Faults:

Brake pipe at MOT, suspension ball joints, exhaust mid section, and so on.

Battery and alternator failed at around 100K.

Oil pump, most expensive item, replaced at 110K.

Servicing is a must as for any car, I did every oil change, and the car had full history upon purchase. No rust! Cosmetically the car was excellent. Even the interior looked great after many years and miles.

General Comments:

Solid red Audi 80 2.0 E, one of the best cars I ever had. Bought at 10 years old and would go on for another 7 years of reliable motoring.

These cars were not exciting to drive, instead the car had a solid predictable feel. Ride was rather firm, but cornered sharply. The car didn't feel too heavy as a lot of people complained, I found the handling nicely weighted.

2.0 petrol engine accelerated adequately, and you could get over 30 mpg taking it slow. Manual box was slick and satisfying to use.

Interior looked great in black, visibility was good, the car had all the basic instruments but was not very well equipped. Alloy wheels and sunroof, but... wind up windows?! Really Audi? Ford and Vauxhall offered electrics on some similar or cheaper basic cars at the time!

Overall however I loved it. Just was a good car, the odd expensive repair aside, I have good memories with this car. My father had a 1992 VW Passat at the time, which was very similar, but the Audi felt that little bit more refined and expensive.

Faults:

Diesel pump - Well documented fault, fixed at a fraction of the price. Research on well known forums. Involves changing the electronics on the top of the pump.

Usual consumables, power steering pump, cracked headlight, rear washer motor, door handle cable. All fixed by myself using the Haynes manual.

General Comments:

4 years of ownership - 50,000 miles. Not bad for an 18 year old car.

Practical, spacious, reliable, efficient. 50mpg in winter. 55mpg in summer.

Lazy motorway cruiser. Legendary 1.9 TDI engine code 1Z (90BHP) won't win any races, best suited for eating up motorways on the continent. The 'old barge' was an excellent companion on these long journeys.

Part of the family. It was a sad day when she moved onto pastures new - Local mechanic will fix the clutch and run it as a spare.

Hats off to those still keeping these fine machines alive.

Classic example of German over-engineering.

Faults:

Nothing important went wrong just the usual wear and tear items such as wishbones and other suspension related goodies. Also some small problems with electrics due to degradation of wiring.

General Comments:

A decent first car quite an understated look to it.

The car was in great condition with a few chips on the bonnet which spoilt the look of it slightly, and also the usual scrapes on the bumpers which also kind of spoilt the look.

Pretty slow low down unless giving it a lot of juice, a decent cruiser 90mph+ quite easily and comfortable if not a little loud given the road noise and relatively high RPM of the engine. Great fun to keep in 3rd gear and go on country lanes.

The cabin was nice and bright with it having the white cloth seats and beige dash gave a nice feeling of space, much prefer it to my new Audi 80 which has blue velour seats with a black dash which can feel quite claustrophobic.

A bit of a slug in terms of handling, but it's a big car and it rides quite high on standard settings. Quite a lot of under-steer. Reasonable fuel economy for a 2 litre 8v engine, 26mpg in town and 36mpg on a long run, exactly as the Audi manual states!