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I would be looking for a beater Honda or Toyota before I dove into that disaster. Start with something cheap and easy to work on, not something expensive and difficult.
I get it. But this thing isn’t really a beginners car, and as someone else said it will always need something else. It will take thousands of dollars and endless hours to get into decent shape and keep it that way, and never be worth much more than you buy it for. Just to change the belts on this thing you have to pull the nose of the car forward 5-6 inches. Everything is brittle and easily broken, but also expensive and hard to find. You will need a stack of specialty tools to work on the engine.
A clapped out A4 just isn’t a good choice for a fixer upper unless you really have a lot of time and money to dump in it that you will never see again and you have something else to drive in the meantime.
We’ll put. As a guy with multiple decaying German cars, steer clear unless you just have a passion for them. They can be fun, but they are money pits. This is why I have a Honda as a daily driver.
Luxury German cars get such a bad rep because by the time an “enthusiast” gets hold of it, it’s on its 6th owner and the last 4 bought there parts from rock auto and trusted the 15,000 mile oil interchange period.
These cars were never meant to rival an accord or civic, there’s 4x the tech/hardware.
To the OP, find a better example.
If you love a particular model of an older car, you will be far better off buying the cleanest, best maintained example you can find. Even paying considerably more up front will be far cheaper than buying a rough one and trying to get it into good shape.
"Renoving" the front of the car if only like 10 screws though.. they do call it the service position for a reason. That being said, I'd personally stay away from this car.
>Just to change the belts on this thing you have to pull the nose of the car forward 5-6 inches.
Which you can do in about 20 minutes. A bit longer if you have to pull the under tray, but if not you don't even need to put the car in the air. I assume it's similar to my A6 so you remove a few arch liner screws from the front edge of the arch liners and pull the liner back to get the three nuts each side of the bumper, then the two long bolts above the fog light grills. Pull the bumper. Unbolt the bumper dumb irons. Unbolt the rad carrier from the wings. Use the long bolts from above the fog lights, where the dumb irons go to give you something to slide the rad support out on. Out she comes.
People bitch about the service position but the car is designed to easily be put in that position. If you drop the coolant you can swing the rad support out to one side entirely giving you total access to the front of the engine.
I'd take doing an accessory or cam belt on my A6 over any number of shitty transverse engine setups any day.
Film it or time it and I guarantee it's not 20 minutes. It takes an experienced tech 30 minutes and is booked at an hour of labor. There is no way in hell your getting all your tools out and your car in service position in 20 minutes, the average DIYer is looking at an hour and if your working on an Audi in the rust belt you'd be lucky to do it in under two hours.
He tuned it which means he abused the shit out of it. Trust me, hard pass on this. Your bank account will thank you. There’s nothing more expensive than a cheap Audi, BMW or Mercedes.
He tuned it. Dumped a bunch of money into it! Now he us selling it for 1200 bucks? Oil pump replacement on it isnt that hard of a job. Seems like he would keep it if an oil pump was the only problem.
>German as a beginner to work on? No
Actually it's the best way to start.
Years ago I bought a 10 year old Miata thinking I'd learn wrenching on it. To this day I only had to do brakes and oil and learned nothing.
With a German car, you know you'll get a good amount of practice in short order.
>Thinking
I dunno. I love the way Mercedes are designed to be serviced. My favorite vintage of the moment is the W210 think late 90's early 2000s.
If you follow the WIS and use OEM parts these cars will reward your efforts.
That said, all of the normal rules about buying project cars apply; no basket cases; don't buy something that needs a ton of interior trim/work unless you like doing that work or you have access to parts cars.
Learning to wrench is fun. Civics, Integras, VW beetles, pre80s american cars are all pretty simple to learn on but you can learn on anything that is well documented by the manf or community.
This! I’m in the UK so maybe parts are easier to come by and cheaper than the US?? (no idea) but I’ve had a few E46’s and always found them surprisingly cheap and easy to work on! Also the level of support on forums and YouTube is remarkably vast and detailed. The laptop cables and servicing software are also cheap and readily available from eBay.
Just my personal opinion: There's a reason why this is $1200 and no takers. Unless this is ONLY a project car for you, and you know to expect to spend 3X-4X on it to make it usable, fine. But it will never be reliable. If you're starting out working on cars, this one's not great. I would recommend naturally aspirated, the simpler the better. This also has the smell of being faux tuned and beat to death - it's probably worth scrap at best.
Any car that can get you from Point A to Point B reliably, is worth 3k minimum.
That’s been a fact for quite a while. Anything less will only last a year or less.
Just to be real blunt. $1400 difference and you’re going to spend that in one month owning this 2006 Audi. I’ve been there where you can’t see past the initial cost cause that’s all you can think about but if you can afford to not have a working car for a couple months cause your working on this car and buying parts as you can you’re better off just putting some money away every month until you can get a more reliable car. Stick to Honda or Toyota, even some cheaper 04-06 Lexus Rx330’s out there that will run forever.
There's a reason their still worth 3k after 25yrs, I work as a parts guy at a audi dealer. I can tell you that if you buy this car you are going to deal with all the shit this guy did to it. If you do want to buy it regardless, bring it to an audi/vw dealership and get an inspection. It'll save you money in the long run and it'll also let you know where to start your repairs.
Good luck, have fun 🤙
I would recommend searching away from where you live. If it’s been modified, you have no idea who did it or with which parts. I’ll bet there are cheap Chinese software tunes that absolutely wreck the drivability of the car. Sometimes you can find a good deal but this ain’t one.
SOURCE: I’m a VW enthusiast, technician, and business owner.
Consider it upfront cost on something that will last you years, be easier to find cheaper parts and lots of resources for how to repair. Honda/acura share parts as do Toyota/Lexus, and lots of availability for both. Usually repairs are pretty straight forward with many youtube and web guides through forums.
Audi, not so much. Also this guy tuned the car for sport, meaning it was probably driven hard.
You could drive that Toyota or Honda another 100k miles if you take care of it, the Audi not so much, especially since this guy has tuned it and not left it stock
Me, with my 2004 Toyota Avalon with 221k miles that’s running better than most vehicles 10 years newer than she is, all new brake pads and rotors running me under $200, most of my odds and ends repairs have cost between $12-20… I’m reading this comment from OP with a look on my face like the [the awkward monkey meme.](https://tenor.com/view/monkey-look-the-other-way-look-away-awkward-weird-gif-17246188)
>I probably would if people around where I live didn’t think they’re still worth $3k after 25 years and 200k miles lol
I know nobody would ever offer me more than 4K for her, but letting her go even for that cheap would be tough for me.
OP, if you’re reading this: DONT DO IT. If you’re going for a “learn how to do things” car, pay a little extra for a used Honda or Toyota. There is a reason people swear by them. There is a reason they still cost that much with 200k+ miles. The extra money spent on the front end of the purchase will save you $1000’s in the long run(difference in cost of replacement parts) and also save you a lot of headache, AND HEARTACHE. Dude I’m telling you, if you by some miracle get that thing on the road, it’s going to break down and present another catastrophic issue as soon as you start to feel some sense of accomplishment.
I own a modded mark 6 GTI and I also say no lol. Mine’s not even a beater and it’s honestly not worth the headache, man. Also for your specific situation never, ever buy an A4. Not for any reason. Those cars can and do break down very frequently.
W Body GM products and Ford economy cars from the 00s are also a good option if they have a tighter budget. They're not particularly good cars nor are they particularly well built, but they tend to be reliable and last forever.
This or an older American car. I started with little to no mechanical experience when I got my 98 mustang and it’s really easy to work on and really fun. But definitely one of the two
An audi is great if you want a project car that you'll never stop rebuilding. By the time you're finished the first things you fixed will be broken again.
You'll also need some decent software, something like Ross tech if you want to interrogate the ecu (which you'll need to).
Could be something as simple as a clogged oil pump pickup screen, or a bad oil pressure switch. Could be a fucked engine good for the bin. It's a gamble.
Yeah, personally I don't mess with a vehicle that has had any type of oil issues. It's the blood of your car, and even 5-10 seconds of it not functioning properly, can ruin most components of an engine.
And I second the audi comment. Audis are not reliable in the slightest, especially after somebody modded it.
I know I will get downvoted to hell for this but I honest to god do not understand why people hate on Audis for reliability. I’m over here with my daily driven 2010 A4 Avant, with the dreaded CAEB block, pushing 190k (110k since it was tuned) and I have only ever had to do typical maintenance on the thing. I get that German cars are much more complicated and parts can be expensive but they are still well built machines If you keep up with the maintenance and fluid changes, they will last you a good long time. It really comes down to how well the car was treated. If you neglect any car, it’s going to blow up, end of story. Hell, I took my “unreliable” Audi up to the mountains last weekend and saw two V60 Camrys on the hard shoulder with their hoods in the air.
Also, I would say picking a complicated car as your learner project isn’t a bad idea. I first learned on a ‘92 735I that had 310k on the clock when I got her. Was it a thrashed car with a million issues? Totally. Was I always working on one issue or another? Of course I was. Did I have to spend countless hours searching for shop manuals and combing forums? You better believe it! Thats how you learn though! If you want a car to get you from A to B every day, then getting a cheaper, more sensible car is the right choice. If you wanna learn (and have other reliable transport) then buy a trashed car that you have a passion for and get some grease under your nails!
