butane bob

Hi Guys

I am considering buying an audi A4 quattro, probably the 3 litre - not
sure whether to go SE or sport tho (whats the difference by the way?).
Will probably get one that is about 2 years old.

I appreciate I will probably get a biased opinion but can people give
me some pointers about this car, what their experiences are of owning
one etc

My other considerations are BMW 3 series and Saab 9-3

Any advice would be most welcome

Cheers

Bob

Victor Bazarov

"butane bob" <spam@nospam.not> wrote...
> I am considering buying an audi A4 quattro, probably the 3 litre - not
> sure whether to go SE or sport tho (whats the difference by the way?).
> Will probably get one that is about 2 years old.
>
> I appreciate I will probably get a biased opinion but can people give
> me some pointers about this car, what their experiences are of owning
> one etc
>
> My other considerations are BMW 3 series and Saab 9-3

I can't compare A4 to BMW or Saab, since I never owned the latter
two. But I think that A4 is less expensive used than BMW. And A4
is probably somewhat less expensive to maintain (those things gotta
be proportional).

We have two cars, an A4/2.8Q and a Subaru Outback Wagon. Although
the Subaru is an automatic [and A4 is manual], it still gets better
mileage. Two reasons: we don't drive the Subaru as a sports car,
keeping RPM high[er], and 2.8 is a bit larger than 2.5. Well, "we"
is a bit overstatement, my wife doesn't drive the Audi... Besides,
Audi requires at least 93 octane gas. So the Subaru turns out to
be an economy car compared to the A4. Just so that you're aware.

One thing I know, though. An A4 Q with a 3-litre engine is surely
a lot of fun to drive. Do get one. Just make sure you get it from
an Audi dealer, and get some kind of warranty, so that if there is
any hidden problem (which will become known in the first year), you
could bring it back for repair and not pay through the nose [again].

Good luck with your decision!

Victor

Ian S

"butane bob" <spam@nospam.not> wrote in message
news:n8a000tb1jn7evlvnu7lfadjd8k4h5ojau@4ax.com...
> Hi Guys
>
> I am considering buying an audi A4 quattro, probably the 3 litre - not
> sure whether to go SE or sport tho (whats the difference by the way?).
> Will probably get one that is about 2 years old.
>
> I appreciate I will probably get a biased opinion but can people give
> me some pointers about this car, what their experiences are of owning
> one etc
>
> My other considerations are BMW 3 series and Saab 9-3
>
> Any advice would be most welcome
>
> Cheers
>
> Bob

As an Audi quattro owner for nearly 18 years, I feel I can comment
knowledgeably. I currently have a 98 A4 quattro 2.8 sport with 66,000 miles
that I have owned since new. My experience with Audis is that they are great
drivers' cars that have strong reliable drivetrains but suffer in comparison
to other vehicles in the reliability of lesser components. Fortunately, they
do come with very good warranties, and I certainly made good use of mine.
Repairs as you would expect for a German car are expensive e.g. timing belt
and associated parts change will typically run you $1000 and should be done
every 70,000 miles or so to avoid catastophic engine damage. Count on
replacing brake pads - and usually rotors - every 40,000 miles or so
depending on your driving habits. I have the sport version which has
different wheels and slightly stiffer and lowered suspension - I recommend
it. If you haven't already done so, check out audiworld.com for a wealth of
info on these cars.

daytripper

On Sat, 10 Jan 2004 17:36:17 GMT, "Victor Bazarov" <v.Abazarov@comAcast.net>
wrote:
[snipped]
>Audi requires at least 93 octane gas.

If this is a North American built, I don't think that's correct. A minimum of
91 octane - which is most commonly found being sold as "Premium" - would be
more likely...

/daytripper
'00 s4 6spd

Jim Good

lots of good feed back from what I have read so far. My input is alittle
diffrent. I used to sell Audi's and the B6 (2002-current) is a nice car. If
you want a 3.0 you have to get teh 02 and newer. But don't over look the
2.8. I have a 98.5 2.8 quattro. I love it, spent 4 years looking for it and
have had it for 3 so far. This SE and sport thing is up to you on what trim
level and options you want. (never heard of and Audi A4 SE?). If I were you
and I am not. I would go for the A4 3.0 sport pak with everything but phone
and nav. Black on black, that is a hot car. To compare to BMW everyone is
right a 4 year old BMW will cost as much as a 2 year old Audi. The Saab on
the other hand is alittle cheaper at times. But with the Saab there is no V6
just the 2.0/2.3L turbo. The new 9-3 is really nice but I love and live by
quattro.

A few things to keep in mind while shopping for a car,

Does it fit in the budget?
Does it offer features that you need?

and the most of all, IS IT FUN TO DRIVE?

when buying a new car or anything for that matter. Always keep in mind that
you have to drive/live in/wear/see this item tomorrow and from there on out
for a long time. Is it really what you want?

I hope you find the right car/Audi for you. Audi is the worlds second oldest
auto manufacture ( auto union and horch motor company 1890 i think ). If
they really are the second oldest then they have to be doing somthing alot
of other companies are not. Quattro true and real all wheel drive.


www.audiworld.com
www.audizine.com
www.audi.com
alt.autos.audi
http://www.audicarclubna.org/


just my opinion, I could be wrong, or right for that matter.

Jim

butane bob

Thats really helpful Jim

>lots of good feed back from what I have read so far. My input is alittle
>diffrent. I used to sell Audi's and the B6 (2002-current) is a nice car.

the B6 being the current version i presume? how does it differ from
previous versions?

>If you want a 3.0 you have to get teh 02 and newer.

so there was no 3 litre quattro prior to 2002?


Bob

Jonathan Morton

"butane bob" <spam@nospam.not> wrote in message
news:6fb200pa42bej9hdnqflhmspjcstdelbhj@4ax.com...

> so there was no 3 litre quattro prior to 2002?

That's correct, Bob. The 3 litre was introduced with the new model - in
Europe that was in early '01, but it may not have been until the '02 model
year in the US. The largest engine in the old model was a 2.8 V6, but the
3.0 V6 is a completely new engine with double overhead cams on each bank and
five valves per cylinder. I've not driven one - though I intend to do so,
since like you I am thinking of buying one.

I had a first generation A4 (1.9 tdi). Anyone care to comment on how the
current car compares with the older model. It certainly *looks* much better.

Regards

Jonathan

Mike Smith

Jonathan Morton wrote:

> The largest engine in the old model was a 2.8 V6, but the
> 3.0 V6 is a completely new engine with double overhead cams on each bank and
> five valves per cylinder.

The 2.8V6 in the B5 version was also DOHC, 30 valves. There was an
earlier version that was only 2 valves per cylinder, and made (IIRC) 172
hp vs. the 190 hp of the never version. The 3.0 V6, meanwhile makes 220 hp.

--
Mike Smith

Tha Ghee

"butane bob" <spam@nospam.not> wrote in message
news:n8a000tb1jn7evlvnu7lfadjd8k4h5ojau@4ax.com...
> Hi Guys
>
> I am considering buying an audi A4 quattro, probably the 3 litre - not
> sure whether to go SE or sport tho (whats the difference by the way?).
> Will probably get one that is about 2 years old.
>
> I appreciate I will probably get a biased opinion but can people give
> me some pointers about this car, what their experiences are of owning
> one etc
>
> My other considerations are BMW 3 series and Saab 9-3
>
> Any advice would be most welcome
>
> Cheers
>
> Bob

I would look at the 1.8T great over all engine, very little turbo lag, and
his very similar numbers to the 2.8Q.