# Looking at a 2001 Audi A4 2.8 Quattro, Need your thoughts on this car please. Thanks



## 89jett (Jan 28, 2003)

Hello I am looking at buying a 2001 Audi A4 2.8 Quattro it has a 150,000 miles on it. the car is actually in very good condition both inside and outside. the only problem on the inside is the middle display in between the speedometer and rpm gauge is broken. I can see some things but not all. I took it for a test drive and it seems to drive really nice and sturdy I did find out that is was burning some oil off the engine when it got hot, I was thinking that maybe the valve cover gasket could be bad but im not sure, any ideas would be great. the transmission shifts nice and it runs really quite. is there anything that anyone can tell me to look out for. I did a Carfax and the title is clean. it has been in a few fender benders but nothing serious. I have had many volkswagons but no audi's so if anyone can tell me what to look for that would be great!

Thanks so much


----------



## V24 (Jun 22, 2011)

an audi with that many miles = problems especially with the 2.8L engine audis are fun to drive but they have so many problems and its not cheap to fix them and the parts are expensive too go for something else but not an old audi


----------



## O_o (Nov 12, 2009)

89jett said:


> Hello I am looking at buying a 2001 Audi A4 2.8 Quattro it has a 150,000 miles on it.


That's about average mileage for an 11 year old car. The engine is pretty much bulletproof, it's the chassis that's a bugger. The front suspension control arms in particular, but the engine, trans, and diff mounts, and rear wheel bearings are also problematic. A lot of people have had problems with their automatic transmissions. Also, the catpipes are $uper expen$ive, and if you need to take emissions tests, you might have to buy OEM when they need replacement. I'd have a mechanic you trust take a very close look at the chassis and exhaust.

The main engine issue, off the top of my head, is the PCV hoses and valves that get clogged. It's a pretty easy DIY, and while it's a lot of money for some cheap bits of plastic, it's not going to cause you to have to remortgage your home.



89jett said:


> the only problem on the inside is the middle display in between the speedometer and rpm gauge is broken.


Is it broken, or just turned off? Try the button under the turn signal stalk -- or is it the wiper stalk? Well, it's one or the other.



89jett said:


> I did find out that is was burning some oil off the engine when it got hot, I was thinking that maybe the valve cover gasket could be bad but im not sure, any ideas would be great.


The smoke is coming from the engine compartment? In all likelihood, that would be the infamous PCV constipation, which eventually manifests itself as a leaky valve cover gasket.



89jett said:


> I did a Carfax and the title is clean. it has been in a few fender benders but nothing serious. I have had many volkswagons but no audi's so if anyone can tell me what to look for that would be great!


Carfax is pretty much useless, but I guess it's not bad news that it's clean. For the most part, Audi is an expensive way of saying VW. All chassis and engine parts on the B5 A4 (98-01) are interchangeable with those on the V6 Passat 4Mo of the same generation.


----------



## Disturbd1 (Jan 26, 2007)

I can vouch for pretty much all of this. I've got a '99 B5 A4 30v, myself. It had ~89k miles when I got it, but had just had all the major items tended to (timing belt, water pump, gaskets, seals, even a new clutch I believe).

I've had the car for a little over 2 years now. Right after I bought it (with an extended warranty, which you'll need for these cars), I took it to Futrell Autowerks here in Oregon. She needed about $2k worth of work on the front end. Mostly consisting of the suspension mounts, etc. It also had a leak in the master cylinder, which ended up having to be fixed twice in a short period of time (burning smell/smoke). 

About a year later I noticed an annoying knocking sound. I asked around the forums, and pretty much everyone said it was likely something with the trans. With my keen sense of hearing, I figured out that it was in fact that damn PCV valve (aka purge valve). It was just loud as hell. Replaced it myself ($30), sound is gone.

Now my only problem is my auxiliary fan needs to be replaced, so when my AC is running I have a nice whirring noise.

In closing, though, I would definitely agree that these engines are bulletproof. My car gets me everywhere I need to go, and some of what used to be the most impossible hills to drive up with any sort of gain in speed in a previous car, my 2.8 has no problems with.


----------

