WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON AUDI A4 1.8T

[Savvy]

i know the posts for this thread are dated and the owner or prospective buyer maybe already made his decision but the a4 is a middle class car in the big scheme of things i have driven in a couple and consider it an average car to satisfy ur everyday wants, its comfortable has enough grunt to get u from place to place and has massive room for potential its all about the costs in the end.. of which u cant really compare on the basis of speed with a comparison between a jap and euro cause euros face are more expensive to mod but once modded they move...i find it humouring how japs would compare a modded out rb or vic or levin to a a4 which is not a prospective race car or with a racey engine to boot... people say a skyliner would mash up all in terms of audis and the such but they dont compare class for class i guess try comparing a skyline to a m3 or m5 or m5 or audi s5 then u would see the euros shine but my two cents is if u have an rx and u have the money to maintain its a worthwhile buy to satisfy ur point a to b needs and i can even direct you to a partner of mine who has had a 1.8t quattro with a aftermarket bolt on kit he brought down pushing that same 1.8t to roughly 460hp

[TriniVdub]

Are you guys all wack...the 1.8T is a great motor capable of pushing about 300whp on stock internals with a GT2871R....easy. Just thought u would like to know

[Team Loco]

Nobody doubting that, wonderful engine, but its just all the peripherals that give trouble

[triniboi49]

It will ne very expensive to maintain

[plex]

There are tons of goodies for this engine just you may have to buy your parts in the USA..Which is a lot cheaper than buying it from England, France and Germany..

The FX rate is so much easier on the pocket when buying from the USA...

[eurogirl]

If it lags for u , fix it to suit
don't expect dealer maintain to do nothing else but reg check ups
an audi is a car with potential unleash it and u'd be suprised

[plex]

nice....

[smokin]

Coming in late to this thread.

I have owned and still own a PBJ A4 1.8T since November 2000. Car still works well and looks good. However, you have to work to maintain it. You can't lapse in maintenance or you are dead.

Parts are expensive if you buy them here in T&T. However, I never planned to buy the parts in T&T in the first place. The reason I went for the 1.8T was that it is sold in the US. The 1.6 is not! Parts are quite reasonable there and are widely available.

This car pulls nicely in 3rd and 4th and feels very solid on the road. However the real reason I will not go back to a Japanese car is safety. One you drive a euro car Jap cars feel like tin foil with Mitsubishi being the worst offenders. Trying like hell to get my wife to ditch her crappy Lancer. It is silver and in all respects looks and feels like Reynolds wrap. The B14 she owned before the Lancer was just as bad.

To my mind Audi's win on looks, handling, and safety. Japanese win on reliability and cost. Given how people drive these days I will stick with Audis.

I plan to buy another one for me and one for the wife.

Would I recommend that someone buy a second hand Audi? Maybe. If you understand what you are getting in to and have someone check it out thoroughly. If not - stick with the tin foil.

[venum]

on a lighter note

Several company cars that i know of at my company have had teh following probs with the 1.8T A4's:

1. Broken window glass clips - glass does not go up. apparently our hot climate deteriorated the plastic clips very rapidly.

2. Broken glove compartment lever - same problem as teh plastic clips above

3. Defective audio equipment - CD killers - CD's shattered in all that we had

4. Couple of the door openers broke off - deteriorated plastic?

AFAIK, they were reliable engine wise though

[thegtiman]

1. Broken window glass clips - glass does not go up. apparently our hot climate deteriorated the plastic clips very rapidly.

Hot 30degC climate has nothing to do with this. Just a stupid design.
Also affects 3B Passat and 1J Golfs. The part has been superceeded.

[Grind]

I'm changing my battery now after 5 years!
At least the battery location is good; it's behind the firewall away from the engine heat.

[equipped2ripp]

venum, yup... the plastics are cheap.

the glove compartment and center compartment clips break easily and also, the rubber on the buttons/switches for the power windows rub off easily after awhile, removing the black colour and the white plastic begins to show. same for the AC control panel.

