Your Opinion

[sandwich]

Need some advice/opinions:

Looking at new cars, and I have three local options, and one that's way out. Just wondering if anybody has any opinions as to which they would choose. My budget is no more than 8g's, and at that it had better be damned near perfect.

The cars that I'm looking at:

1983 Audi UR Quattro, white, 43k miles. 15x8" Ronal wheels (Collectible). Great condition, windows are slow, Ac needs recharge, and the radio doesn't work. Fantastic overall condition, but $7200 puts it up high in my price range.



Another 83 UR Quattro, 86k mi, $5000. Had an engine fire, not much works in the terms of Cruise, AC, radio. Runs OK, has Ronal wheels, but the heater valve is stuck open, so it would need to be fixed.

1991 Isuzu Impulse RS. Not sure how many people know about these cars. 1.6L Turbo, 2650 lbs, Dual LSDs (mid and rear). Solid, drives well, but not much aftermarket, and no one makes upgraded rear shocks. $3000, with 110k on the clock.
img at bottom
Minus the rear spoiler, of course.

In addition, there is a 91 Toyota Celica Alltrac, kitted for rally racing, but he wants 8 large for it, which puts it way at the top of my range. Plus it's in Indiana, which is 10 hours away.

Any suggestions? I'm looking for a quick AWD car that could be eventually raced, if I could get there. Would prefer to have upgradability as well as ammenities like cruise, AC, RADIO....so that I can drive it on the street too. Just fishing for opinions, let me know what you think.

[Niko_Fx]

The white Audi looks awesome, definetely my choice. Is it possible to reduce the price a bit? Then you would have some money to fix it.

EDIT: 43K is nothing for an Audi

Good luck

[R34GTR]

I'de go for the white audi quattro, I mean what can i say the 4WD and has a great rally history + It keeps value if you ever need to sell it again

[sandwich]

The white Audi looks awesome, definetely my choice. Is it possible to reduce the price a bit? Then you would have some money to fix it.

EDIT: 43K is nothing for an Audi

Good luck

I've talked with the guy, and he really doesn't want to go any lower than 7200. I MIGHT be able to get it for 7, but that's already coming down from close to 8, and the car is really mint. It has been repainted, which is sketchy, but they did a fantastic job.

[EvilPaladin]

I'ld take the white Audi too.

[Quiggs]

If you can afford it, the white Audi is definitely your best bet. Have it checked out by a mechanic you trust.

The gold one will cost you more to fix than the white one. And God knows about Izusu's...

[sandwich]

Everybody seems to like that audi. I just fear that I'd have no money left over to put a cage in it or make any upgrades, not that it really needs any. It also has open diffs all around...not the best for handling...

[Niko_Fx]

Everybody seems to like that audi. I just fear that I'd have no money left over to put a cage in it or make any upgrades, not that it really needs any. It also has open diffs all around...not the best for handling...

Remember that cheap things can end up being more expensive.

[UK CARS]

Remember that cheap things can end up being more expensive.

Cheap is expensive.

[byronleehk]

I'll go for the 1983 Audi UR Quattro if I were you. From you description the car's in perfect running condition, the A/C, radio etc are minor flaws which you can live with (at least for a short while). Get the car now (if the price is right for you) and fix whatever you can afford in the future.

Good luck man!

[Matra et Alpine]

Everybody seems to like that audi. I just fear that I'd have no money left over to put a cage in it or make any upgrades, not that it really needs any. It also has open diffs all around...not the best for handling...

? open diffs ?

Why no diff locks ?

Worth just checking the car history a bit, AFAIK the ONLY Quattros to run permanent locked diffs were the works cars. They could be in a bad way if they're not stripped and maintained regularly.

and a Quattro with NO diff locks is a waste of time. You're lugging around a LOT of metal and getting no benefit. As a minimum, you want to be able to lock the centre for serious track/stage use.

[sandwich]

? open diffs ?

Why no diff locks ?

Worth just checking the car history a bit, AFAIK the ONLY Quattros to run permanent locked diffs were the works cars. They could be in a bad way if they're not stripped and maintained regularly.

and a Quattro with NO diff locks is a waste of time. You're lugging around a LOT of metal and getting no benefit. As a minimum, you want to be able to lock the centre for serious track/stage use.

There are diff locks, but they appear to be finicky as to whether they work or not. This seems to be a common problem in most Audi's. So far, I haven't found one for sale that has a functional diff lock. Something to do with vacuum lines and etc. Some people switch to later 5000 electronic diff locks which work better.

I want to make sure we're on the same level here- as far as I know, all UrQ's were sold with Open differentials, as opposed to limited slips or TorSens. I'm not sure where I can get limited slips for it, or if there are any. The diffs aren't welded, and there is a lock function, but as I said, it works intermittantly.

[Matra et Alpine]

I want to make sure we're on the same level here- as far as I know, all UrQ's were sold with Open differentials, as opposed to limited slips or TorSens. I'm not sure where I can get limited slips for it, or if there are any. The diffs aren't welded, and there is a lock function, but as I said, it works intermittantly.

ah, yes, I understand your term now.

Yes, the early vacuum-operated diff locsk are notorious as IIRC it takes the vacuum from the AirCon or something crazy like that and has a reservoir in the rear.

If you can't lock the diffs the Audi is a poor car for competition.
You probably want to get that looked at and as you say an upgrade to the later electronic controlled diffs factored into the price

The works rally cars welded the centre diff solid

[sandwich]

The racing thing is something to consider. I'd love to get into rallying, but I am concerned with cost, time, etc. If I got the Audi, either one, it would be mainly a road car, perhaps with the addition of a cage ASAP. It would not happen for a while, however. With one of the other cars, the ability to race is way more apparent. The Impulse is cheap enough for me to build a cage and buy safety equipment, and then go racing, probably in production class. The Celica is already there, less helmets, suits, etc.

So I've got the Audi, which is nice, classy, and collectible, and then the other two, which I can race. I guess if I got the Audi, I could rally cross it, and eventually mod it into a race car. That would take more money in the long run, however, and I wouldn't be able to race well into next year. The other two would be ready now.

[sandwich]

Just more fuel for the fire, the Isuzu weighs almost 500 lbs less than the other two, with just about the same HP (160).