Audi A4 Sline 1.8T Good or Bad Buy????

[HNO3ZA]

Hey guys, quick thread here, anyone that can tell me if the following buy, will be a good buy through a dealership?

Audi A4 Sline
1.8T
2008 model
153 000km on clock
full service history, last service on 145 000km.

Purchase Price R105 000.

 

[Ravin']

It's difficult to say, the turbos on these cars can go at any time from about 150000km if I'm not mistaken, and that will not be cheap to replace as the car isn't under warranty, unless you take out a warranty cover policy for one or two hundred bucks a month

On another note, I have driven a model just like this, my uncle had one, and they are really nice cars, to look at as well

 

[Kamikaze]

It's one thing to buy a turbo car, it's another thing to maintain it. I went the safe naturally aspirated route and I dont regret it one day.

 

[HNO3ZA]

It's difficult to say, the turbos on these cars can go at any time from about 150000km if I'm not mistaken, and that will not be cheap to replace as the car isn't under warranty, unless you take out a warranty cover policy for one or two hundred bucks a month

On another note, I have driven a model just like this, my uncle had one, and they are really nice cars, to look at as well

I will inquire if theres something like a warranty type thingy available as the car is 9 years old. But the mileage is very low for its age...

 

[Toxxyc]

I wouldn't not with those kilometers. Biggest reason is that you're not going to get it sold a few years from now. Trust me, I had a much newer car with 180k km and I struggled my ass off to even let a dealer take it on a trade-in.

 

[Ravin']

I will inquire if theres something like a warranty type thingy available as the car is 9 years old. But the mileage is very low for its age...

It is low indeed, but still could be a huge concern regarding that turbo, my brothers turbo on his 2006 Focus died at 160000 ks and it was R26K to replace

 

[Toxxyc]

Mileage is low for the age if you consider the average usually calculated at, but it's not exceptionally low. It's between 17k and 20k per year, which was the average on cars not too long ago.

Now my wife drives a 2006 Yaris with 60k km on the clock. THAT is low...

 

[dash09]

I wouldn't risk it on a 9 year old car with 150 000km for that price. Plus in 2-3 years time you going to struggle to sell it on

 

[Toxxyc]

It is low indeed, but still could be a huge concern regarding that turbo, my brothers turbo on his 2006 Focus died at 160000 ks and it was R26K to replace

R26k for a turbo is cheap. Saw one go on a Jetta not too long ago and it was more than twice that money. Thank you German parts.

 

[phenix456]

There's after market warranties, definitely possible with that car. Check the cost of the next couple services. Check when the timing belt service needs to be done, that's usually a bit costly.

It's one thing to buy a turbo car, it's another thing to maintain it. I went the safe naturally aspirated route and I dont regret it one day.

Maintaining a turbo car is not bad, just expect to fill up oil now and then. Maintaining a performance car is another story.

 

[Ravin']

R26k for a turbo is cheap. Saw one go on a Jetta not too long ago and it was more than twice that money. Thank you German parts.

It's ridiculous, and driving a factory turbo car without the turbo The Flinstones cars have more power; it's amazing how much they rely on the turbos when factory fitted.

 

[HNO3ZA]

I just got off the phone with Audi Menlyn, the A4 retail value is currently @ R108k. so R105k is not bad. They did however mentioned that servicing the A4 is Expensive. Just to do the brakes can easily reach R6k etc...

 

[DominionZA]

I just got off the phone with Audi Menlyn, the A4 retail value is currently @ R108k. so R105k is not bad. They did however mentioned that servicing the A4 is Expensive. Just to do the brakes can easily reach R6k etc...

Just had my A5 service - and had brakes done. R4k. R6k is madness.

Besides, after motor plan has expired, you no longer use the dealer for servicing if you want to save cash.

On the third party warranty...
I took the motorite prestige thinking it would have me nicely covered.
Then S-Tronic box gave problems. R6k and not covered.
Then headlamp kicked the bucket. R10k and not covered.

I got nothing from it. Was going to renew at the end of 2 years. Not going to anymore. Will just wing it.

 

[Toxxyc]

Go read after-market warranties' T's and C's properly - the never cover the full extent of it and they never cover something unless it's a factory defect. After 5 years, factory defects have worked themselves out. If something breaks, they're not going to cover it. That's how they get you.

 

[BatterybOy]

I've owned 5 Audi's. There should be a good non dealer workshop you can take your car for services etc. Phone the audi dealership in your area and ask for the service department. Give them the Vin number and ask them to pull the service history. Check the km's and the dates. Also ask them what parts have a been replaced over the last 100000km or 5 years. Biggest problem you currently have is a cambelt replacement is due at 160k. It doesn't have to be done by audi as they are way over priced. Anyways that's my 5 cents. Awesome car. Oh yes check for accidents damage.