[ek4ever]

Nice car, very comfortable, the only thing I've heard about going wrong "often" with those is the lcd display unit which is quite expensive at the dealership. If you are going with a new car, it might be worth your while to go and check out the subaru legacy GT, in my opinion this vehicle is superior in every aspect to the A4 and Passat.

Well said LOCO...was thinking of an A4 1,8T a while back...but just decided to test a Legacy GT Spec B. No comparison...Audi for luxury ride....but the Legacy will murder it...from standing start....from 60....from 120 it doh matter. 280 hp into Subaru All Wheel Drive....no contest. Ah have to get mih 1 of these Subies

[Team Loco]

better off with a used or new 316i BMW. had an audi B5 a4 1.8t, then moved to a non turbo 1.8 BMW. chalk and cheese, BMW wins hands down in all classes.

[acesinghit]

I rather purchase the New 2008 Volkswagen Jetta 2.0FSI sedan. With 17" rims, 4-wheel disc brakes with ABS, EBD, BA, ETC, ESP, TPMS, 8 airbags, leather seats, sunroof, bi-xenon headlights, fog lights, in-dash 6 CD changer, amplified 10 speaker sound system, climatronic auto climate control with pollen/dust filter, auto wipers and lights, led tail lamps, park assist, 6-speed tiptronic, electric seats and full power package for under $250,000.00 TTD

Its one heck of a damn deal and its nothing like the Bora and A4's of yore. This is an entirely different vehicle and much better parts and fittings. It's also N/A and FSI to boot so fuel economy is 30% (at least) better than that of a 1.8T. If you can't afford the 2.0FSI then there's the 1.6L and ofcourse the Skoda Octavia.

Why buy an Audi A4 1.8T when there's those 2 lurking around? I agree with the safety part, its a strong heavy car and its more solid than its Jap competitors namely the new Honda Civic, Mitsubishi Lancer and Mazda 3. The Toyota Corolla and Nissan Bluebird Sylphy are a generation behind IMHO.

If I had to go euro now......it'll be the Jetta. Lose dem Peugeot and Renault/Citroen/Seat/Fiat already vacated our market

[Team Loco]

Well said. The new jetta fully loaded is under $250,000?

[Bestautorep]

fellas thanks for the input but speed isn't a major concern when i have a rotary to settle that argument

The passat 1.8TSI (Turbo Supercharged Direct injection). Would settle any lag issues. selling like hot bread. Email me if you need a test drive.

[eliteauto]

good read was considering acquiring a used PBM A4 from a friend very soon but I may change my mind based on experiences posted here

[Mazdout]

Just adding my 2 cents here..... Audi is a fantastic car and gives an image at a first glance. Infact, I knew someone who only purchased the Audi for the 4 rings badge....lol. Personally, I'd go with a VW. More for your buck, spacious, and tonnes of features. The VW Passat has my vote even the new 1.4 FSI Jetta is kicking aggression. Both VW and AUDI are high maintenance brands but once you stick to your service, mechanicals should flow well, still there are issues with our climate and the material used but the safety features in the VW designed by the engineers is a plus for me. I also purchase parts from outside T&T. Internationally, Volkswagen seems to be developing and growing even more rapidly now than ever. But this thread is about the Audi so I'm stopping here.




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Good luck with your choice, give a follow-up on your final purchase and let's know how it goes.

[equipped2ripp]

I rather purchase the New 2008 Volkswagen Jetta 2.0FSI sedan. With 17" rims, 4-wheel disc brakes with ABS, EBD, BA, ETC, ESP, TPMS, 8 airbags, leather seats, sunroof, bi-xenon headlights, fog lights, in-dash 6 CD changer, amplified 10 speaker sound system, climatronic auto climate control with pollen/dust filter, auto wipers and lights, led tail lamps, park assist, 6-speed tiptronic, electric seats and full power package for under $250,000.00 TTD

Its one heck of a damn deal and its nothing like the Bora and A4's of yore. This is an entirely different vehicle and much better parts and fittings. It's also N/A and FSI to boot so fuel economy is 30% (at least) better than that of a 1.8T. If you can't afford the 2.0FSI then there's the 1.6L and ofcourse the Skoda Octavia.

