I've the opportunity to purchase quite cheap a 2 litre petrol Audi 100 with low mileage (under 80k). I don't know much about Audis of this age. Does anyone have experience of owning one of these?
SLT
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 07/10/2007 at 19:13
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I owned one of these from new in 1989 to 1999. It's a very good car.
I had only two problems with it:
* Unreliable cool running (hesitation, surging, occasional stalling): fine when stone cold, fine when fully warmed up. None of the three main dealers who serviced it could pinpoint the problem. At HJ's suggestion I tried VAG's own injector cleaner (part number G 001 700 03), which cured the problem instantly, and I used it thenceforth at every fill-up. Thereafter not only was there no cool-running problem, but starting required but a feather-touch of the ignition key. In retrospect, the problem probably originated in too many short trips to the station, back in my dark days of commuting to central London, and the injectors clogged up. I believe this very same problem generated bad publicity for the model in the USA.
* O/S front wheel bearing became noisy at about 55k -- a well known weakness and not expensive to fix.
The only downside is that, although not underpowered, it is no performance car but a good cruiser, with a ride quality and level of noise not far short of the MBs I've had since. It was otherwise 100% reliable, very spacious, had a huge boot, and was of a build quality second to none. The furniture was in very good nick after ten years of admittedly light use (but the driver's seat was good too). There was a single pin-head of corrosion when I parted with it, and that was at the back of the bonnet not far from a deep vandal scratch that had gone right through to the undercoat but had never corroded. I now own several 1990s MBs and have to declare that Audi paintwork is better.
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I was selling these cars at their launch time and they were Ok reliable cars.There is a design fault though which was much complained about then.These were the first generation of aerodynamicly shaped bodies and as such had far more glass area in a semi horizontal plane than previously, thus the car heats up in sunshine A LOT. the designers took this into account and designed in a super duper ventilation system to cope. However the steering gear took up most of the available airflow space on right hand drive versions ,and the ventilation is thereofore worse than normal and the car gets hotter than normal. I'm sure air conditioning would help but it wasn't that available then.If you don't mind sweating a lot I'm sure you'd be very happy.
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 07/10/2007 at 20:35
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HOW cheap?
I doubt it's worth (much) more than a couple of hundred with 12 months' ticket. On the other hand, for that sort of money it is a spectacular car.
It won't be a sports car with the 2l engine. And it will probably drink petrol. So be warned!
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Only buy it if it is so cheap as to be, in effect, a disposable item. The transformation from billy bargain run-about to money pit can be quick but also imperceptible if you think "well, it's cost me nothing so a new XXXXXXXX isn't much to pay".
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Ventilation, yes, and an interesting explanation of the problem. I kept the fan on setting 1 and never overcooked. It's certainly not comfortable without the fan on.
Fuel consumption? I averaged just under 30 mpg over the last 12,500 miles.
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Depends rather how it has been used. 80k in 18 years isn't much, but may be OK if it includes a few runs. They're normally very durable, and one of the first with galvanised bodywork. Still, unless it's got a long MOT, I'd get the owner to renew it before handing over any money...
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I regularly see a black estate Audi 100 on morning runs. It looks as if it has been lowered and is very shiny.. and has quite a road presence. I drove one for a couple of weeks (in winter) and quite liked it. Steerling like all Audis of the epriod was a bit wooden.
With 12 months MOT and the right price, good disposable motoring at the higher end of bangeromics.
madf
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Thanks to you all for your replies - I've decided NOT to go ahead and let this one go. I'll stick to my ageing VW instead - at least I know its foibles and what has and hasn't been done to it. Touch wood, it's the most reliable car I've ever owned
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Smart move at this budget range
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