Audi A4 2004 and earlier

rjsen · December 2000

Try posting your question on the A4 forum at http://www.audiworld.com. If I recall correctly, one or two other people had this same problem, and it turned out to be a loose connection resulting in some circuit not getting completed when the clutch was depressed.

robnis · December 2000

They confirmed that the 2002 A4 will get the 217hp V-6 and mentioned it will go on sale next Fall, p.29

suvsr4lemmings · December 2000

In Europe the new A4 arrives between January and April, depending which location.

In the USA you might see a few in late Sept, but most places won't have a decent amount til Oct. Note that the Audi factory completely closes down in August, producing 0 cars while most everyone goes on (a full month!) vacation and the factories retool... also it takes 4 to 6 weeks to ship to USA depending which coast you're closest to. If you don't believe me notice that Audi is not introducing the new A4 at the Detroit auto show, a sure sign it isn't coming out very soon. The USA dealers are clueless on the new model and don't meet til June. Also, they just added 17" wheels, new sport seats, and "celebration" package discounts for the 2001.5 current design model.

On the bright side this delay makes the Europeans guinea pigs for the new design, they have 6 months to tweak things. Audi has done many significant half model year tweaks in the past.

atomic2000 · December 2000

posted on a different forum, looking for feedback...

oh, and does it feel good.....1.8t, brillant black, sports, prem, bose, quattro, tip, and eccru.....absolutley fantastic...interior is amazingly beautiful lit at night....cornered great and gripped the streets like crazy..especially in TO..woohoo, snowed again...can't wait to get out again.

question....the 1.8T has a red stripe on its badge....nothing like the others...i think it's the celebration package...one more thing....i didn't request, and believe the lumbar support only came in the 2.8T and s4..but my baby has it...? was that a nice christmas present?

equalizer1 · December 2000

I believe all the 2001's have the lumbar support, no matter what engine it comes with.

Good luck with your new car. You'll love it more and more every day!

suvsr4lemmings · December 2000

That's for the sports package.

r34 · December 2000

At the end of Oct, I asked a guy from the Madison dealership called me after they got the 2001 A4. In the meantime, I went to the dealership in Milwaukee, WI and talked to another guy in Love Park, IL. Both of them got a lot of A4 at that time. I remembered my friend told me the Madison one has very few number of cars, they always loaded the cars up with expensive but useless options, and they won't deal. I also remembered they told me to pay MSRP - $700. BS !

I drove to the Madison dealer yesterday and found that they have less than 7 A4s.

I found that the one in Love Park seemed to be the best. They offer 4.9% above invoice and I can still reduced the price a little bit. Last week, a salesman from Love Park, IL told me they have an year-end sale....

The one in Madison probably an old-fashioned dealer and don't realize people can do researched on the web.

sheady · December 2000

Can anyone one recommend how to clean light colored leather seats? I'm noticing some darkening & would like to get them back to the original condition.

hausfin · December 2000

I know that most of the people that post here are big time fans of the A4. I'm trying to make a decision. I drove the 2.8 and it was a great ride. I have heard some people have had some problems with their Audio. I am curious about what, if any, I could encounter. This would be a financial leap for me and I'm trying to justify (in my mind) spending 8K more than I would spend on a Honda Accord or a Jetty. Who can help me make up my mind?

drc4 · December 2000

I recently sold an Accord EX 5 speed, which was replaced by an A4 1.8T and I can honestly say there's no comparison. The A4 is head and shoulders above the Accord in all respects except rear leg room and the sound system. My Accord had a great stock Alpine system that produced much better sound quality than either system in the A4s. But build quality, ride, handling, performance, etc are far superior to an Accord... not to mention a more distinctive design. My roommate has an Accord EX and after driving my A4, driving her car feels like taking several steps down. Whenever we go someplace, she always wants to take my car.

As far as audio, I saw too many complaints about the Bose system on the AudiWorld A4 forum so I went with the stock Symphony system. It's not the best sounding system but I've had no problems with it other than the mid range setting mysteriously resetting itself now and then. But I'm not going to let that tarnish an otherwise great vehicle. The sound isn't bad... just not Alpine quality. Speakers are smaller in the A4s than in Accords and of questionable quality.

