Help needed

Mr. Manager

I'm hoping to purchase an Audi A4 over the weekend or in the coming week.

My question is, am I better off buying a standard Audi A4 1.9 TDI and getting it fitted with a quattro kit myself or holding out to buy one from a garage that already has the works done.

I dont want to buy privately (previous bad experience + no come back) and most of the the A4 quattro kits on DoneDeal and Carzone are sold privately.

My total budget is €8,000 btw.

Any help/advice would be very much appreciated!!

Thanks!

Bonito

I don't get what you mean by a quattro kit? Do you mean the A4's with S4 badges on them?

Anan1

+1, quattro is a drivetrain option, the only visible difference is the little 'quattro' badges.

Bonito

Do the 1.9's have the quattro? Or is it only the 2.5's+?

Bit more detail please Op. Do you mean you want a quattro drive (All 4 wheels) or do you want a 1.9 tdi disguised as an S4?

murpolopoliss

What does quattro do? 4WD?

Anan1

quattro is all wheel drive, it was available on the 1.9TDI but very few Irish buyers specified it as it cost money, made the car slower and less economical and, most importantly, couldn't be seen by the neighbours.;)

Bonito

I dunno the full details of the modern aspects of it but it was/is a permanant all wheel drive. As to whether the new ones have limited slip diffs etc I couldn't tell you but the long and short is yes, it's an all wheel drive system.

murpolopoliss

Why not just buy it standard if quattro makes it slower? do ya plan on going cross country?

Mr. Manager

Apologies. To clarify, I'm looking for an s4 kit on an A4.

I was getting jumbled up with the 1.8 petrol quattro and the 1.9 Tdi

Bonito

murpolopoliss wrote: »

Why not just buy it standard if quattro makes it slower? do ya plan on going cross country?

That's why we want more details from the Op. If he wants the AWD he might need to stretch more than 8,000 for a decent model. TBH I wouldn't be bothering with the quattro with a 1.9. I'd be going for the 2.5 at least.

When he/she tells us whether it's the S4 kit they want on a 1.9tdi A4 or an A4 1.9tdi quattro we can advise better.

PaulKK

Lads cop on ye know well what he means he clearly said kit. Op personally those kits arent my thing but some of them look a hell of a lot better than others. If i were you i wouldn't bother kitting one myself, it wouldn't be too cheap and you dont know what its going to look like when its done. I suggest you take your time and choose one that is tastefully modded, maybe with the s line kit? Whatever you do please dont buy one of the stupid looking ones and please dont put rs4 badges on it. I assume your looking at a b6 yes? Apologies for formatting, posting via mobile.

Bonito

Cereal Rapist wrote: »

Apologies. To clarify, I'm looking for an s4 kit on an A4.

I was getting jumbled up with the 1.8 petrol quattro and the 1.9 Tdi

So something like this would be ideal?

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Audi/A4/********/200922192938788/advert?channel=CARS

murpolopoliss

Bonito wrote: »

So something like this would be ideal?

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Audi/A4/********/200922192938788/advert?channel=CARS

Thats a nice car, be nicer in metallic sliver tho..!!

Bonito

Unfortunately it's sold and I can't find any decent ones with a nice mileage and FSH for the Op for that budget.

Does it have to be a diesel Op?

murpolopoliss

It would prob be cheaper to but the standard car and get the kit fitted seprately

Anan1

murpolopoliss wrote: »

It would prob be cheaper to but the standard car and get the kit fitted seprately

I would have thought the opposite, TBH.

Mr. Manager

PaulKK wrote: »

Lads cop on ye know well what he means he clearly said kit. Op personally those kits arent my thing but some of them look a hell of a lot better than others. If i were you i wouldn't bother kitting one myself, it wouldn't be too cheap and you dont know what its going to look like when its done. I suggest you take your time and choose one that is tastefully modded, maybe with the s line kit? Whatever you do please dont buy one of the stupid looking ones and please dont put rs4 badges on it. I assume your looking at a b6 yes? Apologies for formatting, posting via mobile.

Yes, thank you. As I said I got myself jumbled up.

Bonito wrote: »

So something like this would be ideal?

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Audi/A4/********/200922192938788/advert?channel=CARS

This was one of the first cars I had originally looked at. But as I said in the op, nearly all of them are private sale.

So now that we're on track with what I meant to say

... Any advice?

Thanks lads/lassies

Bonito

I don't know what way Audi dealers work but he might be able to order one with a local dealer and have it fitted properly.

Mr. Manager

Bonito wrote: »

Unfortunately it's sold and I can't find any decent ones with a nice mileage and FSH for the Op for that budget.

Does it have to be a diesel Op?

Preferably I would like diesel as I do a lot of motor way miles.

I have a Golf GTI at the moment at it just drinks the petrol at an outrageous rate. Just trying to save a few pennies here and there

Bonito

Edit: Q answered. Are you able to push your budget up at all? Anybody know the MPG on the 1.8 petrol compared to the 1.9tdi? I know a couple lads on here are very good with the yearly figures!

murpolopoliss

Cereal Rapist wrote: »

I dont want to buy privately (previous bad experience + no come back)

What kind of bad experience did you have if ya dont mind me asking?