I may not be the best person to listen to here though. I’m the kind of idiot that decides to buy an ‘01 Allroad, lift it 3” and throw some 30” BFGs on it for camping season.
2005 Audi A6 TDI here. My partner has a mk4 GTTDI Golf as well. And we have an '88 Scirocco project car. We're VAG through and through. They have their foibles but the older diesels are decently powerful and very reliable. Her mk4 has 175k miles on it and aside from sounding like a tractor because VE diesel, it just starts every morning and returns crazy MPG.
I've had the Audi two and a half years and in that time I've replaced a driveshaft (£50), the clutch and flywheel (£400), replaced the SMIC and worn out IC piping with an FMIC+hard pipe kit (£200), replaced all the top mounts (£50), and replaced the coolant temp sensor, thermostat, and AC pressure sensor (£50). Which isn't bad IMO. I've spent way more on other bits and pieces like stereo, wheels, interior, etc, but in terms of keeping it on the road it's not been a money pit at all. And easy enough to work on - the clutch was a pretty easy job for example. External slave, no rear driveshaft, just split the box off the engine and drop it down.
There is something about a BMW that you don't find in a Lexus or Japanese car. The way they drive is heavenly and the way they look is unique. But, they do have their setbacks to balance that out.
My first project car was a 95 Audi s6 pulled the engine once broke almost all the brittle plastics, it’s running again but I’m chasing my tail after breaking so many of the plastic hoses, take the safe route and find a car with a big community behind it
Will you learn a lot? YES.
Will you spend a lot of money. ALSO YES
Will you wish your stands would collapse and just fuckin pancake you under it to give you the sweet release of death? VERY MUCH SO.
You can perform some procedures in the cranium while the patient is alert, sometimes this is necessary because the doc needs feedback and tests from the patient. Neurosurgery is daunting, but that fact allows a bit of grace and forgiveness
Not like if you're operating on a liver, a much more common reason to be in for a procedure, but if you try that with a liver patient, the only answer you'll get is 'AAAAAAAAAAAAH!'
So, brain surgery is actually a somewhat decent place to begin specialization
You need to run away as fast as you can. Something's more wrong with it than the engine he just doesn't want to have you try to start and drive it. Meaning that it probably has other problems. I think the first reply was speaking from experience. Besides the difficulty in getting parts you will have to get special tools. Don't go down that rabbit hole it is not worth it.
Mechanic here. Fuck that. Not worth the chance. 1200 and he has no idea whats wrong with it? Nope. I would trust a rattlesnake with a “pet me” sign before I would trust that broken pile of bolts.
You would need to pay me a two or three hours labor up front for just a diagnosis or take it somewhere else. Wouldn't even let it into the shop for repairs without a deposit.
Audi A4 owner here. An Audi is not the car for a DIY novice. You’ll need specialty tools, specialty equipment, and you’ll need to lean on the experience gained from tinkering on cars for many years beforehand.
Start with an older 4 cylinder Honda. 4 cylinder because everything is right on top and easily accessible. Hondas are easy to work on.
Also, don’t dissect/Frankenstein your daily driver. Have something reliable and experiment on a beater. Have fun.
Find something that has a lot of room to work on things, like a pick up truck for example would be at big end of things but you get the idea, a lot of European cars and small cars in general are jam packed and it could take a day and even taking out the engine (worse case scenario) to reach some of the most simplest things. That being said you can do your research to find out what cars are easier than others. I had a v6 mustang and it was great because they can also fit a v8 engine, so when you open the hood you have plenty of space to work.
Jeeps with the 4.0L Inline 6 or 3.6L, 3.7L, or 3.8L V6s also tend to have a ton of space in the engine compartment as well and tend to be fairly easy to work on.
Yup v6 engine in a v8 engine bay is top teir beginner mechanic work, highly recommended, plus v6 engines increase gas mileage, reduce weight, and can still tear ass as long as you don't tow anything crazy.
Personally I’ve always been confused by the “room to work” preference. I’ve heard a lot of people say that’s how they like their cars to work on, so there must be something to it. Every time I get a car with “room to work” on it I find myself sitting in the engine bay next to the thing so that I can reach what it is I need to reach, and I do not find that comfortable. like adjusting ignition timing on a chevy K1500 with a 350; too much room in that engine bay for me. I don’t want any more room to work on an engine that is offered by a 95 Honda Civic, to me that is wide open spaces.
Not really, BMWs are pretty reliable. I guess parts could be expensive, but maintenance is rare enough to where it's not overwhelming. Would stay away from turbos though.
I tend to agree with that, but then I remember people go to dealerships to get stuff fixed. Which is like, no duh. Never trust a bmw dealership. Plastic valve cover on my N51 goes towards your point though, absolutely no need for that and it was $700 to replace.
You're seriously considering buying someone's beater race car, and an audi at that?
You gotta be insane. I wouldn't buy that car if it was $1. It will be a nightmare, constantly. It will never be a daily driver without spending thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours on.
Run, run away fast.
German vehicles in general not fun to learn on. Parts are expensive, lots of weird tools needed to get at parts if you even can.
You want a nice reliable vehicle you can learn on easily with basic tools I'd go the honda or toyota route, or if you can swing it something like a crown vic or grand marquis.
I forgot about the Panther bodies. Those are automobile cockroaches that are super easy to work on (relatively speaking) and will usually be cheaper than a Honda or Toyota of a similar vintage.
If you really want a German car, look for a BMW with the M54 (not N54) or the N52 engines. (they're available in 2000's 1, 3, and 5 series, and the X3 and X5, and probably other models also.) Both are naturally aspirated straight 6's that make decent power, are reasonably reliable, and are much easier to work on than an Audi (especially one that needs a rebuild.) There are also plenty of resources online and on YouTube for troubleshooting, repair, maintenance, and modification (when you get to that point.)
I cannot stress this enough: If you're just learning to work on engines, stay away from anything with a motor that has been tuned or modded. It's hard enough to learn to work on an untouched motor, and a tuned or modded motor can be challenging for even experienced mechanics to repair, if they aren't familiar with exactly how it was modified.
I second this. An older non-turbo BMW is the way to go if you really want something German. I own an e46 and would recommend looking into those. They are cheap, relatively easy to work on (with the help of YouTube), and parts are plentiful.
I would also recommend older Japanese cars since they are typically very easy to work on.
Lots of people, espciecially people who are new to working in cars, say they're looking for work.
Toyota master here to chime in.
It's easy to want to build a car. Then, comes the time to choose a car and we're often left with limited options because the reality is...
Most of the greats are taken or charging a premium that, as an entry level enthusiast, may not be an option.
So we're left to choose, and it's a beautiful thing as a newbie tech....
What makes a great technician and also great builder is not as much the platform he chooses, but how he maintains and improves upon it.
Of course you should consider your platform as to how it will suit your needs...
.
It's almost safe to say the motor will soon need a teardown and an expense of time and money
Do you trust you have the time and smarts for it? That's what you need to ask yourself
I've met many new techs and I'd say 1/10 delivers on that statement
German car tech here. I’d run. Even if you’re doing the work yourself, parts are incredibly expensive. And in my opinion, that fsi engine can burn in hell.
I was waiting for that engine comment, I'll give you a tip here: look up what an engine costs on eBay, the more expensive the more people need it: a bad engine. A VW 2.5, 5 cylinder is cheap, nobody needs another one... fsi, especially early fsi is a constant source of codes...
Cheap and stock would be a good start.
Having a first beater and lightly modded fixer upper is like having a first child.
You can fuck it up, and still be proud of it, and have the knowledge to do better next time.
A German car can be good for learning how to do your own work. They have knowledgeable communities, and parts aren’t too bad to find. THIS Specific car is a terrible car to learn how to work on because it is heavily modified, which means it will be difficult to troubleshoot and nobody on the internet will be able to help you. As a result, it will turn into a money pit or you’ll be stuck flipping it for a loss. My advice, if you want to learn German car maintenance: get a simple base model VW Golf.
The problem Volkswagen Audi Group cars (VAG) is a normal OBD2 scanner cant access its entire computer. other than that they arent hard to work on at all.
My 2 cents, find one for much less. Parts for these cars are expensive and VERY time consuming to install. It’s a good learning experience. You’ll never be surprised by another manufacturer if you dive into other brands but it could also just turn you off completely to doing mechanic work for yourself or for someone else. Euro cars, German in particular are incredibly complex for almost no reason (makes sense in the factory but that’s a complete different thread) without special tools and proper instructions they can become quite the money pit and headache. However, that 2.0l is popular across the vw platform all the way up to Porsche and can also become an awesome side gig if you know how to repair them!
That is almost the perfect learner car, if you know all the basics. Easy and logical to work on, but i wouldnt buy THIS on as clearly the aftermarket turbo job was done badly, no one knows the full damage scale.
I bet the seller doesnt know what stage 2 even means
I learned on an A4 because I was young and dumb and couldn't afford to fix stuff as it broke.
I did have an oil pressure light one time that was only the pressure sender switch so it could be that, however I doubt that it is perfectly sorted just from it being "stage 2". That car has been messed with a bunch.
Buying a car to learn to work on cars is really only good if you're buying the type of car you wanna work on. Like, if you wanna learn to be an Audi/VW guy, absolutely this would be a valuable purchase, but for just learning engines? Buy a 'yota or an old chevy.