As with all cars, there have been a couple minor issues but overall, the car is a class act. Whether or not you want to spend the extra money as opposed to an Accord EX or Jetta is your call. The A4 and Jetta are completely different vehicles, so you'd just have to drive both and see what better suits you. Like you, the A4 was a financial leap for me as well but I certainly don't regret it. Good luck deciding!

jaykkub · December 2000

Hi all,
My wife and I want the buy a new A4 with virtually no options (except color) or possibly the sports package. What are some prices those who bought in So. Cal paid? And could anyone recommend a good dealer? I'm in San Diego, but I'm willing to travel. Thanks for any help

prachal · January 2001

I want to get the right CD changer for my '99 A4. Should I get the changer made for my car, and if so, where can I get it? If I get this changer, will it be easier to install, vs. any other brand. Also, any recommendations for other products?

equalizer1 · January 2001

My husband and I have the A4 2.8 and the Acura TL (equivalent to some degree to the Accord). The Acura is a wonderful car, but there is no comparison in any way to the A4.

Also, I have the Bose system and I think it's great. I don't know what the stock system sounds like, and although I am no audiophile, I would definitely get the Bose system. We have a Bose system in the Acura, and I think the Audi's system is much less bassy. I like it much better.

Good luck with whatever decision you make. BTW, I have had the A4 for about 15 months, and have had no problems other than a remote that didn't work when I picked up the car and a small squeak, which was quickly remedied.

jimmya1 · January 2001

I just purchased a 1997 A4 1.8T with an automatic transmission. The car is in great shape and I love it. The transmission shifts differently than any automatic I have driven. When I accelerate normally the car shifts quickly to a higher gear ie. fourth. If I accelerate faster and then let up on it a little it seem to take a second before it goes into fourth. Once in fifth the car does well. While the car shifts smooth and is consistant in the way it shifts, it seems a little quirky to me. Is this my lack of experience with the car or should I have it checked? Thanks.

gmassachusetts · January 2001

I read with interest equalizer1's comments re. the two cars. I have just thoroughly reviewed and evaluated both and decided on the A4 1.7T. Interestingly, I believe the TL may be a "better value",(as does most of the Auto World) and to make things even more difficult, during the last few days of the year the dealers were pushing hard to achieve their year-end numbers, and I believe I could have signed a deal at or very near dealer cost. But it wasn't German... and I decided on the Audi based on the handling and the feel of the car as I was on the test drive. (Those of you who have not used the Acura web site and used the "Comparison" feature are missing out on a good info source. Take a look at it on www.acura.com ) The TL is a great value... but I bought the A4. Equalizer1 and her husband have solved the problem by getting both! (Does the first person out get their pick of the day's transportation?) GREAT SOLUTION!

equalizer1 · January 2001

Actually, the A4 is my car, and the TL is my husband's. He loves the TL, and I love my A4, so there is no fighting. He likes the luxury of the Acura, and I like the sportiness and quattro of the A4. We both like each other's cars, but would choose the same cars we each now have all over again if we could.

And yes, the TL is a great car for the money. It has a wonderful Navigation system and is very comfortable (moreso than when I am a passenger in the A4), but the A4's driver's seat position is more comfortable.

Both are great cars, you can't go wrong with either. They just serve slightly different purposes.

kaylind · January 2001

wondering if any one experienced problems with the cruise controll? The dealer has cleaned contacts many times and it continues to not work some days in the morning and then it will work on the way home. It will also turn off while I am driving without touching the control.

cote_m · January 2001

I have a similar problem, although it hasn't showed up in the last few weeks. Anyway, the car is scheduled at the dealer later this week to have the pump replaced. Personally, I'm not convinced that this will solve the problem. Like your dealer thinks, maybe it's a bad contact. I guess that I'll find out soon enough.

drc4 · January 2001

This seems to be a sporadic problem and has been documented on the AudiWorld A4 Forum. I have a '00 1.8T that does the same thing. Strange but it'll do it on short local trips, ie: 50-75mi, but I recently took an 1,800 mi round trip and had no problems at all. My 10K mi service is coming up so I'll have the dealer check it anyway. Who knows what the problem is...design problems, construction/assembly inconsistencies?

driver36 · January 2001

Does anyone knows when the dealer is taking orders for 2002 A4?? I need a new car by this year by early August. I have not heard anyone order their 2002 A4's yet! Any feed back would be much appreciated

cgw · January 2001

No one seems to know on Audiworld, but one post there reports seeing the new models in a showroom in Germany. This suggests that tooling for the production change has already occurred, at least in one factory (I don't know if A4's are made at more than one place). I ran a search on "2002 Audi A4" and found estimates ranging from March 2001 to sometime in 2002 for availability in the US. The January issue of Automobile magazine has a short (positive) review of the new A4 and says that the 4 door sedan will arrive in the US in July 2001, with a later rollout of the wagon and, eventually, of a coupe. It appears that, in addition to the new V6 engine, the new model will get dual climate controls and memory on the driver's power seat. German model shown on the Audiword site (under archived news) shows a nav system with a color screen. However, this option, referred to as nav plus, has been available on German A6 models for some time but not on US A6's. So it is not clear whether it will be a US option.

cotmc · January 2001

Hi! I haven't been in here for over a year! Equalizer1, glad to see you are still providing fine contributions! I also appreciate drc4's recent comments. Anyway, I'm once again considering an A4 1.8T purchase. Now that the stock engine is 170hp, the warranty extends 4 years, side curtain airbags are standard, and the former premium package is signficantly reduced in price, it's gonna be hard to change my mind this time!

