A4 Avant TDI 190 v TFSI 190?

[s3pc1234]

Hi All,

New joiner here.  Currently considering buying an A4 Avant, hopefully 2016 or newer. Have owned a string of diesels over the last few years but now doing fewer miles (~8k pa v prev 12-14K) so looking at petrol alternatives - useage is still 70 : 30 in favour of long journeys v short. 

So I'm afraid its another of those 'any common problems' type posts - but my primary concerns are :

1. TDI - ad blue complication puts me off.....

2. 2.0 TFSI - heard they can burn oil and will it feel a bit short on torque against TDI's?  Particularly keen on 50-70mph shove for joining m/ways etc. 

Will be manual as for some reason just dont enjoy driving autos, even modern ones....

I recognise with any vehicle of this age, condition and service history are key but would value inputs from anyone who has owned either of these. 

Many thanks!

Phil 

[Steve Q]

Don't forget dpf and egr issues with diesels too. 

As you've highlighted service history is key, and in a car this age you'll be looking to see cambelt and water pump change, gearbox oil services etc. make sure all electrical items work. 

Have you watched buyers guides on YouTube? 

 

[s3pc1234]

Thanks Steve, 

As you say history is king..... I have watched a couple of You Tube guides but they do tend to vary between telling you everything will go wrong to 10 mins solely devoted to Apple Car Play features! 

I do like the CRTDI engine in my car and its been reliable so far, but mine is without Ad blue so particularly interested in that angle.  

Thanks

[Stevey Y]

23 minutes ago, s3pc1234 said:

Thanks Steve, 

As you say history is king..... I have watched a couple of You Tube guides but they do tend to vary between telling you everything will go wrong to 10 mins solely devoted to Apple Car Play features! 

I do like the CRTDI engine in my car and its been reliable so far, but mine is without Ad blue so particularly interested in that angle.  

Thanks

Hi the Adblue is not a problem if you use an anti crystallisation additive in the tank and a fuel additive in the fuel tank that sort of holds the dreaded P2002 code at bay, everything in the engine bay of the Ultra equipped cars is agg to get to and generally speaking the part prices are blood, you probably own one of the last cars that were well built, cars after that were well built but with inferior quality parts especially rubber bushes on the suspension which frequently fail and crack or go soft, I bought my car off of the back of the legendary reliability, its not true on the newer models which have become far to complex electronically to the point where even the dealers can't fix them sometimes, I wish you luck.

Steve.

[marta96]

As an owner of the diesel, do not waste your time... get the petrol and give her some oil every now and then.

DPF EGR AdBlue... and that's before the usual problems with 'modern' cars. My adblue ECU decided to die and that was a £800 fix.
My egr is close to dying and that will be same cost.

You've gotta give them the beans all the time to clear the DPF out and that's with 25k miles every year, you'd think those issues do not exist with that mileage. I've driven both and prefer the diesel to drive but knowing what I know now: petrol. Never buy a diesel...

[s3pc1234]

Thanks for the input - seems to confirm my concerns that AD Blue complexity might be a step too far.  On my current car I've not had issues with DPF or EGR but mine is Euro 5 / no Ad Blue.......  Much appreciate the honest feedback....thanks for taking the time.

[marta96]

Yeah my mechanic did tell me I should’ve bought the same car but 6-12 months older to make sure I didn’t have the AdBlue but it is what it is. I love my car but she’s hard work… 

[s3pc1234]

So I guess this takes me further down the road of asking if anyone has positive / negative feedback on the 2.0T Petrol engine ?  2015 onwards?

[Stevey Y]

5 hours ago, s3pc1234 said:

So I guess this takes me further down the road of asking if anyone has positive / negative feedback on the 2.0T Petrol engine ?  2015 onwards?

Hi Marta did mention give her a little oil, wait until the milage gets up and you are putting in a litre every 1500 miles that will be fun, you wont get great MPG as these cars are very heavy which why the diesels were always favourite because of the low end torque they produce, all makes of car have their faults but engine faults at the premium level they claim are actually unacceptable, I personally would never buy another one, overpriced parts, labour charges and insurance just dont stack up for a reason for owning one, the earlier cars are better and more robust but post 16 on I think they had convinced themselves electric was the future and cut back on the quality of the parts on fossil fuelled cars they built.

Steve.

[s3pc1234]

Hmmm - lots of food for thought here.......its a real shame as I really like the Audi A4 driving experience, particularly on long journeys / MWays etc......may need to re-think possible alternatives....

[marta96]

13 minutes ago, s3pc1234 said:

Hmmm - lots of food for thought here.......its a real shame as I really like the Audi A4 driving experience, particularly on long journeys / MWays etc......may need to re-think possible alternatives....

Have a more regular oil service if that’s a worry. You said under 10k miles a year so do a yearly oil change and you’re good as gold. For true oil problems BMWs are right there ! 
 

I drive cars for a living and have the luxury of doing a 50-150 mile trip in anything. When I get into someone else’s or my a4 I feel at home, we can munch the miles with no fuss and it makes the worst trips easy (central London I’m looking at you).
 

The issue you have however is that there isn’t many alternatives for the age and I’m thinking price too? BMW love drinking oil and breaking drivetrains. Mercedes are Renault engines, boring and super plasticky. VW have the same issues as audi but come without the looks. Same with Skoda.
Maybe Volvo ? A 16/17 plate s60/v60 even in diesel is just undramatic and comfortable ? (Diesel is £35 tax a year much like the a4)

That will be my next estate a v60, but according to everyone I need to be over a certain age to own a Volvo 🤭