Dealer says A4 needs new $1600 Ball joints every 30k?!

[Ti Kan]

Tyson Varosyan writes:
> The Seattle PI posted an article in the paper about some lady that has 30k
> on her '98 A4 and had a dealership tell her that she needs $1600 ball joints
> ...
> Reason I ask is that my dad is looking for a 96-98 A4, on my recommendation,
> and called me up all freaked out about this article. He has bad memories of
> his Fiat that really did need new ball joints every year...
> ...
> Is there any truth to this?

The earlier A4s did suffer from suspension control arm bushing problems
(not balljoint, which is part of the steering tie rod).  This manifests
itself as annoying squeaks.  The factory arms come integral with the bushing
so they have to be replaced whole, although I've heard of aftermarket
bushings that are separate.  Later models have redesigned bushings that
apparently fixed this problem.  That said, I have not had any problems
with this on my '96 A4q when I owned it, and the current owner has not
had a problem with it either at 120K+ miles.

No need to get freaked out.  It shouldn't cost $1600 to replace all,
and I think Audi has a recall campaign on this (at least it's already
ongoing in Europe, maybe soon in the US too).

-Ti
-- 
Ti Kan
http://www.amb.org/ti
Vorsprung durch Technik