Faults:

I had to change the front left wheel bearing after I bought the car. I have changed the alternator and water pump as well, because of a little squeak, and have changed the oil every 10.000km. No other problems whatsoever.

General Comments:

A very solid car, the engine is a bit noisy, but who cares. 4-5 litres per km consumption (diesel); the engine might not have too much power, but always starts no matter how cold the weather is and gets you where you wanna go, no matter how bad the weather (rain, snow, whatever). A quiet stable car on the road. The car can drive at 120-140km per hour all day long on the autobahn. Superb heater, and gets hot in 2-3 minutes, even in very cold weather.

It's a good friend waiting outside for you to start the engine, and get you to wherever you wanna go, whenever you wanna go.

My previous car was a Mercedes 190D; this is not as quiet and comfortable as a Merc, but it's an excellent, cheaper to buy, and cheaper to run alternative.

Faults:

Water pump had to be replaced after a few years, and few years later the gearbox at around 125000km, which is I guess more rare than common.

General Comments:

Being the fact that this was my first car, it will always be remembered as a tremendous time; my first car, a whole lot of freedom.

I still think about this car with great nostalgia.

It had no power steering, so if I think back it needed some more muscle to manoeuvre at very low speeds.

The 1.8 petrol liter engine was a very powerful and strong engine for that car at that time. I drag raced several younger cars with it who had similar engines; it was almost as fast as the Opel (Vauxhall) Calibra 2.0, which was a very sporty and much younger car that the Audi 80. The handbrake handling was superb... I could do a 180 degree turn on a 2 way dry tarmac road. I loved to drive that car; after some time I handled it as if it was an extension of my body... controlled it perfectly.

The gearbox broke apart, though I replaced it myself with a second hand one together with my brother, since we had a greasepit back home, and we had the tools; it was a great chore.

I had the GL that had velvet seats of good quality. It even had a roll-knop-button apart from the radio, which you can pan the sound of your radio-CD to the front speakers or to the back speakers or to both, which was superb. With two people in front, you could set it to only back speakers, which was comfortable for having conversation and music.

It is now considered an old timer. If I had the budget for it, I would import one from Germany... because there you can still find some in excellent condition for a reasonable price, although more expensive than what I paid at the time when I bought it. I bought it for 30000BEF = 750euro and drove with it for 6 years, and how, you don't want to know ;o)

Faults:

Tweed seat trim - always a weak point on these cars - has split on the driver's seat.

Central locking no longer works.

Shallow dent in one of the back doors.

Cracked front spoiler.

Rear spoiler was once painted - consequently it's now coming off.

The boot leaks water, but not heavily.

Car was re-sprayed in 1994 so is rust free, but the odd small parking scrape here and there.

Exhaust back box has a hole in it.

Oh, and there's a dead fly in the instrument panel.

General Comments:

A purchase on a whim, this one, from an Internet auction.

The old Audis certainly look very different to the aerodynamic ones of recent years. Boxy like a Volvo!

The car has had only one owner, who is now 91 years old. Consequently I have all the main dealer service history going back to the original purchase invoice.

It is totally standard, with steel wheels, no sunroof, and no radio (although I've now put one in).

I love the sound of the 5 cylinder engine - it's even better with the broken exhaust! However it doesn't feel as fast as 136bhp, maybe this is the quattro transmission sapping power.

A bit juicy on the gas - 25-30 mpg.

Surprisingly roomy - a six-footer can sit behind a similarly-sized driver.

The build quality is excellent, but Audi interiors have certainly come a long way since the 1980's. Cheap, nasty, hard brown plastic.

Faults:

The fuel lines have corroded, usual parts, exhaust, battery, disc pads.

General Comments:

The car is bullet proof, it has never failed to start and on an 800 mile holiday to Wales, it never missed a beat.