One concern I have is that I read in another topic how someone had difficulty using an infant seat in the back seat of an A4. We would require a forward-facing child seat to be installed, preferrably behind the passenger seat. Although this would be my car for commuting to work, we'd also like to have it equipped for transporting our 2-year old occasionally. When I test drove a 2001 A4 last week, it looked like there was plenty of room back there for a typical child seat. And why would Audi provide the tether strap anchors if a seat wouldn't fit? Anyway, I asked the same question in that other topic, but I never received a reply. Does anybody here have any experience with a child seat in their A4? Can one be used without TOO much difficulty?

cotmc · January 2001

I saw the reference to previous posts in the Audiworld forum stating problems with the bose system in the A4. I would greatly appreciate it if you could post a quick description of those problems which were most predominantly reported. For instance, were the Bose audio problems mostly functional problems, or were they issues such as poor sound quality? TIA!

equalizer1 · January 2001

Good to see you back.

I can answer the Bose question, but the baby seat would be better answered on Audiworld. In fact if you go to the search function in Audiworld, I believe there has been alot written about this.

I have the Bose stereo and think it's great. I am certainly not a major audiophile, but I had a Bose system in my Pathfinder, and my husband has it in his TL, and I prefer the Audi's system to all of these. I have never had a problem with the Bose at all. I think most of the problems with the stereo came from the stock stereo, not the Bose.

Also, the people on Audiworld are major audiophiles, and nothing would make them happy, except spending thousands on a new system.

I also have the 6 CD disk player and also have never had a problem. I now have the car 15 months, and feel I can appropriately give a decent opinion on this system. I would definitely spring for the upgraded system if I were to buy another Audi. I am not big on taking out the dashboard and screwing up the continuity of the lights, etc.

Good luck. Hope to see you in an A4 soon. It is a great car. I still look forward to driving it every day!

tarman · January 2001

COTMC,

We have the 2001 1.8T A4 and we were able to fit one of the bigger (and older) car seats in the rear passenger area behind the driver's seat (it's easier to reach for the person riding shotgun)...but just barely. For example, when we flipped the arm rest up over my son's head, it hits the ceiling and can't fold all the way back. But if you have one of the newer versions that don't have one of those bulky plastic guards in the front, then you'll have plenty of space. On a weekend trip to my parents, we were able to fit my family of four and our luggage easily. Usually we take our '99 Isuzu Trooper but I wanted to use the A4 to see if we could travel in it.

cotmc · January 2001

Thanks for the response! I really appreciate the info on the Bose stereo. I posted a similar question on audiworld, and I think 2 people gave the Bose system a thumbs down, and 1 person said it was great. Of the 2 people that panned the Bose system, neither gave much of any detail why they didn't like it. I searched some more (the internal audioworld search engine was down, but they have a link to "google" with instructions how to use it), and saw someone's post which said the Bose system lacks bass. I'm not too concerned with bass. I'm more concerned with good dispersion (transparent sound), dynamic response, and clarity in the upper frequencies. I hope I can find an A4 with Bose at my dealer before I order one, but last I checked, all their A4's had a base stereo.

Regarding the baby seat, I'm just gonna take one of our seats with me and actually try to insert it into an A4 on the dealer's lot. Better to try it out with the actual seat than to rely on feedback from people who have different types/sizes of baby seats. I don't expect this to be a problem. It might not be very convenient, but it won't be the primary "family" car, anyway.

I don't know if I had mentioned this before, but I dropped out of the A4 hunt back in Nov 1999 because I found a great deal on a used '99 328i. In fact, it was SUCH a good deal that I believe I can now sell it for the same price I paid. And here in Arizona, we don't have to pay sales tax on cars purchased from a private seller. I'm thinking of selling it because we need to get some money back out of it, and we also need to cut down on expenses where possible. If I sell it, there's no doubt what I would buy in it's place! I could order a 2001 A4 1.8T FWD with 2-4 options on it, and still have some extra $$ leftover from the BMW sale (with a NEW car and warranty!). With 170hp, 4-yr warranty, and the reduced price on the Premium Package, it's looking quite favorable I'll factory order an A4 later this week, in order to get into March production.

