USED Audi A4 Saloon (00 - 05)

My car

Beware the multitronic gearbox and clutch. They come standard with a 5 plate clutch but the replacement part is a much better 7 plate version. £1500 to replace the clutch or £4000 for clutch and gearbox! Makes for a nervous owning experience, knowing this could fail and cost big bucks...

Expensive when there is repairs - £300 for wiper motor and linkage, £900 gearbox ecu, £100 main ecu plastic cover, £100's++ in sensors for this and sensors for that. Dodgy electrics - lots of problems with the audio - £600+ to replace. Anything Audi = expensive to fix.

The good points? My 2004 drives as well in 2011 as it did when I bought it in 06.

If you already have one, heed my warning and replace the multitronic gearbox oil every service!!! It's critical for this gearbox.

My car

1 fault in my 90000 miles of ownership. A/C compressor rattle @ 124000 miles. Now has 190000 miles and not a single fault since!

It's a 2003 multitronic, I have it just over 3 years now. The multitronic box is fantastically smooth. And in my opinion better than the dsg. It seems on the lower powered dsg's they seem to change rather frequently to provide the power it ( thinks you want ) I hear it's better on the 140hp+ cars!

I service myself, except timing belts, which I get replaced every 40000 miles, along with the multitronic oil vhich is absolutely vital to the longevity of the multitronic! I replace the oil every 15000 miles with Castrol long life 2. So that proves you don't have to change the oil every 5-8000 miles!

This (B6) model's build quality is fantastic, only wind noise at 70+ is a bit loud. Road handling is good and suspension good enough. The harder you drive it on very rough roads, the better it seems to absorb bumps.

It's getting old now but it still drives much better than a lot of cars I have driven with half the miles! I'm confident that it will go for 300,000+ miles, if I keep it that long!

If you buy this car it's imperative you look for a full dealer service history. If you can prove this then you will have a car that will last many years!

My brother had the new 2008 2.0tdi multitronic A4 and I can tell you It's much better again, now he has the A5, fantastic. These Audi's seem to be just getting better!

50 mpg average, 58 ma

My car

Fuel Economy: Not too sure why one guy commenting here is not getting good mpg, my TDI 130 is pretty impressive. Im always getting over 700 to a tank and thats 50% commuting in London plus a couple of long weekend drives. Im not a conservative driver by any means so almost 55mpg from an auto is very good in my book.

Beautiful solid and nippy car to drive, I purchased it used (60k miles) after trawling thru Whatcar reviews and am very happy.

Only issue would be the quality / robustness of some of the interior. The previous owner had broken a number of fixtures including the glove box hinges and the centre armrest plastic clips.

My car

Bought my 52 plate 2003 1.8T 163bhp Sport Quattro in July last year. So far its been excellent car with none of the problems usually reported with this model (ignition coil etc.)

Build quality is excellent and very smooth drive. Engine is excellent with more than enough power. Performs well on 'A' roads but can be a little noisy on motorways, although that probably because it's the Sport model. The 163 engine could easily carry a 6th gear and my next A4 will have the 6 speed box. Grip from the Quattro 4x4 system is immense and don't think I'll go back to a front wheel drive A4 even though my last 2 wheel drive A4 TDi was still a good car.

MPG averages at 35.0 around town, on country lanes and A roads but if you use the right foot it will come down quite a bit. For a saloon car though, it doesn't half go well when you show it the loud pedal. Don't know how they justify the money for the S4 and RS4 when you can pick a decent used 1.8T up for under £10K.

For servicing, I use an independent specialist who I think are better in the Workshop than Audi themselves. They use genuine parts, stamp the service book and are a fraction of the cost of overpriced Audi dealers.

In summary, a good, safe car with great build quality, excellent performance and grip. Go for the 190bhp with the 6 speed box and s-line pack though.