Audi A4 Will it Last?

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Wed 15 Mar 2006 20:02
Audi A4 Will it Last? - thomp1983
hi looking at buying an audi a4 1.8t with lpg conversion showing 117k on the clock. the price is more or less about right, but i need to keep the car at least 3 years and as such will the engine run to 200k trouble free aslong as it is regularly serviced? the car has fsh and is in very good condition just need to know if the engine will be good for another few years?

cheers
chris
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Wed 15 Mar 2006 20:17
Audi A4 Will it Last? - adverse camber
How old is it?

Timing belt might be due at 120k - big job. On the tdi the front of the car has to come off - I assume its the same on the petrols.

Check all the front suspension arms - very common failures and the non-vag replacements often seem to only last a year or so.

Dont know what impact running lpg will have, but audi engines are generally reliable to high miles OK. Have you looked at tdi's ? Fuel economy in the 50's and good performance.

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Wed 15 Mar 2006 20:21
Audi A4 Will it Last? - Aprilia
LPG burns hotter than petrol. Its a bit hard on the head and valves (valve seat recession can be a problem). A lot depends on the installation.

Might be OK, might not. Suggest AA/RAC inspection.

Front suspension is complicated and half the fastners go rusty a sieze, so can be a pain to sort out. Beware of creaking dashboards and faulty climate control unit.
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Thu 16 Mar 2006 22:26
Audi A4 Will it Last? - thomp1983
car is a p reg, has had the lower arms done on the drivers side passenger side is ok. cambelt has been done within last 10k, lpg conversion was a top of the range prinns setup professionally installed, so would it be worth £3k and last to 200,000 miles?

chris
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Thu 16 Mar 2006 22:53
Audi A4 Will it Last? - Maz
Not worth anything like £3k on the open market. It's the shape before last and LPG is going to narrow the market rather than enhance it. My feeling was £1500 - £2000 depending on MOT.
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Thu 16 Mar 2006 22:57
Audi A4 Will it Last? - DavidHM
I don't know about this particular engine/conversion but I know that the Seat Leon 1.8 Cupra (same basic engine) had terrible problems running with LPG conversions a few years ago.

It might be fine, it might not, but at £3k it's too much money to risk if you need that car to last that long and don't have any alternatives.

At £3k I'd buy a Seat Toledo tdi of the same sort of mileage but around year 2000 if I liked VAG cars and wanted it to last me 3 year/60k miles.

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