Early 90's Audi Quattro Coupes?

[Aaron]

Hey Guys,

Long story short but I'm back in my hometown for several months and will be leaving again in August.

My parents have generously given me $3k to purchase a car to use while I'm here with the idea of giving it to my younger sister once I move.

I was originally thinking of getting a Golf TDI, BMW e30 or Nissan Maxima (all mid-90's vintage). However, there is a '91 Audi Coupe Quattro for sale in my area. It's been very well taken care of and the drivetrain has 100k on it (260k on the body). I've always wanted to own a Quattro Coupe (childhood rally fantasies) but I keep thinking if anything goes wrong on the car I'll be stuck with a huge bill.

Anyone have any experience with early 90's Audi Coupes?

 

[Gallardo2501]

Don't buy it. You'll just be buying another persons head aches.

The QC is a awesome machine, but when it goes boom (and it will) you'll have to try to source parts that just don't exist.

It's true that it share's some parts with other Audi's of its time, but a great many belong solely to the QC. Seeing as a relative few were ever sold in North America, you'll spend more of your personal time hunting internet forums just trying to find parts, then your mechanic will spend putting the part in/on the car.

I've owned a lot of small production/quirky cars, and the QC is the only one that I ever just wanted to push over a cliff.

You want a small, AWD ralley breed car for cheap? Find a Toyota All-trac/GT4.

 

[Aaron]

That's what I figured. It was located near another car I was looking at today so I figured I'd just check it out because the QC is so rare. I called the owner to tell him I was coming over and he told me it had just been sold.

I saw that as a sign.

Oh well, pending inspection I'll have a really solid e30 BMW in a couple of days.

 

[BankerBoi]

BMW e30 or Nissan Maxima (all mid-90's vintage).

What's a mid-90's e30 ?
I thought they ended in 1991 (except the convertible)

 

[Alfa]

Wow, this thread brought me down memory lane. When I was in high school in the early 90's my rich friend's dad had a black coupe quattro that I fell in love with. I bought a 90 Quattro which is essentially the 4-door version, but that first love wasn't quite satiated. In college, after searching the classifieds and the quattro registry nationwide i found a cherry pearl white 91 Coupe Quattro with dove gray leather and the rare glass moonroof with 40K near Carmel. I flew down from Seattle and picked up the car and promptly brought it to a Porsche/Audi Mechanic in Santa Cruz for a checkup. 10 hours, a couple of movies and $1500 later I hit the road back to Seattle.

I LOVED that car when I had it and was very heartbroken to part with it when I later moved to New York 3 years later. I had formed a close relationship with a retired audi mechanic who let me work on the car together with him in his backyard garage. I provide my own parts, bought my own Haynes manual and he would just charge me $30/hr labor and give me dinner if I stayed late. Even with this special relationship, the upkeep was intense and this was a car which only had 40K on it! There are numerous problems with these such as the "bomb" or brake pressure accumulator, the throttle regulator which I was never able to get properly fixed despite numerous tries and lots of annoying rattles and squeaks from the hatch. It is also not a fast car, is quite heavy and has tons of body roll despite mine being a later production model which had the rear anti-sway installed. It is stuffed full of electronics which were quite state of the art at that time - a rear dif which could be turned off, electric everything, seat memory, etc. All of these things are prone to breaking and audi parts are ridiculously pricey and probably some are out of production by now. In the end, I sold it for far less than I bought it for and it took a long time to sell because only very specific people will come looking for these.

That being said, if you are willing to deal with the upkeep and realize that your 3k will probably be spent a few times over in maintenance it is a darling of a car. Terrific and confidence inspiring in bad weather, really cozy for two and a great road trip car. I even fit a bookcase in the rear hatch on a trip to IKEA. Most people will never really appreciate it as it was 45K new and completely overpriced. When I bought mine it was still totally overpriced.

For 3K you may be able to find a first-gen Impreza 2.5RS (non-bugeye) which should satisfy your rally desires and is still quite a rare car in its own right. Will also have AWD and subies are in general very reliable and trustworth cars. Here's a pic:

 

[Alfa]

Woah, I just noticed you are located in Canada.

