How bad is the B6 Audi A4?

[Throckmorton]

I may have destroyed my E36 BMW... It overheated yesterday to 285F and I stupidly put in cold water. I'm getting my shadetree mechanic buddy to look at it today but I'm guessing at the least the headgasket is blown and the block or head might be cracked from the cold water. Besides that, I found out it will cost at least $1000 to fix up the interior, not to mention a plethora of other problems yet to be fixed like the RMS, oil pan gasket, etc.

So I may just sell it to the shadetree mechanic (he loves these cars and owns about a dozen already) and buy something much newer from a dealer. I can't stand the douchebag factor with newer BMWs so I'm thinking about an Audi. How unreliable is the B6? And how difficult is it to work on compared to a BMW? Is it much more complex?

I found this wagon on Craigslist-- while I'm not a fan of AWD at least the wagon has 50/50 weight distribution and is practical.

http://houston.craigslist.org/ctd/3684890628.html

There's also this 3.0L sedan but I believe the 3.0L has about 200lb extra weight up front
http://houston.craigslist.org/ctd/3711619059.html

 

[Throckmorton]

Or how about another VAG car... the 1st gen Boxster? I assumed they are difficult to work on with a flat 6 mounted in the middle of the car, but according to this thread they are relatively easy to work on!?! http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforu...424543-boxster-difficult-to-diy-maintain.html

 

[phucheneh]

I can only speak from 80's and 90's models, but Porsches generally do not seem to be hard to work on. Occasionally a hose or a wire or whatnot could use some extra length or something...they could've made tweaks to make it easier, but they don't have as cryptic a design as some other German makes.

They are, however, generally a terrible wise and beautiful woman to work with. If you're used to Japanese and American cars, the way they do things is often pretty bewildering.

Hopefully that makes some kind of sense? Basically, they're easy to hang parts on; frustrating as shit to troubleshoot.

That gen of A4 should be pretty decent. The S4's are generally much more of a PITA. IIRC is was the B5 with the turbos where you basically took the whole car apart to access them? Reliability on VW and Audi both seemed to be vastly improving as they moved away from their 90's designs.

You want a 1.8T and a manual trans in that.

 

[T2urtle]

Sounds like you didn't care too much for the E36, if you do the same with a A4, it will do the same.

The E36 probaly over heated due to the plastic cooling system, IE water pump impeller and T-stat housing leaking. Its often overlooked not sure if you did it with your E36. But the A4 are timing belt cars that have the same plastic stuff on there, it needs to be done around 80k i think or those things can overheat and/or timing belt break.

I would get a B6 A4 over a E36, maybe not a E46. 100% get a manual trans. 1.8T are sludge motors. 2.8/3.0 are solid motors but most people opt for 1.8T's

 

[halik]

^ this.

We have a B6 A4 convertible; aside from the FWD CVT transmission they don't have any weak spots. If you do neglect oil changes, be ready for sludging issues on the 1.8t.

Buy from a private party, not a buy here/pay here dealership.

 

[Throckmorton]

Sounds like you didn't care too much for the E36, if you do the same with a A4, it will do the same.

The E36 probaly over heated due to the plastic cooling system, IE water pump impeller and T-stat housing leaking. Its often overlooked not sure if you did it with your E36. But the A4 are timing belt cars that have the same plastic stuff on there, it needs to be done around 80k i think or those things can overheat and/or timing belt break.

I would get a B6 A4 over a E36, maybe not a E46. 100% get a manual trans. 1.8T are sludge motors. 2.8/3.0 are solid motors but most people opt for 1.8T's

I just got the E36 5 months ago for pretty cheap, though I didn't know how much was really wrong with it. I've been replacing everything with OEM German parts from FCP Euro and Pelican. I planned to restore it because I love E36s, but it's getting to be too expensive and taking too much time. Almost every weekend I'm working on it or getting it worked on. I missed an important birthday dinner yesterday when it overheated!

 

[Throckmorton]

^ this.

We have a B6 A4 convertible; aside from the FWD CVT transmission they don't have any weak spots. If you do neglect oil changes, be ready for sludging issues on the 1.8t.

Buy from a private party, not a buy here/pay here dealership.

Unfortunately I don't have the cash to buy from a private party. A loan from a dealer makes it really practical, because I can get say a $5000 loan over 24 months and pay just $208/month.

