Audi owners in here!

jbh110tdi · 18 Jan 2016 at 08:51

rossk26 said:
Any idea on what effect it has on MPG?

when I went from the FWD 1.9tdi to the quattro 1.9tdi I reckon ive lost between 5 to 8 MPG mines is the older style B5 shape but I wouldn't imagine this would make much of a difference.

RossDagley said:
Don't lose sleep over the miles. A well looked after higher mileage car is normally always better than a poorly maintained low mileage one.

Ive always thought along these lines. My own car is just shy of 200k and doesnt miss a beat. its not been used much in the last year though. its due its MOT next month and its done 300 miles.. the wifes seat on the other hand has done 8k since march.

RossDagley · 18 Jan 2016 at 08:54

yep that's about right - 6-8mpg is the hit from what I've read from others. I've never had a non-quattro car myself though.

rossk26 · 18 Jan 2016 at 09:11

What else does the quattro offer over the non-quattro?

Extra toys?

jbh110tdi · 18 Jan 2016 at 09:14

RossDagley said:
yep that's about right - 6-8mpg is the hit from what I've read from others. I've never had a non-quattro car myself though.

Ive had a few quattro's but they were never a practical car. it was the old Audi 80 coupe quattros I had though..

It has only been over the last 4 years ive had what could be classed as a practical car.. before that I normally had a works van and a weekend toy and the wife ran something practical.

Ive had the quattro A4 3 years now. I had the FWD one for around 6 month. it was bought as a semi practical car after handing back the works van. once I got chance of the quattro I used all the best bits from both on to the quattro and then sold the FWD one.

RossDagley · 18 Jan 2016 at 09:24

My only quattro's have been the B7 RS4, the C6 RS6 (with 730hp so needed 4wd just for that!) and now the B8 RS4 I currently have. I do like driving fast (and trackdays etc) so not sure I could cope without half decent handling.

jbh110tdi · 18 Jan 2016 at 09:34

rossk26 said:
What else does the quattro offer over the non-quattro?

Extra toys?

normally a nicer interior and a few extra toys. you just need to ask if you need to spend the extra.. the 4 wheel drive system is superb and gives greater confidence in the car. it also adds to safety in the bad weather.

jbh110tdi · 18 Jan 2016 at 09:40

RossDagley said:
My only quattro's have been the B7 RS4, the C6 RS6 (with 730hp so needed 4wd just for that!) and now the B8 RS4 I currently have. I do like driving fast (and trackdays etc) so not sure I could cope without half decent handling.

you should get yourself something RWD as a track toy.. it adds to the enjoyment. Ive had a few RWD track toys over the years. mainly the old E30 BMW's which only had about 200bhp on tap but add that to a limited slip diff no ABS or traction control and a wet track it could still be a bit of a handful.

rossk26 · 18 Jan 2016 at 12:02

jbh110tdi said:
normally a nicer interior and a few extra toys. you just need to ask if you need to spend the extra.. the 4 wheel drive system is superb and gives greater confidence in the car. it also adds to safety in the bad weather.

Excellent, thanks for the advice and feedback.

I do like the look of the one I posted, so will be making a few inquiries about it. There hasn't been many if any affordable A4 Avant quattro 1.8t come up, and I've been looking for a fair few months now.

Only think lacking really from the one I linked is the rear windows being electric.

RossDagley · 18 Jan 2016 at 12:05

jbh110tdi said:
you should get yourself something RWD as a track toy.. it adds to the enjoyment. Ive had a few RWD track toys over the years. mainly the old E30 BMW's which only had about 200bhp on tap but add that to a limited slip diff no ABS or traction control and a wet track it could still be a bit of a handful.

Yeah you see I stuck to what I know for a track car so have a clio! If I had larger testicles I would have probably gone rwd - but I dont

rossk26 · 18 Jan 2016 at 14:11

Sent some questions to the seller and had a reply. Not the greatest, but since these are very hard to come by, I'm not sure if I should be put off.

It's got budget Haida tyres fitted all round
Previous owner had dogs, but he promises there's no trace left.
Few dings on it should be easily touched up, but there is bubbling on the front nearside bumper

Armageus · 18 Jan 2016 at 14:24

rossk26 said:
Sent some questions to the seller and had a reply. Not the greatest, but since these are very hard to come by, I'm not sure if I should be put off.