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[Toy Machine]

I haven't read the entire thread but my one mate in hostel, his Dad had one and 2000km's out of it's service/warranty the turbo blew, costing him 20-30k to fix out of his own pocket

 

[GamingLaptops]

I have one of these, they need 5w-40 fully synthetic oil because the motors are susceptible to 'oil coking' around the turbo oil feed lines which kills the turbo and the timing chain tensioner at the back of the motor. It will also need the oil/water heat exchanger changed, its a R600 part that failed on mine and mixed all the oil and water, which can be dangerous if not noticed and needs a lot of labour to be cleaned out.

 

[Byakugan]

I would check the full history of this car, if its still on the original turbo you should be wary. Though anything goes these days with cars. I owned a 2010 Astra J 1.4 turbo from 40 000km on it to just over 100k on the clock and had no issues. Traded it in, the dealership sold it to someone and 2 months in the car was at the dealership cause the turbo went while the guy was driving.

Just make sure the car was well looked after, dont drive it too hard and if possible dont make it your everyday car.

Either way the S-Line A4 is a fantastic car and very pleasant drive. Personally I wouldnt buy this one because I dont see a sunroof on it!

 

[ahoudet]

Have a look at "The Audi Thread" on My Broadband in the motoring section. Lots of extremely informative info on there.

I wouldn't be too worried about the turbo. They can be refurbished at a fraction of the costs mentioned here - I've done it on an ex Megane 2 DCI. My current Megane RS is now sitting at 195k km and the turbo is fine.


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[Reap3r]

I don't have any experience with these cars but why would the turbos blow so early?
Seems like a very low mileage to be popping turbos

 

[Boss187]

If its full house with sunroof then its a decent deal. Just make sure to take a warranty out or have some funds on hand for maintenance.

 

[PJtheKILL3R]

I don't have any experience with these cars but why would the turbos blow so early?
Seems like a very low mileage to be popping turbos

Mostly because people don't know how to drive turbo charged cars.
they will start it up in the morning wait till the heat gauge (Which is water temp) is warm and then start to hammer it, meanwhile the oil temp is still far from warm :/
and they will do some "spirited driving" stop in the garage and just turn the car off, no waiting for the oil temp to go down, but yeah.

I had a guy send me a picture the other day, gloating about how red his turbo is from the heat after he switched it off, needless to say, it died

 

[1 Eyed Monkey]

What gearbox is there? If Multitronic (auto), I would advise against buying it. If manual, go for it. Haggle a bit on the price to about 95k. Theres a lot of good honest indie's that can work on these cars.

 

[Reap3r]

Mostly because people don't know how to drive turbo charged cars.
they will start it up in the morning wait till the heat gauge (Which is water temp) is warm and then start to hammer it, meanwhile the oil temp is still far from warm :/
and they will do some "spirited driving" stop in the garage and just turn the car off, no waiting for the oil temp to go down, but yeah.

I had a guy send me a picture the other day, gloating about how red his turbo is from the heat after he switched it off, needless to say, it died

Pretty much what I thought, my dad has driven turbos all my life and never had one die. Diesel thought. But the theory of warm up and cool down is the same.

 

[QuantumX]

Some of the older Audi/VW Turbo engines have an inherent flaw with the oil pump pickup. The mesh filter in the pickup would get clogged when the oil gets dirty from infrequent oil changes, clogged/broken PCV systems or using the wrong oil. I have read up about this and some guys who've dealt with these engines alot said it is good practice to service and clean the sump and replace the oil pump pickup tube with every major (cambelt) service. This also explains the early turbo failures since the turbo's one these cars are oil cooled and oil starvation would surely damage the turbo gradually. http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/2-0-tfsi-pick-up-pipe-clarification.227639/

I've had an engine failure on my 2004 A4 1.8T which cost me a pretty penny so I took it upon myself to figure out what went wrong to make sure it doesn't happen again. From what I found it all started with a faulty PCV valve (which cost R350 to replace) and a faulty thermostat which wouldn't let the engine heat up to the proper operating temperature. That caused the engine oil to become contaminated and clogged the oil pickup... And from there it was downhill.

If you buy the car my advice would be to do a full PCV system refresh and get the oil pickup replaced ASAP just for peace of mind.

Get the engine code of the car then check HERE which oil pump/pickup and PCV system is running on that engine. You can also import the complete PCV refresh kits from ECS Tuning

The control arms, or the bushings at least, on the Audi B6/B7 chassis also deteriorate after some time so I'll get those checked also.

Those are the biggest mechanical issues i can think of now.

As a 1.8T owner I would say that these cars are not for everyone, you need good knowledge of the car and it's flaws so you can do preventative maintenance on components that are known to fail. The plus side is that these are very popular with the VW/Audi enthusiasts so you'll always be able to get parts and there is a wealth of knowledge online for these cars. You can also get a diagnostic tool like VCDS to read error codes yourself, Google it, and then give the workshops specific instructions as per what you read.

They are very comfortable and has all the luxuries you need in a car, all in all very rewarding if you maintain them properly. Doing the aftermarket software and downpipe also make them quite sporty if you are so inclined.

If you plan to buy this and then trade it in for something else in a couple of years time it's probably not the best buy. I'm married to mine and won't be selling her ever, I spoil her with the best