allroadpaige3

Hi guys my name is Paige and I just bought my first Audi. I'm new to the forums. The car has 145,000 miles very clean,green in color no dents, the p.o said it needs valve cover gaskets, 140,000 ole service, and a front drivers side suspension air bag. I would like to know if 3500 was a good price for the car and if anybody in the forum world has this front airbag thanks. I will try to post some photos of her soon.

ezveedub

You most likely needed valve cover gaskets and tensioner seals. As for front air springs, most use Arnott Gen 1 or Gen II air springs instead of OEM, since they are cheaper and have lifetime warranty.

5v/cyl

Do you have service history? It might be getting ready for full TB service, tranny fluid change, etc. Get bag from Arnott. Shocks are probably worn out if they are originals. Depending on how much maintenance it needs will determine whether $3500 was a good price.

jav

I have a used stock front air bag sitting in my garage looking for a home. Send me a PM and we can talk.

sketch44

I paid 3500 for mine and I needed a both new front shocks and springs. Still have an oil leak I haven't tracked down yet and a laundry list of other minor things. Pretty good shape inside and out visually as well. I'd say you did ok, better than me perhaps!

You will need to be creative and not mind getting your hands dirty to make it pay off IMO.

I have spent several weekends under my allroad that I bought in October so that is helping me keep it under the 7k the car is probably worth by now. I also pounce on any used allroad that anyone is parting out in my area. You can pick non-wear items up for 20.00 that would cost you 200.00 to buy new. I emphasize non-wear....why buy a used part that takes 4 hours to install if you don't know how long it will last.

I did have an Independent shop do my suspension because I had sold my car and needed something to drive to work. This was probably my biggest error in terms of keeping the car down in overall price to own. They put Arnotts on it. If a shop doesn't know to put Arnott's in, or worse resists...LEAVE and go somewhere else.

I've also learned it pays to know what parts cost and price the markup of parts around to a few shops. Labor seems to be around 100.00/hr but part markup can vary wildly. Especially if you go to the STEALERSHIP. Which you should not do.

Some markup is to be expected, especially if they include some warranty on the part. These guys have to pay rent too!

Your Air Suspension compressor pump is probably in need of an overhaul at a minimum if you have a leaky spring. But replace the spring first and see how it goes. Buy the Mercedes air pump if you have to replace it and use the discount code. Just priced it at 285+shipping. Just buy this yourself and have your shop install it if you have to. If you are a handy dandy person then do the pull out and beer can overhaul, no I'm not kidding,It is actually pretty darn effective and not very hard to do. Search it, easy repair, lots of pictures.

I was lucky that the original owner had left a receipt for a shop in the glove box. I tracked them down and got about 3 years worth of records that are invaluable in knowing what else is ready to be done.

Other major gotchas to worry on are the turbos and the transmission. Another great reason to get some records if you can. If either of these have had significant work then your chances of them lasting you for a while go up.

Bottom line you are driving an awesome car, but it did cost someone about 60k+ when they bought it, so keeping it running past 100-150k means you are going to have to replace some of the things that warranted that 60k+ price tag.

allroadpaige3

Thanks for all the great feed back,you guys rock.I'm in the prosses of bringing my car to a local guy in the area.euotech is the name.they are located in mahwaw n.j on the border of new York,they come highly recommended. The belt,water pump,valve cover gaskets,are on the menu.if that goes well the right front air bag will be changed.I have 2 airbags that were in the back of the car when I purchased it they look used, but I don't know if they are good or bad the p.o might have bought them to replace the ones on the car now. My question is how do I test these bags to make sure they work. Thanks again I'm so excited to get my new car out onto the road.

5v/cyl

Don't forget idlers, tensioner + lever, cam plugs, cam seals, and serp belt as well when doing TB service. Also check the mechanical fan for cracks. Replace if bad as it's failure can cause other big damage as it blows apart.

If you where DIY the bags then I would say give the new(used) ones a try. Since your having someone do it you will have double the labor if the other ones are bad. You can install the new bags on the shocks then come up with a way to pressurize them while still out of the car and dunk them in a bucket of water and look for bubbles. Better might be to just replace them with Arnotts and be done with it. Even brand new OEM's might only last 40k miles or so. Used ones, who knows. Arnotts = lifetime warranty.

Gen I bag (same ride as stock and can be done individually): http://www.arnottindustries.com/part...24_gid466.html

Gen II bag (firmer than stock and must be done in pairs): http://www.arnottindustries.com/part...24_gid529.html

Arnott 10% discount code = 74V4-W7D

Also consider doing shocks at the same time. Originals are pretty much blown by 100k miles. OEM's are pricey. Bilstein's are much cheaper and have a slightly firmer ride, without being harsh w/Gen I bags, and improve handling IMHO. Gen II bags + Bilstein's = harsh ride for a DD.

Shocks: http://www.arnottindustries.com/part...24_gid483.html

Have mechanic also check all control arms as well while he has it.

If auto tranny then do the fluid+filter as well. Audi calls it 'lifetime fluid'. Yeah right. Who's lifetime? ZF, who make the tranny, says to do it every 60k miles. I'll believe ZF.

allroadpaige3

Hi again ...thanks for all the info ..... but i have a much bigger problem now l just spent 3500 on the car and without checking the most important thing i brought the car to a euro car mechanic and did the two front air bags, the front engine service,water pump timing belt etc, plus the valve cover gaskets, i replaced the rotors and pads. all together i spent 4000 big ones. then since i live upstate i rarely put the car in reverse....... and whala i have a slite slip in reverse i feel like such a fool the p.o lied to me sooo much i really want to kick his *** but i have to blame myself for not checking it when i first saw the car. it seems like you just can't trust anybody's word. now i've spent a total of about 8000 on a car that looks and drives great but a slow reverse what do i do... i'm stumped thanks.

5v/cyl

Sounds like you may have the classic D/G drum failure. The good thing is that in BMW's that use this same tranny the failure is total with no slipping, just failure. Audi's have a extra C clip that helps hold the cracked drum together for awhile. It slips and then eventually fails completely. Total failure may happen tomorrow or may be several thousand miles. No way to tell.

Options are:
1. Tranny rebuild with updated D/G drum assembly. Will run $4k+ to do at a good tranny shop that knows ZF trannies.
2. 6 speed conversion and sell your old auto tranny parts on Ebay. Price may be much cheaper once you factor in the $ you get for all your used parts. Even the tranny could be rebuilt and updated then sold for $1500+ in good working order. Sell the TCU , CV's, driveshaft, rear dif, etc. and you could pay for a large part of the conversion. Get conversion here: http://audis4parts.com/audi-a6-tip-t...sion-swap-kit/
In the end a 6 speed will be worth more than the auto as they are more rare and desirable.

allroadpaige3

Thanks for the info on the 6 speed upgrade .... but the truth is i am now broke i'm going to sell the car and try to get the best price i can for her ..... i'm not that mechanically inclined to do that kind of work .... thanks if you know someone that may be interested in a beautiful fully serviced allroad let me know thanks.