1.8 turbo, awd, manual.
How bad is this idea? There is one on the local Craigslist. Has a CEL on for cyl 2 miss fire, guy says he has changed the plugs and coil pack but CEL remains.
Are they as bad as The B5 passat?
1.8 turbo, awd, manual.
How bad is this idea? There is one on the local Craigslist. Has a CEL on for cyl 2 miss fire, guy says he has changed the plugs and coil pack but CEL remains.
Are they as bad as The B5 passat?
old_ wrote: Are they as bad as The B5 passat?
Yes.
Needs an ignition module. So that part is easy.
It is the exact same car as the Passat, just with awd and another couple dozen electronics to fail.
i had one and never had a problem with it besides a few ball joints which requires the entire control arm to be replaced, and there are a total of 16 control arms/ ball joints so after you fix one another is sure to start clunking.
besides that it was a great car. I had the APR 91 octane tune on it and that makes it about 10x better then the stock 150 hp you get. also if you get one I would try to get an early one that still had a throttle cable, just one less thing to worry about
These are tough cars to buy if they've been neglected. Otherwise they're nice, solid cars. I've put 100's of thousands of trouble free miles on mine...
They drive so nice but I have never had a more unrelaiable car in my life and I drive rotaries.
costly too.
The newest B5's are now 13 years old and likely beat on by a 17 year old who could barely afford it yet alone maintain it. These are not Honda's or Camry's.
They are great driving cars when they are on the road, but my experience with a B5 Passat was not the best.
One with a CEL that won't clear would be my signal to move on. BTW the ignition module is also called a power amplifier in some parts lookups, if you decide to wander down that path.
The B5.5 is better by leaps and bounds, but the normal B5's? No. Just no.
Look at what it will cost to replace the balljoints in the front end before you dive in.
It's a 2001, would that be a "B5.5"? The guy says he has 10yrs of service records, recent t-belt/pump. Looks very nice, not modified etc 140k.
$500 for the APR tune? Is there anything more grassroots?
A B5.5 is 2001.5 they did a model change part way through 2001.
here are some decently priced control arms
As far as performance there isnt much in the way of bolt ons, just test pipe and the intake box mod or cone filter, few other little things but the tune is the big thing before a turbo swap. If you get a later b5 you can find used giac plug in tuner boxes for alot cheaper then apr.
like I said I had a good experience with mine but it was well taken care of, ive known others who havent had such luck
old_ wrote: $500 for the APR tune? Is there anything more grassroots?
Sorry, but this made me chuckle... In the world of tuning German cars, $500 is grassroots. Easy to spend more. A lot more.
10 years of service records... so why is he selling? Bored with the car or tired of it nickle-diming him?
It amuses me how people on this board are quick to bash VW but will defend Audi. From that era, they're essentially the same bloody cars...
Ian F wrote:old_ wrote: $500 for the APR tune? Is there anything more grassroots?Sorry, but this made me chuckle... In the world of tuning German cars, $500 is grassroots. Easy to spend more. A lot more. 10 years of service records... so why is he selling? Bored with the car or tired of it nickle-diming him? It amuses me how people on this board are quick to bash VW but will defend Audi. From that era, they're essentially the same bloody cars...
You're right about the German tuning parts. I took my B5 S4 to Laguna Seca once -- set the brakes on fire. I priced out the cost on parts to make it track-worthy, came to over $10K for brakes, suspension, wheels, and tires, and decided to spend that money doubling the horsepower of the Miata instead. :)
I haven't noticed many people bash VW and like Audi though, most people seem to realize they're the same.
As for the original car -- I've owned two Audis for a combination of 14 years and no, I wouldn't buy a $5K B5 A4. A B5 S4, maybe, but only after very careful examination.
In reply to old_:
If you can't afford a new Audi you probably can't afford an old one. Take it from me, I've owned four. I would never own one out of warranty ever again.
less than durable suspension components,esp tie rods, bearings, control arms. if any suspension component was properly engineered, I'm sure it was an oversight. even the wheel bolts are malleable. fortunately aftermarket offers components that seem to solve many issues.
had to take the bumper off to replace alternator. that was a first.
In reply to greenwoodjw:
Yeah 1st rule of working on an Audi is remove 5 things to replace 1 thing, since you removed 5 things to get there you might as well replace 3 of those because its a bitch to get back in there or you broke it removing it.
Also I had to remove front bumper and lower core support just to change the serp belt, WTF?
fidelity101 wrote: In reply to greenwoodjw: Yeah 1st rule of working on an Audi is remove 5 things to replace 1 thing, since you removed 5 things to get there you might as well replace 3 of those because its a bitch to get back in there or you broke it removing it. Also I had to remove front bumper and lower core support just to change the serp belt, WTF?
That's what you get with a front-engined, longitudinal-mount, AWD system. The front half shafts come out of the side of the tranny, meaning that the engine has to stick out in front of the front wheels, so space at the front of the car is at a premium.
"Putting the car in the service position" is required to do almost anything involving the front of the engine, but it's actually pretty simple and quick once you've done it a couple times.
