jsausley
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2010
- Messages
- 1,222
- Location
- Burlington, NC, United States
- Car(s)
- '16 Audi S5, '14 CC R-Line, '12 Ariel Atom 3
I have the opportunity to buy a 2004 Audi A4 1.8T with automatic transmission at a really good price. It's a nice looking car, I haven't sat in or driven it yet, but the body is in great shape, the paint looks great and it makes me think the car in general has been taken care of.
The car has 140k miles. I would be buying it just to put miles on it until it blows up and I can retire it, basically. At this price, if I can get another 50,000 miles out of it without a major malfunction I'd be pretty happy. Not going to mod it, race it, drive it really anywhere that isn't to and from work or to get groceries and so on.
So what should I expect? I know that the 1.8Ts have occasional water pump failure from the plastic impellers and I know that the timing belt service should have been done around 100-110k miles. Assuming the timing belt service is done as it should have been, should I replace the water pump with the ECS metal version? How much does that usually run in labor?
I haven't had a chance to go over the car meticulously yet but I will be doing so soon, hopefully. What are some issues that I might expect? I don't even know what kind of transmission this car has, it's an automatic but is it a traditional automatic or is it CVT? CVT is probably a deal breaker, I've heard about those reliability issues and how expensive they are if they break.
How's the stock turbo on the 1.8T? Should it be in good condition is the car has mostly highway miles and hasn't been abused?
Let me just say that it's a REALLY good price, so I'm hoping that any small things I need to upgrade or change maintenance-wise won't cost too much.
Anyway, any basic suggestions on what to look for and what to expect would be appreciated. I know we have a handful of 1.8T guys around here.
The car has 140k miles. I would be buying it just to put miles on it until it blows up and I can retire it, basically. At this price, if I can get another 50,000 miles out of it without a major malfunction I'd be pretty happy. Not going to mod it, race it, drive it really anywhere that isn't to and from work or to get groceries and so on.
So what should I expect? I know that the 1.8Ts have occasional water pump failure from the plastic impellers and I know that the timing belt service should have been done around 100-110k miles. Assuming the timing belt service is done as it should have been, should I replace the water pump with the ECS metal version? How much does that usually run in labor?
I haven't had a chance to go over the car meticulously yet but I will be doing so soon, hopefully. What are some issues that I might expect? I don't even know what kind of transmission this car has, it's an automatic but is it a traditional automatic or is it CVT? CVT is probably a deal breaker, I've heard about those reliability issues and how expensive they are if they break.
How's the stock turbo on the 1.8T? Should it be in good condition is the car has mostly highway miles and hasn't been abused?
Let me just say that it's a REALLY good price, so I'm hoping that any small things I need to upgrade or change maintenance-wise won't cost too much.
Anyway, any basic suggestions on what to look for and what to expect would be appreciated. I know we have a handful of 1.8T guys around here.