New Winter Ride Audi A4 Quattro

Just picked this up local today. 1997 Audi A4 Quattro.197,500 miles. 2.8 V6 new timing belt and water pump needs 2 tires and a little brake work. runs great. Dash lights are intermittent. AWD goodness for $1,200

Nice! I've been patiently waiting for one to show up around here for that price. The A4 is one of the most comfortable cars I have ever driven. Never been in one with the V6 though. Is that the 12v, or the 30v in '97?

In reply to SlickDizzy:

30 valve

My wife's got one - it took a while to fine a 2.8 Quattro w/ manual. I haven't had to do a lot thus far, brakes, a few bulbs, a fuel level sender, the self-dimming mirrors leak the magic darkening fluid out when the cabin hits 140 degrees in the summer.

We splurged and spent some house sale profit money having someone other than me do the cam belts/seals/water pump/struts/shocks/control arms/bushings this summer. I'd bought Bilstein HDs a while back, and found a new set of Vogtland 1" drop springs for cheap on craigslist, so those went on while the shop had it apart. It transforms the car. Crisp, firm, nice turn-in, neutral. Not too hard for a comfortable street car either. I recommend this combo.

In reply to motomoron:

Thanks for the tips motoman.. Will search CL for some parts....

thats sooo cheap

motomoron wrote: My wife's got one - it took a while to fine a 2.8 Quattro w/ manual. I haven't had to do a lot thus far, brakes, a few bulbs, a fuel level sender, the self-dimming mirrors leak the magic darkening fluid out when the cabin hits 140 degrees in the summer. We splurged and spent some house sale profit money having someone other than me do the cam belts/seals/water pump/struts/shocks/control arms/bushings this summer. I'd bought Bilstein HDs a while back, and found a new set of Vogtland 1" drop springs for cheap on craigslist, so those went on while the shop had it apart. It transforms the car. Crisp, firm, nice turn-in, neutral. Not too hard for a comfortable street car either. I recommend this combo.

Those springs were part of the official Audi catalog in early 2000-2002, along with Bilstein Sport struts. I installed the springs on my then-new 2001 A4 and a few months later went back and did the struts. The stock sport package struts went soft very fast with these springs and the result was a bouncy ride. 80k miles later the Bilstein's are still fine and the car still looks and handles fantastic.

The factory lowering springs were Eibachs...

docwyte wrote: The factory lowering springs were Eibachs...

The factory Sport spring maybe but the 2001 Audi of America accessories catalog springs were Vogtland and the struts in that catalog were Bilstein. That is what the box they arrived in said. They are lower and firmer than the factory Sport springs, which my car came with.

In reply to wclark:

Man I really like the look of that lowered, and the wheels are nice too..

BBC

nice...but it's AWD....it needs 4 new tires, not two. All four need to be the same tread depth (or close) or bye-bye center diff (if that's how it's set up).

In any case, if it 's a winter ride, get some Wintersport M3's, full set, and have an awesome time in the snow!

Billy_Bottle_Caps wrote: In reply to wclark: Man I really like the look of that lowered, and the wheels are nice too.. BBC

Thanks. The wheels are no longer available - SSR Integrals - 18 pound Semi-Solid Forged. VERY tough wheels. I will say the springs are a bit low for trudging thru unplowed snow so I would stick with stock springs for a true winter car. I have used Blizzaks on the original 16" wheels in winter on this car for 10 years now and never been stuck, but I have damaged the under-engine bay cover a few times going over snow/ice "death cookies" between the tire ruts. BTW, I live in New England.

How did you find one so cheap in reasonable condition?