Yes, I learned a lot from my W203 2003 Mercedes C240 that I bought not running. Be ready to invest in torx and e-torx. Just know that a lot of the parts you’ll need won’t be available at your local auto parts store. If you want quality parts, you’ll have to to do your own research but FCP Euro is a good source. Not cheap though. If you can cross reference parts, do it. Mercedes coolant is just Zerex G05 rebadged. Mercedes Spark plugs are rebadged NGK. You get my point?
Tbh you can do this with any car. Unless you really love this Audi and it’s your dream car.
I actually already own a 2013 C63 AMG lol, I just don’t really want to mess up a handcrafted $10k motor
I do use FCP euro regularly but European parts seem like they’ll get expensive fast
The ad states timing chain and belt done a couple of years ago. It has one or the other. Unless he's talking about a timing chain and serpentine belt, but that's not how it was worded. So he probably has no idea what he's talking about, and has no idea what has actually been done to the car. I wouldn't have any interest at all even without that, but that is the biggest red flag for me in an ad full of them.
Yes and no. One with like 100k miles would be a food way to learn but that one needs a full engine rebuild which is a lot. But those 2.0 TSI engines from VW group are super easy to work on and learn
No bro stay the fuck away unless u wanna learn starting at the lowest ditch. Germans especially are extra serious about their wire resistance values and a bunch of other things. I’m saying you can definitely learn a lot but it’s going to be a college semester class on level 10. And expensive ASF it’ll break ur acc fr
Depends how many tools you have, and how big a tool box you'd like to end up with
simple wrenches, ratchet, sockets, torqs, etorqs... then allen, long allen, triple squares. those triangle sockets for the ALH injection pump
I'm happy I learned on honda platform... easy to understand. Made the engine replacement I did in my dodge so much easier.
But still kicking around with my Jetta BEW, I haven't been able to finish putting completely together
I just going to tell you my experience.
My first car, well third actually, is '00 Pontiac Bonneville. Hardest job I've had to do is change the spark plugs.
Changed the suspension the times. Couldn't get the coils right. Anyway the water pump on my car, dirt simple, 6 bolts and the accessory belt. I watched a YouTube on how to do it. Guy was removing his front tire. Bunch of extra stuff on top of that.
Guess I'm saying, go with your gut.
Definitely not a learner car. If you want a project to learn on get something kinda big, alot of engine bay room, preferably something that sits high enough off the ground that you can get under it without a jack or ramps. Trust me when you have a random noise, rattle or unplanned maintained/repair being able to just slip underneath to take a quick look is very convenient. Also nothing that predates odb2.
Older cars can be much easier and simpler but they don't really teach you what you need to know to dive into any modern engines. My first vehicle was a 94 gm c1500 4.3 and my god was it easy to work on. I could get under the hood, sit on the wheel well and have my feet on the frame rail while I work on the engine. Though something like that didn't have enough modern technology really get a grasp on what working on a modern engine is like.
Rebuilding an engine can be easy enough if you have it on a stand and follow a guide or manual to the letter. The hard part is pulling it and dropping it back in. For that reason I'd also suggest not building a motor separately then dropping it in a car. Try to find a cheap vehicle that you can get an engine rebuild kit for fairly cheap and start there. Get the experience of lifting it out, getting it on a stand and going through it.
Another recommendation, find a car that's cheap because of mechanical issues. You can diagnosis and fix those. Don't buy a car that's cheap because it's got body damaged rust or dents. Unless you really have an interest for it I'd suggest staying away from body work. Besides you wouldn't want to dump money and time into rebuilding and throwing new parts at a car that already looks like crap on the outside.
Your goal should be find a car that has potential to be fixed up into a nice car. That way at the end of your project you have something that was worth the time. And if you want to get into proformance or aftermarket mods it's also good to have a clean well maintained and fully functional vehicle rather than something that didn't run right from the start or dumps rust in your eyes when your under it.
Yikes. Owner did all that work and he can’t replace a fuel pump? I’m sure that’s all it needs…….
That sounds like a horrible first car modding experience. I hope you wind up with something Japanese for you and your wallet’s sake.
I knew a kid in a similar situation & I laughed at what he paid. But he rebuilt it from the ground up & did a swell job, so I was impressed. Anything is possible! The great thing about really broken things is that you can’t really do more damage,
It’s already broken lol
Might be going against the grain here but I found myself in a similar situation - a beat up 2003 Subaru Forester XT in need of a fuel pump and timing belt for cheap, I bought it, and I'm glad I did - but I could only recommend this on a few conditions.
-You should be prepared to spend much more on parts and work on it much more frequently compared to other cars
-You are fine with your main mode of transport being unreliable
-You have the tools and space to do this
-You already have some level of experience or someone with that who will teach you (as the ad says if the oil pump's gone you might have to rebuild the engine, and rebuilding an 06 audi engine would be one hell of a first job).
I mean I started on a Volkswagen with the 2.0 8v, so one of their easier engines, but being a Volkswagen its had its fair share difficulties, although learning via trial by fire is a "do at your own risk" activity, if you do go through with this purchase you'll have to apply general knowledge to specific problems, but as long as you caan do the work, then I'd say go for it, at your own risk of course
Sure is, there's always something to fix in an old Audi. It's not the simplest mechanically but anyone can maintain one given you have facilities and tools necessary.
Well if you want to learn how to fix ridiculous issues that shouldnt even exist, a german car is a great start.
Honestly if youre looking in the 1-3k price range, almost anything you buy will have stuff to fix. I think german cars are awful, fair disclosure. But as far as working on them, they tend to do alot of stuff differently, their parts are expensive, and alot of it is proprietary. So you may need "special" tools to work on them. Nearly all systems on them have a nice german unintuitive twist. I often joke that the term "german engineering" simply means overcomplicated and expensive to fix for no *real* benefit.
As some unbiased experience, my friend got a Porsche 924s as his first car which is alot more ridiculous. He also bought an audi S4. The porsche is from the 80s, so yeah its bad and porsches are REALLY expensive to work on. But the S4 is around the mileage that youre talking about, and man, it just has endless problems. To be fair any car at 200k or higher mileage and in your price range, you'll be getting a project.
This particular car doesnt sound horribly bad except for the one massive red flag: It sounds like it needs an engine. The owner also used the term "Stage 2" when describing the modifications so thats not a good sign
RWD German cars are fine to learn wrenching on. FWD or AWD German is a lot less fun to deal with, just because the packaging is much tighter, and there's more stuff going on in a more confined space.
I love Audis, have two 2007 A4 Quattros, one is a 3.2 and the other is a mildly warmed up 2.0T. Bought both as totals and have less than 5 grand in the two of them.
That said, I would not recommend one as a beginner car. You have to know how to work on them both with tools (standard and specialty ones) as well as how to access the modules and program them. They are a learning experience.
More than likely the car you are looking at needs an oil pump. Not an easy job as you have to drop the cross member to do that.
Good luck in whatever you decide.
As an European that owns a 2008 VW Golf V, I would first have said : Yeah, that Audi is good as a learning work bench.
But then I got to the tuned part. And the oil light part.
Nope. That Audi is no longer any good neither as a learning work bench, neither as a beginner's daily driver.
I wouldn't. German cars can be a pain to work on. Not to mention cost. Parts will be significantly more than something japanese. Honda and Toyota specifically are cheap, reliable, and easy to work on. Personally, I like old 60s and 70s American cars (GM, Chrysler, Ford.). They're about as simple as it gets to work on, and therefore great for learning. They'll probably be more expensive than Japanese cars though. That's not even mentioning the problems that come with cars that old. Rust, bad body work, worn out parts, uncomfortable, next to no (I found out the hard way) safety features, noisy, the list goes on. Though they were built well and have lasted, they were never intended to still be on the road 50 years later.
I bought an audi tt mk 2 about a year back with 100k miles on the clock. If i wasn’t a mechanic i dont think i would be able to afford to drive it because stuff starts going at that kinda mileage. 1 year later and i have probably spent like near 1k on just parts alone 😅 and the list is still not finished.
Make sure you are really committed if you go down this route.
OP I wouldn’t touch that car UNLESS you’re ok with sinking at least $15,000 in money and at least 200 hours of your time into it
It may come out to less but I would genuinely expect that up front
As a guy with an Audi that loves it, I wouldn’t touch this car with a 10 foot pole. When people start saying “stage 2” with “new turbo,” you know that thing has been beat to death and he’s trying to get out from under it before it blows up
If you’re gonna buy a car to work on, make sure it’s stock or close to it
No. No! No, no, no, no, NO! HELL NO! German is the absolute worst to pick. Especially a "tuned" one. That means some ass hat has hacked up half the car wiring and nothing works anymore.
No. I find that German cars are harder to work on and the replacement parts are more expensive. If you want a car that's easy to work on for learning purposes, I would get a 90's Honda or Toyota.
If you want to learn, go Japanese. Or old American.
German cars are a pain. Audi/VW are my least favorite.
90’s-early 00’s bmw’s are super easy also, if you wanted to steer toward german cars.
