Faults:

Driver's seat bolster worn through, seat frame broke.

Clutch wore out. Front ball joint worn - but look at the mileage it had when I bought it!

General Comments:

A very pleasant car to drive. Yes Audis are quality products, but after 18 years of hard use, any car is going to be past its best. This was a cheapy banger at the time, remarkably still with totally sound bodywork - just everything else was worn out.

The 5 cylinder engine is a gem, although the 2.0 version does lack the punch of the 2.2.

Great handling, and the performance is usefully quick for an old car, and the economy not too bad either.

It's a great looking car, and values are now on the rise. If you want one then I don't think they will ever be any cheaper.

It's amazing to consider that Ford were still churning out 2.0 Capris at the same time this was new. I love Capris, but the Audi Coupe beats it hands down in just about every way. I miss mine.

Faults:

Had to replace the new front shocks because the previous owner fitted it incorrectly.

Had to replace the power steering pump (previous owner had after market power steering fitted). Still noisy and leaking slightly.

The after market air-con the previous owner had fitted stopped working.

General Comments:

As you can see, all the problems on the car were caused by negligence or after market add-ons. The car itself has been amazingly reliable for a 20 year old. I drive it everyday (over 10000km in a year) without having to worry if it's going to break down (unlike my previous car). It's also incredibly cheap to maintain. I spent only R280 (25 pounds, $40) on a full service and I get about 8 l/100km (29 US mpg, 35 UK mpg).

Unfortunately in May 2005 a Zimbabwean truck driver decided to use 2 lanes to go around the corner, while I was in one of them! The car has now been repaired and looks great, but nowadays my heart stops every time a car comes too close to me.

Mechanically, the Coupe is basically a VW Passat so parts are everywhere as half of the cars in South Africa have VW 1800 engines (Passat, Golf, Jetta, Fox, Audi 400). Body parts on the other hand are non-existent as the handful of Coupes in South Africa have been privately imported (mine came from the UK). Importing parts are also quite expensive. A taillight and small piece of aluminium trim cost me R1500 (134 pounds) to import.

Styling wise the Coupe looks stunning in red. When I saw it in the Autotrader there was no turning back as I have a soft spot for rare cars. It sucks not having a 5-cylinder, but maintenance and running costs would have been higher. Performance is adequate at best and it really looks a lot faster than it is. I can't wait to get it tuned up a bit. Handling is good, but the ride is terrible on bad services, thanks to the sports rear shocks fitted by the previous owner. My Alfa Sprint was a much more exhilarating drive.

Where it really excels is on the highway where you can cruise comfortably at 120km/h all day long. The Michelin tires are extremely quiet and although it's a coupe the rear passengers have more space than in my dad's BMW E46 sedan.

I love it to bits and still can't believe how lucky I am to drive it everyday.

Faults:

Transmission Reverse gear.

Engine mounts.

Brake lines.

Water pump.

Shocks.

Various wiring failure.

4 windows lifters in 3 months!!

Master cylinder.

These were straight up while driving failure!?!... Normal maintenance I'm NOT counting.

General Comments:

Incredible handling and performance (with low cost modifications), for low price. Reliability is VERY LOW. The car isn't designed to last twenty years. It was made to be light and quiet, but not built to last. The inline 5 has fantastic torque and power with simple modifications (mainly unrestricting the motor) it's a rally car design motor, capable of 500 hp if you want to slam about a million dollars in turbos and mods in it (maybe not a million, but it wouldn't be cheap to achieve 500hp) I'm excited to see what mine can do on a dyno now. With anal preventative maintenance you can make it reliable though. Something I have only recently achieved then to lose reverse after my dad drove it. HMMM... Great car if you put WORK into it, daily I mean. I still would get another maybe just for parts, but I can't part from it now. Much like a extremely crazy but a sex machine of a girlfriend!