davli Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 I'm currently driving a 235k miles 96 Audi A4 Quattro, It's a bastard to maintain although I do all the work myself (i'm forced to, can't afford no mechanic). I've found a guy who want's to trade a 180k miles 5-speed 96 Legacy, perhaps for my car. So I'm looking for something cheaper (partswise) to keep up and I'm asking you guys what you think about a Legacy for a pick. I know... it's still not going to be as reasonable as a honda or so, but I like the subarus... Also, The more common question, what are the things to look for with this year model? Head gasket needs to have been changed as I understood... what are the other things? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zues Marine Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 love the audis! the only thing to check out of the normal pre-purchase check is any signs of rust on the fenders behind the rear tires, the cars are pretty prone to rust there.. if its a 5-speed, its not the 2.5l engine, so its either a brighton, L, or LS model, all 2.2L so headgaskets are more than likely a-ok, the 2.2 is pretty bulletproof there was no option for a 5peed GT in 1996 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassnectar Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 at those miles it would of been filtered out on my car classified, way to high for my blood =P BECAUSE if the car has stock suspension, its super bagged Therefore if it hasnt been rigorously maintained its probably junk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zues Marine Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 but 180k on a subaru is alot better than 235k on an audi.. motor swap for $800 and she'll be great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaz98gt Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 just go through regular stuff: clutch, recent body work, tires, suspension, any mods he's done, etc. the 2.2 is pretty solid, but if it has mlas they might tick like crazy. parts for subarus are everywhere, at least here in the northeast where every other car is an outback or legacy, and everything is pretty straightforward too. subaru eats through front cvs too, so just make sure it rides nice and there's no vibration from the front. Go for the subie, it has 50k less too which is something too look forward to. any pictures? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davli Posted May 12, 2010 Author Share Posted May 12, 2010 Thanks for the input... Haven't got pictures yet, but he says he will send me some. Really sparse contact so far and I havn't found out if it's modded, in which case I think I will be less interested. Yea minus 55k miles is nice. Anyways, I did some comparing, it's not very exact, I took all prices from partsgeek.com, because it's easy to browse. I tried to only compare parts that were same quality, brand, oem, and comparable in other ways: Oil pump Subaru $137 Oil pump Audi $300 Alternator (Bosch) Subaru $116 Alternator (Bosch) Audi $178 Power steering pump Subaru $111 Power steering pump Audi $252 fuel level sending unit Subaru $75 fuel level sending unit Audi $108 Water pump Subaru $47 Water pump Audi $58 ABS speed sensor Subaru $133 ABS speed sensor Audi $172 Of course, that's just from one source. If there is a larger retail market in general it's going to be easyer, faster and cheaper to get parts. And yes, I live in up north too, in Western Mass... it's unbelievable how many Subarus are on the roads here! They are mostly Outbacks though, and I will try to avoid getting one of those for fear that I will look to regular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaz98gt Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 eh, it's not so much looking regular, it's joining an elite cult of outbackers. wonderful experience there aren't many legacy sedans or 2nd gen gts here though, which makes us feel a little unique! good research, my dad has an 02 A4 and parts for that are ridiculously expensive. then again it is an 02, but i'd imagine it's the same concept for older years. plus, there are subarus everywhere so you can always go to a boneyard and get a good part for cheap cheap. many of the parts on mine are like that, and she still runs strong haha, but that comes down to installing them the right way and making sure it's a good part in general. good luck, let us know what you pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baddog Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/1387/img00048201005111603.jpg 2nd gen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98LGTLover Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 There are only 6 2nd gen LGT sedans where I live... That I know of. There are 3 white ones, a red, and two bluish green ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ineedmorepsi Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 AUDI. The engine and awd is great, the aftermarket support is better. If I had to choose an Audi or my legacy to race I'd choose the Audi. If I had to choose a daily I'd choose an Audi. 2.8, 1.8 or s4 2.7TT. Wheel fitment is easy. They have so much support because they were raced all over the earth even in Speed's GT series back in the day. The