German cars in general are not good cars to learn how to fix. Getting some information is hard as well as understanding basic wiring diagrams for those. I'd go older imports like Honda or Toyota, reliable, cheap, and great cars to learn how to fix. Everything is cheaper and easier to do. Even a Subaru is better than an Audi or VW to fix. I'd run from this car. Rebuilding that will cost you thousands of dollars, cuss words, and time you'll never get back. Especially when you gotta do it again when you're all done. Just my 20 years of input.
Idk coming from the VW community the forums and knowledge is there and the community is helpful. But I did wrench quite a bit before I got into the german market. But id take german all day before wrenching on a boxer 😂
NO!!!!!!!!! For the love of god stay away from euros if you are just learning. You want something simple. Ideally Honda or Toyota form any year. The older the better, they hold their value tho. Best bang for your buck would be American from the early 2000s, they’ll definitely be beaters for sure. Not as easy to work on as the imports but not to bad. You may need a few special tools for some projects but you can rent those from autozone for free. Please stay away from anything Europe unless you want to spend a bunch of money. Oh and DONT BUY ANY VEHICLE THAT HAS BEEN MODIFIED! get something that’s completely stock.
2.0t = stay away. Money pit engines. If you want to work on the car and really want German, get something rear-wheel drive w/ longitudinal mounted engine. So a merc or a bmw. Parts are expensive though.
Well I mean he does use not just Audi dealership but also FCP Euro so that’s a good sign, but anything “tuned” isn’t always that good of a sign because it’s usually been abused. Also, Audis can certainly be complicated - especially ones after the turn of the century.
If you want to learn the basics of vehicular mechanics, I would start with something dead nuts easy to work on and fix. Mercedes diesels come to mind. Old Volvo 240s and 740s - diesel or gas. Anything with a carbureted small-block Chevy, Mopar, or even Ford (although they can be quite different). VW 1.8 diesels. Older BMWs can be really finnicky and are getting expensive, but hey you never know. OG VW Beetles have style and simplicity all in one and parts are plentiful - they made those things for something like 50 years. Maybe Nissan 300zxs from the early 80s? Pre-2000s Nissans were really damn good at what they did and 1UZ-FE Toyota products were the same way. Hell, even MkIII Supras.
Look for something cheap with plenty of available parts and a simple amount of knowledge necessary to fix it.
Honestly, it may be worth a look. The guy has spent a lot of money fixing it all up, so you've got to ask yourself, why? Is he a terrible driver? Or is the car a piece of shit?
Grab a multimeter and check the continuity of the sensor and wiring.
Run the engine and open the oil filler cap and physically see (wear safety glasses) if you can see oil moving/spraying around the top. Compare cold and warm oil levels on the stick. The pump may be perfectly fine, or it won't be any good. Why did it fail? Is something else awry? Does the timing gear need replacing? Not a *huge* job but a pain in the arse nonetheless.
Tread carefully.
oil pumps do not fail generally, unless digesting metal pieces. It is the most oiled piece in the car. What happens is that sludge clogs up intake of the oil pump... also, increased bearing clearance leads to lower oil pressure, or the wrong oil.
German cars are the worst to learn on because they are a lot more difficult to work on. Luxury cars are also not good to learn on because they typically are more difficult to work on and have more that can go wrong. A German luxury car is the worst of both worlds.
The best to learn on would be an American or Japanese mass market vehicle that is relatively basic. An older Jeep (2006 or older) is a good option, especially if it has the 4.0L engine. Also a Honda (Civic, Accord, Prelude, Fit, etc.), Toyota (Corolla, Camry, Matrix, Yaris, Echo, etc.), or Ford (Focus, Fiesta, etc.) economy car would be an equally good, if not better vehicle to learn on. GM land yachts from the 90s and early 00s are also really great options (anything with the W body platform or potentially the B-Body if you're feeling adventurous).
Too many electronics on a 2006. Buy an old MB diesel 350SD or 300 SD and learn that way. Get the gas engine (they're much cheaper) if you want to learn the gas motors first. Stout like a tank. Watch Tommy's old videos on TFL Classics of his old MB diesel.
German engineering philosophy: why use one part when six will do? And those six will each contain 4 incredibly unreliable, difficult to diagnose, expensive sensors or servos?
Seriously the myth of German reliability is real. I am not by ANY stretch of the imagination a beginner, and I had an Audi that I absolutely loved, but even I threw in the towel when I got sick of spending every weekend, every day after work buying special tools and futzing with a multimeter.
The last car I would want as a project would be a tarted up Jetta.
i would avoid your project. look into a 90's or 2000's car. maybe a little toyota truck. yes they are expensive but its a great reliable simple platform that will last for years. furthermore there will be tons of cheap parts and resources online.
a german car will end up being more complicated than it has to and parts more expensive. i would go ahead with a german car if you have a second car and you have money to burn. i would never take on a a project like that. i like my projects to be straight forward and the cars that i buy to be in 110% running order or else you will spend more money that you planned for.
To put it simply, no. Special tools and cost of parts is going to nickle and dime (and Benjamin) you to death. There’s a reason these cars aren’t worth anything, because they cost more than they’re worth in good running order to fix. Add on top of that that they can be fairly challenging to work on, as a licensed technician it would not be my recommendation to try and get your feet wet starting out with this. Best of luck if you decide to though.
Definitely not. German cars are much more repair-intensive, at least from my experience. Not to mention the cost of parts is generally higher. I'd go with something domestic or Japanese to start with.
Definitely not a good choice for a beginner. Being that there's a bunch of aftermarket parts and it's tuned, it will make it much harder to diagnose in the future if you're not familiar with any sort of ECU tuning.
On top of that, German cars can be very difficult to work on for many reasons. Parts can be hard to get, minimal info for diag online without a database subscription, special tools required in many cases, and strange layouts to name a few. Like stated above, I'd go with an Asian car like Honda or Toyota.
Buy a Jeep Cherokee XJ. They cost $1.5-3K, parts are cheep and readily available. ODB2 from 6/96 forward, no computer or custom software required. They're all old enough that everything is broken or replaced at least once. The 4.0L straight 6 should be educational.
Don't touch this, dude. I had an 06 A4 and it fell apart without any stupid owners, mods or tunes. But this one is tuned, modded, and probably blown up already? Not even worth the cost of a truck truck.
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I would be looking for a beater Honda or Toyota before I dove into that disaster. Start with something cheap and easy to work on, not something expensive and difficult.
I probably would if people around where I live didn’t think they’re still worth $3k after 25 years and 200k miles lol
I get it. But this thing isn’t really a beginners car, and as someone else said it will always need something else. It will take thousands of dollars and endless hours to get into decent shape and keep it that way, and never be worth much more than you buy it for. Just to change the belts on this thing you have to pull the nose of the car forward 5-6 inches. Everything is brittle and easily broken, but also expensive and hard to find. You will need a stack of specialty tools to work on the engine. A clapped out A4 just isn’t a good choice for a fixer upper unless you really have a lot of time and money to dump in it that you will never see again and you have something else to drive in the meantime.
We’ll put. As a guy with multiple decaying German cars, steer clear unless you just have a passion for them. They can be fun, but they are money pits. This is why I have a Honda as a daily driver.
Never met a German that didn’t drain the pocketbook.
I must have something wrong in my head because even though everyone says they are money pits I still want to buy one.
Their cars are pretty pricy to fix too!
Luxury German cars get such a bad rep because by the time an “enthusiast” gets hold of it, it’s on its 6th owner and the last 4 bought there parts from rock auto and trusted the 15,000 mile oil interchange period. These cars were never meant to rival an accord or civic, there’s 4x the tech/hardware. To the OP, find a better example.
Aw man rockauto keeps a lot of cars on the road 😕
Why the hate for RockAuto? They have great quality parts and good prices if you look at what you're buying.
If you love a particular model of an older car, you will be far better off buying the cleanest, best maintained example you can find. Even paying considerably more up front will be far cheaper than buying a rough one and trying to get it into good shape.
"Renoving" the front of the car if only like 10 screws though.. they do call it the service position for a reason. That being said, I'd personally stay away from this car.
want to learn to wrench? Go buy a $3k Chevy Cobalt. Hell buy a couple of them for parts. this Audi is the opposite of learning
>Just to change the belts on this thing you have to pull the nose of the car forward 5-6 inches. Which you can do in about 20 minutes. A bit longer if you have to pull the under tray, but if not you don't even need to put the car in the air. I assume it's similar to my A6 so you remove a few arch liner screws from the front edge of the arch liners and pull the liner back to get the three nuts each side of the bumper, then the two long bolts above the fog light grills. Pull the bumper. Unbolt the bumper dumb irons. Unbolt the rad carrier from the wings. Use the long bolts from above the fog lights, where the dumb irons go to give you something to slide the rad support out on. Out she comes. People bitch about the service position but the car is designed to easily be put in that position. If you drop the coolant you can swing the rad support out to one side entirely giving you total access to the front of the engine. I'd take doing an accessory or cam belt on my A6 over any number of shitty transverse engine setups any day.
Film it or time it and I guarantee it's not 20 minutes. It takes an experienced tech 30 minutes and is booked at an hour of labor. There is no way in hell your getting all your tools out and your car in service position in 20 minutes, the average DIYer is looking at an hour and if your working on an Audi in the rust belt you'd be lucky to do it in under two hours.
