Audi A4 or import

mackrel

Any advice on buying an A4? Maybe for about 6000. Also any advice on going to the uk or up north would be appreciated.

Thanks

bazz26

On that budget I presume it is the 2001 to early 2005 model that you are looking at?

I'd look at buying a UK spec car either here or in the UK. You will not save much money by going to the UK but the spec on UK models is way more generous than Irish spec models. Most Irish ones have wind up rear windows and no MFSW. Just make sure to do background checks on service history, etc irrespective of where you buy one. These cars are perfect for clocking as they age well even with high mileage on them.

BronsonTB

If looking at the A4 be extra careful on some of the secondhand ones....

Brother had similar budget & just bought an 02 A4 125k (SE Model 130bhp UK Import) private in Nov....

Looked at what we taught was a pretty decent car....everything ticked....service history/NCT/Drove well/ Fresh Audi diagnostics sheet....

Only had it home a few days when it started giving bother....turns out head gasket gone but had no tell tail signs when we checked....

Do allow for 'unforseen' issues when factoring the price....Cause Audi sure know how to charge!!

Good luck with the search!

colm_mcm

A4s have become the weapon of choice for the former glanza generation and in my opinion as a result are way over valued for what is a pretty mediocre fwd saloon.

Henry Ford III

colm_mcm wrote: »

A4s have become the weapon of choice for the former glanza generation and in my opinion as a result are way over valued for what is a pretty mediocre fwd saloon.

Passat would be a close 2nd choice then.

Moanin

mackrel wrote: »

Any advice on buying an A4? Maybe for about 6000. Also any advice on going to the uk or up north would be appreciated.

Thanks

Try and get the 130bhp 1.9TDI which was available between 2001 to 2004.For your money you'd probably be looking at a 2002-2003 one.

mackrel

colm_mcm wrote: »

A4s have become the weapon of choice for the former glanza generation and in my opinion as a result are way over valued for what is a pretty mediocre fwd saloon.

Cool, so what would you recommend?

colm_mcm

If it was me, my shortlist would be:

Volvo s60 d5
Rover 75 / mg zt
Vauxhall vectra 1.9
Vauxhall omega 2.2

Maybe even a primera 2.2 dCi

Basically these are the also-rans, they're realistically all a4 beaters in terms of spec, and they can be had much cheaper. There's nothing really wrong with any of them, they may be criticised for being dull. But how exciting is an a4 besides its badge.
The minimal sales of the SEAT Exeo (a4 without audi badge) would suggest "not very"

mackrel

Thanks for the input

Dave147

I'm looking at a few 05 A4's at the moment, B7 model 2.0TDI S-Line, think they're a mint car and have had a bucket load of them. I've had a few Quattro's and they're a dream to drive, had a 130bhp FWD one last year remapped to 170bhp and she was beautiful aswell. I'd recommend a 02-03 with your budget maybe something like this: http://pistonheads.com/sales/2259345.htm I know it'll probably stand you around 7k but it's just an example.

mackrel

Dave147 wrote: »

I'm looking at a few 05 A4's at the moment, B7 model 2.0TDI S-Line, think they're a mint car and have had a bucket load of them. I've had a few Quattro's and they're a dream to drive, had a 130bhp FWD one last year remapped to 170bhp and she was beautiful aswell. I'd recommend a 02-03 with your budget maybe something like this: http://pistonheads.com/sales/2259345.htm I know it'll probably stand you around 7k but it's just an example.

Great, thanks for the info. Have you found them expensive to maintain?

tc2010

mackrel wrote: »

Great, thanks for the info. Have you found them expensive to maintain?

Ive spent 100 euro on repairs in 4 years. Incredible reliability if you treat them right

Main dealer is really pricey so id go to a good mechanic instead or do the small things yourself

Id buy another Audi tomorrow. Best car ive ever owned or driven.

ssmith6287

I'm looking to sell my 02 A4 if you want details. 1.9 tdi 130bhp. In the garage now getting window reg replaced and brake light switch (2 common faults) Love the car, just at the moment the repayments are a bit much. Want to trade down for an older car. BTW there is no finance on the car, its a private bank loan. prob sell for about 5200€. Don't have it on adverts yet, want to give her a clean when the weather gets a litle nicer