Buying a New(er) car

SSBrew - 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
PeteOz77

PeteOz77

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2007
Messages
1,458
Reaction score
11
Location
Canberra, ACT Australia
I have decided that due to rising fuel prices, the fact that I have quit racing, and the fact that 98% of the time I am driving, I am the only one in the vehicle, It's time to sell my Quad Cab 4X4 Mitrusbishi Triton.

SWMBO drives a Lexus RX 330 (smaller SUV) and we don't have kids, so pretty much anything I buy is going to be OK, unless of course I spend a stupid amount of money on it.

I am considering buying a 2002 Audi A4 Quattro 1.8 Turbo with around 60,000 miles on it. It's show room perfect and has a full service history. I have been looking for a while and haven't founder a cleaner, straighter lower mileage one available within 8 hours of my house.

SO I guess I am looking for input on Audi and A4 Quattro in particular.

I know they are expensive to fix
I know they have some issues with auto Trans and some with dashboard display.
 
At least with the Audi/VW's I have dealt with, there are constantly problems with electrical. Whether it is the coilpack throwing cylinder misfires or just general electrical failure, I've never been a fan. They are expensive when they need to get fixed, and for the price you'd be just as comfortable in a stuffed passat (lower mileage, and newer). Are you looking for something in the midsize luxury segment? Have you looked at the 1998-2005 GS300/400/430? I have a 1998 and I love it, however the 2001-2005 are a bit nicer. The GS400/430 (depending on the year) gets better gas mileage than the 300 and they are a very comfortable car. Reliability is second to none.
 
Oh, I just realized that you're in Australia? Maybe it's the V300 or aristo over there, not quite sure.
 
What class of car are you looking at? By this I mean, 4 door sedan, 2 door coupe, sports, lux., car, truck? If you dont have kids and your still looking for something fun, go with a nissan 180sx or 200sx, or the silvia line. If you want a great reliable car,with the prospect of having kids, get a toyota or step it up to a lexus. Or even go with a honda/acura, thats al preferance. I know your car market is differnet from the US market, but you get ALL of the great cars with teh best motor options. You can get something fun and reliable that will still get great gas mileage.
 
Get a Chevy Chevette. They are great small cars and great on mileage. You can probably find a used one at a very reasonable price as well, since they are not made anymore.
 
I have a 2004 Audi A4 (hence the username) with close to 60,000 miles on it.

I love my car... but... i know its quirks and while I'm comfortable with them, not everyone wants to deal with it.

The quattro part of it is fairly reliable.

The 2002's were notorious for coilpack failures. Check to see that they've been replaced. Mine failed a couple months ago - it was only one coilpack but I went ahead and bought additional coilpacks just as a backup. Coilpacks are roughly US$40 each and they are super easy to replace.

Window regulators are another well-known problem. My front regulators were replaced during the warranty period so I don't know how much they cost or how easy they are to replace.

The fuel filter needs to be replaced at 60k miles. I replaced mine a couple months ago. It was fairly easy and took about an hour.

Timing belt needs to be changed at this mileage too.

I have manual transmission so I can't comment about the auto trans.

All in all I'm happy with my car and the things that are failing now are consistent with a 60k mile car. It's still running strong and gets great gas mileage.

(my car is modified so there are other problems related to that, but if the car you're looking at is stock, you should be good.)

*edit*
I've never had a problem with my dashboard display and haven't heard anything about problems with displays either.
 
Thanks for the input so far guys. To answer a few questions...

I am looking for 4 door sedan luxury/prestige autos, less than $20K. Cars are VERY expensive here, regardless of brand, so I have to be looking at something at least 5 years old to fit into that price range. I strongly considered a Lexus IS200, but they are still hovering around the $24K range. I'll have another look in the 300 series.

I have explored the Passat, which is essentially the same car as a standard A4. THey are quite abit less expensive, but just don't have the same level of fit and finish, or performance.

A4J, thanks for the play by play, I'll check on the coil packs, and if they haven't been replaced, I will get a couple of spares. Also, the manual says timing belt at 110,000 km and the car has 97,000 km on it. Based on my driving habits, I won't need to get it replaced for 10-12 months, but will definitely do this on schedule.