interior quality is better. What I'm trying to say is the BD Legacy is a great 2nd car to have but If I were to chose 1 car I'd keep the Audi regardless of age. *BTW You guys need to go to your local used dealer to sit in and drive a stock 96-00 Audi, the interior isn't cheap, when hitting bumps it's solid and the car weighs just as much as Subarus if not less. Just like the Legacy the a4 is not seen around a lot on the road too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davli Posted May 13, 2010 Author Share Posted May 13, 2010 Thanks for the input ineedmorepsi, always nice to feel good about your car. Especially the 12 valve (which i have) has been called a tank, reffering to that it will often make high miles. But STILL, you put alot of money into it to keep it running nicely. I read online about Legacys that go WAY over 200k miles so often. I currently have an unresolved oil pressure issue on the Audi. I do maintenane myself, but without my own garage. I changed the T-belt kit in the parkinglot of my work (an 8 hour job, worrying about the sun going down too soon lol). However, replacing the oil pump on an A4 is not something you do in a parking lot. It seems like the guy with the Subaru (who's a mechanic) might take the Audi of my hands with the oil pressure issue unresolved (he of course knows about it, I'm a decent guy). Me and my wife are low income people really. We really sort of stumbled over this Audi a litle less than 2 years ago and I've since come to realise that it's not the ideal car when you're turning the nickles. By the way This thread is funny reading and you get a feeling for the Audi scene and maintenance: http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php?357031-What-Do-You-Guys-Really-Think-of-Your-A4-s&highlight=what+do+you+guys+really+think So it seems like I might be driving over to look at the Subaru during the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baddog Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 Personally I hate german made cars. I think they are pieces of shit and over priced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ineedmorepsi Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 Personally I hate german made cars. I think they are pieces of shit and over priced. only when new they are overpriced. but when they used they are cheaper than japanese. be smart. little things do go wrong but overall quality and fits is pricesless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ineedmorepsi Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 subarus are high maintenance too. especially one not taken care of. vw/audi have that common oil pressure cel... check the sensor first before replacing pump..vag cars are tanks just need some electrical or sensor loving throughout life. trust me you know your audi for 2 years and did work too it.. trusting someone whether a mechanic or not.. whether receipts or not that they took care of there subaru is sketchy. i know a lot of mechanics who neglect their personal vehicles, due to working on cars at work last thing on mind is their own car and they usually don't follow their own scheduled/preventive maintenance like they preach to customers.. they just drive things til it breaks, which will break when you buy it from them. so dude just keep the car you have, you know whats been fixed and hows its been started up and driven for the last 2 years. etc. also mechanics buy cheap.. fix.. then flip/sell cars a lot for profit never knowing the true overall condition of the vehicle they sell. Thanks for the input ineedmorepsi, always nice to feel good about your car. Especially the 12 valve (which i have) has been called a tank, reffering to that it will often make high miles. But STILL, you put alot of money into it to keep it running nicely. I read online about Legacys that go WAY over 200k miles so often. I currently have an unresolved oil pressure issue on the Audi. I do maintenane myself, but without my own garage. I changed the T-belt kit in the parkinglot of my work (an 8 hour job, worrying about the sun going down too soon lol). However, replacing the oil pump on an A4 is not something you do in a parking lot. It seems like the guy with the Subaru (who's a mechanic) might take the Audi of my hands with the oil pressure issue unresolved (he of course knows about it, I'm a decent guy). Me and my wife are low income people really. We really sort of stumbled over this Audi a litle less than 2 years ago and I've since come to realise that it's not the ideal car when you're turning the nickles. By the way This thread is funny reading and you get a feeling for the Audi scene and maintenance: http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php?357031-What-Do-You-Guys-Really-Think-of-Your-A4-s&highlight=what+do+you+guys+really+think So it seems like I might be driving over to look at the Subaru during the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ineedmorepsi Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 Also from a market and enthusiast point of view your car is worth more and more appealing. Sell your car on audizine or vwvortex then buy that 96 suby for pennies. It's a 96 non gt.. Your car is worth a 98 Legacy GT