At which point do you throw in the towel?

[eljay]

Not that I am about to do that, but when I'm done with what I'd want in my 2005 1.8TQ USP Avant, I'll likely be in for almost $10k and end up with a nice car, but it will be 11 years old and have about 180k miles.

Am I mad?

[Pr1ce]

Nope../ it's called true love

I stilly love mine so much I bought a new car so I could sell her and make anew love b6


It's not mad at all. It's part of the relationship

[A4OrlandoB6]

If you're a car guy, you're going to spend the money on a car, no matter what. If you like it, and are able to properly maintain it while doing 'what you want with it' then it would be diffucult to justify getting another car, IMO.

[Kevin C]

I have had to deal with EOL issues with a couple of project cars. On the east coast it was always road salt damage, how far do you go with repairs? I went too far, when I picked up a fresh body, repainted it and swapped all my good parts over. Four years later the good chassis had rust holes starting to develop (mid 70's Mitsubishi). That was the end of that project car... It was pretty tough seeing it go away on a flatbed. I saved the motor but had the rest crushed ( liability concerns, too many handmade one off parts; it was easier to just make them go away).

For me, a project was good as long as I still had a solid chassis or hopping up what you have just doesnt make big picture sense. If you eventually decide you want a fast 1/4 mile car. a 1.8t in an AWD sedan may not the most cost effective platform.

[eljay]

Thanks for the replies. Seeing that I'll be spending a lot of $ on maintenance and then on a few OEM+ mods, I realized that I'll do all that and end up with a high mileage car with little resale value to an average person. But yes, I love the B6 and really the only car that I would get in its place would be a B6 S4 Avant. :)

I just keep wondering whether to find a new motor before slowly refreshing this high mileage unit. But then I realized that a swap will not be cheaper anyway and better the devil you know. :)

So, here I come with a timing belt, brake upgrade, new tires, clutch upgrade, exhaust update etc. ;)

Hoping for at least 5 or so more years enjoying this car.

[y0itzflip]

I'm in the same boat now as I decided on doing a swap or just selling the car. sucks because I'm finally getting it to look how I want, but it's just so old. I'm a car guy but I've never had a car that was so damn picky in my life. everyday it's something new.

[slark]

It really blows my mind how little value our cars hold. Even at 180k ish that's only 15k a year or so. People see high numbers and freak out. My car has 182k and it's been 1000x more reliable than my 50k mile mk4 that I used to own.

[eljay]

It really blows my mind how little value our cars hold. Even at 180k ish that's only 15k a year or so. People see high numbers and freak out. My car has 182k and it's been 1000x more reliable than my 50k mile mk4 that I used to own.

I sold a 130k 2000 Golf MK4 to get my 2005 B6 with 170k. I figured that if I have to spend money, I'd rather spend it on a B6 Avant even if it has higher mileage.

[erikj]

I keep telling myself "it averages out much cheaper than a car payment". Plus I enjoy it. And when I get pissed off at the car, I revert back to the first point.

[Fast4esT]

I don't think age matters when the product is of good quality and it runs good and over all condition is good, which most of our enthusiast cared for cars are all of that.

[eljay]

I keep telling myself "it averages out much cheaper than a car payment". Plus I enjoy it. And when I get pissed off at the car, I revert back to the first point.

That is true and it's how I look at it. Despite its quirks, it would take a lot of misfortune to equal a $500/mo payment on a B6.

[BARRY]

i'm on my third B6...crashed my first, my second was a early model with quite a few issues, third late model.

gonna have a 4th if i can find a 2002 1.8t manual avant quattro. it is true love...and everybody that drives or rides in my car understands.

[old guy]

I keep telling myself "it averages out much cheaper than a car payment". Plus I enjoy it. And when I get pissed off at the car, I revert back to the first point.

That is true and it's how I look at it. Despite its quirks, it would take a lot of misfortune to equal a $500/mo payment on a B6.

Resale value really means nothing to me at this point. I purchased mine new for around $30K. I've probably spent somewhere around $10K in maintenance and modifications. So if I look at my total expenditures over a 12 year period it works out to a little less than $280 per month. I really don't know what else I could have spent that amount on that would have given me the pleasure that my A4 has given.

I still look back at it when I get out. It really doesn't look like a 12 year old car (at least not to me). With the modifications that I have made It fits me like a glove. I keep entertaining picking up something newer but whenever I drive something else it just doesn't feel that much better (if at all) to justify the expense. I've owned a lot of different cars over the years but the A4 is by far my favorite. I believe 7 years was the longest that I ever kept any other car.

[BARRY]

So if I look at my total expenditures over a 12 year period it works out to a little less than $280 per month. I really don't know what else I could have spent that amount on that would have given me the pleasure that my A4 has given.

well said...i've driven the new B8...its garbage in comparison.

[DiertyEuroSpec]

I just did a swap for practically no cost. Pick up a parts car, one that was in a wreck but still has a running motor. Then swap motor and sell parts from that car and profit.

But seriously these motors will run for a very long time if taken care of.

Sent from my LGL33L using Tapatalk

[davidlizard]

Resale value really means nothing to me at this point. I purchased mine new for around $30K. I've probably spent somewhere around $10K in maintenance and modifications. So if I look at my total expenditures over a 12 year period it works out to a little less than $280 per month. I really don't know what else I could have spent that amount on that would have given me the pleasure that my A4 has given.

I still look back at it when I get out. It really doesn't look like a 12 year old car (at least not to me). With the modifications that I have made It fits me like a glove. I keep entertaining picking up something newer but whenever I drive something else it just doesn't feel that much better (if at all) to justify the expense. I've owned a lot of different cars over the years but the A4 is by far my favorite. I believe 7 years was the longest that I ever kept any other car.

Same for me!!! Car is paid for a long time, still spending on mods and maintenance for a lot cheaper than a new cheap car and a lot of fun! I love the car much more than when it was stock and I'm getting much more tumbs up on the road! Plus, buying a new car that would feedback as much as my car is nearly impossible except for a very expensive sport car like a Porsche...
Yes newer cars are faster than the B6 but they are quieter, softer, they miss the feedback of a tuned B6. So, buying a new car would be the exact tuning and mods process what I consider like a lot of money expenses...

[chad99]

These cars are cheap now days so I have two of them, if one goes bad I have the other one, and if the other one goes bad, well then I also have a boring Mazda as backup

[Dan brown]

Not mad at all, I was under the same thought process but like it 's been said... It's a love. I purchased my B6 Avant Oct 14 for a small £3600. Since then I have overhauled it costing me a small fortune circa £16,000.

If I knew back then that I would have gone down this road I would have definitely said no. Who in their right mind would spend that on an 2004 car?... But do I regret it?... Nope. It's been a journey.