Alternative guide to buying a ur quattro

[LYT4X]

This is not meant as a technical guide for prospective owners! This is designed to give any hopeful ur quattro purchaser a wake-up call before getting excited about an advert for a cheap car. I know I will be shot down in flames for some of this but hey ho! Call it a pessimistic view if you wish – but let me assure you of one simple thing – in the next fifteen to thirty years, there will only be one type of ur quattro on the road and that is the ones which have been given the kind of treatment described below. Note that I’m not describing a ‘show car’ here. A quattro which is cosseted and only gets moved about on a trailer is not a real car and hence the stuff below will not apply. A car which hasn’t moved with any degree of regularity under its own steam for many years will have its own set of problems and a really low mileage ur isn’t worth the premium unless you have too much cash and your own museum.

Aside from what I have detailed below, there is one thing to say about buying a quattro which isn't mentioned - get it checked by someone who knows them. This comes before anything I'm about to trouble you with.........

So, you want to buy a ur...... The car of your dreams..... But you only have a limited budget and you want to make every £ count. The first thing to be aware of is that there is no such thing as a cheap quattro. Nobody gives them away for peanuts and it's a myth to think that you are going to find a pot of gold at the end of the Vorsprung durch Technik rainbow. There have been two or three known cases of cars being picked-up for a song in the past twenty years - principally where silly women have traded-in a ur at a dealer and the salesman has given a value based on a CQ but the chances of you being there the instant that happens is effectively nil.

Here are some hard facts to bear in mind:

All these cars are between 20-30 years old.
Most of them have the original running gear - bushes, mounts, bearings and ball-joints and suspension components still in place.
Many of them have had their wiring looms abused (badly) to fit alarms etc
About 80% of the cars available to buy will not be quite what they seem!
Many sellers may not actually know that their car has questionable history.
Trade sellers have absolutely no interest in you, or your quattro passion – only your £.
A high selling price doesn't necessarily mean a good car - particularly from a trader.
A low selling price doesn't necessarily mean a bad car - though it's a better guide.

Essentially, it doesn't matter if you spend £4k-£18k on a ur, the main difference will probably be the look of the car and the available history. Neither of these aspects will reflect the amount of money that may be required to make it go exactly like a proper quattro should – and I’m not talking about the engine here…..

If you are looking at an original (but tired) car, the best place to be spending money is underneath. If you think that a few hundred quid will do the job then you are in cuckoo-land. Refurbishing the mechanicals properly from the clutch back to the wheels will set you back between £5k-£10k. This includes (but is not limited to) a clutch, prop centre bearing, diff seals, all brake & fuel lines, subframe & wishbone bushes, wheel bearings, springs, shocks, top-mounts, fluid cylinders and all the normal serviceable items such as brake discs/pads etc. The rear subframe should be inspected very closely - preferably by stabbing it with a screwdriver to ensure its integrity. This item cannot be replaced easily and the bulk of its problems are hidden on the top-side when it’s on a car.

Then there is the bodywork....... There are many good looking cars out there. However, it is surprisingly easy to smooth-out rust and blow a top coat of paint across an otherwise shabby car. This will start to reveal itself after six months to a year when your pride becomes despair. Even the best of the cars have areas which are hidden from view and I'd wager that most of them have some issues around the lower A-pillars and the sills. The boot area is well worth a thorough inspection and anything found will probably be a lot worse than can be seen casually without stripping it down. If you are considering a re-spray then be realistic. If you want a paint that will last the course then you are not talking about a few hundred quid. A proper re-spray will be hitting the £5k mark and a top-notch job could double this!

As far as engines are concerned, I’m not even going to start a list. The older the unit, the more chance of problems and an even greater chance of being unable to source parts to put it right. There is no way to guarantee mileage other than a perfect service record and every MoT certificate from new/3yrs and most likely, only one or a very few loving owners. I see so many ur’s for sale these days and it’s amazing to see 25+ year old cars out there showing double figure owners and 75k miles. Unless there is concrete proof of this then treat the claim with utter contempt. It’s always worth bearing in mind that the person selling the car might truly believe that it’s completely genuine and could have been wearing rose-tinted goggles when they bought it.

