1991 Audi 80 Quattro 5 cylinder

Summary:

Can't wipe the smile off my face

Faults:

Nothing so far. Has been rock solid!

General Comments:

Dream machine. I have always had a thing for Audi's. "The old type" and always Quattro's. They are some of the highest quality cars on the road. I'm shocked they didn't sell all that many over here.

On the outside they tend to blend in with any other car. Way ahead of its time. They hit the show rooms in '87 I think. Still a very nice car to look at.

When you open the door and get in, you get the same feeling as the outside. Very clean looking and modern feeling. Everything feels of high quality. Controls are spot on, with knobs and buttons in reach. My only real gripe is the arm rest. Makes shifting a pain because it's in the way.

Driving one is a joy. This is not a fast car. 130 hp is not going to win you any street race. The joy comes from driving a slow AWD car fast. It could care less what speed you take a corner. I never feel out of control. The brakes work good. The ride is 100% German. Firm without being too rough. Classic German body roll. One of the best all around cars I've owned.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 11th October, 2011

7th May 2012, 21:28

I have to add, if you are in the US and plan to sell your Audi, or you're ready to junk it, please try to find a Audi enthusiast first. Older Audi's are rare to begin with, and now 20 years later, more so. It would be a huge help to the Audi community. Thanks so much. Jason C.

1989 Audi 80 Quattro 2.3 litre inline 5

Summary:

The prince of winter driving :)

Faults:

Replaced all calipers, E-brake cables, pads, rotors, and rear brake lines due to rust.

Replaced vacuum hoses, idle control valve.

Replaced ignition coil, plugs, wires.

Replaced thermostat.

Replaced air filter.

Replaced fuel injector seals to remedy warm restart problem.

Replaced passenger side CV boot.

Replaced passenger side strut mount and control arm bushings.

Replaced steering rack (rack wasn't bad, tie rod assemblies were seized and had to replace the whole thing to get them out).

Replaced brake vacuum booster (accidentally broke it while reinstalling the old one)

Replaced oxygen sensor.

Replaced down pipe, center muffler clamps, rear muffler (due to broken mount and it dragging on the rear axle due to previous owner neglect)

Replaced the fuel pump, filter, accumulator, tray assembly, and main line to front of the car due to just a leak at the filter and everything being completely seized together : (Couldn't risk using a impact wrench to take off the one nut because of risk of spark blowing the whole car up!!!

General Comments:

Only things that have gone bad on the car are normal maintenance items and normally due to corrosion from it being a New York car it's whole life. The body on the car is near perfect and it's a monster in the snow with Quattro awd and the Blizzak snow tires I added :) It took a lot of work (95% done by myself), but now I have a like new, reliable, cheap to insure, and paid for car. Longevity seems to be a strong point on these cars and I've seen them with over 300,000 miles and still running strong normally on original clutch. By the looks of the clutch kits, for only 130hp they over clutched these cars. If not for corrosion, most everything would have been perfect on this car.

I bought the car for $1200, and have put about $3000 into it over 2 years, so basically less than $4300 for a car that should last me for many years of good service, it's regularly washed and waxed, fluid changes, etc. Since the body is in such good condition, I plan to keep this car indefinitely as a work car/grocery go getter, while I purchase a second car (e.g. M3, 911, sl600 (all used of course :) ).

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 3rd March, 2007