1998 Audi A4 Avant Quattro review from North America

Rear brakes at 116,000. Front brakes at 126,000. Front control arms at 134,000 (total of four between left and right.) Rear sway bar link at 134,000. First timing belt change at 80,000.

And the weirdest thing of all... the catalytic convertor literally came off the turbo, flames and all, at 68,000. It appeared on closer examination, that Hanz and Franz in Ingolstadt never really did make any attempt to reinforce that area (?), therefore, it simply fell apart one day. Too much Dunkel Weiss, perhaps?? And no, Audi had no comment on that, nor was it covered, as clearly any warranty was well over with.

My car has held up well, when I compare it against many other reviews. The brakes were all original and didn't die until after 110,000 miles. The control arms as indicated, were quite recent. I love this car. Like many have said... I really, really love this car. There just isn't another car out there that handles like this A-4. (That is under $40,000) But be prepared to spend $1500-2000.00/yr. keeping it on the road after the warranty runs out. And that is such a drag. There are also many annoying little things that I'm hoping Audi fixed after the year 2000 model. The door side strips would be one. All mine have fallen off. Lame. Rusting side mirrors...again, lame. And the timing belt service...yeeeah, if you're not a mechanic, it's $1000.00+. If you are a do-it-yourself kinda person and have the tools and basic knowledge of this engine, you can do it yourself for about $400.00 but be prepared to spend 8+ hours doing it. And from everything I read and am told by my mechanic, 60,000 miles seems to be the magic number for this service.

Sigh...expensive addiction and one I will stay with for a few more years I suspect. Just love the car too much.