What would you think of the white exterior combined with the ecru seats and navy blue dash/carpet? Or do you think the clay dash/carpet would work better in this instance? I purposely didn't ask about the onyx dash/carpet because that's what all the A4's have on our dealer's lot, and I don't know that I want black here in Arizona.

cotmc · January 2001

Thanks for the feedback on your baby seat in an A4. We have a 2-year old model with the flip-up front guard. It also doesn't flip up all the way in our BMW, but it gets out of the way just enough so that we can lift our son out of the seat without any real difficulty. We also have an SUV for most family traveling.

I'm sure if I'm serious about ordering a new A4, my dealer will not have any problems with letting me try out our baby seat in one of the A4's on their lot. I'm guessing it will be tight, but it will still work for occasional commutes.

eugenemkim · January 2001

Would like to purchase a A4 1.8T tiptronic, celebration, sport package in Texas. Any info on purchasing deal specifics would be helpful. Willing to purchase in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin.

Cheers

equalizer1 · January 2001

As far as color is concerned, I personally really like the white with the clay interior. It is easier to keep clean. My boss had the ecru interior and it got really dirty really fast. I think the clay is the perfect compromise. Really nice interior, doesn't get dirty that easily, and cool in the summer.

Good luck!

cotmc · January 2001

Thanks for the advice. I guess you recommend getting the entire interior in clay? My (very) preliminary decision was to get the ecru leatherette (1.8T) seats, but choose between navy blue and clay for the dash and carpet. I didn't give much previous consideration to clay for the seats. I'll think about that some more, and give your feedback some additional consideration. Thanks!

cotmc · January 2001

I'm strongly considering ordering an A4 1.8T similar to what you are considering, but with stick instead of tiptronic. I'm also strongly considering the xenon lights, and giving some thought to the Bose audio upgrade. I'll know more about pricing very soon, but preliminary feedback from my sales associate was that 4% or $1000 over factory invoice would work fine for her. I don't know how hard I should push to lower that, if at all. I know the dealer has to pay a fairly significant advertising fee, and for whatever reasons, sales managers seem less willing to deal on factory orders than the cars on their sales lot. With the reduced cost for the celebration package, I can't complain about this price. My dealer is in Arizona.

Please let me know if you get any good pricing info there in Texas. I'd be interested in comparing prices!

By the way, are you aware of the new Sports Package for the 1.8T Quattro? Audi raised the price a couple extra hundred dollars, but they are now including 17" rims and tires on it! I don't know if dealers have started to receive these versions yet, but it's mentioned on either KBB.com's or Carpoint's car pricing, as well as carsdirect.com. It was confirmed in audiworld.com. This upgrade is only for the Quattro version of the Sports Package. Looks like the FWD Sports Package still comes with 16" rims, at the same $660/$750 price as before.

drc4 · January 2001

Welcome back!

As a previous owner of 3 & 5 series, I can understand you jumping on a great deal. 328s are fun to drive but there's just something about the A4s and Audi in general that now has my interest. Except for the BMW front end (always loved the look of BMW front ends), I prefer both the exterior and interior styling of the A4, but of course that's a personal thing. The Audi build quality also seems a little better and the quattro is wonderful.

Equalizer1 mentioned her boss' ecru seats getting dirty fast and I have the same problem. Mine is a melange 1.8T with ecru/onyx ambition interior, which I think is the classiest looking interior but if you wear jeans and dark clothing in general a lot, the ecru leatherette starts to look worn and it's hard to clean. I tried several products and finally found Westley's works the best. I'm from S. Florida so I certainly understand why you don't want black! Personally I love the look of the ecru seats but you may be better off overall with clay. I sure wish all Audis came with leather because it's much easier to take care of.

I have confidence you'll end up with an A4 and know you'll love it. I've had a few little annoying issues with mine but overall it's been rock solid, dependable and like Equalizer1, I look forward to driving it every day.

Let us know what color/interior you order.

stone19 · January 2001

I am considering a purchase of the a4 2.8Q - dealer has given me a price 1000 over invoice in NJ, should I try and push for me or take it?

cotmc · January 2001

Thanks for the welcome, drc4!

Well, I went to the Audi dealer again yesterday, and I believe I will go through with the order, but I haven't placed it, yet. We have a 2-year old son we adopted, and we want to start the ball rolling for another adoption. Getting our money back from the 328i would definitely help us out, because it certainly looks like my few stock investments aren't helping at all! ;-( Another test drive, this time in a sport model, helped remove some of the cold feet involved with this decision. But I still need to make a couple final decisions...