He tuned it which means he abused the shit out of it. Trust me, hard pass on this. Your bank account will thank you. There’s nothing more expensive than a cheap Audi, BMW or Mercedes.
He tuned it. Dumped a bunch of money into it! Now he us selling it for 1200 bucks? Oil pump replacement on it isnt that hard of a job. Seems like he would keep it if an oil pump was the only problem.
The low oil pressure is an excuse to not let anybody test drive it because then they'd realize that the transmissions is also toast.
German as a beginner to work on? No
>German as a beginner to work on? No Actually it's the best way to start. Years ago I bought a 10 year old Miata thinking I'd learn wrenching on it. To this day I only had to do brakes and oil and learned nothing. With a German car, you know you'll get a good amount of practice in short order.
>Thinking I dunno. I love the way Mercedes are designed to be serviced. My favorite vintage of the moment is the W210 think late 90's early 2000s. If you follow the WIS and use OEM parts these cars will reward your efforts. That said, all of the normal rules about buying project cars apply; no basket cases; don't buy something that needs a ton of interior trim/work unless you like doing that work or you have access to parts cars. Learning to wrench is fun. Civics, Integras, VW beetles, pre80s american cars are all pretty simple to learn on but you can learn on anything that is well documented by the manf or community.
BMWs up to like 2005 are pretty easy to work on.
Depending on the motor, there are some newer ones that aren't too bad. The N55 and B58 aren't much more difficult to work on than the M54.
My 2004 E46 starter disagrees with you.
U can get to it without dropping the engine and trans
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This! I’m in the UK so maybe parts are easier to come by and cheaper than the US?? (no idea) but I’ve had a few E46’s and always found them surprisingly cheap and easy to work on! Also the level of support on forums and YouTube is remarkably vast and detailed. The laptop cables and servicing software are also cheap and readily available from eBay.
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Just my personal opinion: There's a reason why this is $1200 and no takers. Unless this is ONLY a project car for you, and you know to expect to spend 3X-4X on it to make it usable, fine. But it will never be reliable. If you're starting out working on cars, this one's not great. I would recommend naturally aspirated, the simpler the better. This also has the smell of being faux tuned and beat to death - it's probably worth scrap at best.
As soon as someone says a used car is "tuned", that throws up all kinds of red flags for me.
Dude, it's "stage 2 tuning" that's two big red flags.
DID YOU READ THE WHOLE DESCRIPTION ?????
No but I didn’t reply so I think I’m safe
It's always the guys who do "stage 2 tuning" without upgrading any hardware, LMAO. You're just wearing out your turbos faster.
Any car that can get you from Point A to Point B reliably, is worth 3k minimum. That’s been a fact for quite a while. Anything less will only last a year or less.
Just to be real blunt. $1400 difference and you’re going to spend that in one month owning this 2006 Audi. I’ve been there where you can’t see past the initial cost cause that’s all you can think about but if you can afford to not have a working car for a couple months cause your working on this car and buying parts as you can you’re better off just putting some money away every month until you can get a more reliable car. Stick to Honda or Toyota, even some cheaper 04-06 Lexus Rx330’s out there that will run forever.
That's cause they are worth 3k after that much, it's literally cause they're so easy to work on, fuel efficient, and parts are a breeze to come by.
There's a reason their still worth 3k after 25yrs, I work as a parts guy at a audi dealer. I can tell you that if you buy this car you are going to deal with all the shit this guy did to it. If you do want to buy it regardless, bring it to an audi/vw dealership and get an inspection. It'll save you money in the long run and it'll also let you know where to start your repairs. Good luck, have fun 🤙
Rebuilding the engine in this will cost over $3k. It is a 4 valve per cylinder engine and any machine work is hard and parts are expensive.
It's the parts that'll be expensive for the audi
I would recommend searching away from where you live. If it’s been modified, you have no idea who did it or with which parts. I’ll bet there are cheap Chinese software tunes that absolutely wreck the drivability of the car. Sometimes you can find a good deal but this ain’t one. SOURCE: I’m a VW enthusiast, technician, and business owner.
Consider it upfront cost on something that will last you years, be easier to find cheaper parts and lots of resources for how to repair. Honda/acura share parts as do Toyota/Lexus, and lots of availability for both. Usually repairs are pretty straight forward with many youtube and web guides through forums. Audi, not so much. Also this guy tuned the car for sport, meaning it was probably driven hard.
You could drive that Toyota or Honda another 100k miles if you take care of it, the Audi not so much, especially since this guy has tuned it and not left it stock
Me, with my 2004 Toyota Avalon with 221k miles that’s running better than most vehicles 10 years newer than she is, all new brake pads and rotors running me under $200, most of my odds and ends repairs have cost between $12-20… I’m reading this comment from OP with a look on my face like the [the awkward monkey meme.](https://tenor.com/view/monkey-look-the-other-way-look-away-awkward-weird-gif-17246188) >I probably would if people around where I live didn’t think they’re still worth $3k after 25 years and 200k miles lol I know nobody would ever offer me more than 4K for her, but letting her go even for that cheap would be tough for me. OP, if you’re reading this: DONT DO IT. If you’re going for a “learn how to do things” car, pay a little extra for a used Honda or Toyota. There is a reason people swear by them. There is a reason they still cost that much with 200k+ miles. The extra money spent on the front end of the purchase will save you $1000’s in the long run(difference in cost of replacement parts) and also save you a lot of headache, AND HEARTACHE. Dude I’m telling you, if you by some miracle get that thing on the road, it’s going to break down and present another catastrophic issue as soon as you start to feel some sense of accomplishment.
look around your junk yard for what they have a lot of, cheap... that's a project to start. cheap parts are the best for project cars.
I own a modded mark 6 GTI and I also say no lol. Mine’s not even a beater and it’s honestly not worth the headache, man. Also for your specific situation never, ever buy an A4. Not for any reason. Those cars can and do break down very frequently.
You’re going to spend way more than that in parts trying to fix this car.
Wanna do your own work? Get an American car, parts are cheap and everywhere. That is, if you are in North America, of course.
Lol I just paid 17.49 for a o ring the size of a nickel for a gm truck.
What is the part number of that O-ring? PS: Yeah, well, if it were a VW truck, it would have been 50$ for that same O-ring lol
W Body GM products and Ford economy cars from the 00s are also a good option if they have a tighter budget. They're not particularly good cars nor are they particularly well built, but they tend to be reliable and last forever.
This or an older American car. I started with little to no mechanical experience when I got my 98 mustang and it’s really easy to work on and really fun. But definitely one of the two
You will get a lot more experience working on cars by owning a cheap Audi than you would by owning a cheap Honda or Toyota!
Hyundai are some of the easiest cars to work on.
But not the most reliable.
And they love to spontaneously combust.
An audi is great if you want a project car that you'll never stop rebuilding. By the time you're finished the first things you fixed will be broken again. You'll also need some decent software, something like Ross tech if you want to interrogate the ecu (which you'll need to). Could be something as simple as a clogged oil pump pickup screen, or a bad oil pressure switch. Could be a fucked engine good for the bin. It's a gamble.
Yeah, personally I don't mess with a vehicle that has had any type of oil issues. It's the blood of your car, and even 5-10 seconds of it not functioning properly, can ruin most components of an engine. And I second the audi comment. Audis are not reliable in the slightest, especially after somebody modded it.
I know I will get downvoted to hell for this but I honest to god do not understand why people hate on Audis for reliability. I’m over here with my daily driven 2010 A4 Avant, with the dreaded CAEB block, pushing 190k (110k since it was tuned) and I have only ever had to do typical maintenance on the thing. I get that German cars are much more complicated and parts can be expensive but they are still well built machines If you keep up with the maintenance and fluid changes, they will last you a good long time. It really comes down to how well the car was treated. If you neglect any car, it’s going to blow up, end of story. Hell, I took my “unreliable” Audi up to the mountains last weekend and saw two V60 Camrys on the hard shoulder with their hoods in the air. Also, I would say picking a complicated car as your learner project isn’t a bad idea. I first learned on a ‘92 735I that had 310k on the clock when I got her. Was it a thrashed car with a million issues? Totally. Was I always working on one issue or another? Of course I was. Did I have to spend countless hours searching for shop manuals and combing forums? You better believe it! Thats how you learn though! If you want a car to get you from A to B every day, then getting a cheaper, more sensible car is the right choice. If you wanna learn (and have other reliable transport) then buy a trashed car that you have a passion for and get some grease under your nails! I may not be the best person to listen to here though. I’m the kind of idiot that decides to buy an ‘01 Allroad, lift it 3” and throw some 30” BFGs on it for camping season.
2005 Audi A6 TDI here. My partner has a mk4 GTTDI Golf as well. And we have an '88 Scirocco project car. We're VAG through and through. They have their foibles but the older diesels are decently powerful and very reliable. Her mk4 has 175k miles on it and aside from sounding like a tractor because VE diesel, it just starts every morning and returns crazy MPG. I've had the Audi two and a half years and in that time I've replaced a driveshaft (£50), the clutch and flywheel (£400), replaced the SMIC and worn out IC piping with an FMIC+hard pipe kit (£200), replaced all the top mounts (£50), and replaced the coolant temp sensor, thermostat, and AC pressure sensor (£50). Which isn't bad IMO. I've spent way more on other bits and pieces like stereo, wheels, interior, etc, but in terms of keeping it on the road it's not been a money pit at all. And easy enough to work on - the clutch was a pretty easy job for example. External slave, no rear driveshaft, just split the box off the engine and drop it down.
