B5 Audi A4's - fairly urgent advice needed

[jmsheahan]

Seeing as there seem to be a fair few audi owners on here I was wondering if I could get some fairly urgent advice 

I'm going to need a new daily car for commuting duties. Have been looking at cheap B5 Passats and late 90's A4's (Looked at 2 of each so far and prefer the A4). Budget is pretty tight and would be no more than a 1k so I'm not looking at minters which is fine with me.

I looked at an A4 today that ticks most of the boxes and has got me generally interested over the other dogs I've seen. Seems to be a local car, Full Audi service history, lots of receipts, all control arms done, EGR valve, really tidy body wise and ticks all of the boxes of where money should be spent. Only downside is 214k. Just been for a drive and it seems good, doesn't wander, knock or bump and everything feels tight. However two problems:

Clutch Seems pretty high and light (Passat I looked at was like this too). Are they all like this or is the clutch on its way out? It doesn't seem to slip.

Limp mode Car smokes black smog every now and again under hard acceleration but not consistently. I had the test drive by myself so was able to give the car a bit of stick and after a few hard accelerations I noticed the car felt 'bogged down' (limp mode?). Stopped, restarted and all was well. Possibly new turbo?

Other than that I think this car is pretty good for the money. If anyone has any advice it would be much appreciated as I'm not sure whether to make a move on it tomorrow. Walk or go for it? It's £800 by the way.

[SoundillusioN]

I've driven a couple and found the clutch pedals to be quite high.  Hydrologic I believe so no adjustment.  After speaking to a couple of friends at work who have had A4s and Passats, it seems quite common. Apparently during a clutch change it is possible to adjust the pedal height slightly although I am not sure how.

If it doesn't drive as it should, bogging down, restarting then being OK again, inconsistent smoking and carrying those miles, personally with your budget I would keep looking.

[Andy-H]

What Shaun said 

I have put a new upgraded clutch in mine and still feels high so don't think that's much of an issue unless you tried hard accelleration in higher gears and it was slipping. If you're not happy, walk away as it could be a £300+ bill if you don't want to replace yourself.

Sorry, not much help with the black smoke etc. but I would be wary as it could lead to all kinds of trouble 

[Rhyso]

Black smoke usually indicates a boost leak.  If it hit limp mode then its either sticky turbo vanes or a duff sensor.

Id keep looking personally as you might end up spending a small fortune

[jmsheahan]

Thanks for the heads up guys, appreciated.

It's annoying as it's perfect other than that. So the black smoke isn't normal for a diesel then I take it. I don't mind getting my hands dirty and am aware I won't get a perfect one, I just don't want a complete money pit.

So likely new turbo needed then?

[Rhyso]

It could simply be a boost leak but without driving it or seeing it its hard to diagnose 

Did the car feel completly flat?? Or did it judder and splutter?

You do get black smoke under hard accerleration especially if you are in a high gear at low speed but this should clear as the turbo spools and cleans up the air

[jmsheahan]

It could simply be a boost leak but without driving it or seeing it its hard to diagnose 

Did the car feel completly flat?? Or did it judder and splutter?

You do get black smoke under hard accerleration especially if you are in a high gear at low speed but this should clear as the turbo spools and cleans up the air

Just felt flat really, no judder or splutter. Smoke was just a single 'puff' when booting it in second gear, not a constant plume or anything but a fair cloud - the ways of the diesel are new to me  . The turbo seemed to do it's job well until the limp mode (no lights on dash, just lost power, couldn't hear turbo etc). As I say, restart all was well.

There was a receipt for a new EGR valve if that is any more of a clue 

It's tricky because this is by far the cleanest I've seen, ticks all the boxes etc and is super close but if it's going to be a complete money pit it's a no go.

[Rhyso]

Dont' suppose you know someone or can grab a copy of vagcom to check for codes.  Even though you have no lights on it should have logged a fault code

If it has an overboost / underboost code I'd walk away....

[jmsheahan]

I have vagcom but I don't think the garage would be too happy about me scanning it to be honest plus I'd need extension cables etc as my lappy has a duff battery 

Read a lot last night about sticking turbo vanes - seems a good clean is in order for that but as I say diesel is new territory for me.

BTW the car in question (ignore price):

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201229479386551/usedcars?logcode=visc

[SoundillusioN]

Looks tidy, does it have navigation and headlight washers as per the ad? 

It's so hard to judge this way though, could do with driving it/seeing it etc.  I reckon compared to your golf it will naturally feel quite gutless and may be quite normal but what puts me off is it's limping.  Can you find another one to test to compare?

One positive I can see is that access to work on that engine looks pretty damn good.  The negative being that with the mileage it has it may start giving you a long list of expensive issues as parts wont be cheap and it's old enough to have a mid-life crisis.   I think you could find something with less miles on it for your budget.