arU4ic

Howdy! My first post here, I'm on the q7 mostly these days.

I saw a pretty cherry 2.8 quattro B5 at the dealer for 10k. Leather, sunroof. 77k miles. 1 owner.

I am pretty much a DIY guy, I have vagcom and lots of tools (for a q7 owner)

What are some things I should look at immediately. I usually go right for oil in, around, under the engine, check clutch play and cv boots, rotors and pads, anything a4, B5 specific I should really look at?

Thanks.

4Driver4

Check to see what year it is and what transmission is in it.

jaredwilson

You're on the right track checking for oil leaks. My car has developed quite a few oil leaks over the years.

The control arms go bad pretty frequently. Listen for clunks or squeaks when driving slowly over bumps and, if you can, jack up the car and check the back-and-forth play in the wheels. There shouldn't be much if any movement, so if there is, the control arms are likely on their way out. The coolant temperature sensors go out as well. These are easy to check since they send the signal to the temperature display on the center console.

Good luck.

AudiMick

It's probably due for a timing belt. Check the suspension for control arm clunks etc.

4Driver4

Did you mean to respond to me or the OP? I did not mention any leaks.

jaredwilson

The OP mentioned checking for oil around the engine. Sorry for any confusion.

4Driver4

No worries. I figured you wanted to respond to him but responded to my post by accident.

joloya

For 10K ?? It's too much. That car is probably 10+ years old and it's due for bearings, shocks, control arms, timing belt etc.. Since, you know your stuff, I would look for something around 1500-2k then, spend arount 1k for necessary parts.

arU4ic

Ooops left out the year:

2001

5v/cyl

10K is too much for a 10 year old A4 no matter how nice it looks. Too many age related issues that could be a problem. 9K would be max to pay, but that would have to be like new condition with ALL service records and 100% up to date on everything.