2008 onwards Audi A4 1.8TFSI

MuppetCheck

My father is looking for a retirement car and as he will be doing small miles he is looking at petrols only. As he is retiring the car will be the big outlay but he would like to keep running costs as low as he can and does not want to spend more than the €660 he is currently paying.

He'd like to buy either an Audi, Mercedes or BMW simply because he wants to say that he owned one in his lifetime. I know there may be better options but this is simply an aspirational thing on his part and best of luck to him if he is happy with that.

He will be looking specifically at the 160bhp variant of the above with a decent specification as his current 2008 car is very well specced but is a little too large for him. I have discounted the 3 series as the petrols seem problematic and the C-Class seems very expensive for what you actually get.

Has anyone any experience with this exact model? He isn't in a huge rush to buy and will wait for the right car in the spec he is happiest with.

bazz26

I don't think there are many around (in this country anyway) to really know if there are any issues with them. 99% of A4s sold are diesels. There are only about 4 listed on carzone from 2009 or newer and they are pretty poorly speced.

R.O.R

There was a thread earlier in the year - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=77011585#post77011585

Where I posted this:

R.O.R wrote: »

We had / have 4 2008 1.8Tfsi 120ps A4's on fleet. Just had a quick look through the history's and the only issue noted between all of them was a problem with the ingnition not holding the key (which is relatively common across the new model A4).

Lowest mileage one has around 94,000km at the moment, highest mileage was 170,000km when it came back in April last year.

Looks like they are pretty damn reliable based on that.

We didn't have any of the 160ps models, but I can't see why they would be less reliable than the 120ps models.

Media999

Honestly a really amazing car to drive. A masterpiece of engineering. Completely different to the early 08 which ive also driven.

Ill tell you whats up with the keys. theres actually no key on it. That responder sits into a holder for the car to start. People naturally hang 20 keyrings off of it at the same time and then all these dangle while driving.

In the newer models you just dont plug it in. You just leave it in your pocket.

R.O.R

Media999 wrote: »

Honestly a really amazing car to drive. A masterpiece of engineering. Completely different to the early 08 which ive also driven.

Ill tell you whats up with the keys. theres actually no key on it. That responder sits into a holder for the car to start. People naturally hang 20 keyrings off of it at the same time and then all these dangle while driving.

In the newer models you just dont plug it in. You just leave it in your pocket.

Only on the SE and S-Line models (since facelift). Base model doesn't get the keyless.

OP - I wouldn't usually be one to suggest a Merc, but the old Model E200 is going pretty cheap nowadays. A pre-July 08 one with a Sport Pack is quite a nice motor with a fairly decent spec. The Sports seats are very good and even though it's the artifical "leather" it looks fairly well.

Tea 1000

Media999 wrote: »

Honestly a really amazing car to drive. A masterpiece of engineering. Completely different to the early 08 which ive also driven.

Ill tell you whats up with the keys. theres actually no key on it. That responder sits into a holder for the car to start. People naturally hang 20 keyrings off of it at the same time and then all these dangle while driving.

In the newer models you just dont plug it in. You just leave it in your pocket.

Exaggerate much???
A4's are no masterpieces, and are not great to drive. Zero feel or feedback, and a chassis that's rather easy to unsettle on poor surfaces when pushing on.
What they are is a comfortable enough car, very well insulated, nice cabin and finish with a nice premium feel that will take you from one end of the country to the other without making you feel tired. But a drivers tool they most certainly are not. They're also a little jarrey on very poor surfaces, especially at lower speeds. They grip well, but don't handle well. There is a difference!
Keyless is old hat for other manufacturers!!

MuppetCheck

He's not a fast driver by any means anyway. He was at one stage clocking points up a little too quickly and the driving habits have changed quite a lot!

Interesting suggestion on the eclass. Hadn't considered one. Are the later models reliable though?

MuppetCheck

bazz26 wrote: »

I don't think there are many around (in this country anyway) to really know if there are any issues with them. 99% of A4s sold are diesels. There are only about 4 listed on carzone from 2009 or newer and they are pretty poorly speced.

I noticed its hard to get a decent spec alright. To be honest he won't buy a car without cruise, blue tooth or a multifunction steering wheel. At the moment I am trying to get him to consider an a5 also as an option if he is veering towards an audi.

MuppetCheck

Tea 1000 wrote: »

Exaggerate much???
A4's are no masterpieces, and are not great to drive. Zero feel or feedback, and a chassis that's rather easy to unsettle on poor surfaces when pushing on.
What they are is a comfortable enough car, very well insulated, nice cabin and finish with a nice premium feel that will take you from one end of the country to the other without making you feel tired. But a drivers tool they most certainly are not. They're also a little jarrey on very poor surfaces, especially at lower speeds. They grip well, but don't handle well. There is a difference!
Keyless is old hat for other manufacturers!!

I would tend to agree. I have driven a couple of diesels and didn't think a whole lot of them driving wise. Not a bad place to spend time in but that seems to be the best part of them.

bazz26

Tea 1000 wrote: »

Exaggerate much???
A4's are no masterpieces, and are not great to drive. Zero feel or feedback, and a chassis that's rather easy to unsettle on poor surfaces when pushing on.
What they are is a comfortable enough car, very well insulated, nice cabin and finish with a nice premium feel that will take you from one end of the country to the other without making you feel tired. But a drivers tool they most certainly are not. They're also a little jarrey on very poor surfaces, especially at lower speeds. They grip well, but don't handle well. There is a difference!
Keyless is old hat for other manufacturers!!

Spot on there. I drove my cousin's 2008 A4 S Line a good bit a few months ago and it was exactly as you described. Nice comfy car but as a driver's car it had nowhere near as nice or sharp handling as my E90. I didn't like the manual gearbox on it either, it was really difficult to get it into reverse which would suggest it was heading for an early bath.

mickdw

I have the 1.8Tfsi in my 08 A5. Its rated as 170 bhp in the A5. Good engine really. Only issue with the engine has been a water pump leak at 60k miles. Runs pretty faultless and no random fault lights etc.
Ive had problems with the car but most wouldnt be common to the A4.
A couple of issues which would also relate to the A4 that Ive had were a faulty ignition switch and the aircon dumping its refrigerant without warning. These were fixed under warranty though.
My other issues are handling related and would be specific to the A5 chassis.
I would agree with the suggestion above of an E Class. Much more of a relaxing cruiser for a retired man.

The Pontiac

Just out of interest - is the A5 much better to drive than the A4?

I remember listening to Ben Collins (The Stig) been interviewed by Matt Cooper and saying his daily driver was an Audi A5 and he loved it. Link

bonzos

Id say he drives a S5/RS5,could not see him driving a 1.8....Im sure audi would provide him with a car due to his high profile.