The ecru/onyx (Ambition) interior seems to be the most popular A4 interior choice at our Audi dealer. I think it would look quite sporty with the white exterior, but as I said in a previous post, I'm still leaning away from the black dash, doors, steering wheel, trim, etc. I think it might be a little too much black for my taste (and for this heat), and it would also show dust easily here. But.., it's still a strong consideration.

My wife has now objected to the ecru/blue (Ambiente) combination; and if there was any question before, it's out of the picture now! I also discovered yesterday that the "clay" (Advance) is not an option with leatherette. (I'm fairly certain I would like leatherette more than cloth.) And as you would suspect, onyx leatherette (the other Ambition option) is out of the question here in Arizona!

That leaves me with two other options besides ecru/onyx (Ambition) for the interior: "opal gray" (Ambiente) or "ecru/brownstone" (Advance). Hence, I am debating between one color combination from each of the three Atmospheres. Based on feedback from you and equalizer1, it sounds like the opal gray interior might be the best choice for reducing cleaning effort and maintaining a newer look for a longer period of time. Unfortunately, this option doesn't provide that classy two-tone interior that the ecru seats provide. I'm wondering if it might be too boring? The ecru/brownstone looks promising, but it also contains some light colored (ecru) carpeting; it has the "hard to keep clean" ecru seats; and it likely wouldn't look as sporty as the ecru/onyx when mated to the white exterior. Still, it is probably the most appealing choice to me, but I almost hope I can be talked into liking the opal gray interior in the long run! Our dealer had one opal gray interior, but with the cloth sports seats. Upon initial inspection, it didn't do much for me. But it might grow on me. I'm wondering if it might look better to me when equipped with the 'normal' leatherette seats?

Being so indecisive about this, I sure wish us A4 1.8T buyers had all the interior options that Audi provides for the A6! ;-) It almost (but not quite) tempts me to wait another 6-9 months and spend more money on the new 2002 A4.

Since I am debating one color combination from each of the three "atmospheres", does anyone have any strong opinions on the different 1.8T aluminum trim designs that come with these atmospheres? Or any opinions on how good the aluminum trim looks with the black, brownstone, or gray dash?

Feel free to post any additional opinions -- I'm always interested in reading them!

cotmc · January 2001

I'm not as knowledgeable on the 2.8, as I have mostly reserched the 1.8T. I'm not aware of any incentives from the factory. Assuming your 2.8 has the Celebration Package instead of the Premium Package, I would say you are getting a good deal. As you may be aware, both packages have the same contents (sunroof, homelink, auto-dimming mirrors), but the Premium Package is hundreds of dollars more expensive. The Celebration Package was introduced a few weeks ago in order to lower the price and make these last-year A4 models more tempting to consumers. If, on the other hand, your A4 has the more expensive Premium Package, you might argue that you are being charged extra for the same contents included in the Celebration Package. Thus, you may have a little room to negotiate.

drc4 · January 2001

Sounds like you're doing your homework! The first time I saw the ecru/onyx ambition interior I actually laughed and thought to myself, "You have to be kidding. What's with this high contrast 2-tone stuff??" The car was sitting beside another A4 with an all-clay interior and the more I looked at both cars, the more I started to like the bold uniqueness of the ambition interior. The clay quickly began looking bland and boring in comparison. I was interested in the melange with ecru/onyx ambition so the dealer gave me the car for the weekend and after spending a significant amount of time in it, I was hooked. The ambition interior to me is an extension of the forward-thinking, cutting edge, unique design philosophy Audi has adopted. But as I said before this is all very personal. I get a lot of "wows" about my car and particularly the interior.

I didn't think I'd like so much black either but now it looks incredibly rich with the brushed aluminum trim, and in the major heat of S. Florida the black dash, etc is no problem. I bought 2 sets of those fabric fold-up window shades and in extreme heat/sun I use them front and rear, providing good protection and they're quick to use. Dust wasn't been a big problem or inconvenience, but then I'm anal about keeping my car clean and wipe the dash area down frequently out of habit.

I guess the best thing to do is pick the interior you think you'd be happy with and if your dealer has one on the lot, drive it around and see how it affects your senses. Could you live with it for the next several years or maybe get tired of it in a few months? Do you get a "bland" feeling when driving, or do your surroundings provoke some excitement? I wouldn't let the fact that you'd have to invest a little more effort to keep the ecru seats clean deter you from considering them. They look great and if you clean them with Westley's on a regular basis, they'll be fine. I know I said the gray interior may the best decision for you but I think better advice would be to choose whatever makes you excited to drive your car every day and just deal with the minor inconveniences. Some people love black cars and just accept the extra effort involved in keeping them clean.