trade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTATV Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 AUDI. The engine and awd is great, the aftermarket support is better. If I had to choose an Audi or my legacy to race I'd choose the Audi. If I had to choose a daily I'd choose an Audi. 2.8, 1.8 or s4 2.7TT. Wheel fitment is easy. They have so much support because they were raced all over the earth even in Speed's GT series back in the day. The interior quality is better. What I'm trying to say is the BD Legacy is a great 2nd car to have but If I were to chose 1 car I'd keep the Audi regardless of age. *BTW You guys need to go to your local used dealer to sit in and drive a stock 96-00 Audi, the interior isn't cheap, when hitting bumps it's solid and the car weighs just as much as Subarus if not less. Just like the Legacy the a4 is not seen around a lot on the road too. did you read his initial post? he isnt driving an S4 or TT he has a mid 90s HIGH mileage audi. and around here (CT) A4s are EVERYWHERE. to the Original Poster I think the Subaru would be the one for me if I were you when looking at these two specific cars as long as everything checks out on the legacy when you go to look at it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ineedmorepsi Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 did you read his initial post? he isnt driving an S4 or TT he has a mid 90s HIGH mileage audi. and around here (CT) A4s are EVERYWHERE. to the Original Poster I think the Subaru would be the one for me if I were you when looking at these two specific cars as long as everything checks out on the legacy when you go to look at it I don't have to read it man. The answer is obvious to me. You fail to see that buying another used car from some "mechanic" wont better his situation, not knowing the actual condition. AND if there are Audis all over in CT that will make the junkyards and used parts for sale more plentiful now would it? Again personally I would not get rid of a car I did work on over the past 2 years, I'd drive it for a long time to get my moneys worth before getting someone elses possible headache that I might have to fix for the same price it would of cost me to fix my oil pressure problem. The BD legacy is a money pit too. I've owned 2 of them. Wheels bearing last 20k, HG last 50k if that, bad hot starts, very very soft suspension, weak axles, small brakes for a 3300lb car, less hp bad gas mileage, weak 5 speed trans, open diffs. I just don't see how you can downgrade to a 96' 2.2 with cloth interior from a 2.8 Quattro with leather. Your going to spend a lot to fix the Suby, it is a specialized vehicle and not every mechanic can fix them. The Audi feels right in stock form. Take it on the back road or turning on off ramps of a highway or hard braking on highway. He will know the difference. I'd sell my car for $8k right now and either get a 1.8TQM or WRX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ineedmorepsi Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 IF my words haven't detered you and you must still see the car and drive it then look under the car too, it's a 96' 5spd, HOPEFULLY the Legacy is AWD and not FWD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baddog Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 only when new they are overpriced. but when they used they are cheaper than japanese. be smart. little things do go wrong but overall quality and fits is pricesless. Been through 3 VW's. I will say this again. Pieces of shit. Terrible quality. 86 Golf Wolfsberg 97 GTI VR-6 2000 Jetta GL. 86 went to shit. GTI was a costly car and shit kept going out in the damn thing. Jetta was just slow and I hated it. Made a stupid ticking noise all the time. Friend has an 99 Audi TT quattro. He hates it. Also I hate working on the stupid things. So I guess I have a reason to hate them. I personally think their quality is garbage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ineedmorepsi Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 86 Golf Wolfsberg 97 GTI VR-6 2000 Jetta GL. To be fair those are POS years to own. All made in Mexico bad time for VW period. THEY HAD A LOT WRONG WITH THEM I'VE OWNED THOSE YEARS TOO. 86' was never a wolfsburg in the Americas til 87 or 89 and that CIS injection is GOD(the best) if you get tuned it properly. Again if you bought a German VIN'd VW then you wouldn't have many issues. Remember WVW not 3VW. Although Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche are same (VAG) he has the Audi less problems than VW. And they dont get Mexico built cars with Chinese parts. Fit and finish Quality.. Audi Ride Comfort and Quality.. Audi Power and MPG.. Audi AWD System.. Audi Reliability.. Debatable Safety.. Tie Style.. Debatable Value.. Audi Aftermarket Support.. Tie Been through 3 VW's. I will say this again. Pieces of shit. Terrible quality. 