You can probably get a R32 Skyline GTS-4 imported for the same price it would be to buy a good one of these and it would be 10 times reliable.
That or a early WRX. If you want a 90s car then DSM or Celica GT4. Want a more roomy car? Find a Legacy GT or Volvo S60r/V60r.
I would avoid this car at all costs. All of the above cars aside the Volvo have a far superior AWD system as well. Volvo's is probably very similar since they are both Haldex except in Volvo's case you wouldn't have E36 M3 falling apart.
If you think $500 is high for a tune on this car avoid it at all costs because everything else THAT WILL GO WRONG is going to cost you an arm and a leg.
Audi on a budget doesn't exist.
fidelity101 wrote: In reply to greenwoodjw: Yeah 1st rule of working on an Audi is remove 5 things to replace 1 thing, since you removed 5 things to get there you might as well replace 3 of those because its a bitch to get back in there or you broke it removing it.
^^^That made me chuckle.
Years ago I had a friend that had an A4 that needed something replaced. I don't recall exactly what but it was something relatively routine by most standards. The dealer wanted $3500 so he ended up doing it himself. In the end he had taken the whole front clip off and it took two weeks to finish. I think he set a new worlds record for cussing that Audi out. When he finished he was so mad he just sold it to get rid of it. We are not allowed to utter the Audi name around him anymore.
In reply to old_:
My advice is...it depends.
In general I would say the car will be a money pit. That would be due mostly to deferred maintenance and things wearing out.
However, I have to defend the B5. I ordered and bought my 2001 1.8TQM Sport new in June 2000. I have never had a coilpack fail (although they were replaced twice during normal service under warranty). I have replaced the usual maintenance items such as belts (including the water pump) and struts. Mine has had correct correct fluid maintenance including the use of synthetics in the engine and transmission. As for failures, I have had to replace 2 wheel bearings and the ABS manifold (leaking solenoid) in the last 14 years and 90k miles. It still has the original control arms and exhaust.
For improvements, early on I swapped in what was called the "Eurosport" suspension (sold thru Audi Dealers) that included shorter Bilstein Sport struts and Vorschlag springs. I also went with 22mm Neuspeed rear swaybar, 18" SSR Integral A2 wheels, Michelin PS tires, A8 front brake rotors and TT caliper brackets, APR 93 octane tune, intake airbox mod and a few other bits. The car still turns heads...
Feedyurhed wrote:fidelity101 wrote: In reply to greenwoodjw: Yeah 1st rule of working on an Audi is remove 5 things to replace 1 thing, since you removed 5 things to get there you might as well replace 3 of those because its a bitch to get back in there or you broke it removing it.^^^That made me chuckle.
It seems every project goes that way with me. I had a leaky exhaust gasket on my Corvette, six months later I still have the engine in pieces in the backyard.
I've dealt with so many siezed tie rod ends on my A4/S4s, the first thing I do when I get my new car home is i disassemble and grease the entire front end suspension assembly. My neighbors were very confused by that one.
Back about 13 years ago, a friend of mine who was really into VW's and Audis at the time saved up enough money to buy himself outright a clean used 1998 Audi A4 2.8L V6 with the sport package. He still has it, and it has really low miles. That's because it's constantly broken in his driveway. 
I remember giving him rides to work and other places back then when his car was in the "Service Position" for weeks at a time fixing stupid crap. Wheel bearings, control arms, coil packs, cooling system... you name it and he had to do it, probably 3x over by now. That car broke down so much that he ended up going to an automotive tech school to learn how to fix things better so he wouldn't have to farm out the work! He uses it as a winter car now, when it works.
All that said, the seats are comfy, they are good looking, and they are nice place to hang out when they are working correctly. I think you can do far better though. He had those issues with his and it was a one owner car that was only a few years old and super clean. I can't imagine what a roached-out cheap example would be like to live with.
SilverFleet wrote: Back about 13 years ago, a friend of mine who was really into VW's and Audis at the time saved up enough money to buy himself outright a clean used 1998 Audi A4 2.8L V6 with the sport package. He still has it, and it has really low miles. That's because it's constantly broken in his driveway.
They are magnificent to drive and go places in the snow where angels fear to tread.
kanaric wrote: You can probably get a R32 Skyline GTS-4 imported for the same price it would be to buy a good one of these and it would be 10 times reliable.
Do not under any circumstances do this. Skyline's are unreliable pieces of junk that are insanely expensive to fix. Considering I live in a place where they are a dime a dozen, I have a bit of experience in this matter. If you've ever complained about the reliability of a WRX, do not get a skyline or a A4 
In reply to HiTempguy:
truth
turboswede wrote: Look at what it will cost to replace the balljoints in the front end before you dive in.
I've never seen them go bad. I understand that the '98s did have problems that were fixed in production. I suspect that people replacing them are tightening the bushings with the suspension drooped, which is a major no-no and a guaranteed early bushing failure.
OTOH, if you want to freak out, price out the rear shock/upper control arm bracket that likes to rust out. Nearly $1k for the pair.
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