Faults:

When I got the car I was told the battery needed to be replaced. I replaced the battery and everything was fine until I turned it off, left for a week, came back and it wouldn't start. I went under the hood and noticed the battery has gone dead... A brand new battery going dead! I'm baffled, I don't understand how this is happening. I know something is draining the battery while the car is off or it drained the battery before I turned it off. I'm guessing the alternator is bad, but I haven't tackled the problem just yet.

Side panels are coming off.

Seats have rips and the CD player on the radio is busted.

General Comments:

When I bought this car I actually thought I was getting ripped off for $2,000 with a 125k car. I may have been, but I'm nothing, but pleased with this car.

It's dependable besides the battery problems and it starts right up in cold weather after 2 weeks of not running.

This car beats all of my friend's cars off roading. With my 4000 Quattro no one can believe the power and maneuvering this car puts out.

Faults:

Broken right front CV joint.

Front upper strut mounts.

Rear shocks.

Tear on the leather seats.

Sunroof motor has gone bad.

Fuel gauge is broken.

General Comments:

Very strong, but not fast car. Once I had 8 people in it and it did not even feel any different even though I started from the stoplight from third gear just to see how it would go!

It has been extremely reliable, when my CV joint went, the whole drive shaft was inoperable. Then it picked up and propelled the rear wheels as if it was RWD all the time.

The seats are really uncomfortable, but you get used to it after a while.

Also I cannot stand the fact that the sound system is hard to modify.

Faults:

Needed new brake pads.

Needed new shocks and springs.

Throttle cable snapped once.

Leaks coolant.

Interior has worn from heavy use.

Clutch was replaced.

General Comments:

Basically, the parts on the car which you'd expect to wear out needed replacing between 120k and 130k miles, but the engine and transmission have been rock solid.

Aside from recently replacing the brake pads, the only things I spent money on are fuel and oil changes.

I have put less than $1200 into the car in the form of an air box, exhaust, cams and sport suspension (when the stock suspension needed replacing), and the car has become a very quick and fun to drive.

In a drag race, keeps pace with most modern sports compacts.

The all-wheel-drive system inspires confidence in cornering, and understeer is only felt in the tightest of hairpin corners. I took her to the track once and never had any mishaps, and was passing front-wheel-drive and rear-wheel-drive cars right and left.

On my last tank of gas, I got 26 miles per gallon, and almost the entire tank was used for city driving!

I live in the Colorado mountains and with the all-wheel-drive system, studded snow tires and differential locks, I have never lost the battle against the icy roads.

Faults:

The air conditioning needed a charge.

The front brake rotors and pads had to be replaced.

The fuel pump was replaced.

There were many small cosmetic defects that I fixed, such as a broken grille, missing center console trim piece, and trunk struts.

All of the cooling system hoses and water pump were replaced.

Fuel gauge does not work.

General Comments:

I've really enjoyed this little sedan. The cabin feels roomy, and the seats provide solid comfort even after 15 hours of sustained driving. The engine is reliable, and handles the cold of winter and hot summer driving. The automatic transmission has always been trouble free, but for those looking at one, the 5 speed version would offer better use of the engine's power, which peaks high on the tachometer due to it's overhead cam design and high compression ratio. Fuel economy has always been good.

Handling has always been competent. I'm sure a set of Bilstein shocks would cut down on the body roll. The ride is smooth without being mushy like a luxury sled. Typical of German cars with low profile tires, there's a fair bit of road noise, but it's not offensive.

I bought the vehicle secondhand for a very low price, and it's delivered good performance and reliability, despite the obvious evidence that it's previous owners thrashed the car. I run 20W-50 full synthetic Castrol in the motor, and it burns very little oil. I would buy one again, and I've heard good words about the 4000 from mechanics who've owned and fixed them.

My only gripe is with the Audi dealer network. Owners of older cars are sometimes given poor treatment in their search for service and parts. My advice is to find a good independent mechanic who specializes in the older K-Jetronic cars (the dealers most likely don't have anyone on staff who can even remember this old but reliable Bosch fuel injection system). I've been lucky and found a dealer parts specialist who helped me track down all the bits I needed to fix up this car.