Should I or shouldn't I: '99 A4 1.8T

Postby **Huzer** » Sun Dec 16, 2012 9:14

Neighbor has a dead A4, I can get it cheap, sub $1k. THe only info I have at this point is "it's leaking stuff". Cosmetically, I'd give it a 9/10, in and out. It has 138k on it, typical Audi silver with black interior. I'm pretty sure it's an auto tranny.

What say you, yea or nay on picking it up for, say, $750? I've never owned a VW/Audi and have no idea on difficulty to work on.

SecondGenPAt · Postby **SecondGenPAt** » Sun Dec 16, 2012 9:14

buy it, get it working as cheaply as possible, then sell it. Do not buy to own or DD. Ask gs Panda....

tsx_guy · Postby **tsx_guy** » Sun Dec 16, 2012 9:14

I hear audi parts are $$$ and fall apart after 50k. I'd walk away guy... think MG, but in worse shape.

SecondGenPAt · Postby **SecondGenPAt** » Sun Dec 16, 2012 9:14

^^ Heart Click for the Morris Garage reference.

Postby **Huzer** » Sun Dec 16, 2012 9:14

Suppose I forgot to add, this would be 100% a fix and flip. No way would it be a dd. This coming from a guy that dd'd an MG.

kingtut · Postby **kingtut** » Mon Dec 17, 2012 9:14

It sounds like you have your mind made up. Heck, why not- go for it. Though, I wonder if tbis is a sound investment? What's the going rate for a'99 pos with....*cough* auto tranny? (Looks for bella)

Postby **Huzer** » Mon Dec 17, 2012 9:14

kingtut wrote:It sounds like you have your mind made up. Heck, why not- go for it. Though, I wonder if tbis is a sound investment? What's the going rate for a'99 pos with....*cough* auto tranny? (Looks for bella)

Not at all, I won't make up my mind until I look at it a little closer. This was just discussed briefly last night. If it's not an "easy" fix, I'm not touching it.

Postby **RX-7 Chris** » Mon Dec 17, 2012 9:14

I would walk away.

~Barn~ · Postby **~Barn~** » Mon Dec 17, 2012 9:14

If the cosmetics are as good as you say, it would be an easy "flip", if you could make it seaworthy enough to let people test drive it.

tsx_guy · Postby **tsx_guy** » Mon Dec 17, 2012 9:14

kingtut wrote:*cough* auto tranny? (Looks for bella)

(glares) what a dick!

chickenwafer · Postby **chickenwafer** » Mon Dec 17, 2012 9:14

Coming from an actual VW owner, I can attest they are great cars.

Things to look out for and keep in mind: Audis require special tools to work on, they aren't nearly as simple as common hand tools (although some minor jobs are). Parts are expensive and can be difficult to source for odder parts.

Another thing to look out for in the 1.8t motor is sludge. They are notorious for developing engine haultimg sludge if oil isn't changed religiously. The timing belt is a also a big concern, it needs to be done every 65-75k miles or there will be bent valves. It's also a far from cheap and easy job.

I would vote if you are comfortable working on it yourself or have a friend that do it cheaply with you (perhaps profit splitting deal aka wheeler dealer style?) then go for it. Otherwise if you plan on having a shop do the work, I don't think you could make any money.

Food for thought.

chromal · Postby **chromal** » Mon Dec 17, 2012 9:14

chickenwafer wrote:Coming from an actual VW owner, I can attest they are great cars.

That certainly describes the experience of my roommate, who bought a $800 92 Audi 100 CS quattro 2.7l V6 5MT with 2????? miles that had been haphazardly rebuilt (e.g.: Air conditioning, fog light, headlight washer, thermal radiator fan control automation-- all deleted or nonfunctional) after a front-end collision. He wound up building a dual-cam timing alignment bar, buying lots of obscure metric/German/Audi tool bits... He rebuilt the top end and just about everything external to the engine. All that said, the engine bottom end, transmission, differentials-- absolutely built like a truck, he says. This was the Audi C3/4 platform, tho, not sure about the B5.

I'd find your Audi tempting-sounding if only it had a manual transmission. (well, okay, I'd chase for Avants, too. Bah.) But hey, I'm in the same boat with that 2000 Civic EX, which is damningly 4AT and hatchbackless. Fix and flip. Just make sure your budget and sale price expectations are realistic, which is hard to do until you know everything that is wrong with that car. The risk seems low that price to at least start.

Postby **Huzer** » Tue Dec 18, 2012 9:14

chickenwafer wrote:I would vote if you are comfortable working on it yourself or have a friend that do it cheaply with you (perhaps profit splitting deal aka wheeler dealer style?) then go for it. Otherwise if you plan on having a shop do the work, I don't think you could make any money.

Food for thought.

No way would I farm out the work, I'd be doing it myself. I'll be wandering down this weekend (even though the car is only 2 houses away) to check it out and try to get a better idea of what's wrong with it. Thanks for the input.

kingtut · Postby **kingtut** » Tue Dec 18, 2012 9:14

I vote yes. GLWP!

Postby **Huzer** » Sun Feb 17, 2013 9:14

Further research...it's not a 1.8, it's a 2.8 manual tranny. Sounds like it's a water pump.

Should I or shouldn't I: '99 A4 1.8T

Should I or shouldn't I: '99 A4 1.8T

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