Hey Veeky Forums, anyone here have experience in Audi "reliability" (inb4 german car reliability, I know it's a joke, I've owned several VWs)? Looking for a winter beater and live in Maine, so winters can get pretty brutal. Trucks and SUVs with 4x4/AWD go for a pretty penny up here, even with 300k miles and rot. However, I have seen quite a few A4/A6 quattros with fresh stickers and new tires go for ~$1,000, which isn't bad at all. As I've said, I have owned several VWs so I know what it's like when something breaks on these cars and costs an arm and a leg (frequently), but with the car being a winter beater, as long as it still runs I'm not too concerned. Unfortunately, these cars often have 200k+ miles, and I've never seen an Audi with 300k miles, so that kind of concerns me. I'm going to avoid the 1.8T engine because I've never heard of someone having a reliable one, but I haven't heard too much about the 2.8. Bad idea? Just looking for a car with 4wd, heat, and worthy of taking a sticker honestly. By April/March, the car will be stored in a garage and replaced by my daily, so I could work on it freely through the summer as well. Not worried about MPG. I am frightened by the high mileage, however, because I've always liked the idea that if you can't afford a new German car, you sure as hell can't afford a used German car.
tl;dr: >Need winter beater >AWD/4x4 preferred, not necessary >Looking to spend Cheap Audi (kek) >Going full retard buying a German car with >200k miles?
A B5 Passat is the same thing as a B5 A4, except it has a slightly longer wheelbase and uses the rear suspension from the A6. If you've ever owned one of those, you've basically owned an Audi.
Brayden White
If you weren't on an extreme poorfag budget, I would just tell you buy what I bought for a winter beater, post 2000 ML. An extremely high mileage Audi is always a terrible decision
Jordan Clark
The Passat only came in 4x4 with the 4motion, right? Those are pretty hard to find so cheap here, and since it shares a lot of the same components with the Audi, would it be just as expensive even though it's called a VW? I've only owned MK4 GTIs and Jettas, so I don't know much about the passat, but I'm guessing it's pretty much the same.
William Adams
I could spend up to $3500, but I doubt you could find any mercedes worth buying for that much, even the old diesels. It's not that I don't have the money to maintain and purchase another vehicle, but the point of a winter beater to me is something I couldn't give less of a shit about. It's just a means of transport while my daily stays out of the salt and snow. So, the less I spend, the better I feel about driving a POS
Logan Myers
Most generations of Passat are very similar to the Golf and Jetta, but the B5 is one of the few exceptions because it's basically an Audi. You're right, they're known to be a bit of a pain when it comes to maintenance.
Engine-wise the 1.8T is lifted straight from the Golf/Jetta, but the 2.8l V6 comes from Audi. In terms of reliability it's not a terrible engine though, especially compared to the 1.8T.
Cooper Hill
You could probably find an acceptable ML at that price, and going with a high mileage example of one of those is car less risky than an Audi. I spent about 4500 on that 2001 ML 430, and the entire purpose of getting it was to have an AWD car that I could beat on without feeling bad about it
Justin Robinson
Both of my MK4s had the 1.8T, which I found to be a garbage engine. However, even though I never experienced either without CELs, the engine never failed to run and start. That's basically what I'm looking for. I have a reliable way to get inspection stickers as long as the car isn't a safety hazard, so lights being on and electronics not fully working is fine with me. I just need the engine and transmission to run, especially if this were to be a multiple-season winter beater. Do you believe the 2.8 would be just as capable of continuous starting and running with high mileage?
I have experience with the high price of VW parts, but I feel that Merc would be on a whole different level. Would the repair costs of something essential to the engine running absolutely deplete my bank account?
Ryan Jackson
>friend buys early 2000s A4 with the 4cyl >just over 100k on the clock, pretty fresh >first night driving it, hit a small pothole and exhaust falls apart >3 days later, driving it again, timing chain gives up >valves meet pistons >find used engine, swap, sell, just happy to get rid of that POS even after losing ~$1000 and a bunch of labor
Logan Nelson
The Merc will be ass loads cheaper to repair and maintain vs whatever VW/Audi you have dealt with in the past.
The first gen ML shared the majority of its drivetrain and parts with the W210 E Class, which means parts are cheap and easy to find. Also means the odds of something serious enough fukcing up that would stop the engine from running are very slim
For a real world price comparison, here is a little excel spreadsheet I did for the cost of everything I fixed/repaired on my ML right when I first got it, compared against a price quote I got from a Mercedes dealership just for shiggles
Easton Walker
If well taken care of, the V6 should be fairly solid. It's the price of replacement parts when something does break that's the true wallet killer, and as with most Audis the drivetrain and body are solid but the rest WILL break. The ABS module and control arms are frequent points of failure.
Make sure the timing belt has been serviced recently though, it's a pain to do/get done since the whole front of the car has to be unbolted.
Asher Wilson
Pretty much how it was with the VWs, once they hit 170k everything went to shit all at once. This is why I'm trying to avoid them, but part of me can't ignore how much fun they were to drive.
