AwolQuattro

Going to be buying this car from my best friends dad. It has 144k miles on it. They just recently had the timing belt replaced as well as the dash gauges. The rest of the car is in excellent condition. It looks like a showroom car. Just want some advice on things to look out for. They are selling it to me for 2 grand since I'm basically family.

rdA4WtQ5

At that mileage you may need to replace the control arms if they haven't been done. CV boots axles, clutch if manual. Hoses under the hood crack and cause grief.

audimaniac2012

Abs module, hoses, heater core will need to be flushed with crl soon. Valve cover gaskets aswell. Other than that 2grand is around average for that car

AwolQuattro

The control arms are new and the hoses are fine. All the problems that are generally associated with this model have been taken care of. Any advice on the average up keep on this car. I'm hoping to keep it for a while. I'm a big car guy so most of it will be done myself and I am fortunate to know an Audi tech who will do repairs as long as I bring the parts

jseklund

Sounds like a good deal to me if you KNOW the car was well maintained, and it sounds like you do know that. Assuming they are honest people and you trust them (since it's your best friend and all) and they've kept up on it like you believe, this is a great deal.

I maintain 3 Audis. 2 of them are A6 Quattro with the 2.7T engine and 1 is a 2001 Audi A4 1.8T. I bought one of the A6's and the A4 with over 90K on them and the A6 now has 210K and the A4 has 130K (my gf drives much less than I do - she's had it for about 3 years).

The work on two of the three cars has been standard - CV joints, brakes, timing belts, coil packs, spark plugs, heater core bleeding, transmission fluid changes, etc. On the A4 I just replaced a front wheel bearing, which was actually easier than I'd anticipated in the end.

All cars will have issues, regardless of the maintanence - but it sounds like the big things have been taken care of and you are getting a good deal, IMO. If it weren't so well maintained, I'd say the deal may not be GREAT, but since the car sounds like it's mechanically well maintained AND aesthetically well maintained, you could probably get $3-4K for it easily, IMO.

The on thing I would plan on if it hasn't been done yet - change the tranny fluid and filter. This is OFTEN overlooked, sometimes mechanics even sell against having the service done on these cars - and should be done every 50-75K in my opinion - although ZF and Audi may have some disagreement with that. $100-125 every 50K doesn't sound like much of an investment to me, so I just do it.

AwolQuattro

Only other fault that I need to fix is the rear main has a very minor leak resulting in having to top up the oil ever 5000 miles or so. Isn't a terribly big issue because he gets oil for $20 a crate. Will be fixing it soon though.

4Driver4

I seriously doubt that this is the rear main seal. It's not a common leaker, and there are plenty of other points that are. Make sure are fighting the right battle before you pull the trigger.

AwolQuattro

Only reason we believe it to be the rear main seal is because we had it looked at by an audi tech that we know. Of course i would love it to be something easier to repair. The part isn't expensive its the labor to move the tranny out of the way that will empty my wallet.

4Driver4

Might want a second opinion.
When was the cam adjuster seal last changed? Cam plug? Valve cover gasket?

AwolQuattro

Gonna check with my friend. Also did a test drive of the car everything is very tight and it drives like a new model. Also how much would fixing the leaks you just mentioned cost compared to a rear main leak.