Is it possible to check the 1.8T for sludge? Are the turbos a failure point? Any bad noises to listen for?

 

[Jimzz]

If you can't buy a cheap used car outright you should not be looking at European cars out of warranty.

Get a cheap Asian or American car that has been taken care of.

 

[Throckmorton]

If you can't buy a cheap used car outright you should not be looking at European cars out of warranty.

Get a cheap Asian or American car that has been taken care of.

Show me a cheap Asian or American car with RWD or "symmetrical AWD" that's available with a manual transmission and isn't horrible (I'm looking at you 4th gen Camaro). OK, Miata fits the bill but I don't want another one. I'd like a better highway cruiser. You also can't carry a kayak or surfboard on one, unlike the Boxster.

I make about $5000-6000/mo so I can afford maintenance, I just don't have a bunch of cash lying around aside from what I need to pay the IRS with

 

[Dr. Detroit]

240SX
Mustang GT
Lincoln LS V6 5spd
3000 GT
Nissan 300ZX

Might be worth it to increase your budget to $8K and find a very nice E36 that was meticulously maintained.

 

[Throckmorton]

240SX
Mustang GT
Lincoln LS V6 5spd
3000 GT
Nissan 300ZX

Might be worth it to increase your budget to $8K and find a very nice E36 that was meticulously maintained.

The Lincoln is impossible to find with a manual, and the others are all overpriced cars for what you get!! For the price of that Audi wagon, you can get an awful SN95 Mustang, a 23 year old 300zx that's been riced, or an even more riced out "drifter" 240sx

 

[manimal]

Sorry you cooked your E36 Throck. First thing I always tell people with older BMWs is do a cooling system overhaul first thing if you cant verify the age or history.


Too bad your not closer or I would rescue it from you since your dumping her

 

[RichieZ]

Show me a cheap Asian or American car with RWD or "symmetrical AWD" that's available with a manual transmission and isn't horrible (I'm looking at you 4th gen Camaro). OK, Miata fits the bill but I don't want another one. I'd like a better highway cruiser. You also can't carry a kayak or surfboard on one, unlike the Boxster.

I make about $5000-6000/mo so I can afford maintenance, I just don't have a bunch of cash lying around aside from what I need to pay the IRS with

so i can see surfboard in the passenger seat in a pinch (i've put my snowboard in mine), but where the hell are you going to put a kayak? the boxster is not a very practical car, its my second/weekend car

 

[halik]

Show me a cheap Asian or American car with RWD or "symmetrical AWD" that's available with a manual transmission and isn't horrible (I'm looking at you 4th gen Camaro). OK, Miata fits the bill but I don't want another one. I'd like a better highway cruiser. You also can't carry a kayak or surfboard on one, unlike the Boxster.

I make about $5000-6000/mo so I can afford maintenance, I just don't have a bunch of cash lying around aside from what I need to pay the IRS with

Unfortunately I don't have the cash to buy from a private party. A loan from a dealer makes it really practical, because I can get say a $5000 loan over 24 months and pay just $208/month.

Is it possible to check the 1.8T for sludge? Are the turbos a failure point? Any bad noises to listen for?

No offense, but you should be looking at a cheap lower milage econobox. Something like a 50k mile ford focus.

 

[Throckmorton]

No offense, but you should be looking at a cheap lower milage econobox. Something like a 50k mile ford focus.

No... I've never owned a FWD car and I don't plan to


I know I said I didn't like the E46 but I might end up with an early 2000s one. The platform is similar to the E36 which I now know pretty well and I know I can get work done cheaply. I've never seen the interior falling apart on one of those cars either. Did they fix the subframe cracking issue for the 2003 model year?


So you don't know of any 1.8T sounds to listen for? I've never owned a turbocharged engine.

 

[iamwiz82]

No... I've never owned a FWD car and I don't plan to


I know I said I didn't like the E46 but I might end up with an early 2000s one. The platform is similar to the E36 which I now know pretty well and I know I can get work done cheaply. I've never seen the interior falling apart on one of those cars either. Did they fix the subframe cracking issue for the 2003 model year?

You do realize that the A4 is a FWD car that happens to offer AWD right?

 

[Throckmorton]

Apparently the Boxster has some serious design flaws. This is the kind of stuff that I don't want, because even if it was fixed at 80k miles, it will fail again a 120k and 160k.

http://www.piperboxster.com/rms.htm

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2008/11/wild-ass-rumor-of-the-day-porsche-boxster-engine-failures/

 

[Throckmorton]

You do realize that the A4 is a FWD car that happens to offer AWD right?