I know Japanese cars are more reliable, and better value for money, but I just don't like them. THey are very expensive to fix in AUS as well, and even if they don't break down as much (in theory), I prefer the fit and finish as well as the ride and comfort of euro luxury. Lexus is the exception, and we already have one of those... a second one isn't out of the question.
 
I have heard several Audi horror stories (one from close friends on a brand new one) about electrical issues with Audi. How about a 3 series BMW? About the same price point as Audi, and less lemon type issues. Same steep maintenance, though.

I understand why people like Lexi, but for some reason they strike me as cars for old people. Some of the controls are almost insultingly large-like they're for bluehairs. I test drove the Lexus SUV's when we bought our Acura MDX. We love the MDX, but it's a kid carrier and it doesn't seem you need one of those.

I have test driven the Acura TL a bunch of times while getting oil changes on the MDX, and it's a really snappy, responsive mid-size sedan. Pretty sharp looking, too.
 
PeteOz77 said:
Thanks for the input so far guys. To answer a few questions...

I am looking for 4 door sedan luxury/prestige autos, less than $20K. Cars are VERY expensive here, regardless of brand, so I have to be looking at something at least 5 years old to fit into that price range. I strongly considered a Lexus IS200, but they are still hovering around the $24K range. I'll have another look in the 300 series.

I have explored the Passat, which is essentially the same car as a standard A4. THey are quite abit less expensive, but just don't have the same level of fit and finish, or performance.

A4J, thanks for the play by play, I'll check on the coil packs, and if they haven't been replaced, I will get a couple of spares. Also, the manual says timing belt at 110,000 km and the car has 97,000 km on it. Based on my driving habits, I won't need to get it replaced for 10-12 months, but will definitely do this on schedule.

I know Japanese cars are more reliable, and better value for money, but I just don't like them. THey are very expensive to fix in AUS as well, and even if they don't break down as much (in theory), I prefer the fit and finish as well as the ride and comfort of euro luxury. Lexus is the exception, and we already have one of those... a second one isn't out of the question.
Click to expand...

Well just to put it out there...

You do live in one of the best Jap. spec markets in the world. I did not realize that they were expensive which really sucks because they make amazing cars. Even if you do not buy one, at least go out and test drive one for me.

The holy grail of sports cars, the Nissan Skyline. You have 3 generations available to you, the R32, 33, and 34. If you can find a place to test drive ANY of these, take one out and beat the **** out of it!!!! They are a landmark car in the history of automotive technology. So if your interested, it would be one of the coolest cars you could drive!:D

But thats just me:D
 
You also have the bad ass holdens (monaro, etc.), the fords (mondeo turbo! drool) that we don't get over here... you've got tons of options!
 
I just traded in a 2003 ES300 for an 08 ES350. My '03 had 58k miles and the whole 5 years I had it, the only thing besides routine mantenance I spent on it was for new tires.
 
You should be able to get the S3 there. Thats what I would get if I wanted something nice and fun to drive. Other than that the RS4 is sweeeeeet
 
So you don't want to pay the prices for the japanese cars, and you won't pay good money for holdens or fords. Sounds like you're **** out of luck :)
 
Joe C said:
So you don't want to pay the prices for the japanese cars, and you won't pay good money for holdens or fords. Sounds like you're **** out of luck :)
Click to expand...

Mate, check out the prices for Holdens and Fords here. A high performance Holden Ute (Think El Camino) can run over $70,000! The Ford equivelant is nealry the same. The Monaro started at $68,000 and went up from there. A decent used one that's 2 years old is still worth around $60k Why would I want to drive a pushrod V8, that is basically 50 year old technology, and just an Aussie version of an american car, when I can drive a better vehicle for less money?

I am happy to pay the price for a good Japanese car, that's why the wife drives a Lexus. I only drive about 10-12,000km per year, so i don't need a $40k car. I am happy with a little bit older, little bit higher mileage luxury car.

I understand the love affair with the pushrod V8, hell they even have a national race series here the requires that ype of motor (thereby excluding EVERYONE except Ford and Holden), but they just don't suit my needs.

I have owned a LOT of cars in my time, American, Japanese, Aussie and European, and I know what I prefer to drive.... :mug:
 
Pete- There is nothing wrong with a pushrod motor. Superchargers are 50+ years old, EFI is over 30 now.....

Sounds like a european elitist talking about their quad cam engine that produces less power with 4 times the complications.
 
