Re: some questions

[paul.heneghan@bbc.co.uk (Paul Heneghan)]

From: "Matthew A. Cenzer" <mcenzer@nwu.edu>

>I recently looked at a 1987 4000 Quattro which I am considering purchasing
>and would welcome any advice or suggestions.
>    The car has 98,000 miles and unfortunately the dealer selling it
>(not an Audi dealer) has no service records. I have heard stories of this
>model being very durable but would a car with this mileage and no history
>be an unreasonable risk?

These are very tough cars which can go up to 200k miles before engine work 
is required.  A lack of service history is regrettable (but it does mean you 
won't have to pay top money for it), but if the car checks out OK, then go 
for it.

>A few things under the hood (brake master-cylinder, hoses, FI lines,
>some wires) look too clean and new to be original but that is just guessing
>on my part.

These are signs that the car has been looked after fairly recently.

>Does anyone know of any particular things I could check on the
>car for signs of repair/replacement or not?

The timing belt should be checked/replaced - I don't know whether the dealer 
would allow you to remove the T-belt cover, but when these belts break at 
speed, the engine is wrecked.

>    When I drove the car one thing I noticed was that the clutch pedal
>required a lot of effort; is this normal for this car or might it indicate
>something about the state of the clutch?

The clutch is on the way out.  It could still last a long time, but very 
heavy clutch pedals is almost always a sign of the clutch being on its last 
10k miles (you won't believe how light the new clutch will feel when you get 
it replaced).

Paul
paul.heneghan@bbc.co.uk
1984 Audi 80 quattro
1989 Audi 100 Avant