** AUDI A4 2001 **

jas_nz, Feb 7, 9:52am
Someone asked if I would be interested in a swap with an Audi a4 2001 with my STagea. Has any one had any bad or interesting experiences with the Audi. I've never had one so I haven't got a clue what to look for or anything. Are they any good. The Audi has sline upgrades, wheels suspension .
thejazzpianoma, Feb 7, 9:55am
What engine has the Audi got and is it manual or auto! Any idea of km's!
lugee, Feb 7, 10:00am
If its a V6, better hope the thermostat doesn't kick the bucket.
thejazzpianoma, Feb 7, 10:11am
Looks like its a 2.0 one, bit early to be FSI.
They want plenty for it so it would have to be pretty immaculate to be worth anything like that IMO. Not a very quick car, quite good on gas compared to what you have though.

They are a really nice vehicle, but that one is let down by the lack of grunt IMO. If you want a more economical, more refined vehicle and the Stagea is taking a while to move, then go for gold. Otherwise I would not be in any rush.

Would be good to know when the cambelt was replaced time wise and what was done at the time.

Transmission could go a service at that milage too.
thejazzpianoma, Feb 7, 10:14am
Only really a problem if its been serviced by a knuckle dragger.
Its supposed to always be replaced at cambelt time, same goes for the waterpump. and this one is not a V6.
lugee, Feb 7, 10:15am
To be honest, you'd be a plonker not to. Wouldn't want to go back through all that just for a thermostat.

Doesn't excuse the fact that there's better places for them though.
thejazzpianoma, Feb 7, 10:19am
Meh. Audi put it there for a reason, I quite like the system as its easy to do when done as part of the big service as you are supposed to.

I always do a thermostat on every car at cambelt time anyway so I prefer it.

Likewise, I like how you can take the whole font off and get right in there. I prefer a slightly longer job to a fiddly job every time. Besides you don't "have" to take the front off if you don't want to.
jas_nz, Feb 7, 11:25am
It's 5 speed auto. Cambelt was done at 90kms. He seems like a genuine guy. I have no idea what an s line is. I'm not in a rush to sell the stgea but its been 6 weeks on trAdeme now. So I'm thinking the Audi will be cheaper on gas for me as well. I'm not worried about power as ill be driving in Auckland only . What would the resell be for the audi! He got everything done properly as he has had the car for 7 years now
cowlover, Feb 7, 12:07pm
It worries me when people want to swap and loose money on the deal. Even more so when they are swapping something a bid unusual for a regular jappa. I always think whats been hidden here.Just food for thought.
He says work been done proper - paperwork to prove otherwise you have no idea what has or hasn't been done.

I would suspect that resale on an Audi might not be either good or quick.
thejazzpianoma, Feb 7, 7:18pm
Crikey, I knew we were brainwashed in this country but when did it get so bad that people would actually think an Audi A4 was somehow unusual compared to a Stagea.
thejazzpianoma, Feb 7, 7:36pm
What matters with the timing belt is TIME as well as km's, those motors should really have the belts changed every 4 years regardless of km's.

There is always a risk in swapping one vehicle for another (the devil you know), its up to you OP to decide whether the vehicle is as it has been stated.

That A4 is also a tricky one to value, to me for that money you would be much better off with a 2005 Audi A3, being the better new generation gear. Especially as the A4 2.0 was a fairly slow vehicle.

However, people do seem to like the A4's and they seem to go for quite strong money.

My gut feeling is that if you put it on $1 reserve and it is as described you would get somewhere in the 7K - 10K price range. I definitely wouldn't guarantee that though as I don't watch the A4's enough.

Also, while I don't really follow the Stagea's and appreciate that the demand for wagons is strong I suspect that the Audi will be the easier vehicle to sell, especially if you keep the sticker price the same as you have on the Stagea.

While I am a bit reluctant to recommended "swaps" in the hope of an easier vehicle to sell in principle (because of the risks involved). I think it is worth some consideration, especially now we have a bit more of an idea of what you are trying to achieve.

BTW, "S Line" is just an upgrade package. In general its usually mostly cosmetic and equipment. (Seats, lights, badges, trim, suspension, wheels etc) Definitely a "nice to have" but nothing fundamentally amazing as it still has the same basic engine, I can't remember if there isa minor upgrade to engine output with the A4 S line, probably not.

Being an S Line will likely help move it and perhaps add a little to the sale price.

Best of luck with it.
jas_nz, Feb 7, 8:33pm
I'm gonna get the car checked out properly as in a pre purchase inspection at vtnz. I'm not gonna blindly give my car for a lemon. If its easier to sell I'm not that worried. With the STAGEA it's only a small market that its gonna appeal to and with the Audi I think the range broadens a lot more. My bottom dollar for the stagea is 7500 so I'm thinking if I sell the Audi to gr that much!
supernova2, Feb 7, 8:42pm
I'm inclinded to agree.Just purely on numbers I would think that Audi could be descibed as unusual.Perhaps uncommon would be a better description.I'm thinking it would be easier to find a buyer, amongst the average Joe Public, for a Stagea than an Audi.I'd say the target market for an Audi would be completely different from that for a Stagea which makes me agree with Cowlover that in most cases wanting to swap an Audi for a Stagea isdesperation.The Audi seller can't shift it so is hoping to offload it for something a bit more sellable.Even more concerning is that Audi seller is prepared to give away a couple of grand in the deal.To me that means that the Audi is either overpriced or it's in the gota go category.