I remember that canada has a funny/cool law that allows the import of Japanese kei-cars. I would be all over that if I could. One of my must owns is a Nissan Figaro or a Suzuki Cappucino. See if these are available if you really want something unique. Some of the most interesting cars of the 90's were only available in Japan in the kei segment.

Nissan Figaro:

Suzuki Cappuccino

 

[Aaron]

Originally Posted by BankerBoi

What's a mid-90's e30 ? I thought they ended in 1991 (except the convertible)
You're right, they didn't. My poor grammar.

Originally Posted by Alfa

For 3K you may be able to find a first-gen Impreza 2.5RS (non-bugeye) which should satisfy your rally desires and is still quite a rare car in its own right. Will also have AWD and subies are in general very reliable and trustworth cars. Here's a pic:

I thought about an Impreza but couldn't find anything in very good condition for my budget. I did some more digging on the Quattro Coupe and yeah, that is not a car I want to mess with. Power everything, AWD, 5 cylinder motor...it's just asking for trouble. The interior is gorgeous though.

Originally Posted by Alfa

Woah, I just noticed you are located in Canada. I remember that canada has a funny/cool law that allows the import of Japanese kei-cars. I would be all over that if I could. One of my must owns is a Nissan Figaro or a Suzuki Cappucino. See if these are available if you really want something unique. Some of the most interesting cars of the 90's were only available in Japan in the kei segment. Nissan Figaro:

Suzuki Cappuccino

My father and I were going to buy my Mom a Figaro last year for something fun but we didn't know where we were going to store it so we nixed the idea. There are a ton of RHD Figaros, Silvias, Skylines, Landcruisers and my favourite the 4x4 Delica van floating around Vancouver now. I saw a red Cappuccino downtown the other day too. They're fun, parts for something like a Silvia or Skyline must be insanely expensive though.

 

[sonick]

Buy this E32: http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rd...490567576.html or this one! http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/nv...487137555.html

 

[Gallardo2501]

Originally Posted by Aaron

There are a ton of RHD Figaros, Silvias, Skylines, Landcruisers and my favourite the 4x4 Delica van floating around Vancouver now. I saw a red Cappuccino downtown the other day too. They're fun, parts for something like a Silvia or Skyline must be insanely expensive though.

Parts for the Silvia are fairly inexpensive, the Skyline on the other hand, can be a bit more then unreasonable (particularly the GTR).

I still say check out the Celica All-Trac/GT4's. They're a ***** to work on (particularly the ST185) since the engine bay is super tight, but they are pretty reliable to begin with. I'm fairly sure you can get a import ST205, but it'll be out of your price range.

If you start to consider a *** import, Make sure you check out insurance prices, the rates can be freak'n crazy, a buddy of mine in Whistler is paying a gross amount of money to insure his GTR.

 

[Aaron]

Originally Posted by sonick

Buy this E32: http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rd...490567576.html

or this one! http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/nv...487137555.html
I'm trying to save money over the next 6 months, not spend it.

My mechanic is looking over a 4 door e30 tomorrow. If it goes well I'm purchasing that.

Sonick - I have a spare e30 bottle cap rim and some interior trim pieces, you interested in purchasing them?

 

[sonick]

Originally Posted by Aaron

I'm trying to save money over the next 6 months, not spend it.

My mechanic is looking over a 4 door e30 tomorrow. If it goes well I'm purchasing that.

Sonick - I have a spare e30 bottle cap rim and some interior trim pieces, you interested in purchasing them?

Hey, the M30 I6's are solid engines! At least it's not the M70 V12

The only thing I may need is the center console peice behind the shifter that goes from the parking brake to the rear ashtray, if you have that.

Does the bottle cap have rubber? I need a spare as my current one is cracked and completely useless. I think I'd prefer another basketweave for that though.

 

[shoes0226]

is very nice

 

[Nomad_K]

A good car, made less exciting by the scarcity of parts and lack of the turbo option in the US (Europe had them and with a few components from the RS engine of the time, they morphed into a rocket).