Hi, my name is Hai currently looking for another car to drive around in. I come from a pretty in-depth Rotary (FC3S RX-7) background and have slightly gotten into the whole german thing (had a 1995 318i which I sold, now have a 1998 328iS). I'm quite enjoying the fit and finish on german cars and it's a refreshing break to drive something a bit more civilised on a day to day basis (RX-7 is now dedicated track/weekend project).

I have been rather interested in Audis lately when I saw the A5/S5 in person, every other audi just naturally gained my interest after that. I'm looking at purchasing an older model A4 (pre 2000: B5?). I have done some reading and it looks to me that the 1.8T engine tends to develope an engine sludge problem, whereas the 2.8 is a bit more reliable with fuel economy to sacrifice... not that I'm too bothered by that. What I'm looking to gain is some information as to what sort of details should I look for in buying a second hand A4 of this generation, as well as any issues that are common and pre-emptive steps to avoid running into the problem.

Also:
-Average fuel mileage for either 1.8T and 2.8
-Fuel recommendation
-Oil recommendation
-Spark plug recommendation
-Maintenance schedule
-Recommended shop/garage/parts carrier?

Pretty much any information that could steer a new Audi owner in the right direction. This is a car I want to enjoy, so I hope I don't kid myself making the purchase. Looking at putting down a deposit tomorrow on a 1997 2.8L Quattro with 165,000-170,000kms if that raises any comments.

Cheers!

 

First off welcome to the forum and good luck in your search. Use the Search button at the top to look up your various questions. As you might have guessed each one of your questions has had several discussions around them. Such as Oil, this one has been beaten to death on several threads.

Good luck and let us know when you find the right car?