I have access to a garage and basic tools to do repairs as necessary, and experience with basic repair and maintenance, so the spreadsheet is nothing I'm not used to, but incredibly helpful. I'm looking to purchase a car that doesn't need much work up front, or much work that will need to be resolved before it can take a sticker. Would a non-ML mercedes be a piss poor choice, if I found a late 90s/early 2000s model with higher mileage?
Nicholas Foster
To be fair, the only reason my ML needed that much up front work is that the previous owner had neglected the ever living fuck out of it. If you can find an ML 320 that someone has taken even halfway decent care of, you'd be ok
That said, a late 90's/early 2000's 4matic sedan/wagon would be a solid choice as well. You could look at either the C or E Class. I have a 2001 AWD E320 that's a fantastic car. You could easily nab a higher mileage example in your price range, and again, they are easy to work on and not nearly as pricey as an old audi to maintain
Nolan Gutierrez
Unfortunately that's the only thing that can really kill a German car so easily is owner neglect. I see plenty of Mercs with 300k miles, but unfortunately I would be purchasing the car to do just that. Maintenance only as required, not timely and if not absolutely needed. How do the C or E classes drive? This car would be purely a winter beater, but I'd definitely be more interested if it was manual or somewhat "fun" to drive
Nolan Scott
Subaru.
Nathaniel Cooper
Considered, but I have no interest in purchasing a Subaru. Subaru reliability is a joke at best, and every single person I've known that's owned a Subaru has had constant issues with it (Wrx, STI, Base Impreza of 90s, early 2000s, Early/Mid 2000s Legacy, early 2000s outbacks, Foresters), every single Subaru I've seen has been a POS, and every single Subaru for sale for less than $4,000 has blown head gaskets lol. I'd take an Audi that doesn't run over a Subaru any day
Henry Watson
Subaru legacy awd
Nathan Cook
>Audi >literally the European Mitsubishi
trash
Jace Mitchell
Own a 98 2.8, it's extremely reliable. The turbo and any automatic one is unreliable. The only bad thing is that when something does go wrong it's easily $500-1200 , but I only have needed to repair something once a year in my three year ownership and almost 30k miles later from buying it at 100k miles for $2800
Luis Jones
You dont need awd just because of some slight snow. Just a bit of ground clearance and gitgud.
Adrian Williams
90s and early Mitsubishis are really reliable
Benjamin Stewart
No, I don't NEED awd, but it's nice to have. I have never owned a car with 4x4/awd, and have done fine so far. However, there are some storms where I leave my house for school/work in the morning and if there's 3ft of unplowed snow on the ground, my IS300 isn't going anywhere.
Zachary Mitchell
In that case its better to get something with some ground clearance. Some old Rav4, or CRV perhaps?
Blake Anderson
I have looked at Rav4s, CRVs, GMC/Chevy 1500s, tacomas, frontiers, pathfinders, xc90s, etc. Every possible SUV and truck with 4x4/awd I could imagine I've checked, but up here those sell for $4,000-$5,000 with 300k miles and no sticker, because every idiot who "hurr durr I need muh awd" will buy them for some god forsaken price. It's like ricer tax on WRXs, but for somehow dumber people.
Juan Perez
What does "sticker" refer to?
Jason Clark
There’s always the trusty Tercel, 4wd Lancers, Cultus and an assortment of other japanese 4wd cars.
Jace Cooper
Inspection sticker, what keeps your car on the road legally (besides registration and insurance lol). Maybe just referring to it as a "sticker" is a Maine thing?
Noah Morgan
I'm definitely not opposed to the Japanese 4wd cars, I'm just not accustomed to them. They are quite hard to find, especially the ones you listed, good luck finding any at all, let alone for "cheap". All 4wd Japanese cars up here are usually well-maintained (as they should be), and known for their reliability, so they're hard to come by, especially for a low price. I couldn't find a tacoma/4runner if I tried, especially not for such a low price worth buying.
Samuel Diaz
Really? Around here old japanese cars, including 4wds are generally pretty cheap... and rusty. Suvs and crossovers are expensive though, even ancient Nivas.
Robert Campbell
OP:
At that price I think you would have a better chance at buying a used Vehicle in Canada.
Any audi fags remember me? Was posting about buying a Ur-S4 in CT maybe 2 weeks ago. Went and looked at it last week everything was in actually very good condition only faults I could find were some very minor cosmetic issues and CEL light on. along with slight hesitation / misfire at full throttle (read this is a common problem with either bad spark plugs/coils/sensors). Idled very smooth though and felt good besides that. I offered the guy $3000 he said he wanted 3500. Its been a week since then and im thinking of texting him back offering $3200. Anyone have any opinions? I just feel like I know im gonna drop close to $500 into the minute I buy it.
pic related
Jaxson Parker
You definitely are gonna put money into it, they're damn cool cars though.
Oliver Sanders
Basically I know im getting myself into a money pit but how deep is it?
Evan Adams
I'm guessing it'll be one of those cases where you really need to have fallen in love with the car to justify the costs. Prepare for that, so it can pretty much only go better than expected.