The AWD version is "symmetrical". It splits power with a Torsen differential 50/50. On newer Audis it's something like a 40/60 front/rear split. It's not like most AWD cars which are FWD and send power to the rear when the front wheels slip.

I checked to see if you can replace the center diff with one that sends more power to the rear, but that seems impossible. There is apparently a myth in the Audi community that you can do that with an upgraded 4:1 Torsen but it's not true. The stock diff sends 2x the torque of the slipping axle to the gripping axle. An open diff has a 1x multiplier. IE if you drive over ice and your front traction gets reduced to 10% of normal, with an open diff the other axle can only get that same torque amount. With the stock Torsen the axle with better grip gets 2x that amount. With the upgraded Torsen that increases to 4x, but that 4x can go to either the front or rear and doesn't mean anything when both axles have grip.

 

[Throckmorton]

Looks like they never actually got the E46 subframe problem fixed

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/...me-lawsuit-promises-to-repair-affected-models

 

[Throckmorton]

so i can see surfboard in the passenger seat in a pinch (i've put my snowboard in mine), but where the hell are you going to put a kayak? the boxster is not a very practical car, its my second/weekend car

 

[RichieZ]

no room for the roof rack on my car, but have been considering the hidden hitch for my bike and track wheels

 

[Alienwho]

Dude, you're just buying other peoples problems. Stop trying to be cool and use your brain. If you're looking at $5,000 cars then you aren't rich enough to care about FWD vs RWD and 50/50 weight distribution and all that bullshit. Drive a 5 year old hyundai for a couple of years and create a little financial independence in your life.

I do commend you at actually looking at cheaper cars than buying way beyond your means. You just aren't looking at the right cars right now. When you get into the 100k miles range on these 10 year old german cars you are buying more electrical gremlins than you can count, turbo issues with the audi's plus all the other problems that happen to german cars that aren't properly cared for (which lets face it, the kind of people that drive these cars don't take care of them).

I had a 2002 A4 for many years. Got it in 2005 with 40k miles, in ran pretty good overall until about 100k when I bailed. It was the 1.8T and had a few times in its life where the turbo failed, cylinders failed, etc. Electric windows chose when to work, bulbs were going out all over the place. I got rid of the car with those high miles for a reason. I would consider it financial suicide to spend 6k on that vehicle.

 

[mafia]

If you're looking at $5,000 cars then you aren't rich enough to care about FWD vs RWD and 50/50 weight distribution and all that bullshit. .

Sorry, it's not bullshit. Some people actually have a passion for cars and want something fun to drive vs a typical FWD slushbox. Just because they aren't "rich" doesn't mean they can't have what they want.

OP, have you looked into Subarus? There is a few of them, Legacy for example, you can get for cheap and also has symettrical AWD and manual transmission. Also, you might want to increase your budget and try to get better maintained vehicles with lower mileage. It's hard finding a sensible FWD slushbox that's well maintained for $5k nowadays, let alone a car that you want.

 

[halik]

No... I've never owned a FWD car and I don't plan to


I know I said I didn't like the E46 but I might end up with an early 2000s one. The platform is similar to the E36 which I now know pretty well and I know I can get work done cheaply. I've never seen the interior falling apart on one of those cars either. Did they fix the subframe cracking issue for the 2003 model year?


So you don't know of any 1.8T sounds to listen for? I've never owned a turbocharged engine.

You're borrowing $5K on a car a very used high maintenance car, don't/can't DIY and already own a very used high maintenance car. You should be driving a 50K mile kia/camry on that budget; used german cars are a game for DIYers.

 

[Throckmorton]

You're borrowing $5K on a car a very used high maintenance car, don't/can't DIY and already own a very used high maintenance car. You should be driving a 50K mile kia/camry on that budget; used german cars are a game for DIYers.

I don't think you understand because you're wealthy and buy new cars. My E36 is NOT a high maintenance car. It's a car that I bought with a lot of things already wrong with it. It's not like something is just breaking every couple months, it's that I have a list of things to repair and the new things breaking are just getting added onto it (in this case it could be that I need a new head). Do you see the difference?

I do DIY things I can do without jacking up the car. I changed the spark plugs (OK that's easy anyway) and replaced the valve cover gasket on the E36.