CFP00

Hello, I have a 2000 323Ci BMW, and the RWD just plain stinks in the snow. I'm hooked on German cars right now and plan on adding a 2nd one in my guarage. I want to get an AWD car for winter reasons and the Audi Quattro is a great choice for me, decent power, sportier suspension and fairly relaible, and looks pretty good too. Anyways, I'm hoping to spend no more than like $10K unless something real special shows up. I'm thinking like an Audi 80,90,100 in a 1990-1995 in Quatro. I'm after the best deal for the money, meaning lower miles or not as old. I have to have an airbag, so 1990 is the oldest Audi I would consider. Is there anything I should look out for, any certain years problem proned or anything like that. Also, are these cars real, real expensive to work on when something goes wrong and just how reliable are they. Thank you in advance for any help provided.

Seattle Scott

Just above the posts you will see Page 1 2 3 4..10

Go to page 10 and work forward to 9 8 7, etc.

Read all the threads with the name "92 100CS" in them. That should give you a good start.

SteveAngry

Any Audi with Quattro should suffice. Generally I would stay away from the 93 Audi 90 and the 92 Audi 100 as they are first year redesigns. They usually fix what was wrong with them on the next years model. Most Audi's are very reliable. It is not uncommon to see Audi's with 200K mileage on them. Here are a couple of things on some 92-95 models I know to watch for:
AUDI 90- problems with both cats...
AUDI 90- expensive A/C repairs...
AUDI 90, 100, etc- bad automatic tranny's. Not much to worry about as you will be wanting a quattro(5 speeds only-generally)
Audi 90, 100- Oil consumption in v6 engine. Leaks in valley pan etc...gets better with newer models.
AUDI 90, 100, S4- Timing belt/water pump- needs to be done every 60k miles. If it breaks your engine will need to be rebuilt due to bent valves, etc...
Audi 90, 100 ,etc- Some problems with the cars electrical system. Make sure everything works correctly...not uncommon to find broken window switches, bad Climate Control systems, etc...

Of course the older 80, 90, 100, 200, V8, etc are fine choices also...but are usually riddled with problems due to lack of care. If you find one that seems well taken care of then go for it. The 200 turbo quattro's can be blindingly quick cars with some modifications. Also the 5 cylinder engine is very robust and lasts "forever."

If I had $10,000 to spend on a winter car I would buy the newest one I could get...IMHO.

Steve Ankney
88 5000
Michigan

Jack in FL

hey, not ALL '92 100 are bad! :-) 200,000 miles and still working on it!

Seattle Scott

I'm sure you have a fine ride but not everybody is a good mechanic like you are. ;-)

Jack in FL

no mechanic here, but i know what you mean *sigh

BornAgainAudi

With the exception of the trans these cars have the average import problems, timing belts, cats,
A/C, waterpumps struts for their mileage, and lets face it, most of us are driving high mileage Audi's.

I think i'd still prefer an I5 turbo, and if it were in a 100, wow that would be sweet...

Desperately seking an S4,

Sam.

Hilliard S6

i second that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hilliard S6

WHOA my car is not that bad

Silver Streakin'

I don't know where they find them, but they seem to find some of the lowest mileage older model Audis I've seen.

As for my '95 Audi 90, I have had to have 2 of the problems known for this model - both cats (~$800 w/aftermarket parts and minimal labor) and the a/c evaporator (free under warranty, which I think the part was ~$200-300, but it takes a tech something like 3-4 hours to gut the dash, an hour or so to replace the evap, and 3-4 hours to put it all back...depending upon labor rates, this could be in the $750-1000 range just for labor). Other than that, I have not had any of the oil leaks or consumption that others seem to have. I've had the 30/60/90k(including trans flush/fill and diffs. repacks) intervals performed at dealers, replaced tires twice, pads once, upper strut bearings (by mistake at Audi dealer, but could have been done - long story), rotors my next free weekend, 3k interval oil changes, wash, wax and drive. I plan to replace the battery soon since cold starts this winter haven't been great and it's not holding its charge. To me, this has been a trouble free and low maintenance Audi. Others who have the 93-95 Audi 90 have had some other minor problems, but I think it's safe to say that this is an option for you in the $10k range. The only regret I have about buying this car is that the 12-valve engine has minimal modifications, which for you, this doesn't sound like a problem since this is primarily for winter driving, so maybe not having a/c is a big deal, right? The cats have been the only problem, but that seems to be a problem for all of the older model Audis.

Good luck!<ul><li><a href="http://www.karquattro.com/Sedans/0161/0161.html">http://www.karquattro.com/Sedans/0161/0161.html</a</li></ul>