000 just for the new valves, not including ANYTHING else. No thank you, already did that....TWICE!


WALK AWAY.

 

[elco]

I had a 2012 A4 that i bought as a cpo with 20k miles and it was a great car under warranty. I should have dumped it as soon as the warranty expired. Wheel bearings went out earlier than any other vehicle ive owned and were crazy expensive to replace, im thinking it was close to 2k just for the rear. Water pump went out right after and was another 1500. Burned oil like crazy and needed a quart added every time i got gas. Needed a top end rebuild before 60k miles and that was going to be 8k. I would never buy another audi. Got letters in the mail after i sold and most of the issues i had ended up in class action lawsuits.

 

[WhatExit?]

German out of warranty is not a good choice for inexpensive transportation...

German cars rule!

Rule #1: Never buy a German car without a factory warranty.

Rule #2: Unless you have “too much money,” see Rule #1.

 

[SoCalDave]

Fuk those German's...
I went with this 2011 V2 and couldn't be happier with it. 104k miles and runs fn perfect.

 

[SKIDMARC]

Fuk those German's...
I went with this 2011 V2 and couldn't be happier with it. 104k miles and runs fn perfect.

View attachment 1027901

you just jinxed yourself!! Lol.J/K. Hopefully.

 

[Hypnautic]

Bought my Daughter a 2017 A4 Quattro last March. Just under 40k on clock. Car is hers to take to college, etc. She is in 2nd year at Univ OR and drives S to Medford to visit GParents or N to PDX airport. Wanted 4 or all wheel drive for those days with less than perfect weather.
Car has been flawless.
That said would I let her have a 125k+ older model A4 to college. No.
If budget is around 7k. Get a lease with 0 down and about $300/mo. He’s got two years of payments saved up.

 

[J&k beer can]

Better get a full warranty with any German car..
We got the woman a commuter emissions scandal buy back 2015 Audi A3 diesel with 8800 miles in Dec 19.. did full blown 100k warranty ..
It's has gotten lots of work fixed under warranty that was not cheap..
Gets 550miles on 13 gallon tank.. so that was worth the buy.. not our first audi or Germany car..

 

[HotRod82]

My son is looking for a car to get him to college in Sept. He found one with 135K but the guy has sent videos of a pretty complete rebuild done about 5000 miles ago.
It is pretty slim pickings out there right now with a budget of around $7000. Car looks to be in excellent shape, but German anything scares me.
Figured I'd get the inmates to fill me in on any real world experiences.
Sooo whatcha got?

One of my friends has owned an auto shop for 30 years. He always says "friends don't let friends but Audi's or VW's." He won't even work on them, turns people away. I owned a Golf R for a short time, the performance was amazing for a cheaper performance car but it was a nightmare. I dumped it for half what I paid for it. Find a Toyota.......

 

[SoCalDave]

you just jinxed yourself!! Lol.J/K. Hopefully.

You had some bad experiences with the LSA platform? I've not heard of many failures if maintained properly. I was going to install some mods in the next couple of weeks but with the new ECU scan for tunes at smog I'm holding off for a bit to see where things go.
Got some $$$ in parts sitting in the garage ready to bolt on...smh

 

[Chili Palmer]

Watch Hoovies Garage on YouTube - that'll show you what happens when you buy cheap used European cars. There's a reason why they are so cheap after 5 or 6 years, they cost more to fix than they are worth. A proper rebuild will cost more than that car is worth, as was said earlier, tell your son to run away as fast as he can. Get something that is not a DOHC engine, a regular OHV engine is cheap and simple to repair if something goes bad. Have him wait until he's making some money after his degree and then he can buy what he wants.

The engine just had a rebuild? My son just bought a boat last summer (from the RDP classifieds) that the motor had "recently been rebuilt", he got 4 weekends at the river before a couple of pushrods shot into the valve cover and then found out that it had a cracked piston, that's why it was pushing oil out of every orifice from the pressurized crankcase.

If he's hard headed and wants this car, let him get it, but you're not going to help when it comes to repair work. He'll learn real quick that Dad's not as stupid as he thought.

 

[HCP3]

Fuk those German's...
I went with this 2011 V2 and couldn't be happier with it. 104k miles and runs fn perfect.

View attachment 1027901

The kid wants a car for college, not retirement. .

Kidding. The V's are badass when they aren't breaking axles.

 

[DrunkenSailor]

Just have him read this thread and go find a mazda 3 with the 2.5.

 

[SKIDMARC]

You had some bad experiences with the LSA platform? I've not heard of many failures if maintained properly. I was going to install some mods in the next couple of weeks but with the new ECU scan for tunes at smog I'm holding off for a bit to see where things go.
Got some $$$ in parts sitting in the garage ready to bolt on...smh

No I was just being sarcastic. Lol.

 

[lbhsbz]

If he can’t afford a new Audi, he certainly can’t afford a used one.

 

[Waffles]

Whos forking up the cash to buy and maintain said car? You or your son? If its your son and hes hellbent on buying it to flex on the rest of the dudes at school, let him.
That money pit will teach him to listen to dads advice going forward quick.

I went down this road with my then 18yo BIL. He along with Mom and Dad asked me to keep an eye out for a decent starter car for him.
He was hellbent on having an E36 and dad was enabling it because dad was one of those guys that believes you get what you pay for in terms of quality(spoiler alert, hes a bmw guy and believes theyre superior to anything out there). I was forwarding them listings in our group text for honda civics, toyota corollas, nissan tercels, Hyundai's, etc because i have the same views when it comes to repairs and cost as those above......while dad and BIL kept asking me for my opinion on bmw's, audis, even volvos they would send lol.

Long story short, he pulls up one day with a shitbox (in my eyes) e36 and i chuckle. Last thing i remember telling him was "hope you have a big enough savings to keep that"......That shit flew straight over his head.
Sure as shit, a couple of months later, thing started falling a part. Radiator took a shit, steering took a shit, struts on all 4 corners needed to be replaced, rear wheel bearings took a shit.......The final nail on the coffin was when the rear diff started to whine. I helped him whenever i could with labor but he couldnt keep up on the cost of parts lol

These were the kinds of texts I would get from him and dad after the fact….

He sold it and now drives an older civic

Nothing is more humbling than an "I told you so"

 

[Jay Dub]

Tell your son no. Wife has a newer Q5, no issues. That said an older Audi is not a good college car. A coworker was in a similar situation as you with his daughter. He wanted a reliable entry level car. He leased a honda civic for $200 something a month for 3 years.

 

[Uncle Dave]

Just have him read this thread and go find a mazda 3 with the 2.5.

I cant think of a worse college car than an out of warranty audi anything.

Agreed on the Mazda.