86 Golf Wolfsberg 97 GTI VR-6 2000 Jetta GL. 86 went to shit. GTI was a costly car and shit kept going out in the damn thing. Jetta was just slow and I hated it. Made a stupid ticking noise all the time. Friend has an 99 Audi TT quattro. He hates it. Also I hate working on the stupid things. So I guess I have a reason to hate them. I personally think their quality is garbage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davli Posted May 13, 2010 Author Share Posted May 13, 2010 Thanks again for your thoughts on this. The argument that I know my Audi and don't know the Subaru yet is a strong one, and one that will definitely be deciding alot about how I go ahed with this. I still have lots of things to find out about the Sub, if the suspension was replaced (thanks for hinting that to me!), and other issues (t-belt replaced at 145k is one thing i found out). Most of all I havn't seen it or driven it yet and after I've done that I'm still going to think long and hard about it. You guys comments are helping me out so much allready. It will also help me when I'm figuring out if I'm going to try to make it not an even trade, or get him to replace something that i though should have been replaced. It's true that Audis are common here (MA). I saw a 96 A4 with 106k miles on it up for $2,500 on craigslist yesterday. The Audizine guys usually put the 96 down in favor of the moddable 1.8t or if it's got to be a 2.8, then they'll say the later 30valve model. I should also say that my a4 is a non-leather interior. (I would miss the sunroof most of all though, on the topic of luxury features.) I have the oil pressure switch, It's an $8 part, that requires 4 hours to change it, so I havn't gotten aroung to it. No joke the engine bay is Packed on the 2.8 a4. I had a gauge hooked up and it look allright, but we couldn't get the light to come on (which would have proven the switch faulty). I might be looking at a new alternator (or salvaged rather). and a new control arm (it will be the fourth one i replace in these two years). + the A/C don't work and the fuel level sensor don't work. (both are things I don't care about personally, but in a selling situation...) The interior of an Audi is nice! Whenever I sit in someone else's car and look at the dash board in front of me I think that it looks like cheap ugly plastic. I know it's wierd and it's hard to explain but the Audi plastic looks like better quality and nicer, and somehow "ages better" (a funny thing to say about plastic, i know). STILL though, in my position, these feeling issues has to come second. Yes, I am now getting a bit sad about selling the Audi! But I'm going to have to figure out what the most reasonable thing to do is for a low income guy. Really, the link that I posted to the Audizine thread is hillarious. It goes like: "I hate the damn car, it always brakes and it's a piece of shit , but i'll never get rid of it because i love it." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davli Posted May 13, 2010 Author Share Posted May 13, 2010 Also, I posted the same topic on Audizine http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php?363819-Should-I-Trade-my-A4-for-a-Subaru-Legacy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baddog Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 86 Golf Wolfsberg 97 GTI VR-6 2000 Jetta GL. To be fair those are POS years to own. All made in Mexico bad time for VW period. THEY HAD A LOT WRONG WITH THEM I'VE OWNED THOSE YEARS TOO. 86' was never a wolfsburg in the Americas til 87 or 89 and that CIS injection is GOD(the best) if you get tuned it properly. Again if you bought a German VIN'd VW then you wouldn't have many issues. Remember WVW not 3VW. Although Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche are same (VAG) he has the Audi less problems than VW. And they dont get Mexico built cars with Chinese parts. Fit and finish Quality.. Audi Ride Comfort and Quality.. Audi Power and MPG.. Audi AWD System.. Audi Reliability.. Debatable Safety.. Tie Style.. Debatable Value.. Audi Aftermarket Support.. Tie I will check maybe it was an 87 but it was the wolfsburg. AWD system. As far as I know Subaru has the best AWD system to date. Maybe not on the 96 legacy but I will tell you it has saved my ass a few times for that rear diff kicking in and the torque split going to 50/50. Audi to me and from what my understanding is and from what i have read. Audi's AWD system still to this day is lackluster. Althought I love Subarus. I will side with a car that is better regardless and personally and from what people say that own Audi's they don't really like them as much as they thought they would. The power of the 220hp Audi TT really doesn't feel even close to that. When it comes to older legacys yeah im sure the Audi is more powerful all around but modern day. I have yet to see one come close to my friends STi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassnectar Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 your right though on the audi think of the 1.8t A4 that was put on the used car DO NOT BUY LIST its hard to get put on a do not buy list, go with subie bro no regrets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaz98gt Posted May 14, 2010 Share Posted May 14, 2010 except when headgaskets blow and the guys don't tell you about it haha. I checked that list before I got the subaru, and I was torn between a 99 A4 with the 1.8 and the gt that I have now. two weeks later the guy driving the audi broke the timing belt and bent the valves. oooooooh, dodged a bullet there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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