There is something about a BMW that you don't find in a Lexus or Japanese car. The way they drive is heavenly and the way they look is unique. But, they do have their setbacks to balance that out.
Sounds about right haha
My first project car was a 95 Audi s6 pulled the engine once broke almost all the brittle plastics, it’s running again but I’m chasing my tail after breaking so many of the plastic hoses, take the safe route and find a car with a big community behind it
Hey fellow UrS6 owner 👋. We still have a big community at QuattroWorld and plenty of support from 034, EFI, and Apikol
Will you learn a lot? YES. Will you spend a lot of money. ALSO YES Will you wish your stands would collapse and just fuckin pancake you under it to give you the sweet release of death? VERY MUCH SO.
Sounds like trying to learn surgery by starting with the brain.
You can perform some procedures in the cranium while the patient is alert, sometimes this is necessary because the doc needs feedback and tests from the patient. Neurosurgery is daunting, but that fact allows a bit of grace and forgiveness Not like if you're operating on a liver, a much more common reason to be in for a procedure, but if you try that with a liver patient, the only answer you'll get is 'AAAAAAAAAAAAH!' So, brain surgery is actually a somewhat decent place to begin specialization
You need to run away as fast as you can. Something's more wrong with it than the engine he just doesn't want to have you try to start and drive it. Meaning that it probably has other problems. I think the first reply was speaking from experience. Besides the difficulty in getting parts you will have to get special tools. Don't go down that rabbit hole it is not worth it.
Yeah this car is absolutely roasted. Stay away!
Not to mention I highly doubt it has both a timing chain and a timing belt.
Dude did you even read the description?? 🤣
Yea man wth, pretty sure even the mechanics on the sub wouldn't want this mess either.
Mechanic here. Fuck that. Not worth the chance. 1200 and he has no idea whats wrong with it? Nope. I would trust a rattlesnake with a “pet me” sign before I would trust that broken pile of bolts.
😂🤣
You would need to pay me a two or three hours labor up front for just a diagnosis or take it somewhere else. Wouldn't even let it into the shop for repairs without a deposit.
Audi A4 owner here. An Audi is not the car for a DIY novice. You’ll need specialty tools, specialty equipment, and you’ll need to lean on the experience gained from tinkering on cars for many years beforehand. Start with an older 4 cylinder Honda. 4 cylinder because everything is right on top and easily accessible. Hondas are easy to work on. Also, don’t dissect/Frankenstein your daily driver. Have something reliable and experiment on a beater. Have fun.
That's an expert level car, Mon Ami. I'm a certified journeyman and I look with trepidation upon the products of VAG lol
Aren't we all the products of vag?
There must be at least one among us that came from a test tube lol
Find something that has a lot of room to work on things, like a pick up truck for example would be at big end of things but you get the idea, a lot of European cars and small cars in general are jam packed and it could take a day and even taking out the engine (worse case scenario) to reach some of the most simplest things. That being said you can do your research to find out what cars are easier than others. I had a v6 mustang and it was great because they can also fit a v8 engine, so when you open the hood you have plenty of space to work.
Jeeps with the 4.0L Inline 6 or 3.6L, 3.7L, or 3.8L V6s also tend to have a ton of space in the engine compartment as well and tend to be fairly easy to work on.
Yup v6 engine in a v8 engine bay is top teir beginner mechanic work, highly recommended, plus v6 engines increase gas mileage, reduce weight, and can still tear ass as long as you don't tow anything crazy.
I don't know that you're going to tear ass in a Jeep, but pop off.
Personally I’ve always been confused by the “room to work” preference. I’ve heard a lot of people say that’s how they like their cars to work on, so there must be something to it. Every time I get a car with “room to work” on it I find myself sitting in the engine bay next to the thing so that I can reach what it is I need to reach, and I do not find that comfortable. like adjusting ignition timing on a chevy K1500 with a 350; too much room in that engine bay for me. I don’t want any more room to work on an engine that is offered by a 95 Honda Civic, to me that is wide open spaces.
20 or so year old gm trucks are perfect for this kinda thing. pretty much everything that needs changing has a youtube video available
A German car is good for draining your bank account
Not really, BMWs are pretty reliable. I guess parts could be expensive, but maintenance is rare enough to where it's not overwhelming. Would stay away from turbos though.
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I tend to agree with that, but then I remember people go to dealerships to get stuff fixed. Which is like, no duh. Never trust a bmw dealership. Plastic valve cover on my N51 goes towards your point though, absolutely no need for that and it was $700 to replace.
Never buy someone elses project car
Hard no.
You're seriously considering buying someone's beater race car, and an audi at that? You gotta be insane. I wouldn't buy that car if it was $1. It will be a nightmare, constantly. It will never be a daily driver without spending thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours on. Run, run away fast.
German vehicles in general not fun to learn on. Parts are expensive, lots of weird tools needed to get at parts if you even can. You want a nice reliable vehicle you can learn on easily with basic tools I'd go the honda or toyota route, or if you can swing it something like a crown vic or grand marquis.
I forgot about the Panther bodies. Those are automobile cockroaches that are super easy to work on (relatively speaking) and will usually be cheaper than a Honda or Toyota of a similar vintage.
Op you will never financially recover from this. Find something else
Yea uhhh no German vehicles are mildly expensive for parts. And they're pretty technical!
If you really want a German car, look for a BMW with the M54 (not N54) or the N52 engines. (they're available in 2000's 1, 3, and 5 series, and the X3 and X5, and probably other models also.) Both are naturally aspirated straight 6's that make decent power, are reasonably reliable, and are much easier to work on than an Audi (especially one that needs a rebuild.) There are also plenty of resources online and on YouTube for troubleshooting, repair, maintenance, and modification (when you get to that point.) I cannot stress this enough: If you're just learning to work on engines, stay away from anything with a motor that has been tuned or modded. It's hard enough to learn to work on an untouched motor, and a tuned or modded motor can be challenging for even experienced mechanics to repair, if they aren't familiar with exactly how it was modified.
I second this. An older non-turbo BMW is the way to go if you really want something German. I own an e46 and would recommend looking into those. They are cheap, relatively easy to work on (with the help of YouTube), and parts are plentiful. I would also recommend older Japanese cars since they are typically very easy to work on.
You would be better off burning the money you would pay for that car than buying it.
German cars are great cars to learn how to work on them. They’ll never stop needing things fixed.
Lots of people, espciecially people who are new to working in cars, say they're looking for work. Toyota master here to chime in. It's easy to want to build a car. Then, comes the time to choose a car and we're often left with limited options because the reality is... Most of the greats are taken or charging a premium that, as an entry level enthusiast, may not be an option. So we're left to choose, and it's a beautiful thing as a newbie tech.... What makes a great technician and also great builder is not as much the platform he chooses, but how he maintains and improves upon it. Of course you should consider your platform as to how it will suit your needs... . It's almost safe to say the motor will soon need a teardown and an expense of time and money Do you trust you have the time and smarts for it? That's what you need to ask yourself I've met many new techs and I'd say 1/10 delivers on that statement
German car tech here. I’d run. Even if you’re doing the work yourself, parts are incredibly expensive. And in my opinion, that fsi engine can burn in hell.
I was waiting for that engine comment, I'll give you a tip here: look up what an engine costs on eBay, the more expensive the more people need it: a bad engine. A VW 2.5, 5 cylinder is cheap, nobody needs another one... fsi, especially early fsi is a constant source of codes...
Cheap and stock would be a good start. Having a first beater and lightly modded fixer upper is like having a first child. You can fuck it up, and still be proud of it, and have the knowledge to do better next time.
I second stock, it's nice not having to unfuck someone else work. Especially if you're trying to learn.
A German car can be good for learning how to do your own work. They have knowledgeable communities, and parts aren’t too bad to find. THIS Specific car is a terrible car to learn how to work on because it is heavily modified, which means it will be difficult to troubleshoot and nobody on the internet will be able to help you. As a result, it will turn into a money pit or you’ll be stuck flipping it for a loss. My advice, if you want to learn German car maintenance: get a simple base model VW Golf.
Yes, German cars can be good to learn on, but not this one. Try a late 70s to early 80s MBZ 300D.
A cheap Audi is the most expensive car you'll ever own, speaking from experience
The problem Volkswagen Audi Group cars (VAG) is a normal OBD2 scanner cant access its entire computer. other than that they arent hard to work on at all.
My 2 cents, find one for much less. Parts for these cars are expensive and VERY time consuming to install. It’s a good learning experience. You’ll never be surprised by another manufacturer if you dive into other brands but it could also just turn you off completely to doing mechanic work for yourself or for someone else. Euro cars, German in particular are incredibly complex for almost no reason (makes sense in the factory but that’s a complete different thread) without special tools and proper instructions they can become quite the money pit and headache. However, that 2.0l is popular across the vw platform all the way up to Porsche and can also become an awesome side gig if you know how to repair them!
