Tweet
Since I have some leave from work and some more time, I thought I'd put up the details of my car as well.
The Purchase
I started getting really bored with FWD after the last few hard winters, so I set out looking for a car.
Gathering experience from my previous car ownership, I understood some features that I wanted in the car.
So, I narrowed down the list of features that I had to have:
1) All wheel drive
2) At least 200 bhp on tap
3) Automatic climate control
4) Electric seats with memory function
Now, there were not a lot of cars fitting the bill.
In the end, I got to two - Audi Urs6 and Infiniti FX35.
Very different cars on very different ends on the spectrum, but let me explain.
I could either buy the Audi with cash, or I could lease the FX35. Being more confident in my driving skills, I decided against being a slave of the bank, and chose the Audi, saving on the insurance as well.
I then started doing lots of research - and understood, that for best resale value I need to get a car with the 2.2 Liter turbo engine and a manual gearbox. Little did I know what ride I was going to be in for.
The choice was not very large, and most cars I looked at were in very bad condition. I finally found one for 4000 euros.
The previous owner had also written about the car on the Estonian Audi Club forum.
The car was originally imported from Italy, and it was obvious there was a front collision. Although all airbags are in tact, the front paintwork is pretty shoddy, and the bumper does not sit perfectly.
Quite a bit of work was done by the previous owner (I also got a ton of receipts passed on from the owner before, but I won't detail those):
* Zimmerman ventilated brake discs front and rear
* Gearbox and rear differential oil change
* New brake bomb (sp?)
* New clutch kit (luk)
* 1.8T coilpack conversion
* New ignition lock
* Engine mounts
* Afterrun pump
* Timing belt, water pump
* Viscous fan
* New windshield and rear glass as well
* New Hall sensor
* New engine coolant temp sensor
* Steering wheel and gear knob re-upholstered
* Decat
I drove the car, and it drove nicely. In fact, I did not notice anything off except a couple rattles.
So I got it checked out by an Audi specialist.
The results were actually pretty good. Here is a list:
* Nearly all the bushings in the suspension needed replacing
* Brake lines have cracks
* All bushings of the rear differential and the main pad (sp?) need changing
* Valve cover leaking slightly
* Power steering pump leaking
* IAC valve not working properly
We agreed with the owner, that I will buy the car, but we will split all those repairs 50/50.
Here are some pictures of the car from the original sale ad:
Initial restoration
What I found out later, is that the Audi workshop did not find all the little issues and niggles, and I'd have to fix quite a bit more. But such is life with these cars.
Here are some pics of removing the faults that were found by the workshop:
The Purchase
I started getting really bored with FWD after the last few hard winters, so I set out looking for a car.
Gathering experience from my previous car ownership, I understood some features that I wanted in the car.
So, I narrowed down the list of features that I had to have:
1) All wheel drive
2) At least 200 bhp on tap
3) Automatic climate control
4) Electric seats with memory function
Now, there were not a lot of cars fitting the bill.
In the end, I got to two - Audi Urs6 and Infiniti FX35.
Very different cars on very different ends on the spectrum, but let me explain.
I could either buy the Audi with cash, or I could lease the FX35. Being more confident in my driving skills, I decided against being a slave of the bank, and chose the Audi, saving on the insurance as well.
I then started doing lots of research - and understood, that for best resale value I need to get a car with the 2.2 Liter turbo engine and a manual gearbox. Little did I know what ride I was going to be in for.
The choice was not very large, and most cars I looked at were in very bad condition. I finally found one for 4000 euros.
The previous owner had also written about the car on the Estonian Audi Club forum.
The car was originally imported from Italy, and it was obvious there was a front collision. Although all airbags are in tact, the front paintwork is pretty shoddy, and the bumper does not sit perfectly.
Quite a bit of work was done by the previous owner (I also got a ton of receipts passed on from the owner before, but I won't detail those):
* Zimmerman ventilated brake discs front and rear
* Gearbox and rear differential oil change
* New brake bomb (sp?)
* New clutch kit (luk)
* 1.8T coilpack conversion
* New ignition lock
* Engine mounts
* Afterrun pump
* Timing belt, water pump
* Viscous fan
* New windshield and rear glass as well
* New Hall sensor
* New engine coolant temp sensor
* Steering wheel and gear knob re-upholstered
* Decat
I drove the car, and it drove nicely. In fact, I did not notice anything off except a couple rattles.
So I got it checked out by an Audi specialist.
The results were actually pretty good. Here is a list:
* Nearly all the bushings in the suspension needed replacing
* Brake lines have cracks
* All bushings of the rear differential and the main pad (sp?) need changing
* Valve cover leaking slightly
* Power steering pump leaking
* IAC valve not working properly
We agreed with the owner, that I will buy the car, but we will split all those repairs 50/50.
Here are some pictures of the car from the original sale ad:
Initial restoration
What I found out later, is that the Audi workshop did not find all the little issues and niggles, and I'd have to fix quite a bit more. But such is life with these cars.
Here are some pics of removing the faults that were found by the workshop:
Comment