Going to look at an 06 auto 2.0t with 96,000 miles. First turbo car. What to inspect?

[4A Play]

Greetings gentleman. Going to look at the mentioned car Monday and I'm looking for advice as to what I need to look for on these cars. This particular 06 has 96k on it, 6 SPD auto, and appears to be in fantastic shape. It's being sold as is and it makes me nervous.

They are asking $9,900 for the car and I'm a little hesitant at this price. I come from the world of b5's and I know what to look for in them. Currently with over 215k on my 98 a4 v6. I am no stranger to maint on these cars, just have zero experience with turbo audis.

School me gentleman.

[Dirtyylicous]

If you have a vagcom bring it with you to check for codes, ask the seller if you can check out the air filter and spark plugs. I know they're cheap to replace but if they do need replacing you can use that in your favor

I had the car looked at by an Indy German shop and they found a couple minor things that the place i bought it from fixed so I'm glad I did that

My car has been very unreliable since I've owned it (march 2012) I do maintenance on it all the time but I'm just having bad luck. However there are people on here who's cars give them no problems. They might be hit or miss


If its an auto you should definitely change the tranny fluid, I was having a nasty shudderig problem all summer that was driving me crazy and finally changed the tranny fluid and it went away.

[Campy66]

I bought my 96 A4 Avant S-Line with 96k on it last year, paid 16k for it. It was in fantastic condition. Check to see if the timing belt was replaced, it was originally scheduled for 70k then changed by Audi to 110k. Also ask about oil consumption, from what I've read some of these 2.0T engines drink it like crazy. I was lucky in this department, my engine only uses about 1/2qt in over 7500 miles. Good Luck!

[mec]

Things to inspect
Oil consumption
Cam follower
timing belt
Maintenance and recalls. If he has no documents talk him down.
Drive the car, the main thing about turbo cars is that they dont drive like a na, you should feel a swift kick in the pants around 2500-3000rpms, and it shouldn't make any drilling noise. If you can't feel it or if you hear drilling then the turbo is going out.

[RAudiB7A4]

^All of what has already been listed. If you get serious about buying I would get a pre purchase inspection done by a reputable shop. Prolly cost $100 or so, but better to spend $100 to find out where the car is at repair wise then be stuck with a huge bill shortly after purchase.

[Tricaricomob]

I didn't care to read what everyone else responded.... I bought my 2005.5 A4 2.0t a little over a year ago... I started with 86k, i am now at 106k.. Things I have replaced Include...
-Timing Belt
-Compressor
-Serpentine Belt
-Starter
-Engine Coil
-I have to replace a belt tensioner

I also have performance put into my car and i drive it hard.

[mec]

I didn't care to read what everyone else responded.... I bought my 2005.5 A4 2.0t a little over a year ago... I started with 86k, i am now at 106k.. Things I have replaced Include...
-Timing Belt
-Compressor
-Serpentine Belt
-Starter
-Engine Coil
-I have to replace a belt tensioner

I also have performance put into my car and i drive it hard.

[4A Play]

Well went to look at the car, pulled up and the Sales guy walks outside and sees me looking at the car. "good thing you're here, I was just on the phone with a guy taking a deposit, but because you're here in person I'll tell him it's already sold." So I already knew that it was going to be a painful test drive.

Video of tapping:



Right off the bat, you can here insane tapping, fogged headlights, coils arching, and a bad motor mount. Attempt to hook up my vagcom and it will not read the ecu. Multiple attempts and it doesn't read anything off the car.

Go on the test drive, turbo sounds good. But the car stumbles on decel. The salesman doesn't notice at all. We get back to the dealership and the engine is still tapping. His response is "all 1.8's tap like that".

I ask to put it on the lift and take a look underneath at the suspension. He reluctantly agrees and pulls it into the garage. The splash tray was drilling with oil. Motor mount is pissing fluid. But the suspension is fine. We remove the splash trays and the entire belly of the motor is soaked in oil. Looked like some hard oil lines were the culprit. I tell the guy I would be interested if they would fix the coils, stumble, ecu connection, and the oil starvation. His response, "Honestly, my manager would be mad that I let you guys in the shop to look under her" we can make more money sending it to auction".

So I walked. What a shitty dealership/ experience.



Beautiful car, but beauty is only skin deep.

[TFSI]

I'd say timing belt is the most critical part since it's expensive to replace.
Other than that, pay attention to noise while test driving.

[RAudiB7A4]

That is shady as fuck. Smart man walking away.

[hockeydad51]

Smart man walking away. All cars tap like that is BS. There are good ones out there, just keep looking. As for what to look for the Timing Belt as everyone else says is probably the biggest item at that mileage. Good luck.

[kaz02a4]

Eventually you'll come across a good one, but it seems like you hit all the right bases when you took a look at this one. Keep looking, and once you comb through the field, you'll find an awesome one at a solid price.

[mec]

That's rough, luckily you had the skills to know that it wasn't worth purchasing. I've noticed my car stumbles on deceleration as well. I'm manual and i'm wondering if its the engine mounts or trans mounts, but if i accelerate particularly in 2 and 3rd gear, when I release the throttle theres a bounce that pushes you forward two or three times. Kinda strange. And I remember that when I installed my aftermarket suspension for the first time that completely disappeared. So i'm wondering if it is suspension related, def gonna check engine mounts first though.