1997 Audi A4 1.8T from North America

Summary:

You'll pay more on repairs than your car is worth!

Faults:

Side Moldings (rubber) on both sides of car rusted off at 50,000 miles and had to be replaced ($250)

Windshield washer pump stopped working at 55,000 miles ($230)

Turbocharger blew at 60,000 miles ($1400)

Oil Line/Tubing broke and sprung a massive leak at 61,000 miles ($257)

Oil Pump Broke in conjunction with line and tubing at 61,000 miles ($1004)

Suspension Arms (curved and straight) are completely worn at 62,000 miles and need to be replaced ($1600)

General Comments:

The Audi is a beautiful car. It drives and handles extremely well when working properly, but ironically enough, as soon as the car went off warranty at 3 years, I started having massive problems with the car.

There are very few Audi service centers in America and as a result always have a backup of clients to do work for (usually 2-4 weeks to have my car looked at), and the labor costs for work on the Audi in Massachusetts is billed out at $68/hr (Flynn in Pittsfield) or $89/hr (Pass & Weiss) in Burlington. Additionally, the parts aren't cheap, thus the reason for my expensive repairs.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 21st August, 2003

4th Oct 2003, 21:10

Yeps,

I recommended the Audi A4 1.8 Turbo for my girlfriend. It handles well and is safe on the road. However, it is as reliable as a 1982 Lada. One problem after the other...

Fails to start, rust forming around the rims, control arms failing every other year I mean, come on. AC temp control has a mind of its own. Squeaks from the rear end. If you put a Lada badge on this car, you would not be far off. Piece of junk.

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1997 Audi A4 Avant Quattro 1.9 TDi (110) from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Great looker. Maintenance nightmare

Faults:

Front suspension ball joints and bushes repeatedly failing. Main suspension arm actually snapped. I have since replaced almost all the components, at considerable cost.

Catalytic converter disintegrated and blocked the exhaust pipe, rendering the car useless. A replacement was only available from Audi and hence, very expensive.

Four wheel alignment was all wrong and I shredded £400 pounds worth of tires in only 1200 miles.

Rear windscreen washer sheared off at the base inside resulting in the hatch filling with washer fluid.

Engine and exhaust currently shakes badly due to one, or more, soft engine mounts.

General Comments:

This car is stunning to look at with it's lower Quattro suspension and dark pearlescent paintwork.

Interior build quality is superb and is virtually indestructible.

Quattro four wheel drive gives reassuring road holding in all weather conditions.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 11th August, 2003

25th May 2004, 04:35

Subaru cars (you're probably from Australia -- the only country where it's not sold as a Legacy) appear to be reliable when maintained correctly from the onset. In NZ, seecond-hand Subarus from Japan are known to be trouble, and very expensive at that! Of course they could be ill-treated, but Jap used-car Toyotas and Nissans, despite possible neglect, are nowhere near as notorious or expensive to fix as a Legacy.

19th Oct 2007, 09:24

Who said that Mercedes is reliable? You just need to do some homework to find that Mercedes is certainly not more reliable than Audi. I have done 80,000km with my A4 without any problem except a broken gear cable. It is a bad design (plastic connection rather than steel, faulty design). I could not find replacement in Malaysia. I had to order it from abroad. I have a 5 series BMW. It is much better than Audi. BMW and, of course, Japanese cars are more reliable.

1997 Audi A4 1.9TDi Quattro Avant 1.9 turbo diesel from Norway

Summary:

Perfect winter car!

Faults:

Front suspension: The first 9 months I owned the car I visited the dealer 10 times due to squeaks and rattle in the suspension. A 5 year warranty was still in force, but I had to push dealer do all repairs. Well known problem on A4/Passat..

General Comments:

I have added a 'tuning box' (chip) to increase power (110 -> 135hp). Long distance trip fuel consumption measured down to 5,7 liter/100 km.

The car has a fairly good build quality and still feels "tight".

If you consider an A4 make sure that you know the status of the front suspension, as these repairs are quite expensive (if outside warranty)!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 11th July, 2003