That is almost the perfect learner car, if you know all the basics. Easy and logical to work on, but i wouldnt buy THIS on as clearly the aftermarket turbo job was done badly, no one knows the full damage scale. I bet the seller doesnt know what stage 2 even means
I learned on an A4 because I was young and dumb and couldn't afford to fix stuff as it broke. I did have an oil pressure light one time that was only the pressure sender switch so it could be that, however I doubt that it is perfectly sorted just from it being "stage 2". That car has been messed with a bunch.
Buying a car to learn to work on cars is really only good if you're buying the type of car you wanna work on. Like, if you wanna learn to be an Audi/VW guy, absolutely this would be a valuable purchase, but for just learning engines? Buy a 'yota or an old chevy.
Yes, I learned a lot from my W203 2003 Mercedes C240 that I bought not running. Be ready to invest in torx and e-torx. Just know that a lot of the parts you’ll need won’t be available at your local auto parts store. If you want quality parts, you’ll have to to do your own research but FCP Euro is a good source. Not cheap though. If you can cross reference parts, do it. Mercedes coolant is just Zerex G05 rebadged. Mercedes Spark plugs are rebadged NGK. You get my point? Tbh you can do this with any car. Unless you really love this Audi and it’s your dream car.
I actually already own a 2013 C63 AMG lol, I just don’t really want to mess up a handcrafted $10k motor I do use FCP euro regularly but European parts seem like they’ll get expensive fast
Damn, I’m actually hunting for a C55 AMG. The 5.4L M113 and the 722.6 are pretty bulletproof lol
The ad states timing chain and belt done a couple of years ago. It has one or the other. Unless he's talking about a timing chain and serpentine belt, but that's not how it was worded. So he probably has no idea what he's talking about, and has no idea what has actually been done to the car. I wouldn't have any interest at all even without that, but that is the biggest red flag for me in an ad full of them.
Yes and no. One with like 100k miles would be a food way to learn but that one needs a full engine rebuild which is a lot. But those 2.0 TSI engines from VW group are super easy to work on and learn
ja, of coursze! you will definitely learn a lot and constantly
No bro stay the fuck away unless u wanna learn starting at the lowest ditch. Germans especially are extra serious about their wire resistance values and a bunch of other things. I’m saying you can definitely learn a lot but it’s going to be a college semester class on level 10. And expensive ASF it’ll break ur acc fr
Depends how many tools you have, and how big a tool box you'd like to end up with simple wrenches, ratchet, sockets, torqs, etorqs... then allen, long allen, triple squares. those triangle sockets for the ALH injection pump I'm happy I learned on honda platform... easy to understand. Made the engine replacement I did in my dodge so much easier. But still kicking around with my Jetta BEW, I haven't been able to finish putting completely together
I would buy this. Imo but yeah for a starter hell no
This is a no. A modified Audi for a “learning platform?” No. Go simpler for your first project.
I just going to tell you my experience. My first car, well third actually, is '00 Pontiac Bonneville. Hardest job I've had to do is change the spark plugs. Changed the suspension the times. Couldn't get the coils right. Anyway the water pump on my car, dirt simple, 6 bolts and the accessory belt. I watched a YouTube on how to do it. Guy was removing his front tire. Bunch of extra stuff on top of that. Guess I'm saying, go with your gut.
Definitely not a learner car. If you want a project to learn on get something kinda big, alot of engine bay room, preferably something that sits high enough off the ground that you can get under it without a jack or ramps. Trust me when you have a random noise, rattle or unplanned maintained/repair being able to just slip underneath to take a quick look is very convenient. Also nothing that predates odb2. Older cars can be much easier and simpler but they don't really teach you what you need to know to dive into any modern engines. My first vehicle was a 94 gm c1500 4.3 and my god was it easy to work on. I could get under the hood, sit on the wheel well and have my feet on the frame rail while I work on the engine. Though something like that didn't have enough modern technology really get a grasp on what working on a modern engine is like. Rebuilding an engine can be easy enough if you have it on a stand and follow a guide or manual to the letter. The hard part is pulling it and dropping it back in. For that reason I'd also suggest not building a motor separately then dropping it in a car. Try to find a cheap vehicle that you can get an engine rebuild kit for fairly cheap and start there. Get the experience of lifting it out, getting it on a stand and going through it. Another recommendation, find a car that's cheap because of mechanical issues. You can diagnosis and fix those. Don't buy a car that's cheap because it's got body damaged rust or dents. Unless you really have an interest for it I'd suggest staying away from body work. Besides you wouldn't want to dump money and time into rebuilding and throwing new parts at a car that already looks like crap on the outside. Your goal should be find a car that has potential to be fixed up into a nice car. That way at the end of your project you have something that was worth the time. And if you want to get into proformance or aftermarket mods it's also good to have a clean well maintained and fully functional vehicle rather than something that didn't run right from the start or dumps rust in your eyes when your under it.
Yikes. Owner did all that work and he can’t replace a fuel pump? I’m sure that’s all it needs……. That sounds like a horrible first car modding experience. I hope you wind up with something Japanese for you and your wallet’s sake.
For $1,200? Where’s it at, I’ll buy it and slap an oil pressure sender on it
I knew a kid in a similar situation & I laughed at what he paid. But he rebuilt it from the ground up & did a swell job, so I was impressed. Anything is possible! The great thing about really broken things is that you can’t really do more damage, It’s already broken lol
Where it says stage 2 I stopped reading. Nope. I wouldn't. I'd just get a normal piece of shit thst hasn't been fucked up already to learn on.. Imo
Sure. If only because you’ll spend all your time and even more of your money doing it, lol.
2006 for 1200$? something ain’t right, that’s shit-box level cheap.
Did you even bother to read the text in the pic?????
didn’t even read that far. shitbox indeed lmao
Might be going against the grain here but I found myself in a similar situation - a beat up 2003 Subaru Forester XT in need of a fuel pump and timing belt for cheap, I bought it, and I'm glad I did - but I could only recommend this on a few conditions. -You should be prepared to spend much more on parts and work on it much more frequently compared to other cars -You are fine with your main mode of transport being unreliable -You have the tools and space to do this -You already have some level of experience or someone with that who will teach you (as the ad says if the oil pump's gone you might have to rebuild the engine, and rebuilding an 06 audi engine would be one hell of a first job).
I mean I started on a Volkswagen with the 2.0 8v, so one of their easier engines, but being a Volkswagen its had its fair share difficulties, although learning via trial by fire is a "do at your own risk" activity, if you do go through with this purchase you'll have to apply general knowledge to specific problems, but as long as you caan do the work, then I'd say go for it, at your own risk of course
Sure is, there's always something to fix in an old Audi. It's not the simplest mechanically but anyone can maintain one given you have facilities and tools necessary.
Run from any listing that uses any of the following words, “tuned, chipped, mods, upgrades”. You want something bone stock, with nothing done to it.
Oil pressure light is normally a blocked stainer on these, quite an easy job
Well if you want to learn how to fix ridiculous issues that shouldnt even exist, a german car is a great start. Honestly if youre looking in the 1-3k price range, almost anything you buy will have stuff to fix. I think german cars are awful, fair disclosure. But as far as working on them, they tend to do alot of stuff differently, their parts are expensive, and alot of it is proprietary. So you may need "special" tools to work on them. Nearly all systems on them have a nice german unintuitive twist. I often joke that the term "german engineering" simply means overcomplicated and expensive to fix for no *real* benefit. As some unbiased experience, my friend got a Porsche 924s as his first car which is alot more ridiculous. He also bought an audi S4. The porsche is from the 80s, so yeah its bad and porsches are REALLY expensive to work on. But the S4 is around the mileage that youre talking about, and man, it just has endless problems. To be fair any car at 200k or higher mileage and in your price range, you'll be getting a project. This particular car doesnt sound horribly bad except for the one massive red flag: It sounds like it needs an engine. The owner also used the term "Stage 2" when describing the modifications so thats not a good sign
RWD German cars are fine to learn wrenching on. FWD or AWD German is a lot less fun to deal with, just because the packaging is much tighter, and there's more stuff going on in a more confined space.
I love Audis, have two 2007 A4 Quattros, one is a 3.2 and the other is a mildly warmed up 2.0T. Bought both as totals and have less than 5 grand in the two of them. That said, I would not recommend one as a beginner car. You have to know how to work on them both with tools (standard and specialty ones) as well as how to access the modules and program them. They are a learning experience. More than likely the car you are looking at needs an oil pump. Not an easy job as you have to drop the cross member to do that. Good luck in whatever you decide.
As an European that owns a 2008 VW Golf V, I would first have said : Yeah, that Audi is good as a learning work bench. But then I got to the tuned part. And the oil light part. Nope. That Audi is no longer any good neither as a learning work bench, neither as a beginner's daily driver.
I wouldn't. German cars can be a pain to work on. Not to mention cost. Parts will be significantly more than something japanese. Honda and Toyota specifically are cheap, reliable, and easy to work on. Personally, I like old 60s and 70s American cars (GM, Chrysler, Ford.). They're about as simple as it gets to work on, and therefore great for learning. They'll probably be more expensive than Japanese cars though. That's not even mentioning the problems that come with cars that old. Rust, bad body work, worn out parts, uncomfortable, next to no (I found out the hard way) safety features, noisy, the list goes on. Though they were built well and have lasted, they were never intended to still be on the road 50 years later.
You could be setting yourself up for hating working on cars,start with a simpler Japanese built car.
