Worried about purchasing a B8 A4 1.8 TFSI (160) 2008

[J305]

Hi, I've put a deposit down for a 2008 A4 1.8 TFSI B8 it has 72k on the clock and drives well etc, but i'm worried about buying it then having to face the oil consumption issue, engine rebuilds etc. The dealer assured me there are no problems with the car, but I don't see this issue fixed on the service history, it has audi stamps till 50k, but the rest is empty. Any ideas on what I should do? Should I just buy it. If I do buy it and I end up facing the oil consumption issue, who would be liable to fix the problem?

Thanks!

 

[Mario]

Get warranty from the dealer, so if it does happen it's their issue. Also, you are legally within your rights to return a car for a FULL refund if a fault develops in the first 30 days after purchase. So if you do a lot of miles per month then you should know if it has oil consumption issues by then.

Failing either of those, if you are genuinely worried, walk away and get a different car.

Oh, you could also try and speak to the previous owners of the car and see if they can advise on whether or not it had oil consumption issues.

 

[Chop.]

mate if your worried about buying it then dont buy it i would say

buying a new car should be a good thing and if your worring before youve even got it then its not the right car

 

[AudiLeon]

When buying a car, it should be a case of you can't wait to get it in your hands. If you're worrying now, you're already on a loser.
Shop around, there's plenty out there.

 

[J305]

Get warranty from the dealer, so if it does happen it's their issue. Also, you are legally within your rights to return a car for a FULL refund if a fault develops in the first 30 days after purchase. So if you do a lot of miles per month then you should know if it has oil consumption issues by then.

Failing either of those, if you are genuinely worried, walk away and get a different car.

Oh, you could also try and speak to the previous owners of the car and see if they can advise on whether or not it had oil consumption issues.

Thanks! The car comes with 3 months standard warranty, I'll drive it a lot within the first 30 days, thanks for the response!

 

[J305]

mate if your worried about buying it then dont buy it i would say

buying a new car should be a good thing and if your worring before youve even got it then its not the right car

I only researched about that engine oil consumption after putting down the deposit, I'll just buy it because it has everything I want on it at a good price.

 

[Chop.]

I only researched about that engine oil consumption after putting down the deposit, I'll just buy it because it has everything I want on it at a good price.

i'm sure it will be spot on mate enjoy your new motor

 

[Gazwould]

6 months satisfaction with the Consumer Rights Act .

 

[Chop.]

6 months satisfaction with the Consumer Rights Act .

Ombudsman works a treat as well, used them myself, hopefully not that you'll need them

 

[AudiLeon]

Obviously your choice. But do you want to be taking your car back to be fixed?

 

[J305]

Obviously your choice. But do you want to be taking your car back to be fixed?

I'm looking at petrol A4's in my budget, they all have a chance to have this engine problem 1.8's and 2.0's, not going for diesels. So I think i'll take my chances on this one

 

[AdamB8]

Don't want to rain on your parade, but I bought a 2008 1.18 TFSI manual S-Line with 45,000 two years ago and it was the most unreliable car I have ever owned. I was absolutely made up when I got the car but after a month of owning it both front wheel bearings went. I can't remember the exact cost but it was a few hundred pounds.

Then it failed an MOT due to a cracked rubber on a ball joint. That was replaced costing another couple of hundred pounds with labour. Then the car starting jerking during heavy acceleration. One night on the motorway the car went into limp mode. Scanned the car and diagnosed a faulty coil.

Replaced the coil and but the jerking kept getting worse. Took it to an VAG 'Specialist' in St Helens (The Volkswagen Centre - now branded Blackburns - avoid like the plague) who diagnosed a faulty throttle body. £500 later and after a month or so the jerkiness returned. A scan showed a flap position sensor motor in the intake manifold was at fault. Awesome GTI quoted me near £900 to replace the entire manifold. That was breaking point and I part exchanged the car. Total spend was around £1,000 in a year.

Having said that I've just bought another A4 so I must be stupid

 

[J305]

Don't want to rain on your parade, but I bought a 2008 1.18 TFSI manual S-Line with 45,000 two years ago and it was the most unreliable car I have ever owned. I was absolutely made up when I got the car but after a month of owning it both front wheel bearings went. I can't remember the exact cost but it was a few hundred pounds.

Then it failed an MOT due to a cracked rubber on a ball joint. That was replaced costing another couple of hundred pounds with labour. Then the car starting jerking during heavy acceleration. One night on the motorway the car went into limp mode. Scanned the car and diagnosed a faulty coil.

Replaced the coil and but the jerking kept getting worse. Took it to an VAG 'Specialist' in St Helens (The Volkswagen Centre - now branded Blackburns - avoid like the plague) who diagnosed a faulty throttle body. £500 later and after a month or so the jerkiness returned. A scan showed a flap position sensor motor in the intake manifold was at fault. Awesome GTI quoted me near £900 to replace the entire manifold. That was breaking point and I part exchanged the car. Total spend was around £1,000 in a year.

Having said that I've just bought another A4 so I must be stupid

Hey, well that sucks! Thanks for the heads up, I'm paying £7500 for it, do you think that's a decent price? It has the bang and olufsen speakers which sold me. 3 Month warranty, 12 months mot. What year 1.8Tfsi was it? Did you have the oil consumption problem?

Edit/// My bad, I see you said it was a 2008

 

[AdamB8]

£7,500 sounds a fair price to me. I didn't have any oil consumption issues, as far as I'm aware they plagued the 2.0 engines between 2008-2011. If yours has an oil consumption issue I'm sure it would have reared its head by now and have been repaired.

I really liked my A4 and I've bought another one now. Hopefully yours is a solid motor and looks after you. Enjoy it and don't worry about something going wrong until it actually does. They are really nice cars and once you get used to the premium feel you get there's no going back!

 

[MagpieMatt]

Hi, i brought a 10' a4 b8 120bhp and had the problem with mine at first with oil consumption, luckily my service history was all done at audi, they said to me that if it wasn't 'ALL' from audi they wouldn't of covered the whole cost for me, however i have read people have got anyway with it, not sure how exactly. Think the whole bill was like £5800, there is no mention of the rebuild on my service history and i had to pester audi for a while for a receipt. Had it rebuilt last summer and haven't had to top it up at all since.

But yes you'll tell straight away after the first few weeks if there is a oil problem for sure, but your warranty and consumer rights etc will have you covered for sure

 

[J305]

Hi, i brought a 10' a4 b8 120bhp and had the problem with mine at first with oil consumption, luckily my service history was all done at audi, they said to me that if it wasn't 'ALL' from audi they wouldn't of covered the whole cost for me, however i have read people have got anyway with it, not sure how exactly. Think the whole bill was like £5800, there is no mention of the rebuild on my service history and i had to pester audi for a while for a receipt. Had it rebuilt last summer and haven't had to top it up at all since.

But yes you'll tell straight away after the first few weeks if there is a oil problem for sure, but your warranty and consumer rights etc will have you covered for sure

Thanks! That gives me peace of mind