1988 Audi 5000 S Quattro from North America - Comments

There are lots of little things that can go wrong on the 5000 Quattro...

When I bought the car, the brakes had the anti-lock brake "chutter" whenever you would push on the pedal. The seller assured me that the brake pads needed to be replaced, and that was all. I acquired the car VERY reasonably, so I really wasn't too concerned with it. As it turns out, the brake "bomb" or hydraulic accumulator was shot, the wheel speed sensors were disconnected, and a majority of the hoses and rubber items were dry-rotted. Since owning, I've replaced the entire brake system.

The hydraulic accumulator has a life of around 7 years. If it hasn't been replaced yet, it will definitely need to be. You can tell if it is bad with the following procedure. Start the car, let it warm up, then start pumping the brakes. Turn off the car. Keep pumping the brakes. If the pedal gets firm after around 10-15 strokes, the accumulator is shot. It should take at least 30 pushes of the pedal to get this firmness.

The wheel bearings are another area on these cars to look for. They were designed to last about 50,000 miles. You can tell if they need to be replaced by a humming sound coming from the front end while at speed, and in a turn.

The hydraulic lifters usually will go out on these cars around the 100,000 mile mark. You can tell fairly easily if they are shot by listening to the engine. If you hear a fairly pronounced "ticking" sound, and the car has more than 100K on the odometer, that will likely be the culprit.

The windows on this car tend to be problematic. They really couldn't figure out how to design a window switch that worked well.

Also, the door window motors tend to be a pain. It is a complete unit (motor, cable, and rails), so if it is broken, the whole unit will need to be replaced.

Lastly, check out the door handles on this car. The push button is made of "Bakelite" material, and they will crack and break after a few years. The part runs around $30 each, but it's really easy to replace. Just more money though...

All of these things have gone wrong on my car, but as somebody who likes to get my hands dirty, none of this really bothered me.

Audi had a good idea for a car here, but it was just a little rough around the edges. They were still developing what turned into be the great cars they make today.

The Quattro system is amazingly great in the snow, and I was able to do 4 wheel drifts at 45 MPH this last winter in a foot of snow. It won't make you stop better, but you can certainly forge through some pretty intense snow and slush.

A good idea is to find a salvage yard with parts for this car. Dealer prices on parts for this car are extremely pricey. The magic price for everything seems to be around $400 just for the part alone. Since I did my own work on the car, labor charges didn't apply. You should consider this when contemplating purchasing this car.

Performance on this car is really pretty weak. Top end speed is decent, but any acceleration is non-existent. My '62 Triumph TR4 could smoke this thing off the line.

The trunk is huge, and allows lots of storage space.

The stock radio on this car, the Blaupunkt AM/FM with cassette sounds really bad. No bass, lots of treble, and a poor balance.

Overall, if you live in an area where you need four-wheel drive, like to haul the family around, and like to pretend that you're European, this would be a good car for you. Even though it lacks the defined body lines of a Mercedes Benz, you don't see too many of these on the road, so it has a little more character.

If you can buy an Audi, get the newest one possible. They made significant improvements in the 90's.

One last thing, don't allow the "sudden acceleration" idea of the 80's scare you out of a purchase. This was simply a case of driver error, and the actions of a media organization trying to "make news" as usual.

Thanks for the review... lots of great information. You summed it all up very well.

This review is totally off base on the performance thing. While the car is slow off the line while stock, there are excellent, well established, inexpensive aftermarket power upgrades for this car. I added nearly 60 horsepower for a tick over $100. Check out the Quattro list at http://www.Audifans.com/ for answers to nearly anything and access to some real experts. For used parts, check out http://www.force5auto.com/ Chris has reasonable prices and a good selection (no affiliation). These cars are a fantastic value for the money provided you can do your own wrenching.

This review was based on the stock car... not one which had been doctored up with aftermarket performances goodies. I don't think the author ever said that you couldn't get aftermarket stuff.

I've been an active participant in the Audifans group for some time now, and I think this is an honest review of the car.

Other than the hydraulic system that is a nightmare, the car is pretty tight. He otherwise gave a pretty good assessment of the cars weaknesses. The owner that left the initial review has a 5000 S Quattro and the turbo model is the 5000 CS Quattro. I have one and it has no lack of power. It has a chip that gives the car ~ 220-225 hp. It also is an incredible snow car as you can lock the differentials if you get into trouble and chances are it will pull you on through. Mine has almost 200k miles on the clock and doesn't use oil. It also has the original turbo, which is very common in these cars.

I bought a 1988 5000 Cs Quatro from a mechanic, the car has 388,000 km. on it. the engine has never been touched other than a new timing belt. I paid $1,500 certified for it, money well spent. In the future I want to rebuild the engine. You can also get another 150 h.p. from the turbo. The body only has 2 rust spots on it. I love the galvanized body on these cars. As far as power I find the car launches with lots of response for a five cylinder car, it's favorite speed on the highway is 140 km. overall I'm very satisfied with this car. Had a few volvo's try and keep up with me on the off ramps ha ha. living in Canada I love the four wheel drive and the bullet proof drive train. Thought you gave a pretty fair asesment of the car.

I find it being as slow as you claim when the slowest 0-60 is 10.8 impossible.

I love my 1988 Audi 5000 CD Quatro Turbo it's the most dependable car I ever owned this car has out lived six other cars that I've bought brand new. with some vary miner repairs and maintaining yearly, my Audi in the snow is the best. if you can find one buy it.. Great for every driving and very long trips go Audi.

I have a non turbo 1986 Wagon with the sport chassis. Great review.

We have driven this car well beyond the 500,000 mile mark. The engine is still strong with the normal maintenance. We replaced the trans and diff six times already. I believe I am on my 6 set of half shaft and fifth full set of wheel bearings.

The wiring has been an issue. The diameter for load is too small. I have had to rewire the horn, both front door windows, locking system, front head lights.

Never could keep mufflers, moved to aftermarket, have had no issues.

The car handles great. I would take this 20mph 90 degree turn in the middle of no where at 70mph. Tried to do the same with another car which had the latest traction control system and went spinning into the freshly plowed field.

This car had no problem keeping up with my friend's corvette.

If you don't mind working on it yourself, it is a great car. I haven't found anything which compares to it today, and still get 32 city mileage.