98 Audi A4 reliability
- Thread starter MikeMike
- Start date
vwvortex.com is a good resource for VW/audi.
Never owned one myself, but I have a friend who is a mechanic who says if you take care of them, they'll last.
Never owned one myself, but I have a friend who is a mechanic who says if you take care of them, they'll last.
AgaBoogaBoo
Lifer
- Feb 16, 2003
- 26,108
- 5
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I have an '01 A4 Avant. We have the same B5 platform, so you better get it. 
The B5 is sweeeeet.
Seriously, check edmunds and other sites for reader reliability on that year.
The B5 is sweeeeet.
Seriously, check edmunds and other sites for reader reliability on that year.
:thumbsup: The only thing I regret on my car is not getting the 2.8 (albeit it was 4k more when I bought the 1.8).
3chordcharlie
Diamond Member
- Mar 30, 2004
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The 2.8L engine prvides the lower-compression 2.7T turbo version, IIRC...
I wouldn't touch an Audi with a 10-foot pole. I know three people with A4s (two) and A6s (one) from that generation, and all told they have had upwards of $50k in transmission repairs. About 2/3rds of that was covered by Audi, under hidden extended warranties, but the cars ae now 6-8 years old, and next time they break, there will be no such special treatment.
I wouldn't touch an Audi with a 10-foot pole. I know three people with A4s (two) and A6s (one) from that generation, and all told they have had upwards of $50k in transmission repairs. About 2/3rds of that was covered by Audi, under hidden extended warranties, but the cars ae now 6-8 years old, and next time they break, there will be no such special treatment.
3chordcharlie
Diamond Member
- Mar 30, 2004
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Originally posted by: pulse8
$50k in transmission repairs on one car or all of them?
About 35K on the A6 4.2, and 15K between the other two.
Edit - Canadian dollars, currently that would be about US$40k.
I've seen mixed reviews on them. The lucky ones who never have a mechanical problem love the car. But if it breaks down, which it will sooner or later because it is an older car, the maintenance costs are quite high.
Here is a link to edmunds.com, I tend to pay more attention to the negative comments. Always think worst case scenario.
http://www.edmunds.com/used/1998/audi/a...r.html?tid=edmunds.u.crrindex...1.Audi*
Here is a link to edmunds.com, I tend to pay more attention to the negative comments. Always think worst case scenario.
http://www.edmunds.com/used/1998/audi/a...r.html?tid=edmunds.u.crrindex...1.Audi*
don't own one, and never will
being part of a car dealership in the past we learned the hardway, VW and audi's: fix fix fix fix and big bucks to fix, maybe the newer ones, like 2002 and newer are better?, but I wouldn't risk it.
interesting a lady freind asked my a few days ago about a used 2003 A8 she was thinking about buying with 45,000 miles on it. I told her no way, the repair bills on that thing would be something else ($$$$$$$) later on. she knows nothing about cars, she wouldn't take care of it anyhow
being part of a car dealership in the past we learned the hardway, VW and audi's: fix fix fix fix and big bucks to fix, maybe the newer ones, like 2002 and newer are better?, but I wouldn't risk it.
interesting a lady freind asked my a few days ago about a used 2003 A8 she was thinking about buying with 45,000 miles on it. I told her no way, the repair bills on that thing would be something else ($$$$$$$) later on. she knows nothing about cars, she wouldn't take care of it anyhow
Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
Originally posted by: pulse8
$50k in transmission repairs on one car or all of them?
About 35K on the A6 4.2, and 15K between the other two.
Edit - Canadian dollars, currently that would be about US$40k.
What the fvck are you talking about?
Did they replace their transmissions like 10 times?
Turkish
Lifer
- May 26, 2003
- 15,547
- 1
- 81
Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
Originally posted by: pulse8
$50k in transmission repairs on one car or all of them?
About 35K on the A6 4.2, and 15K between the other two.
Edit - Canadian dollars, currently that would be about US$40k.
Horsesh!t.
Even with Canadian dollars, there's no way a transmission replacement will cost $35K.
Edit: and for your information, Audi engines / transmissons are very reliable, its their smaller mechanical / electronic parts that tend to have reliability issues due to over-engineering IMO. I have a 1999 Audi A4 1.8T (5 speed) by the way.
yep they nickel and dime ya to death, well it should be nickel and dime but with these cars every little electrical problem cost 3 x what it should, fix fix and more fix
and yes auto trannies go out, and it cost big dollars
and yes auto trannies go out, and it cost big dollars
3chordcharlie
Diamond Member
- Mar 30, 2004
- 9,859
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Originally posted by: The Boss
Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
Originally posted by: pulse8
$50k in transmission repairs on one car or all of them?
About 35K on the A6 4.2, and 15K between the other two.
Edit - Canadian dollars, currently that would be about US$40k.
Horsesh!t.
Even with Canadian dollars, there's no way a transmission replacement will cost $35K.
Edit: and for your information, Audi engines / transmissons are very reliable, its their smaller mechanical / electronic parts that tend to have reliability issues due to over-engineering IMO. I have a 1999 Audi A4 1.8T (5 speed) by the way.
