.....sedan, not wagon.

 

"Average" purchasers (i.e. the ones the Blue Book are meant to cover) don't care about the rarity of a car when making a buying decision. For your average car-buyer, a V6 auto anything is worth more than a 1.8T manual anything... Certainly an enthusiast might pay a little more for the car, but be prepared to wait a while for such a buyer.

But in all honesty, we aren't talking about a whole lot of money either way... it's a 10-yr-old non-luxury car with nearly 1/4 million miles on it, from a brand that does not exactly have a reputation for rock-solid reliability. No matter how you slice it, it ain't worth much. (For reference, Edmunds says it has a private-party sale value of $2,417, assuming "good" condition, which a car with a bad oil cooler isn't.​) Yes, everybody here feels the B5 was a very special car (because it is/was), but that's not worth very much for a car so young, especially since there are plenty of MUCH lower-mileage examples of the car out there. If I was shopping for a 1.8T M/T 4Mo, I'd bide my time waiting for a lower-mileage example to come on the market unless you were offering a very good deal.

And you'll have a hard time selling it for much more than scrap if you don't fix that oil cooler. While an enthusiast might guess that the coolant/oil contamination is likely just an oil cooler, anybody else (including most mechanics) are just going to assume it's a head-gasket, and therefore Certain Doom for the car.

 

Well I guess I don't really have anything special then. For what its worth, I was planning on putting a little money into it and making it a daily driver. It does have a new clutch (done @ 205,000), and new tires (3000 miles on them). He just did the head gasket and it didn't solve the problem so it must either be the oil cooler or the turbo I'm guessing. But interior and exterior look great on the car, so at $1500, its not gonna kill me I guess.

 

How is this rare? It's also called an Audi A4 Quattro, which is a better vehicle with the exception of the rear seat.

 

I think the Audi's are very ugly and quattro is a dime a dozen. I rather pay slightly more for a Passat with 4 motion than an Audi

 

Well your wrong on that account mysman, at least according to me . It a Audi A4L quattro with the independent suspension, from the A6.

 

the ecu/tuning is different as well; 4motion is mechanical and I think the a4 is computer controlled. After surfing audizine, I would much rather have a passat 1.8 with 4mo.

that said, 200k+ on a turbo car makes resale bad let alone having already known repairs imminent. I have a rarer 91 dodge stealth twin turbo and it's not worth much either- with way less miles.

 

The seller said that he had the head gasket done at the dealership, after talking to him again, he said he had a buddy do the oil cooler after the dealership did the head gasket. The timing belt has over 60K on it. I think I might just do the head gasket and oil cooler again myself while I'm doing the timing belt, valve cover gasket and cam seals. A indy friend of mine said it wouldn't hurt to have the head pressure tested as well if I'm gonna pull it off so I will do that too. So after all that, I'm assuming if it is still mixing, it would have to be the turbo, no? I guess if the turbo has 240K on it and I'm doing all that other work I may just as well put a new turbo in it too. Would that cover all bases as far as places where oil and coolant could mix?

 

Is there a way to tell if the turbo is the culprit without pulling it out? Is the turbo even a likely culprit at all?

 

I may be a little biased, but since I have a 2004 Audi A4 Quattro USP with the 1.8T and a 6spd, as well as a 2005 VW Passat 4Motion (albeit a 2.8 Tiptronic), the 4Motion feels like a much heavier, less sporty, sedan and my A4 feels much lighter and sportier (but does have less rear seat room) and less solid than my B6 Audi..

Having said that, assuming the mechanic did a decent job on the head gasket, the oil cooler is a more a likely culprit for oil contamination than the turbo. Personally I like the 1.8T engine just because it has more potential for tuning than the 2.8.. The 1.8 is also a bit easier to work on, but the myriad of vacuum hoses and such can be a source of troublesome boost leaks.

My A4 engine;

A Frankenturbo F21, 440cc injectors, FMIC, and Motoza tune makes it feel like a whole new car...

 

Very nice engine bay

 

Sirwired has it right. My local VW dealer called me on a 1.8T manual 4Mo, complaining no one would buy it because of the manual transmission. I didn't take it because I had two others at the time. At the dealership where I work, manuals just sit and sit. Matter of fact, we've got a pretty nice 2.0T manual A4 languishing right now...

 

Every once in a while my dealer will send me one of those postcards urging me to trade in my car for a new one. They usually include some variation on the language "we are showing high demand right now for cars just like yours!" And I know they've looked up what I bought, as the picture they put on the card is indeed a Antrhacite Blue B5.5 Wagon.

And, of course, it is a bald-faced lie. I guarantee that nobody has called the dealership lately looking to purchase an 11-yr-old M/T 4-cyl FWD VW Station Wagon. If I were to trade it in, they would not even slow down before sending that thing to a car carrier to be sent off to auction. If the car was lucky, they'd wash it first. It'd probably avoid the scrapyard because there's nothing seriously wrong with it right now, but I hold no illusions about it's value.

 

And, of course, it is a bald-faced lie. I guarantee that nobody has called the dealership lately looking to purchase an 11-yr-old M/T 4-cyl FWD VW Station Wagon. If I were to trade it in, they would not even slow down before sending that thing to a car carrier to be sent off to auction. If the car was lucky, they'd wash it first. It'd probably avoid the scrapyard because there's nothing seriously wrong with it right now, but I hold no illusions about it's value.

I work for a dealership and you're 100.01% correct. We send those out to everyone, for any reason, or no reason. I particularly like the ones that go out towards the end of your lease or loan: "We can put you in a newer vehicle, for the same payment or even lower!" I suppose it's possible, but I've never seen it happen. I have one customer who gets some kind of letter from us, every month, and brings it to my desk: "Can I get a newer car for a lower payment now?

 

I don't understand the high values for 1.8t 4 motions. For 6k you can get yourself an S4. I like the idea of what a 4 motion 1.8T Passat is, but the pricing structure is ridiculous. Rare does not = car should be ridiculously expensive.

 

I guess the final consensus, as usual, is that it is worth as much as someone will pay for it. I won't mind sticking some money in it and driving it around. Will be a nice little car to have in Iowa where we see a fair bit of snow.

 

(For 6k you can get yourself an S4..............)

just as for 5K you can get yourself a W8, but neither of these vehicles are sensible, practical daily drivers that the 1.8t 4 motion is. IMO.

 

i have a 05 4motion wagon ( auto ) . i like this thread as the car being discussed has 240,000 miles and mine has 138,000 miles ..

 

While I agree an S4 could justify the higher cost, dealing with the cost of the timing chain maintenance issues (pulling the engine) is crazy.

The 1.8T is fairly straightforward to work on, and responds well to mods. With the exception of a few poor design choices (rear coolant flange, J-plug, PCV system) it's a pretty solid engine. The only negative really is the lack of low end torque, but with a Stage 1+ tune, it's a fun little engine. If you go and put a bit bigger turbo (K04 Frankenturbo), you can have a nice daily driver that can put some big grins on your face.

But as said above, it's value is what someone is willing to pay for it..