1991 Audi 80 - tell me more

[Maggiolone]

So, I'm thinking of doing something foolish and trading in my beat-up 2004 DD for a 20 year-old Audi 80 non-Quattro.




After dealing with 30 year-old VWs, I feel I could take on...a lot more stuff.

I remember when these were new, and hearing horror stories about haywire electrics and prematurely-blown turbos (n.a on this one). However, I never drove one.

Were these just over-exaggerated rumors done by people who traded in Nissan Maximas for an Audi and then selling it a year later? Or should this specimen have been crushed years ago?

(P.S - I love the Eurotrash hubcaps)

[71DubBugBug]

visit motorgeek for ideas of how to turn this into a very expensive project

[mellbergVWfan]

visit motorgeek for ideas of how to turn this into a very expensive project

http://motorgeek.com/

034 Motorsport is a great company.

[two.twoliter]

I like these cars. They don't have a lot of the issues that plagued type44s. If you're willing to work on it yourself, and possibly diagnose electrical things as they come up you should be good. Motors run "forever", and they don't rust. I really hope it's not an automatic...

[Maggiolone]

Interesting.

According to Motorgeek posting, driveability for these old Audis seems to be high....

And yes, the one in the photo for sale is automatic. It's the only one I have ever seen for sale in my area in 12 years of driving here.

[two.twoliter]

Interesting.

According to Motorgeek posting, driveability for these old Audis seems to be high....

And yes, the one in the photo for sale is automatic. It's the only one I have ever seen for sale in my area in 12 years of driving here.

I wouldn't bother then. The automatics have 3 speeds, rev ungodly high on the highway, get crap mileage (around 22 hwy), and fail every 50k or so.

[Maggiolone]

I wouldn't bother then. The automatics have 3 speeds, rev ungodly high on the highway, get crap mileage (around 22 hwy), and fail every 50k or so.

Eeek.

If it doesn't have papers, I'll run. It has 116k original miles, and a "sport" button for the transmission.

My guess is gramma had it for years, then some kid got it, installed the stereo, and then traded it.

[the_toad]

I wouldn't bother then. The automatics have 3 speeds, rev ungodly high on the highway, get crap mileage (around 22 hwy), and fail every 50k or so.

My 3spd 5000 doesn't rev high on the highway, and has well over 200k on the transmission, and its still smooth as butter. It gets good milage on the highway too, like 25 - 27, in the city it sucks balls.

It's technically has the same motor other than a different intake manifold, are the transmissions realy that different?

[80_quattro_]

if it has the sport button, its a 4 speed, so its better than the old 3 speed, mine always got 30 mpg.... autos do suck, but B3 audis are my favorite car ever, the 5 cyl is damn near indestructable, galvanized bodys that almost never rust,

oh and the only common problem with the trans is the seal that seperates the diff housing and planetarys, it will leak and cause the gear oil to leak into the trans and will starve the diff,ask me how i know.... but if you check the fluid level on a regular basis you should be fine....

[case m]

any automatic audi from that era, SKIP.

otherwise it would have been a great car.

[Jh0104]

it looks like a 4cyl cis car with an auto AND its fwd... stay away bro. buy my b2 coupe gt instead

[71DubBugBug]

http://motorgeek.com/

034 Motorsport is a great company.

I wasnt trying to say they were not

Great company! and great site for advice on old audis.

was just saying there are lots of cool audi projects up there, and almost all DIYers



These older audis can definitely be kept running, not sure about the automatics tho

[80_quattro_]

it looks like a 4cyl cis car with an auto AND its fwd... stay away bro. buy my b2 coupe gt instead

deff a 5 cyl...notice the radiator off to the side...4 cyl had them in front, also intake mani is the distinct 2 piece design of the 5 cyl... also, dizzy is on the head, 4 cyl had it in the block...lol...i know these cars way to well

[mellbergVWfan]

I wasnt trying to say they were not

I wasn't saying that you were saying they weren't.

[Maggiolone]

it looks like a 4cyl cis car with an auto AND its fwd... stay away bro. buy my b2 coupe gt instead

....no. Local, unmolested cars plz, bro.

All autos can "suck," but I have a stick-shift for weekends and I do the bulk of my driving in the city and in winter. Thus, I can live with it, and I doubt another one of these 80/90s will show up in my area for sale ever again in original condition, let alone with a stick shift

And it's a 5 cylinder....even if the auto is a slush box, I just prefer a modicum of driveability. This comes from someone dealing with a self-destructing Tiptronic at only 120k miles.

Do you think the fact it's a non-stick, non-awd, non-optioned model has added to its survival? I've heard the most reliable 5000s were base models without power accessories and no performance packages.

[Aw614]

My fwd auto 5 cylinder quantum made it to 150 miles with little issues with the tranny, it was totaled by an exploder. But it shouldn't be any different mechanically from any mk1/mk2 vw with the engine.

[Jh0104]

Do you think the fact it's a non-stick, non-awd, non-optioned model has added to its survival? I've heard the most reliable 5000s were base models without power accessories and no performance packages.

That's a good point

Sounds like you have your mind made up, I say go for it then

[Der Audidude]

I miss my 90Q. The engine developed a loud lifter ticking when I finally traded it in. That was around 120k miles. The 2.2 was no powerhouse but the leather seats were great and I loved the interior. Its so rare to see these on the road (80s or 90s) anymore, but as a Bentley repair manual was pricey I was able to do some maintenance (brake pads/rotors service) with a Passat Haynes manual perfectly fine.

Great car to live with. If I could I'd buy it back in a second.

[Maggiolone]

I miss my 90Q. The engine developed a loud lifter ticking when I finally traded it in. That was around 120k miles. The 2.2 was no powerhouse but the leather seats were great and I loved the interior. Its so rare to see these on the road (80s or 90s) anymore, but as a Bentley repair manual was pricey I was able to do some maintenance (brake pads/rotors service) with a Passat Haynes manual perfectly fine.

Great car to live with. If I could I'd buy it back in a second.

This one's a true base model: manual sunroof, no leather, no heated seats. Yes on power windows, though.

I really want it more for driveability for the money rather than power. I don't do the whole Honda-Toyota thing; I don't mind a bit of a challenge to keep my brainpower up. This one's at a decent price (under $3k).

So from my research, these 80/90s were good cars, but overlooked because of the "unintended acceleration" nonsense of the 5000. The 4000/5000s looked good but ran like garbage (my aunt had a 5k and blew a turbo at 48k miles). I'd also never buy any Audi from 1996-06, and I certainly couldn't afford a nice specimen of those.

[TORSEN TRACTION]

I really like 90 20V quattros. If they had a turbo version in America, a la S2, I would have bought it instead of my UrS6.
I say it not worth it to get an old Audi with an automatic and/or no quattro.