Rodney

Traditionally, Audi engines and drivetrains are very reliable. It was usually the electrical systems that had problems, but that seems to have been improved upon with the A4. Ask to see service records. Ask about details about the car, check the tires, to see what kind of tires the owner put on (Sears roadhandlers are not a good sign). Find out when and if they switched to synthetic. Look at the overall cleanliness of the car, including the engine bay (someone who takes the time to clean in there probably also keeps up with regular maintenance, uses good gas, and doesn't thrash the car. Also ask about how they broke the car in, they should have gon easy on it (engine speed below 4000 rpm) for the first 600 miles and then gradually increased. Also, ask about cool down periods. After spirited driving the turbo needs a chance to cool down (1-2 minutes) or it will cook the oil (even synthetic), this is not necessary in just regular cruising, only when you're on the gas hard right up til you stop. If they don't know about the cool down period I'd be a little nervous. Also, if it's a '97 or early '98 check to see if it's got the newer U shaped oil line shield (there are pics of it in the archives so you know what to look for), this would have been added after the turbo was replaced due to a broken wastegate rod, which was a problem on the earlier cars.

As far as chipping, it will reduce the life of the engine and turbo, but no one really knows from what or by how much. In my opinion, reliability will be more dependent on how you treat the car, and keep up with its maintenance than on whether you chip or not. With most chips, inculding my MTM chip, the car operates just like stock most of the time, it's just when you stomp on the accelerator that the car turns into a different animal, and that's the only time it's really under additional stress.

Finally, note that VW has a 10yr/100,000 mile power train warranty on all of their cars, including 1.8T Passats, Beetles (and soon the Jetta and Golf), so I doubt there's anything to worry about for at least 110,000-125,000 miles (they would want a buffer).<p>Regards,
Rodney

'99 A4 1.8tqms

mfliam08

I have a 97audi a4 quattro 1.8T I love this car (before) I hit 200k now I have run into multiple PROBLEMS! the list is long and if anyone knows expensive. lol. anyone buying high milage audi definatly have a mechanic check check check again look and inspect fully! at what mileage would you decide NOT to buy audi? how is VW compaired to audi?

jimgiggles

Did you notice the date on this thread? year 2000.. holy digging up old threads.. lol

4Driver4

Viva la KAWF!

Bumping sux.

Revzillia

My 98 1.8 has 196,000 and climbing . Still has orginal front end and ko3 . I run full synthetic . Have a yearly inspection on it and repair what fails . nothing over the top or extreme . brakes, wheel bearings , a few oil leaks , i put a clutch in it . It will need another timing belt this year .... Best 5000.00 i've ever spent . I'ts my daily driver and track rat .....

turbo510

I recently saw one advertised with 300K. That's 20K/year on a '96, not impossible to do. Mine has 206,000, wind it to 6200 redline every day, on the original ZF automatic too.

Audi0s

I think theyre all very reliable as long as you keep up with them. Ive worked on multiple 180,000 mi engines, some were over 220k. Mines coming up on 140 with 100k being chipped. Still original KO3 from 97, although I do have a turbo timer to aid in cooling.

jumungi

98' 1.8T 5sp AWD
300,000kms(186,000 miles)
orig K03, Mobil 1 since 6k just switched to Royal Purple, hoping to get 350-380k before I tear into the motor to upgrade for the next 200k..

It's all in the preventative maintenance, and not lugging the motor DRIVE THEM put be kind when they need it!

dbratton

my 98 1.8TQ (autotragic) has 220,xxx on the clock now and it runs pretty good...its the daily driver and i drive pretty spirited with no issuse...its not chipped or modded to the extreme just an exhaust and a forge spliter..i do chage the oil around every 2500 miles with mobil 1 synthetic and i also do a seafoam treatment about every 2 months..rear wheel bearings has been the biggest fix on my a4 yet

wvuagr734

I have a '97 A4 with the 1.8 turbo and it runs great with 208,000 miles. I am currently changing rear wheel bearings and there are a few other things but the engine is running strong.