tkny

Hey Everyone,

I'm thinking about buying an '03 a4 1.8t which looks very clean that has 50k miles on it. I was wondering at how many miles can I expect the turbo to go bad? How much does it cost to get rebuilt or replaced when that does happen?

Would you guys recommend an extended warranty from audi?

Thanks in advance.

cyberpmg

My K03 ran just fine for 90k miles. I stayed on top of regular maintenance (Mobil 1 5w-40 synthetic every 5k miles). The K03 worked perfectly. I moved up to a K04, but the K03 still has life left in it.

a4tis™[Bye Turbo]

1)turbo "life" is all relative. Many people can run to 100K+ on the stock K03 turbo with no issue. This is assuming that the car is left bone stock. Once you start modding, you start stressing the turbo significantly, which of course leads to shorter lifespan.

2)IF your turbo died, it's expensive to replace out-of-pocket. Turbos themselves are not cheap, and neither is the labor for the job.

3)Audi of America does not sell extended warranties, unless the car has been approved for Certified Pre-Owned program, in which case, Audi extends the original warranty. Otherwise, some dealerships will sell you an extended warranty, but its through some underwriter, not Audi. Third party warranties are an option, but they are all different, and a few are very good, and many are really bad.

GDawgA4

why wouldn't last a long time. Many have gone 100k+ with proper maintenance.

tkny

Can you recommend a good warranty any chance?

a4tis™[Bye Turbo]

if you get a 3rd party warranty through company X, and company X goes out of business before your warranty expires, you don't get any money back, and you have a worthless warranty. happens more than people think.

Only warranty that is worth it, IMHO, is one through an official audi dealership. but if it's a bad dealership, they will still try and make you pay out of pocket.

My advice if you buy an Audi: find a good independent mechanic who specializes in european cars in your area, get in good with them, and having them do work on your car will save you lots in the long run (example: local dealer charges $100/hr, my independent mechanic charges $70/hr). take the $2-3K you would've spent on a 3rd party warranty, and put it in a bank account. That way, if anything major happens, you have the money set aside already. If you don't have any major repair problems during the time you own the car, sell the car when the time comes and take the money out and go on a nice vacation

Audis typically dont have anything major that you have to pay to fix, given that you are good about keeping up on your maintanence. All the problems are usually small annoying ones.

tkny

I've never owned a turbo car. What basic maintenance is required on these cars besides the usual oil/filter changes, etc.

GDawgA4

is warmed up (after driving a few miles) then you can get on the boost.

If you've been driving the car hard right before you get to where you're going, don't shut the engine off right away. Let it idle for a min to cool down the turbo. That or a few minutes before you reach your destination, take it easy. Don't do full throttle or request for a lot of boost (heats up turbo). If you shut the engine off with a hot turbo, the oil will get "baked" on there and over time that is not good for the turbo. So let the turbo cool down after a hard drive.

Other than that, use a good synthetic and change the oil every 5k.

DWP

except for the big hose - shoulda gone SAMCO from the get-go.

tkny

Can you guys point me to a FAQ or write-up of some sort on common problems areas on these cars. Maybe a do it yourself thing, etc.

Thanks again for all your info guys.