Unless you go with a different brake pad, the biggest battle you'll have will be keeping the rims clean. The brakes on the A4 are excellent but the rims sure get filthy... fast! As you no doubt already know, German cars are famous for brake dust building up very quickly with stock pads. My previous BMWs had the same problem. If you like clean rims you'll be wiping them down daily, and with 10 spokes on the sport rims it can take a while. I wipe mine down daily or every other day, and use a wheel cleaner a couple times a month.

Take care and I'll be curious to see what your final decision will be.

SAR21102 · January 2001

I've owned my Passat B5 Wagon for 2.3 years, but it's new car time! I'm interested in moving to AWD. I've ruled out the BMW 325xi and Audi A4 V6 because of price, leaving me with the choice mentioned in the subject, which is really B5 vs B5. Do you all think it comes down to aesthetics? I'm also a chip-wimp, and probably wouldn't do any mods, except wheels and tires on the Passat. My 45-minute, 35-mile commute is 75% true canyon run, and 25% expressway, so I look for comfort and fun.

The Passat is a V6, with +20 HP and +40 torque. It's longer in both length and wheelbase, and bigger inside.

The Audi has alloy wheels and CD player standard. The leatherette seems nicer than Passat cloth (but I might think otherwise in summertime). Mileage would be better, and it has a better warranty for the shorter-term owner like me.

The cars are priced nearly the same for the Tiptronic I would want.

I've driven the Passat but not the Audi yet. Some seem to think the Audi's steering is tighter, which I like. (My Wagon's steering quality has degraded significantly over 45,000 miles. And I eat tires, but that's true with all my cars because of the nature of my commute.) I THINK I like the B5.5 Passat's looks better.

Does anyone have any salient points that would be helpful in this decision? Or is it really aesthetics and feel?

Thanks!!

equalizer1 · January 2001

SAR21102

You must test drive the A4 before you make any type of decision. I also thought I was going to get the Passat, and then drove them back to back, and there was no contest.

My brother bought the Passat without first driving the Audi, and after driving my A4, he regrets not getting the Audi.

The Passat is a nice car, but the Audi is a sportier and more tossable car. It depends on what you are looking for.

COTMC

I absolutely agree with everything DRC4 has expressed. I have an all onyx interior, and it is not difficult to keep clean at all. I would imagine an onyx/ecru combination (especially in the leatherette), would be easier to keep clean than leather. My husband uses simple green on his ecru TL leather, and it easily gets out all stains. As far as dust on the onyx dash, there is virtually none. I very rarely have to take the feather duster I keep in my glove compartment out to dust it. I thought I'd have a big problem. Even in the summer here in the NE, which can get pretty hot(not as hot as Arizona), the dash and steering wheel never felt hot.

As DRC4 said, the only real maintenance item, which is a pain in the butt, is the brake dust, which you would have in any color. Also, the onyx carpeting will show sand a little more (which is easily rectified with a quick car vac), but on the other hand, the lighter carpeting will show dirt easier. Six of one..........

Good luck. Go with one makes you the happiest. There are upsides and downsides with each color combination, but none are very time consuming. Like DRC4 said, getting a black exterior is the most time consuming maintenance item I can see.

cotmc · January 2001

The A4 is definitely more of a sport sedan than the Passat. Add the $660/$750 sports package to it, and it provides a very tight, but forgiving, ride! If you want a little better steering feel, and you want to avoid body sway on turns, then go with the A4.

I also like the interior of the A4 more than the Passat. Also note that you can factory order an A4 equipped exactly the way you want it. A VW dealer told me I could NOT special order a Passat.

You will also generally get better treatment with Audi service centers than the typical VW service centers, but your mileage may vary. The 2yr bumper-to-bumper warranty on new VWs concerns me, whereas the improved 4yr 50K bumper-bumper Audi warranty, with free maintenance during that entire interval, is a much better warranty.

The Passat is the choice if you need to routinely carry more than 1 other passenger at a time. The back seat of the A4 is tight, whereas the Passat does quite well as transportation for a family of four; with more storage capacity in the trunk. I like the rear shade feature of the Passat, and I wish it was a factory option on the A4.

cotmc · January 2001

Thanks again for all the info and advice!

I forgot to mention, as a follow-up to equalizer1's earlier post, that I am now planning to order the Bose stereo upgrade. I listened to both stereos at my local dealer last week (they had an A4 2.8Q with Bose), and I could detect a little better clarity and dispersion with the Bose system. I understand the arguments that it isn't worth the ~$600 cost, but I'm willing to pay it if it makes any noticeable sound quality difference at a mid-volume listening level. To me, it does make that difference. I wish it was less expensive, but I've decided I really want the better clarity, at least for the type of music I listen to.