I bought an audi tt mk 2 about a year back with 100k miles on the clock. If i wasn’t a mechanic i dont think i would be able to afford to drive it because stuff starts going at that kinda mileage. 1 year later and i have probably spent like near 1k on just parts alone 😅 and the list is still not finished. Make sure you are really committed if you go down this route.
OP I wouldn’t touch that car UNLESS you’re ok with sinking at least $15,000 in money and at least 200 hours of your time into it It may come out to less but I would genuinely expect that up front
As a guy with an Audi that loves it, I wouldn’t touch this car with a 10 foot pole. When people start saying “stage 2” with “new turbo,” you know that thing has been beat to death and he’s trying to get out from under it before it blows up If you’re gonna buy a car to work on, make sure it’s stock or close to it
I love to see all of the passion here preventing someone from a once in a lifetime mistake ❤️
HAHAHA no.
No. No! No, no, no, no, NO! HELL NO! German is the absolute worst to pick. Especially a "tuned" one. That means some ass hat has hacked up half the car wiring and nothing works anymore.
No. I find that German cars are harder to work on and the replacement parts are more expensive. If you want a car that's easy to work on for learning purposes, I would get a 90's Honda or Toyota.
It's priced low for a reason, especially in this market. Avoid
“Needs an oil pump” literally translates to “needs an engine”
If you want to learn, go Japanese. Or old American. German cars are a pain. Audi/VW are my least favorite. 90’s-early 00’s bmw’s are super easy also, if you wanted to steer toward german cars.
Ah, no.
German cars in general are not good cars to learn how to fix. Getting some information is hard as well as understanding basic wiring diagrams for those. I'd go older imports like Honda or Toyota, reliable, cheap, and great cars to learn how to fix. Everything is cheaper and easier to do. Even a Subaru is better than an Audi or VW to fix. I'd run from this car. Rebuilding that will cost you thousands of dollars, cuss words, and time you'll never get back. Especially when you gotta do it again when you're all done. Just my 20 years of input.
Idk coming from the VW community the forums and knowledge is there and the community is helpful. But I did wrench quite a bit before I got into the german market. But id take german all day before wrenching on a boxer 😂
No stay away from German stuff lol but on the other hand it's pribly just an oil sending unit gone bad on this
NO!!!!!!!!! For the love of god stay away from euros if you are just learning. You want something simple. Ideally Honda or Toyota form any year. The older the better, they hold their value tho. Best bang for your buck would be American from the early 2000s, they’ll definitely be beaters for sure. Not as easy to work on as the imports but not to bad. You may need a few special tools for some projects but you can rent those from autozone for free. Please stay away from anything Europe unless you want to spend a bunch of money. Oh and DONT BUY ANY VEHICLE THAT HAS BEEN MODIFIED! get something that’s completely stock.
Take it from a guy who has a GTI. Stay far away from anything German made
Stage 2 Tuned = beat the piss outta it for the time he owned it. Pass
2.0t = stay away. Money pit engines. If you want to work on the car and really want German, get something rear-wheel drive w/ longitudinal mounted engine. So a merc or a bmw. Parts are expensive though.
Well I mean he does use not just Audi dealership but also FCP Euro so that’s a good sign, but anything “tuned” isn’t always that good of a sign because it’s usually been abused. Also, Audis can certainly be complicated - especially ones after the turn of the century. If you want to learn the basics of vehicular mechanics, I would start with something dead nuts easy to work on and fix. Mercedes diesels come to mind. Old Volvo 240s and 740s - diesel or gas. Anything with a carbureted small-block Chevy, Mopar, or even Ford (although they can be quite different). VW 1.8 diesels. Older BMWs can be really finnicky and are getting expensive, but hey you never know. OG VW Beetles have style and simplicity all in one and parts are plentiful - they made those things for something like 50 years. Maybe Nissan 300zxs from the early 80s? Pre-2000s Nissans were really damn good at what they did and 1UZ-FE Toyota products were the same way. Hell, even MkIII Supras. Look for something cheap with plenty of available parts and a simple amount of knowledge necessary to fix it.
Dude, don’t do it… don’t buy someone else’s project.
Nah, start on a Toyota. It'll last ye longer than a German beater
Honestly, it may be worth a look. The guy has spent a lot of money fixing it all up, so you've got to ask yourself, why? Is he a terrible driver? Or is the car a piece of shit? Grab a multimeter and check the continuity of the sensor and wiring. Run the engine and open the oil filler cap and physically see (wear safety glasses) if you can see oil moving/spraying around the top. Compare cold and warm oil levels on the stick. The pump may be perfectly fine, or it won't be any good. Why did it fail? Is something else awry? Does the timing gear need replacing? Not a *huge* job but a pain in the arse nonetheless. Tread carefully.
oil pumps do not fail generally, unless digesting metal pieces. It is the most oiled piece in the car. What happens is that sludge clogs up intake of the oil pump... also, increased bearing clearance leads to lower oil pressure, or the wrong oil.
No
Just give me the money bro.
Sure, if you want to end up like Kurt Cobain
German cars are the worst to learn on because they are a lot more difficult to work on. Luxury cars are also not good to learn on because they typically are more difficult to work on and have more that can go wrong. A German luxury car is the worst of both worlds. The best to learn on would be an American or Japanese mass market vehicle that is relatively basic. An older Jeep (2006 or older) is a good option, especially if it has the 4.0L engine. Also a Honda (Civic, Accord, Prelude, Fit, etc.), Toyota (Corolla, Camry, Matrix, Yaris, Echo, etc.), or Ford (Focus, Fiesta, etc.) economy car would be an equally good, if not better vehicle to learn on. GM land yachts from the 90s and early 00s are also really great options (anything with the W body platform or potentially the B-Body if you're feeling adventurous).
Get a more common car that there are cheaper parts, and more replacement parts suppliers for.
Too many electronics on a 2006. Buy an old MB diesel 350SD or 300 SD and learn that way. Get the gas engine (they're much cheaper) if you want to learn the gas motors first. Stout like a tank. Watch Tommy's old videos on TFL Classics of his old MB diesel.
Absolutely not. No one should own a vw/audi lol
"OEM parts or equivalent" lmao ether it's OEM or its not lmao.
German engineering philosophy: why use one part when six will do? And those six will each contain 4 incredibly unreliable, difficult to diagnose, expensive sensors or servos? Seriously the myth of German reliability is real. I am not by ANY stretch of the imagination a beginner, and I had an Audi that I absolutely loved, but even I threw in the towel when I got sick of spending every weekend, every day after work buying special tools and futzing with a multimeter. The last car I would want as a project would be a tarted up Jetta.
i would avoid your project. look into a 90's or 2000's car. maybe a little toyota truck. yes they are expensive but its a great reliable simple platform that will last for years. furthermore there will be tons of cheap parts and resources online. a german car will end up being more complicated than it has to and parts more expensive. i would go ahead with a german car if you have a second car and you have money to burn. i would never take on a a project like that. i like my projects to be straight forward and the cars that i buy to be in 110% running order or else you will spend more money that you planned for.
Terrible car. Terrible decision. Get a Toyota or Honda. Or an m54 bmw. Super cheap and super easy to work on
To put it simply, no. Special tools and cost of parts is going to nickle and dime (and Benjamin) you to death. There’s a reason these cars aren’t worth anything, because they cost more than they’re worth in good running order to fix. Add on top of that that they can be fairly challenging to work on, as a licensed technician it would not be my recommendation to try and get your feet wet starting out with this. Best of luck if you decide to though.
Definitely not. German cars are much more repair-intensive, at least from my experience. Not to mention the cost of parts is generally higher. I'd go with something domestic or Japanese to start with.
Expensive repairs on any German car.
Just no.
I'll never buy someone else's project.
Definitely not a good choice for a beginner. Being that there's a bunch of aftermarket parts and it's tuned, it will make it much harder to diagnose in the future if you're not familiar with any sort of ECU tuning. On top of that, German cars can be very difficult to work on for many reasons. Parts can be hard to get, minimal info for diag online without a database subscription, special tools required in many cases, and strange layouts to name a few. Like stated above, I'd go with an Asian car like Honda or Toyota.
No! Don’t do it. Lol
Buy a Jeep Cherokee XJ. They cost $1.5-3K, parts are cheep and readily available. ODB2 from 6/96 forward, no computer or custom software required. They're all old enough that everything is broken or replaced at least once. The 4.0L straight 6 should be educational.
Don't touch this, dude. I had an 06 A4 and it fell apart without any stupid owners, mods or tunes. But this one is tuned, modded, and probably blown up already? Not even worth the cost of a truck truck.
yoooo don't do this, you literally can't make a worse decision
Only thing a german car is good for is scrap metal
Nein, Nein, Nein! Even Steiner wouldn't buy this!
I’m not sure you’ll find any cars more universally hated by techs than European model. I’d stay away if you just trying to learn
HELL no I’d rather invest in a scooter rather than that mess, less headaches
i wouldnt go for the auido streight ahead, there quite premium parts and tight complex, a Polo or Passat Maybe.
No. And I wouldn't touch this car.
Unless you really really like them, no. As a Euro car enthusiast with 2 projects sitting in the yard, buy something Japanese or American to learn on.
Don't do it
I wouldn't buy some one else's project car. Especially a German car
A USDM VAG product? ##NEIN.