So what am I saying here? Some would say I’m talking bollocks but here is the rub. It is possible to buy a good car for under £5k, BUT, you will need another £15k to make it a great car or it will quickly be heading for the parts bin. More often than not, a sub £5k car is already fit for parts only. You can buy a reasonable car for between £5-£10k, but you are still looking at investing the same £15k+ to keep it as a long term machine. Then, you can spend over £10k on the car, but still that figure of £15k for future work will be on the horizon in the coming years. My own RR is a good car with a value which could be up there with the best of them. However, I’m still expecting to be spending that £15k sometime in the next five years or so.

I suppose what I’m getting at is that a ur quattro is going to cost well over £20k no matter which way you play it – unless you are prepared to have the car end-up as a pile of bits on the garage floor in years to come. If you want to still be playing with it in 2020 but you only have £5k to play with then it’s simple……… Don’t!

Flame suit <ON>

Oh,.... and if you think that in the future someone else will pay you for all the money you've spent on the car, just keep taking the tablets...........

[john johnson]

One thing you missed some of these so called experts ain't worth a wank , I've a report on one of mine and that had a few discrepancies , take a well versed known enthusiast who ain't gonna take a few hindered quid off you unless they are going to be liable for their errors , I've heard of some sorry tales too of peops buying cars and then being left with jobs like fooked manifolds and the like that were omitted amongst other things, I've bought mine without the help of of someone dipping their mitt in my wallet and been fine

[LYT4X]

Apart from that, what do you think of the rest of my prognosis you old git?

[john johnson]

Total bollix . No , it's about right tbh, most people have got their heads up their arse when they think they can get a minter for fook all , you can throw several k at sorting out the basic mechanicals then the same sorting out the paint ( this is to a proper decent level , not a Barry blowover)
I've walked away from loads in my quest for a decent 20v

[4v6]

Sounds like a fair overall viewpoint to hold to me John.

Mine cost me a tad over 2k, got the double number on owners and the 99k on the odo, however it was stored for 3 years so it could well be accurate, mind you i also got a bunch of receipts and some of the mot's and a private plate on it which might yet liberate some of that 15k....lol
Can agree 100% with what youre saying about the underside, because thats where just about all my moneys gone on this thing so far.
New brake, lines, discs, pads, bearings seals, boots, wishbone rubbers, shocks, top mounts....all got to be repeated on the rear too, mind you i fully expected it to be honest and the only reason i took it on was because the labours my own and thats where you can make some savings on the "big bill".

As you quite rightly say tho, if someones having to pay out for all this stuff to be actually done by others its going to need something akin to the national defecit to put it right.....

[Micky]

it's simple if you don't have deeeeeeeep pockets or know sweet fanny adams about cars in general then "DONT GET ONE" parts alone are as we all know are for the most part N.L.A and i am not a quattie owner but even i know when you mention the word quattro the price just tripples

[Emjay]

all very good and valid points and summed up nicely. I only know how much I have spent on my little coupe over the last two years alone just to keep her on the road and she is by and large a decent car and nowhere near as complicated as a quatty

A stamped service book is one thing but a car of this age and vintage I'd be liiking for a shed load or reciepts for work done too

[gabriel.oconnell]

to own a quattro is something else be prepared for alot of spending there is no such thing as i cheap quattro, when i purchase my 1985 stone grey quattro ur B178AAG i was told it was top class i paid over £6,500 for her, yep that was in october 5 years ago, by the january the following year i had spent over $,500 on parts alone the list was endless even so the sheel was top class the rest need total medical attendtion , from complete new oil cooler, compete brake system top complete suspension both front anfd back, also you need plenty of help and knowledge from people who have got them, eg john brignal, john johnstone, to name a few and huge help from peter reeve who without doubt was and is top class guy for parts forget audi as i was told several time to try on ebay also amanda or as we call her lady p for all there help, yes . My car i thought was one of the best in won and came runner up twice at the ADI shows and yes the down part is and still is at the age of 53 it was and is the best car i ever had and i can say whwn i sold it it made my car to be parted from her. Now in sydney in oz i still miss it and god i miss that car

[Martc]

Same can be said about a cq, to rebuilt front to back underneath costs almost as much. Other than the turbo bits on the engine, digi dash it's almost as expensive, plus when you have finished it ain't worth sh1t!

[Isimmo]

We're banging in at about £7k now.... Engine rebuild, drivetrain on the floor work... Got off quite lightly really. Oh, and it's not got/had it's MOT yet.... And the paint needs sorting still.

But we've owned the old girl 15yrs and that says for something...

If you're buying, and spending, keep it...

A ur-quattro is for life, not for Christmas.