Why buy an Audi A4 1.8T when there's those 2 lurking around? I agree with the safety part, its a strong heavy car and its more solid than its Jap competitors namely the new Honda Civic, Mitsubishi Lancer and Mazda 3. The Toyota Corolla and Nissan Bluebird Sylphy are a generation behind IMHO.

If I had to go euro now......it'll be the Jetta. Lose dem Peugeot and Renault/Citroen/Seat/Fiat already vacated our market

the A4 is nicer than the Jetta... I have both an A4 and a Passat and the A4 is nicer, it rides better and the interior is nicer than the Passat. The only thing nicer about the Passat is that it has the 2.0TFSI whereas the A4 has a 1.8T. The 2.0 is a big difference over the 1.8, in that it accelerates much faster. Other than that, the car is basically the same really... similar instrument panel, AC controls etc.

[eliteauto]

So in a used PBM A4 what are some of the issues I should be looking at before purchase? Also are parts available outside of the dealership?

[MG Man]

transmission
instrument panel
yes there's a place in Freeport

[equipped2ripp]

transmission my ass..... I still dunno how people could complain of transmission problems, I never had any.

same goes for instrument panel.


*knock on wood*

[MG Man]

transmission my ass..... I still dunno how people could complain of transmission problems, I never had any.

same goes for instrument panel.


*knock on wood*

the tranny brain on ours went cuckoo
I suspect lots of people had this electronic problem misdiagnosed as a probl;em with the CVT itself, and ended up paying BIG$$$$ for a replacement
Our module was replaced under warranty and we had no other issues with it in four years

On the older A4s, I've seen many with the orange display screen going off...usually with lines across the screen

[5onDfloor]

transmission my ass..... I still dunno how people could complain of transmission problems, I never had any.

same goes for instrument panel.


*knock on wood*

the tranny brain on ours went cuckoo
I suspect lots of people had this electronic problem misdiagnosed as a probl;em with the CVT itself, and ended up paying BIG$$$$ for a replacement
Our module was replaced under warranty and we had no other issues with it in four years

On the older A4s, I've seen many with the orange display screen going off...usually with lines across the screen

^^^^
exactly.....the dealership a.k.a stealership misdiagnoses this Transmission Control Module problem and people end up paying for whole transmission when all they had to do was replace the TCM.

other than that a great car

[Ultimas]

transmission my ass..... I still dunno how people could complain of transmission problems, I never had any.

same goes for instrument panel.


*knock on wood*

I can.... cause i have an audi a4 b7.......My transmission went bad b4 the warranty so i got lucky and my glove compartment is broken >.< ihate that car

[5onDfloor]

transmission my ass..... I still dunno how people could complain of transmission problems, I never had any.

same goes for instrument panel.


*knock on wood*

I can.... cause i have an audi a4 b7.......My transmission went bad b4 the warranty so i got lucky and my glove compartment is broken >.< ihate that car

did your P R N D start blinking, transmission went into safe mode?

[geodude]

good read, nice reviews here, plenty to think about, so lets see its either the A4, or the BMW 3, or the Legacy GT, if anyone knows what are the price of each of these, i would apprecite the info

i know a lot of guys place the VW above all of the cars i have choosen but VW is not my thing right now.

[Halfbreed07]

i've owned a A4 b6 model with full options for about 9 months now.
parts reasonably cheap and available at ERM from freeport.
service i have an excellent mech. from sando, pm for info.
very fun to drive, quite peppy.
only thing that sucks is the interior finishes that just failed under the heat.

[5onDfloor]

i've owned a A4 b6 model with full options for about 9 months now.
parts reasonably cheap and available at ERM from freeport.
service i have an excellent mech. from sando, pm for info.
very fun to drive, quite peppy.
only thing that sucks is the interior finishes that just failed under the heat.

as do most European interiors....look out for the head liner too.