It's got budget Haida tyres fitted all round
Previous owner had dogs, but he promises there's no trace left.
Few dings on it should be easily touched up, but there is bubbling on the front nearside bumper

I personally wouldn't be too worried:-

- tyres are all at least matching, yes they are budget, but that is just representative of a normal non-enthusiast car owner for the most part. Run then for a little while, and then replace when you can with some mid range tyres.

- Unless it has an obvious "dog smell" then I wouldn't be worried - expect plenty of estates etc carry dogs and half the time it is never disclosed.

- Few dings and bubbling paint is fine, as after all it is a 12 year old car. Bumper would be a couple of hundred quid to be repainted properly, probably less for a "Smart-repair"

RossDagley · 18 Jan 2016 at 14:29

Sage advice ^

My RS4 had a giant wet dog in it with <150 miles on from new, and takes dogs every week. It's an estate car - they're made for dogs and prams.

Most (if kept in check) dont keep the dog smell for sure.

Tyre / bodywork advice above is spot on

iaind · 18 Jan 2016 at 14:33

Regarding the dog smell, everyone's sensitivity to it varies but I'd wager that the owner might think that its gone but you would still smell it. My car had a fairly strong dog whiff when I got it but managed to get rid of it. First of all the hair, you need to get rid of as much of the hair as possible so be really thorough in the boot as possible with the vacuum. Then use a hacksaw blade or sticky tape to pull the rest up. You need to make sure every crevice, cubby etc is hoovered as hair and dirt get everywhere.

I used some good quality antibacterial air con system cleaner (Normfest) to get rid of the smell from the vents and a new pollen filter. A tub of bicarb of soda half scattered in the boot and the other half left in the front followed by Autoglym odour remover in the boot carpet and headlining. By that point it was pretty much gone but the occasional waft still persisted..... a proper wet vac (a rug doctor machine I rented) then liquid leather cleaner and conditioner on all the seats was my last step last week and it finally smells like a car with leather upholstry rather than a dog bed!

So you can get rid of it, takes a bit of time and effort but is going to be quite standard in an estate

rossk26 · 18 Jan 2016 at 14:54

Thanks guys

Appreciate all the advice, I'm probably just trying to put myself off to hold out for something much better. But realistically at this price bracket, nothing will be mint.

Going to arrange to view/buy it this weekend.

justintime2001 · 18 Jan 2016 at 16:39

Having Quattro has saved my neck a couple of times. They ride like they are on rails and I can't see my self buying anything but Quattro.

jbh110tdi · 18 Jan 2016 at 17:55

justintime2001 said:
Having Quattro has saved my neck a couple of times. They ride like they are on rails and I can't see my self buying anything but Quattro.

I agree with you there. even the older B5 I noticed a big difference with compared to the FWD it sits the road so much better than its FWD counterpart.

[TW]Fox · 18 Jan 2016 at 18:02

justintime2001 said:
Having Quattro has saved my neck a couple of times. They ride like they are on rails and I can't see my self buying anything but Quattro.

Are you seriously saying there are multiple occasions where if you'd have been in an FWD A4 instead of a Quattro A4 you'd have crashed? Really?!

mjt · 18 Jan 2016 at 18:36

[TW]Fox;29070877 said:
Are you seriously saying there are multiple occasions where if you'd have been in an FWD A4 instead of a Quattro A4 you'd have crashed? Really?!

I'd buy that in snow conditions, but not anything else.

I think ESP saved your bacon rather than 4WD.

Stability control saved my arse a number of times when I was younger and drove like an idiot.

[TW]Fox · 18 Jan 2016 at 18:40

Unless you live in the highlands or you've got an Audi with 300bhp+ I honestly don't see the value in Quattro - it adds complexity, increases tyre wear and significantly increases fuel consumption for what real benefit really? I just don't see the point in it in low power A4's.

Kenai · 18 Jan 2016 at 18:49

[TW]Fox;29071009 said:
Unless you live in the highlands or you've got an Audi with 300bhp+ I honestly don't see the value in Quattro - it adds complexity, increases tyre wear and significantly increases fuel consumption for what real benefit really? I just don't see the point in it in low power A4's.

In the A4 I thought they were Haldex, so didn't suffer from things like increased tyre wear or significantly increased consumption? Not that creates much of a point to it but I didn't think the negatives were that significant on the systems in the A4.