Hi,
I am looking to buy at an audi a4 that was driven 112K miles and has Premium pkg, cold weather pkg installed.There is no previous maintenance history available on this vehicle except for a recent one time service which included
timing belt/waterpump changed
brake light switch replaced
gasket valve covers and tensioners replaced
new tires
I like the car but was worried if Ill be burning my wallet after I buy it.
Is it worth it to buy this car??
An Audi at this age and mileage is likely to start needing some expensive repairs, for what that’s worth.
NOT worth it !!!
To determine the price to buy the car you can research at Edmunds.com, KBB, NADA web sites. The recent timing belt job is a plus. Maintaining and repair of an older Audi can be more expensive than many other cars, but you just have to except pricey repairs with an Audi.
If you are really interested you need to pay a mechanic to do a good pre-sale inspection of the car. Compression check of each cylinder, pressure tests to uncover any issues with head gaskets, etc.
Private party value on KBB for a fair condition is $6900 and good condition is $7900
When you guys say expensive repairs, do you have anything specific in mind for this particular model car?
I don’t. Audi’s of this era can have electrical issues often with the radio. Using mismatched tires on an Audi can cause problems with AWD components. Any car this age and miles could have issues with the auto transmissions.
Audi (like VW) claims to use a “lifetime” fluid. Lack of transmission services and fluid changes can lead to auto transmission failures and this would be expensive in an '04 Audi. I would say the longevity of the current transmission and the cost to replace it if it goes bad is your biggest risk. If it has a manual transmission, they hold up better, but there is a clutch to replace someday.
Thanks UncleTurbo!!
Do your homework.
Audis can be unreliable, and repairs can be costly.
Do you have a mechanic that knows these cars?
I’d budget $5000 for unexpected repairs in the first 2 years.
Check it out here:
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Reliability.aspx?year=2004&make=Audi&model=A4
You are likely out out of the woods concerning the timing belt, and if a wiper motor or two isn’t a big deal, then it may be worth it. Just be aware that Audi is a bit less reliable than other brands like BMW or Lexus, and repairs are always expensive on a luxury brand.