My Cousin who is not mechanically minded but a Jaffa wanabe bought an Audi (model unknown) which failed its next WOF on brakes.Wasn't a cheap exercise (Ak Audi stealer).He then got stung on some other maintainence thing (possible cam belt).Liked the car but couldn't wait to get rid of it.Finally traded it on a shit box Falcon.Told everybody he needed the Falcon to tow the sailing boat. (one of those little 2 person racing things)Tui anyone!
thejazzpianoma, Feb 7, 8:50pm
Purely on numbers. there is something like 5 Audi A4's in NZ for every Stagea. and Internationally the Stagea is practically unknown compared to the A4.

Its just the sort of demographic that is gravitates towards Stagea's is unlikely to be familiar with A4's and vice versa.

That's a nice story about your Cousin, I am not in the least bit surprised that an Auckland prestige Audi dealer charged a fair bit for some work to be done.
thejazzpianoma, Feb 7, 8:57pm
Your reasoning/method sounds pretty reasonable to me. Don't start the Audi too low on price, you may be surprised how much you get for it, it will have a lot of appeal to the right person (because of spec, history, upgrades) and I don't think its too boy racer not to appeal to most regular A4 buyers.

While its top dollar, I wouldn't be overly surprised if you managed to get 10-11K for it, but I would go in with a mindset prepared to drop the price down to your $7500 if there is low interest after a time.

If it was me personally, I would be tempted to $1 reserve it, but that is not something I am ever game to recommend others do.

The only thing I would advise against is using VTNZ or the AA for a pre-purchase check. I would use an independent Audi/VW specialist, preferably Qualitat up where you are. If Qualitat can't do one or are too far away ring and ask who they would recommend.
thejazzpianoma, Feb 7, 8:58pm
LOL, nice bracketing of the model years to make the Stagea's seem more plentiful.

That link won't be of much use in terms of a price guide given the km's and lack of history. If it goes high then well and good, thats some extra reassurance,but it could be quite misleading in terms of a price guide if it goes cheap.
supernova2, Feb 7, 9:07pm
From memory the brake job was $3,000 but only took a day as parts were in stock.Nothing was touched in the ABS system and I think it was just pads and front rotors.For that sort of money they should have replaced every conceivable compenent in the entire brake system.

I'm sure there is a perception in Euro dealers that their customers are all filthy rich and therefore can pay accordingly.Look behind the scenes at Euro dealerships and in most cases the directors/shareholders are not exactly poor, nor are the showrooms budget designs.Just as an example IMHO the local Merc service guy is so far up himself that he is inside out and you would have to be a moron to go anywhere near his workshop.I have yet to meet anyone who has been happy with his "service".
thejazzpianoma, Feb 7, 9:10pm
Yip, that's why I said I wasn't surprised.
It's pretty meaningless though when you can just as easily go to Qualitat or even a regular garage (for most things) and pay normal prices. Parts are plentiful and well priced for the Audi's in NZ, there is no need to pay silly money for things at all.

BTW, I have never needed to take an Audi or VW to a dealer for anything, ever. There has been no operation as of yet that I have not been able to do in my driveway with my modest set of tools. I have a copy of VCDS and a couple of cheap specialist tools but the rest is just basic gear, not even of the standard that most first year apprentices work with.
supernova2, Feb 7, 9:54pm
With you all the way Jazz regarding basic tools etc.Its getting better these days largely I think because of the flood of imports of what were previously exotics.The local garage types have had to move away from thinking if its not a Ford, Holden, Toyota we dont want it in the shop.

As I see it the biggest problem now is the plethoria of models and the lack of service data and in some cases the need for electronic diagnostic gear.Just as an example I've got a Renault here with 3 different diag plugs which provide data on different aspects of the vehicleThe genuine Renault tool apparently talks to all 3 ports.The genuine tool costs about the Egyptian national debt.Following on from that I found a thread on the net about fitting a factory attachment to the factory head unit.Simple you would think but no.Depending on the model variation the unit goes in 1 of 3 different places in the vehicle and then requires a reprogramme of the entire car brain.That is just downright stupid.
thejazzpianoma, Feb 7, 10:04pm
Yes, the Frenchies are particularly tricky in that respect. I assume the Renault is over 10 years old!

I have found things have got better since the OBD2 standard, but of course anything more in depth that reading and clearing fault codes and looking at data still requires some specialist or expensive gear.

I would suggest if you havn't already that you have a look for Renault's equivalent of VW's VCDS or Fiat's Multiecuscan.

Not sure if someone has made such a software set for Renault but if they have its probably well worth your while if you are going to be seeing the Renault again.

Both the Fiat and VW software has a low budget/free version for home use so hopefully if someone has made such a setup for Renault the same may apply.

I am lucky as mostly I just stick with VW Group and Fiat Group cars so the small investment in the gear has paid for itself many times over.
thejazzpianoma, Feb 7, 10:14pm
supernova2,
Just had a quick google, looks like $200 (incl delivery) on a U.K auction site buys you a Renault Clip Can interface. I would suggest you do some research along those lines, probably not as good as the VW/Fiat gear mentioned but as close as you will get for Renault. Might be of use if the car is yours or its a frequent flyer with you.

Oh, and the product may or may not be a knockoff, would be worth checking that and what it entails. I don't know, only had a 2 minute google.