3 Features to Look For When Buying a Used Audi A4

If you are buying a used Audi A4 and want to know what features to look for, you will need to decide what you want out of the car first. You will need to think about what kind of modifications you will want, if any, and whether to balance between older and cheaper, or newer and more expensive. Buying a used Audi A4 can be an inexpensive way to own a good luxury vehicle, but always have on hand a few extra grand for repairs and mods.

Engine Size

The 1.8 has more modding ability, but is also less reliable. The 2.8 has less modding ability, but is known for its reliability. The 2.8 is a bigger engine and thus a bit less powerful out of the box; and a supercharger is the only way to get good power out of it. So decide how much modding and power you will want to do vs reliability, and let that be your deciding factor here.

Year

A good sweet spot is the 1999 A4, as they were still drive by cable at that point but had most of the upgrades of the 2000 models. Drive by cable is much easier to tune and thus better for modding, so again you will need to take into account how much modification you will want to do. Also older cars are generally cheaper as well, but possibly come with more problems.

Common Issues

Issues common to older used Audi A4s including timing belts, ignition coils, and oil sludge. Timing belts need to be changed more often than usual on older A4s, especially the pre 2000 models. A broken timing belt can lead to serious engine damage which will be much more costly than just changing the belt. On the 1.8 engine, oil sludge is frequently a problem, which like the timing belt can cause serious engine damage. Frequent oil changes with only synthetic oil can help avoid that problem And also on the 1.8 the ignition coils frequently go bad, leading to rough idling.

The core issue is going to be the level of modding you will want to do. If you just want a reliable luxury vehicle, then an early 2000s 2.8 A4 might make a good choice, as they are known for reliability. If you are going to want to tinker and upgrade it quite a bit, then an older 1.8 might be the better choice. Either way, of high-end used cars, Audi A4s are a good way to acquire a powerful luxury vehicle at a reasonable price.