Call 'horseshit' all you want - that's what the repairs would have cost if not for unofficial warranties, which would never be extended to a 7 year old car on a resale owner.
The bill for the first, complete transmission replacement was about $15K. That one lasted a month, and Audi replaced it again, plus reimburesed for the first job. There have been a couple of transmission overhauls over and above scheduled maintenance, with a total cost of around $5000. The car has stranded it's owner a total of 5 times in 5 or 6 years now (~100k miles / 160k km), having been bought new, and it was transmission-related every time.
This is the A6 I'm talking about, and for your information, the transmission was not reliable, nor was the second one, and the third one has been a fair bit of trouble as well. This is an automatic transmission and has nothing to do with your 5-speed, but is enough to convince me I do not want an Audi.
The A4 1.8t 5-speed owner I know has never been stranded, but he has spent quite a bit more on maintenance for a 5 year old car than would normally be expected.
Originally posted by: The Boss
Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
Originally posted by: pulse8
$50k in transmission repairs on one car or all of them?
About 35K on the A6 4.2, and 15K between the other two.
Edit - Canadian dollars, currently that would be about US$40k.
Horsesh!t.
Even with Canadian dollars, there's no way a transmission replacement will cost $35K.
Edit: and for your information, Audi engines / transmissons are very reliable, its their smaller mechanical / electronic parts that tend to have reliability issues due to over-engineering IMO. I have a 1999 Audi A4 1.8T (5 speed) by the way.
Seriously.. 35K??
That's ridiculous..
My personal experiences with Audi:
My friends had a 98 A4 they just sold that had nothing to be done to it other than maintanence and a replaced alternator.
'02 TT quattro
It is driven hard, and the dealer replaced the clutch for free at 25k.
There's been literally no mechanical problems with the car.
Turkish
Lifer
- May 26, 2003
- 15,547
- 1
- 81
Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
Originally posted by: The Boss
Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
Originally posted by: pulse8
$50k in transmission repairs on one car or all of them?
About 35K on the A6 4.2, and 15K between the other two.
Edit - Canadian dollars, currently that would be about US$40k.
Horsesh!t.
Even with Canadian dollars, there's no way a transmission replacement will cost $35K.
Edit: and for your information, Audi engines / transmissons are very reliable, its their smaller mechanical / electronic parts that tend to have reliability issues due to over-engineering IMO. I have a 1999 Audi A4 1.8T (5 speed) by the way.
Call 'horseshit' all you want - that's what the repairs would have cost if not for unofficial warranties, which would never be extended to a 7 year old car on a resale owner.
The bill for the first, complete transmission replacement was about $15K. That one lasted a month, and Audi replaced it again, plus reimburesed for the first job. There have been a couple of transmission overhauls over and above scheduled maintenance, with a total cost of around $5000. The car has stranded it's owner a total of 5 times in 5 or 6 years now (~100k miles / 160k km), having been bought new, and it was transmission-related every time.
This is the A6 I'm talking about, and for your information, the transmission was not reliable, nor was the second one, and the third one has been a fair bit of trouble as well. This is an automatic transmission and has nothing to do with your 5-speed, but is enough to convince me I do not want an Audi.
The A4 1.8t 5-speed owner I know has never been stranded, but he has spent quite a bit more on maintenance for a 5 year old car than would normally be expected.
My mom has a 2000 A6 4.2L... with automatic transmission and she has had zero problems with the engine/transmission. Zero. Its funny how you are not considering the fact that 1. your friend may be abusing the car badly, 2. the dealer/technician that installed the transmission was certainly not qualified to do the job, 3. your friend may simply be unlucky.
Trust me, we have more Audis back home than you have here and I have had my fair share of problems with all Audi vehicles except the A8 and never seen a transmission replaced 3 times, if at all.
I drive a 1999 Audi A4, mom drives an A6, 2 cousins drive A3s, uncle drives a TT, etc.
I am not saying Audis are the most reliable car out there but as long as you take care of it (a.k.a. don't abuse it and look after it when its needed), the car should be fine.
And the MSN Auto site is complaining about the timing belt, which doesn't make sense because when you buy the car, you gotta do your research. The manual states that the timing belt has to be replaced at 60,000 miles. If you don't, why bitch about Audi's reliability?
replace at 60,000 miles, ya I know many newer small cheap cars are like that............I drive american v8 power, no such cost
3chordcharlie
Diamond Member
- Mar 30, 2004
- 9,859
- 1
- 81
My aunt is a 45 year old soccer-mom, whose kids are still too young to drive - it's possible that abuse was a factor, but highly unlikely.
Is it possible that the Audi dealer was using substandard labour? Of course! I mean they only billed about $5000 for labour, per job, so I imagine they were paying their technicians minimum wage (not joking).
Certainly she has been unlucky, I can't imagine that being the usual experience of Audi owners, or the company wouldn't be in business. But the main point is really that the cars aren't bulletproof, and repairs are not cheap. I wouldn't buy one at all after seeing people have these experiences, but I recognize that if I did buy one, I would probably do better than that, I just wouldn't trust the car to be reliable.
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