Anan1

OP - Unless you're really doing mega-miles i'd keep the Golf, it's a far nicer car. I wouldn't rule out buying privately, if you do all your checks I think it's probably safer than buying from the kind of dealer who sells €7k cars.

thedoc46

Hi Op

I was in the same position you are now this time last year when i was looking for an A4, I also thought about just getting a standard A4 and putting the s4 kit on it, then i thought of the whole process of ordering the kit on the net getting the kit then finding someone to paint it and then finally put it on.

But i decided not too and held off for a few weeks eventually i finally found the a4 i wanted with the s4 kit.

Also just from my experience there was a chap up the north selling a4's with these kits on them all looked very well from pic's etc but when checked out by my mechanic the 3 cars he had for sale were crashed and basically s4 kits thrown on them and sold on, my point is don't just go for the look of the car like i was doing get it checked out by your mechanic be it from a dealer or private.

Mr. Manager

murpolopoliss wrote: »

What kind of bad experience did you have if ya dont mind me asking?

I basically bought a car from a lady,car was fine. brought my mechanic along,he checked it out and all was good. A few days down the line the clutch cable broke,then the handbrake cable and the gearbox shortly after. Basically fell apart.

Anan1 wrote: »

OP - Unless you're really doing mega-miles i'd keep the Golf, it's a far nicer car. I wouldn't rule out buying privately, if you do all your checks I think it's probably safer than buying from the kind of dealer who sells €7k cars.

I'm not doing mega-miles but I bought the car 13 months ago for €2,650. It's starting to have a few problems (my turbo has a leek and gearbox is starting to fall through) Got a few places to say they'd take it for between €2,000 and €3,000 as part trade so I want to avail of that before it gets too late.

thedoc46 wrote: »

Hi Op

I was in the same position you are now this time last year when i was looking for an A4, I also thought about just getting a standard A4 and putting the s4 kit on it, then i thought of the whole process of ordering the kit on the net getting the kit then finding someone to paint it and then finally put it on.

But i decided not too and held off for a few weeks eventually i finally found the a4 i wanted with the s4 kit.

Also just from my experience there was a chap up the north selling a4's with these kits on them all looked very well from pic's etc but when checked out by my mechanic the 3 cars he had for sale were crashed and basically s4 kits thrown on them and sold on, my point is don't just go for the look of the car like i was doing get it checked out by your mechanic be it from a dealer or private.

Thanks very much for this info, I saw a few northern reg cars on DoneDeal that looked in mint condition exterior but then the notes read something like - No NCT, broken drivers window,timing belt needs done shortly etc etc.

I think I'll hold out for a while but it's getting kind of annoying. I have the money sitting in my bank account waiting for the right car to come along. I'm getting an itch to buy one cos I've been looking for so long now... bout 4-6 weeks

Mr. Manager

Bonito wrote: »

Edit: Q answered. Are you able to push your budget up at all? Anybody know the MPG on the 1.8 petrol compared to the 1.9tdi? I know a couple lads on here are very good with the yearly figures!

I unfortunately am unable to push my budget. I got a loan from my bank for €8,000 and from my own personal accounts I dont have much as my insurance was due 3 days ago and that cost me €881 - I'm only 22 so the insurance is still quite expensive.

Bonito

Is there any other car that you fancy or are you set on the Audi?

Mr. Manager

I had plenty of cars in mind but due to my age, insurance is a right pain. I would have like a 318 1.9 coupe but my insurance was through the roof on that... my next choice was a 2.0 Golf FSI,again insurance too high.

So i settled on an 05 Golf TDI or an 04 Audi A4 TDI. The insurance is only an extra €150 more than what I'm paying now.

I'm a stickler for my quick cars... the last thing I want to do is down grade in engine size

Bonito

Long shot but what about an S3?

http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=183792&cat=2

Mr. Manager

Bonito wrote: »

Long shot but what about an S3?

http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=183792&cat=2

I found a lovely balck one on Carzone but unfortunately the insurance was over double at €2,003.

By the way, I really appreciate the effort you're putting into help me! True gent

Thanks!

Bonito

Cereal Rapist wrote: »

I found a lovely balck one on Carzone but unfortunately the insurance was over double at €2,003.

By the way, I really appreciate the effort you're putting into help me! True gent

Thanks!

Don't mention it. As for your opening post, you said you want to buy within the next week or so. That might be rushing it TBH.

Here's a few suggestions.

Focus.

Mondeo.

Saab 9-3.

Avensis.

Golf.

Mr. Manager

Yea as I said, I'm getting a bit edgey about buying a car. I have the cash ready to go and at this stage I almost feel like I'll just settle on the next best thing, which obviously I dont want to do!!

I just want to say thanks again! I definitely know who I'll turn to next time I have a car related query

Again, appreciate all the time an effort you've gone through

Bonito

TBH Look for things like mileage in relation with year of car. Full service history. Number of owners in relation to age of car. How reputable the dealer is. (Good customer experience etc) Long NCT. If you have doubts about a cars past/mileage then the wear and tear on the pedals and gear stick etc give a nice indication.

Overall just take your time and spend wisely and best of luck with it.

PaulKK

I see you mentioned a 318i there.. why don't you try and get a quote for the saloon instead of the coupe? There could be a loading on the coupe.

I'm 23, got a 320d and insured for 650 fully comp, so a 318i shouldn't be bad.

Its important to actually ring the insurers btw, I couldn't get a quote online from a lot of companies.