sharp21

Hey Gang,
Looking to upgrade, due to my growing family.
Always loved Audis & am ready to pull the trigger on one!
Which of these would be the better buy?
1. 2004 1.8t A4 Wagon for $11000 with 160k
2. 2004 Allroad for $17500 with 93k
3. 2003 Allroad for $15000 with 101k. This one is chipped with 315hp, but was in a front end. Has been repaired & re-certified.

2 of those are Allroads, 1 is an A4. I like the higher pony rating of the Allroads & the clearance (& the two tone look!), but am not sure if the premium is worth it. Especially if I used some of the surplus to chip the 1.8t...
This will be the family DD, so needs to be nice for the wife, safe for the kid & fast for me!
Advice or comments appreciated.
S.

samram1972

Hey Sharp21,

Just as my preference, I would never purchase a car that was in a front end, too many things, even though it was re-certified. So it leaves the others:

You should find out what was done, at 160k, Timing belt etc should be done - are these from a dealership? If so any warranties? I think 160k on #1 is a bit high on the mileage, and the 17500 on #2 you may be able to get a better price. I would go for option 2, as the km's are lower (approx 20000km/yr) versus #1 (32000km/yr).

See if you can get the maintenance records, do a carproof report, and look in this and other forums on what should have been done (maintenance wise) at these km's and do your checks.

Great cars. Can't go wrong.

Good luck.

sharp21

Thanks for the reply.
None of these are from the dealer. I would buy certified pre-owned, but never from a used lot.
160k is high? How long do they normally last? I suppose that is reflected in the price.
What about reliability between the A4 vs the Allroad?
S.

samram1972

160 is not really high, but when you look at the 5 years of the car, that's a bit over what is normally accumulated per year on a car. I bought my A4 2004 with 117km, and paid 13,800 + taxes for it. I had to do the TB and WP as soon as I bout the car, so you have to say it added on the price, but at least I am good for another 100k clicks. How long, that depends on how the car was cared for and how you care for it after - oil changes etc, etc.

Reliability difference, I am not sure. I have little things here and there with my car, but it has not been bad (knock on wood).

Good luck.

sharp21

I hear ya...
It is currently at a shop in town, getting the oil done. I am going to go take a look without the owner & see what is what.
Otherwise Ive found an 04 Allroad with 87k for $19,999. Bit of a price jump, but I would definitely prefer the v6
S.

Edit: Also an 03 with 82k for about the same price, from an Audi dealer

sharp21

Well I bought the A4 & am loving it!
Needs a full detail but Ill put up pics after that
S.

wanthema

price is always high. if u go in person with cash, u can always reduce the price to 1-3k depending how u approach it and how eager the seller wants to get rid of the car.

usually people who post selling their cars want to get as much as they can from it, thats how the selling concept works. but in the end, they will pick whats right in front of them.

but keep in mind, dont low ball them.. they arent stupid enough to take offers that are too steep.

IMO id take #2 but negotiate the price. But if I was just looking for performance, Id for sure negotiate the price even lower with an accident too. maybe make it 11.5k becasue of it and attempt to pursue saying yea car value isn't worth market value since its in an accident.. blah blah blah to bring the price down.

samram1972

Hey Sharp21, congrats, how much did you get it for, who did you buy it from?

sharp21

I got it from some dude here in Red Deer.
Paid $11k, which was his asking price, but he just spent $1400 in the shop so he wasn't budging.
Plus it was in town which saved a trip to the city!
So far I am very happy with it. Looks and drives great, everything works. Homelinked to my garage & everything
My only complaints are that there is no bass in the stereo, even with that little woofer in the back & that the acceleration off the line is pretty slow.
But im getting a stereo installed tomorrow & getting her chipped on friday!
S.