Should I buy an Audi 200?

The 200 is from the T44 series which was produced until '91. It is a very good car if you are god to it. It will have its share of mechanical issues but they are all solvable given time, DIY effort and an investment in parts.

The 200 is often thought of as a strong performing touring sedan with very impressive performance and handling but they require their share of TLC. They have a lot of tuning and performance potential.

If this appeals to you and you understand that it is not a reliable (and boring) Honda then go for it.

Is it worth it? Depends on your goal. The I5 engines will run to over 300K easily and the T44 bodies hold up very well. Once the technical issues are sorted out they will run for a long time and be a very enjoyable ride.

There are a lot of very knowledgeable people in the T44 AudiWorld forum. They are very helpful and dedicated to the breed.

Your starting problem is not clear to me. Are you saying that the starter motor is not turning the engine over or that the engine it turning over but not starting?

Be sure to research Audi problems before throwing parts at them. The ECU in the T44s are bullet-proof. Your problem is something else.

T> I am not familiar with Audi's and I stumbled on this car by an

I apologize for not making the starting issue very clear. When I plugged in the new ECU and hooked up jumper cables to the battery I got the standard ...rrrr.rrrr.rrr (excuse the lack of better words) but the engine never turned over. I

Hmmmm. So I will take that to mean that the starter engages and the engine is 'turning over' but not starting.

There are a number of things that could cause this but you will need information, tools and a willingness to DIY to discover the problem.

Things to consider:

- Spark Pull a plug to see if it is firing.

- Fuel. When the plug it out look to see if it is wet.

- Compression - Check to be sure the timing belt is not broken.

Reasons for non- start (a partial list)

- Bad fuel relay or fuel pump

- clogged fuel filter

- Air plate in not lifting (above the air filter)

- failed injectors

- Crank position sensor is bad (on drivers side of bell housing

- bad hall effect module in distributor

- bad or weak ignition coil

- failed ignition switch

- Vacuum leaks are a common cause of non-start

If you get past the non-start condition the VERY first thing you will need to do is to change the Timing belt, water pump, tensioner pulley and front crank seal. This is sort of a right-of-passage for the turbo T44s. Break a belt you trash the engine. Change every 80K or five years whichever comes first.

If you are not willing to do this work and climb the learning curve you will not be able to maintain this car and I would strongly suggest to consider a nice little Honda Accord.

T> I apologize for not making the starting issue very clear. When I

Are you UK or US based?

If the engine is turning over, it maybe just something as simple as the wrong ECU. If the previous owner suspected it, he may have tried with a different 200 ECU, but not all 200 ECUs are the same. It depends on which engine is fitted. Some of the UK models had engines not available in the US and vice versa.

If it isn't turning over but the starter is whirring, then either the starter motor isn't engaging, or there are some teeth missing on the flywheel.

I have a site which covers the UK models (still under development) but if I can help in anyway please get in touch through the site at