I had my 2000 A4 1.8T 5 speed towed away yesterday. It was rear ended and declared a loss.
The 2000 was bought new and it was an excellent car for the last six years. I want to replace it with another Audi, but would rather that someone else suffer the initial depreciation this time, so I am looking for one that is used.
I have some thoughts about the replacement, but am interested in hearing other comments from like minded folks. FYI - I live in the San Francisco Bay area:
- I'll probably end up with something between 2002 to 2004 depending on price and what I find. Are there any significant differences between the years worth noting? For instance: I have not had any front suspension issues whatsoever with my 2000, but know that the upper and lower A arms were problematic for certain year cars. Was this fixed?
- Overall, I was very happy with the 1.8T. It performed nicely but I was always concerned about the ruggedness of the turbo. I used Mobil 1 and kept an eye open for stories of others that had issues. It seemed that the turbo was pretty robust. I am concerned that with a used car, the initial owner may not have been as particular about oil and oil changes. Perhaps for a lower mileage car (say, less than 40K miles), this may not be an issue. If I end up with a car pushing 80 or 90K, maybe it is. Has anyone had issues with turbo reliability? The alternative is to buy a V6, which is normally aspirated.
- How do the V6 engines hold up in terms of reliability? For instance: are they also interference engines with a timing belt that requires regular replacement? The 1.8T gets very good gas mileage (mid to high
- I have also heard that Audi drivers tend to be hard on clutches. I can understand why with the 1.8T: the torque curve and gearing make for a car that is difficult to drive soothly from a stop without more clutch slipping than I have experienced in other cars. I know my way around clutches; my 1990 Miata has 180K and the original clutch. The options here are take my chances with a clutch on a replacement 1.8T or try and find a manual V6 (did they actually make the V6 with a manual transmission?). Or I can opt for the automatic on either....which I am not too keen on doing.
I appreciate anyone who cares to respond to this. Thanks in advance.
Ken