pwhittle

Following a suggestion on an earlier thread, has anyone got experience of the 2002-05 model A4 TDI (probably 130)?
Other possibilities are an early A6, or Passat. I hear the 2.5 TDi isn't so good though.
How's reliability on the VAG TDi (had a Ford TDCI which was awful...)?

thanks

dpb

Image problem of course , especially the estate

Matteeboy

Hodgy has a 2.5TDI and I think he quite likes it.

A mate had one and didn't like it much - clutches die, not much power for the mpg.

I'd get a 1.9TDI or the later 2.0TDI if you can afford it.

Or an older 330d ;-)

Oilburner

Run a mile from any 115hp VAG TDI engine the turbos are notorious for clogging up causing the car to go into limp mode cost me over £500 notes to put right on my Galaxy

pwhittle

not compared to the wife's Nissan Note...

dpb

I shelled out at least 1200 on the mondeo (rest came from the warranty ) for turbo clutch flywheel etc..

But having done this and despite there being only year warranty on the parts ( although supposedly new ) im not parting wit it now !!

For goodness sake theres only the injectors and the bodywork to fail now

Even costed in it was still 3/4 and less the price of vag anyway

hodgy0_2

indeed I do Mattee -- but I would concur with most that is written about Audi in general and the 2.5TDI in particular

The interior is a pleasant place to be -- but they are not the most exiting drive

and the 2.5 TDI is a pretty long in the tooth design, I think the 1.9TDI is probably a much better buy (i was just suckered into wanting a 4WD)

as for reliability -- no problems so far, apart from a holed intercooler (like most radiators they sit at the front and are susceptible to damage)

and I have done 20k in it in the last year

PS Mattee -- will be in St Mawes today/tomorrow (travelling from Polzeath) so if you see a Red Toyota Landcrusier with windsurfers the roof and 5 kids in the back - it will be me

I will look out for you too

Matteeboy

Hodgy - cool. Was over there (via the boat) on Sunday - rather busy!

Enjoy the drive down - one of my favourite roads down to St Mawes (out of season).

pwhittle

our TDI kept failing injectors, which cost about £300 each time, so we ditched it. My Mitsubish's cost me £1500 in repairs (£400 for a radiator!) in 6 thausand miles, and does 25mpg, so it needs to go before anything else goes (windows are virtually impossible to find, as are a/c parts).

I even thought of a Vectra, which are big and heavy enough, but probably just as badly made as the Ford. It'd be nice to have a 'nice' car like an Audi for a change, rather than an 'it'll do'. Can afford the later model at the moment though.

pwhittle

what sort of mpg do you get?

hodgy0_2

MPG - not as much as I though tbh

I monitored it pretty closely -- (it was only when when I had fixed the Intercooler that I got proper results)

on a long run - steady 80/85 I get 37/8mpg -- mixed driving I get 35mpg

steady 70 i get 41mpg

Mattee -- did the camel trail yesterday (on bikes) from Wadebridge to Padstein -- what a total nightmare Padstein is, so fvcking crammed you literally cannot walk properly -- people eating fish and chips on the pavements etc etc

in fact I don't know why they don't just shut Cornwall for August - it must be a nightmare for you

St Mawes is actually quite quiet in comparison

Matteeboy

Hodgy - you learn to go into Summer mode - avoid many places like the plague, use the boat a lot (St Mawes is quicker at the moment by boat than car!) and only go to the beach super early or late.

Padstow is a total no go zone - I ran the other way - Wadebridge to Bodmin direction - a week ago and it was much quieter. Managed 10k in 39mins 15 seconds (only ever done off road 10ks with loads of hills) which I was fairly chuffed with. Bit boring though - hill running is more fun.

Good mpg if that's for the LC, not so good if it's the Audi.

Matteeboy

Hodgy - you learn to go into Summer mode - avoid many places like the plague, use the boat a lot (St Mawes is quicker at the moment by boat than car!) and only go to the beach super early or late.

Padstow is a total no go zone - I ran the other way - Wadebridge to Bodmin direction - a week ago and it was much quieter. Managed 10k in 39mins 15 seconds (only ever done off road 10ks with loads of hills) which I was fairly chuffed with. Bit boring though - hill running is more fun.

Good mpg if that's for the LC, not so good if it's the Audi.

hodgy0_2

the MPG figures are for the Audi -- and as i said not what I hoped for but better than the Subaru

what impresses about the Audi (52 reg A4 2.5TDI Quattro) is that for an old car it really did feel very "new" -- the interior wears very very well and it drives tight - it felt like a new car to me

39 mins is a pretty good 10k time Mattee, I struggle to break the 55 mins (I never do)

I know the route pretty well and in fact the Wadebridge to Bodmin Camel Trail route was my last big run before I did the 2005 london marathon

ps -- I might need some info re boats -- what horespower do you have on yours

dpb

But there's only 4 of them , unless they repeatedly failed ...!

Sounds like you got off lightly frankly

pwhittle

yes, but they repeatedly needed reprogramming. when that happened it'd fill the street with black smoke when you started, and run really badly, and it was always a faff taking it to Ford and leaving it there. My main worry was that the fuel pump would go, which would cost nearly as much as the car was worth