'00 Passout 4M repairs

[Wylie Bean]

 No typo in the subject, as I'm sure you almost did when you got the
estimates.  Since it's a '00 4M, it's a 2.8 V6, which are prone to oil 
leaks.  The
 valve cover gasket(s) job is not a hard one, and could be done fairly 
easily
 by you in the driveway in about 2 hours give or take, for about 75-100$ in
 parts if I had to guess, paying dealer retail.

 I can't believe the cats are both gone @ 107K miles, but I guess it depends
a  on where you live and what type of driving you do.  Short trips will
 sometimes cause exhaust parts to fail prematurely, but that's a stretch.
 I'd look for used cats, as you might find that A4 2.8 cats would work too?

 What's wrong with the prop shaft?  is it an output seal, or is the whole 
thing bad?

 02 sensors are expensive, but they should not be dealer-only items.  I 
personally tend to avoid generics, but you're on your own on that one. 
Check
 thepartsconnection.com, ecstuning.com, or any number of the VW/Audi tuners
 online.

 Vacuum line is cheap, really cheap.  finding the leak, not replacing the
 line, is where you'll pay.  If you can find it yourself, further money
 saved.

 The dealer is where you'll pay the most (usually) for everything, parts and 
labor.  Since the car is out of warranty, i'd start looking for a good, 
trustworthy,
 experienced indy mechanic or shop that's not going to hand you a
 complementary jar of Vaseline every time you walk in the door.  I just 
found
 out yesterday that the AC compressor on our 99 A4 1.8T is going, and they
 wanted to replace the receiver dryer and restrictor tube to the tune of
 about $2000.  I said no thanks....I'll find the parts and do it myself 
thank
 you very much.

 At least the tech there at the dealer is a friend of mine, and only charged
 me 1/2 hour labor when he spent at least 1.5 hours diagnosing the problem.
 At $90/hour, I appreciated that.

 Good Luck

 Wylie Bean
 Greensboro NC
 TheRingmeister at triad.rr.com
 90 cq 20v
 99.5 A4 1.8T Avantq