MikeFlynn74 said:
Pete- There is nothing wrong with a pushrod motor. Superchargers are 50+ years old, EFI is over 30 now.....

Sounds like a european elitist talking about their quad cam engine that produces less power with 4 times the complications.
Click to expand...

Just my humble opinion, but an overhead cam motor will FAR outlive a pushrod motor if both are well maintained. I have seen more camshaft failures on small block chev with less than 100,00 miles on them than I care to admit. I have also seen more than a few GM 3800 motors with over 250,000 miles on them still going strong.

Pushrod motors work, and produce a lot of HP when massaged properly, but OHC motors certainly seem to be superior in many ways. Everyone raves about how great Japanese cars are and the low maintenance and longevity... how many of them are pushrod motors?

European elitist? Definitely not. I prefer the fit, finish, comfort and ride of Euro cars, but I'll give the drivetrain kudos to Japanese nearly every time :mug:
 
Luxury. Toyota HiLux. aka HiLuxury. 1989 model. Bench seat. No aircon, no power steering (fat tyres fitted), radio (just radio, no tape, no cd, no mp3)that does not display, heater that cannot be switched on (was jammed on last summer - fixed that), drivers window that falls into the door on occasion, hole in drivers seat where dog jumps up, internal light inoperative, front indicator missing plastic, large steel tray with drop downs that need a kick sometime to secure, petrol cap with no lock (and you have to turn the nozzle upside down whilst filling), horn like a budgies fart, no clock, oil low indicator is when it stops blowing out the back, takes ten minutes to warm up - then over revs - then you blip the gas and all is good - smooth as slick.
Luxury mate. High Luxury. Drive one of these and anything else you get into will be luxury. Seriously though - I love my ute! ...oh and as for the budgies fart, I got cut up 5 times two days ago and yesterday I bought a triple airhorn which will be fitted this weekend. 117dB :rockin:
 
Yea but you are comparing solid lifter cams to roler cam engines-

Id take one single timing set over long dual timing chains or belts.

Besides- The basis of power is not the cam design. Hell if they wanted to they could make valves operated on solenoids.
 
MikeFlynn74 said:
Yea but you are comparing solid lifter cams to roler cam engines-

Id take one single timing set over long dual timing chains or belts.

Besides- The basis of power is not the cam design. Hell if they wanted to they could make valves operated on solenoids.
Click to expand...

A roller Cam doesn't have to be fitted with Hydraulic or solid lifters, both options are available.

I have seen many a single roller timing chain worn out faster than a belt. Difference is that if a belt breaks or slips, most OHC engines have such tight tolerances on valve clearance, that you have BIG mess, where as a SBC just won't run, but you don't have a mess of bent valves.

Cam design has EVERYTHING to do with power output. Not whether or not it is overhead or pushrod, but the grind of a camshaft makes ALL of the difference in the world to the power output. I could detune a 450hp SBC by well over 200hp by ONLY switching the camshaft.
 
PeteOz77 said:
A roller Cam doesn't have to be fitted with Hydraulic or solid lifters, both options are available.

I have seen many a single roller timing chain worn out faster than a belt. Difference is that if a belt breaks or slips, most OHC engines have such tight tolerances on valve clearance, that you have BIG mess, where as a SBC just won't run, but you don't have a mess of bent valves.
Click to expand...

That is the difference between a interference (honda's) and non interference (92-93 ford escort) In the interference motor, the belt breaks, your motor is blown with bent valves and all. The non interference motor can break belts all day everyday and still be reset and run just fine.
 
Not a great photo, but here's the new toy.

09072008_001_.jpg
 
They put the steering wheel on the wrong side! I hope they comped the price.


Nice buy man! Enjoy the hell out of it.
 
Virtuous said:
They put the steering wheel on the wrong side! I hope they comped the price.


Nice buy man! Enjoy the hell out of it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it took a while to get used to when I moved here, especially shifting with my left hand instead of my right.

I AM enjoying the hell out of it.... the thing handles like it's on RAILS, but is still extremely comfortable and quiet on the road.
 

Similar threads

RoaringBrewer
Should I buy this JEEP... ?
Replies
37
Views
2K
Homercidal
Homercidal
S
Buying a second house
Replies
21
Views
2K
shaundesjardins
shaundesjardins
Williams Brewing 300

Latest posts

Back
Top