audi 80 1.8 cabriolet final edition

[seany]

Hi all i am new to the forum after some advise i currently drive a 1997 2.5 t4 as my daily for the last 5 years pretty much trouble free , but for a long while now i have had an itch for a classic audi rag top . My question is would a 1999 final edition audi 80 1.8 cabriolet be ok as a daily drive ? I have two teenage children will they fit in the back ok im 5 10" so driver's seat won't be to far back . Am i buying to expensive trouble ? What are cab's like to live with in the winter ? What mpg should i expect ? My t4 gives me 35 ish but it is a deisel
Cheers Sean

 

[Tfsi gone]

My Audi Cab was a great car & could easily fit 2 adults in the back. Leaked a little when car washing but otherwise great
I wouldn't expect more than 30 mpg..
Still a great looking car, pity I didn't still own it...

 

[fourcircle]

i can recommend audifans.net and s2forum.com for a lot of people with knowledge on the B3/B4 chassis.
the final edition cabby should be fine for 2 teenagers in the back but best to take them with you for at least one viewing to see what you & they think. They are real back seats though, unlike a lot of cabriolets. The 1.8 engine is fine, although not overly exciting. The good thing is there are oodles of 1.8 A4s around so parts are plentiful. A 2.6 V6 cabby may also be an option. It's not significantly worse on petrol and has a little kick to it. If it's a great example it could be OK in the winter but you'll never have great insulation with the soft top and there's a possibility of minor leaks. The 80 variants are all pretty good to work on (in my opinion at least). They aren't as complicated (mostly) as the later cars. An Audi Coupe could also be an interesting daily driver and more winter friendly. I'd stay away from the 2.0 8v and 16v, which are ok but likely to be rather limp these days unless they are amazing examples. The 2.6 or 2.8 V6s that came in later models are often solid and good cars. There are V6 quattros available now and again. Or... maybe you can find a solid example of an earlier coupe with a 2.2 10 valve or 2.3 20 valve engine (both also available in quattro). The Audi 5 cylinder engines are amazing. strong and have a great sound. But they came in the 89 to 92 coupes so the cars are quite old and need to have been well looked after. The interiors tend to be less sexy in those older models so the purist will keep them as they are... and some people may swap a newer interior into an older car for the best of both worlds. Or.... if you have the money you could think about a late model S2!
erm... I've gone off on a tangent, sorry.
The final edition cabby 1.8 should be a good daily driver if it's a good example that's been looked after. And I think they may have more fancy features than the earlier models too. I'm not sure I would personally want to use one throughout winter though. Maybe someone on those other forums would correct me though.
I love my coupes (as you may be able to tell) but I also love my B6 A4 3.0 Quattro (which can be found now for very reasonable money and may be attractive if you are old enough to not have to worry about a 3.0 engine affecting your insurance too much).
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/Cars-Moto...dcat=9835&rt=nc&_mPrRngCbx=1&_udlo&_udhi=3000