I also contacted a 2nd dealer 100 miles away from me, and they have a car nearly identical to the one I was planning to order. I wanted white, but they have a melange. Otherwise, the options are identical to what I wanted: FWD, 5-spd, Bose, Sports, and Premium. Even though it has metallic paint, and it also has the higher-priced Premium Package instead of the cheaper Celebration Package (same equipment, however), they are offering it to me for the same price I would get if I factory ordered a new white model with the Celebration Package. ($25,340)

Although I was planning on ordering with white, I also like the melange color. They are almost a toss-up, as far as I am concerned. I was planning to order the white exterior mostly because I didn't want to pay $400 more for melange.

I know that melange has ecru seats, but I don't know if the dash is onyx or brownstone.

Anyway, this definitely makes things more interesting!! I wasn't anticipating taking delivery anytime soon, but now I have to give it some strong consideration. If my co-worker doesn't really want my BMW afterall, I should be able to sell it slightly higher now than if I wait until April/May.

drc4 · January 2001

I really love my melange A4 because it hides dirt and minor scuffs extremely well and to me, the color really enhances the A4 styling, exuding class. My car always seems to turn heads and people have even stopped me in parking lots to look at it. This is my 3rd vehicle of this color and it's just so easy to take care of and can look great even when it's a little dirty. I know there are a ton of gold cars out there... Accords, Camrys, Maxims, etc, but you won't see many melange A4s and the Audi styling easily sets it apart from the competition! I've owned a couple white cars and although they can look sharp when freshly detailed, they required much more attention than melange.

It was fate that my dealer had this particular car on the lot, which was special ordered for a foreign customer who wanted the navigation then changed his mind. Because of this I got an unbelievable deal of $150 over invoice after some fancy negotiating. Strange how things can work out. Sounds like the melange A4 at the other dealer may be a decent deal, though I'm wondering why you wouldn't want Quattro, which not only significantly improves residual value/resale...moreso than any other feature on the A4s...but also has a tremendous effect on the numbers used in figuring the loan or lease (especially a lease). But then I realize some people don't really need it, which is why Audi provides a choice.

Again, the bottom line is whatever makes you feel great about your purchase with no regrets. BTW, Equalizer1 was a big help and influence on my decision to get an A4. I haven't regretted it! Mine goes in for its 10K mi free service tomorrow and hate to be without it for even a day...although they always give me a new A6 to drive (trying to get me to trade up!) and I can handle that. Last time they gave me an A6 twin turbo and I hated to return it.

Good luck and whatever you decide on, I hope your dealer treats you as well as mine treats me.

equalizer1 · January 2001

DRC4

You and I obviously are on the same wavelength. When I read your posts, it seems you take the words directly out of my mouth.

As you and I had discussed a few months ago, I really wanted the Melange, and my husband wanted the silver. We went back and forth on this for a while, until he won. I still sometimes wish I had the Melange, but the silver has grown on me. I think there are more interesting interior color combinations that you can have with the Melange, as opposed to the Silver. Oh well......

I'm glad I helped you in your decision. It really helps when you are in love with your car. Then being a walking commercial makes it easy and honest to let others know the advantages of a certain product.

COTMC

I truly don't think you'll ever regret getting the Bose, even at the $600 price. Most of the premium stereos on other cars are around that price. As I said in a previous post, I think besides the sound, that the fact that I would have had to have the dashboard ripped out to get an upgraded aftermarket system, made the Bose choice a no-brainer.

Again, good luck with the car. I love the Melange, and it sounds like you got the perfect combinations all around at a great price.

Like you said, with 4 yrs. fully paid maintenance, how can you go wrong?

drc4 · January 2001

Actually, silver is the most popular A4 color by far as you undoubtedly know from monitoring the AudiWorld A4 forum. Like melange, silver really accents the A4 styling and looks great. But you're correct that it's very limited as to compatible interior choices, and I think you made the obvious, best choice. Strange, but of all the A4s I see around here I've never seen silver. There are several black, white, a couple reds and blue. As rare as melange is and thinking I had the only one in the area, I'm upset by the fact that there's another melange in my neighborhood! What are the odds? Oh well... at least as far as I know there's only 2 of us. My sales manager said melange is like the white pearl TL - hard to get and limited, so I like the idea of having something unique.

I have no doubt the Bose system is audibly better than the stock Symphony system. The problem I have is door rattles from speaker response that I haven't had a chance to fix yet. The speakers are fine, it's just inner door elements rattling. Do you have any rattles resulting from your Bose? Maybe Audi takes a little more care in assembly with the Bose system.

