Should I get rid of my 2009 Scion xB for a 2005 B6 A4 Avant?

[2gtirabbits]

I have a 2009 Scion xB with 65,000 miles and it is a nice car with good space inside. I have always wanted an A4 Avant and have been thinking about getting one recently. I know the Scion will be very reliable and I have a 100,000 miles extended warranty and I bought it new. I have always been a little scared of Audi's reliability and up keep costs, but have been reading a lot lately and they don't seem that bad. My question is should I sell the xB and go for the Audi? I am looking at an early 2005 A4 Avant 1.8t automatic with 74,210 miles for around $11,000. It has black leather, 17" wheel, all stock and is very clean inside with only a couple blemishes outside. I did a Carfax and it has one accident from the Audi running into the rear of another car and I think it was mainly bumper damage and not major. There are some records for recommended services done at dealer for first owner and not much info from second owner 33,000-74,000 miles. It is at a used car dealer about 3 hours from me, so I really can't take it to a local shop to have it check out before I buy it. If I do get it I will do the timing belt right away since there is no record of that being done. I just hope the engine was as well taken care of as the inside.

What would you all do? Go for it or stick with the Scion??

Thanks,
John

[gregg3gs]

You are selling a car with 60k and getting one with 75k so no trade value there.

Are you mechanically adept? If things break can you fix them? If you would have a problem with repairs than the question would be how deep are your pockets?
Not to insult you, or anybody who is looking at the Audi, but if you can not fix your own car than you are stuck paying good money out to get repairs done.

As for price and what you are looking at buying, make sure it is a Quattro. No Quattro = No Buy, period.

At the mileage the A4 is right now it probably needs it's timing belt done, and since you will be doing that it is strongly suggested you do the water pump since it is ran by the timing belt.

As for car fax. I hope others chime in, but it is my understanding that a small bumper collision, today, does not make it onto carfax report. This makes me believe the damage was to the entire front end (I just do not know how bad). Someone chime in here.

Over all the b6 platform for me has been reliable, much better than the b5 I had for 5 years.
In the last 3 years I have my b6 I did put about 100k in addition to what I purchased it at (89k) and did not see major issues come up.
Having said that, there are some issues, once you get in the 150k mark that will start popping up.

Most important once you get a Quattro A4: get a bently manual, possibly ross-tech vag com cable and by now I hope you have some metric tools.

Good Luck with the purchase.

[2gtirabbits]

I have a pretty good offer for my Scion and will need to only come up with about $1500-1800 to get the A4, so I think that is not bad.

I am mechanically inclined and can do most repairs/replacements myself. If I did get an Audi I do plan to modify it slightly(suspension, exhaust, and mild engine like ecu or something like that) and would do that myself as well.

The Audi I am looking at is a quattro as are all Avants(wagons), so that is cool and is one of the things(must haves) I like about those cars.

I am aware that I will need to replace the timing belt pretty much as soon as I get it. I will be replacing the water pump, tensioner, serpentine belt, and any other associated items while doing that job.

As far as the collision I am sure it was the bumper, maybe hood and lights, but I don't think the fenders were damaged bad because there is a small dent on the one side and scrape on the other and the bottom where the bumper meets the fender from what looks like the bumper hitting the fenders in the collision. I figured the accident could not have been that bad since the fenders were not damaged. I was under the impression that Carfax will report any accident that is reported to insurance.

It sounds like yours has treated you well and I would think most cars with 150k miles and up will start to need some extra attention at times. Fortunately the car is only at 74k miles.

Thanks for the reply and hope others will chime in too.

[gregg3gs]

Sounds like you got a good footing to get going than.

Good Luck on the purchase.

As far as Carfax I no longer trust the darn thing. I have purchased two cars that were hit (slightly, no major issues), so that is why I mentioned it. I also remember the insurance broker telling me something that if the repair fell under some % or figure, than the accident would not show (that had to be with no bags deployed, so under 15 mil/hr?????)

As for updates I have a list of what I already did, but I am leaving the suspension for the end (sleeper..., if 250hp is a sleeper anyhow)
Once you start getting more power out of these things you will notice other things in need of upgrade. (especially the hoses)

Again, Good Luck with the Avant)

[gallhue]

idk how audi has it since ive only had my b5 since may...but my previos car was a acura and the best way to check to see if its had repaired body damage was to see if all the body panels(hood,bumpers,fenders,trunk,doors) had the factory vin tag on them.

[EvilGTI]

Keep the Xb

[Fishbone]

If your current car runs well, has an extended warranty and is paid for - why sell it?
You're getting rid of a 3 year-old car for an 7 year-old car? At least keep it until the warranty runs out and keep saving your cash, then you can get something a little newer with less miles. I wouldn't call Audi's a money pit, but parts and maintenance are definitely things you have to factor in to your ownership budget.

If you are buying a 2004:
Agreed, only get a Quattro.
Budget for a new timing belt, you may need a fuel pump and an alternator at some point.
Are you planning on modding the 1.8T?
You sure you want an automatic? You could get a manual and upgrade to a Sachs clutch, much more enjoyable drive. Plus the auto could give you some headaches down the line.


peace