I took my car in today for its 10K mi service and the A6 was unavailable so they gave me a new Jetta. Nice car. It was interesting to find the sunroof doesn't exhibit any air noise, unlike the noticeable noise in my car. It's dead quiet. If it can be achieved on a Jetta, why can't Audi do it on a $31K A4??? One of those little life annoyances that makes you say, "hmmmm."

Take care.

drc4 · January 2001

After driving the Jetta today while my A4 was being serviced, I truly learned to appreciate my car and Quattro even more. We had 25-35mph south winds all day, causing direct cross winds on our east-west interstate. The Jetta was noticeably quieter with no wind noise from the sunroof but it was all over the freeway in the strong cross winds, requiring a lot of correcting. On the drive back home after picking up my car, the same strong wind was just barely noticeable. The Quattro tracked perfectly and I couldn't feel any buffeting or drifting. Gotta love a heavier car and Quattro for a better margin of safety and driving comfort in these conditions!

equalizer1 · January 2001

You're right about the sunroof noise. It is very loud. As far as rattles in the door, I had one about a year ago, and it was the interior door handle and they fixed it right away. I have had nothing wrong with the car since. It is as tight at the day I bought it!

ehernand · January 2001

Crack open one of the rear windows. That should help to alleviate some of the wind noise

drc4 · January 2001

Thanks for the input but I think you're referring to the thundering/pounding caused by unequal pressure at certain speeds when the sunroof is open. I'm talking about a closed sunroof. I guess I should have made that clear. It's too cold here right now to be running around with the sunroof open!! Fortunately, the unequal pressure thing (with sunroof open) isn't as bad on my A4 as with previous cars but when I do experience it I just crank the sunroof up or back a notch until I'm out of the 35-40mph range, where it usually occurs.

cotmc · January 2001

Hi. I just wanted to attempt to answer your question on why I don't necessarily want Quattro.

I think a large part of the answer is that I live in an area where I won't see the benefits as much as most people. I live outside of Phoenix, AZ, in an area that never sees any snow and very rarely experiences any rainfall. Secondly, the roads here are very straight, flat, and boring. Almost every single street is on a straight North/South or East/West grid allignment.

Thirdly, I value all the straight ahead accleration I can achieve, without doing aftermarket mods to the car or engine. The FWD version is 250 lbs lighter, and this makes it a little faster.

Also, we have an SUV with AWD, and so we have some added traction with our "family" vehicle, in case we need to drive in unfriendly road conditions. Our AWD SUV would almost always be the vehicle of choice for any family road trips. This A4 would be mostly my own personal transport to/from work and around town.

Finally, I have a goal of staying close to $25K on this purchase. Even though I may see all the investment returned to me if I sell the car in 3 years, I would prefer to keep the extra $1750 in my own possession.

If I lived up north, or even if I lived on the West Coast where they have some interesting highways, I would likely give very strong consideration to buying the Quattro. I just can't see enough benefits for my particular situation.

If you think I should consider additional reasons for purchasing Quattro, I'd be interested in reading them. However, I'm not sure my mind can be changed at this point. My tentative purchase deal of $25,340 for a new 2001 Melange 1.8T with ecru/clay leatherette interior, Premium Package, Sports Package, and Bose is almost too tempting to pass up. Having found out it has the ecru seats and clay dash/carpet makes it even more tempting.

By the way, I finally received a 2001 A4 brochure! My previous homework was outdated. The Advance atmosphere ecru leatherette seat option provides both a clay dash and a clay carpet. The 2000 brochure stated the Advance atmosphere with ecru seats provided a brownstone dash and an ecru carpet. I'm definitely happy with the changes for 2001!

equalizer1 · February 2001

I agree with you. If I lived in Arizona (and that's probably the only state in the US I would consider this), I probably would save the $1750 for the quattro and go with the FWD.

There are plenty of people on this forum if you go back a bit, who live in warm weather climates that have FWD A4's and are very happy with them. Quattro really shines in the rain, and if doesn't rain often in your neck of the woods, the FWD should be just fine.

Good luck!

SAR21102 · February 2001

I mentioned your (closed) sunroof noise on the one of the Audi forums, because I was interested in whether any of those enthusiasts experienced the same thing. Only one said they had, and here was his solution:

"My sunroof started doing the same thing a couple of months ago. Here's what got rid of it for me. There's some sort of fuzzy material all around the sunroof. This fuzzy stuff had gotten compressed over time and became a lot more solid. I took a toothbrush and brushed it out again all the way around...Squeak is GONE!"

It might be helpful.

Audi A4 2004 and earlier

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