Audi 80 B3 as a daily driver
 

Hey guys, new to the forum and have joined as I'm interested in buying an Audi 80 B3 with the catch being that if I purchase it, it will used as a daily driver racking up a minimum of 10000 miles a year. I have been drawn to the Audi 80s mainly because I love the look of them but also because I'm led to believe that they are reliable and rust isn't as much of an issue due the bodywork being galvanised.

Can an Audi 80 be used as a daily driver and is the parts availability any good i.e. readily available as I won't be able to wait weeks for parts to arrive? (According to Practical Classics it has a 5/5 for spare parts availability??)

I've looked at an '88 Audi 1.8S near me and love it but before I take the plunge, I would like the opinions and advice of some guys/gals that are in the know.

Many thanks in advance!!

Welcome.

It could be used as a daily. Only problem you'll have is that when repairs are needed, parts may take longer to source. Most parts are available, just not off the shelf.

I do about 9k a year in my 90q 20v. Don't use it every day but it gets used regularly. I have another car so I can lay the 90 up for a few days if needed.

B3 FWD have pleasant parts prices - after A90q my mk2 golf seemed to be very low budget car, but then I had to remember that, no, A90q was expensive, due to quattro and 5 pot engine, and golf is in the same category as ordinary A80.

Since it seems that you're going to drive on road, better choice would be 2.0 8v, as it's in B3 sweet spot of performance and economy.

I use the 90q as a daily but I don't cover anywhere near the mileage your considering , that said I wouldn't have a problem with it doing that sort of mileage , as Mike said there could be an issue sourcing parts asap, if this is your only mode of transport...

B3's/B4's are hardy cars..;)

I think it is possible to use an B3 audi 80 as a daily driver. I drive 1996 C4 Audi A6 diesel and do about 20k pa. Parts have not been a problem to date, albeit not much needed and not from Audi. But I do have a URs6 which is a back up just in case.

I'd say go for it, easier though if you'll be doing the spannering yourself?

Many thanks for all the answers guys! Much appreciated. I'm no stranger to working on older cars and have worked on my friends MK2 Scirocco which I believe is basically the same engine?

When you say that most parts available but not off the shelf, does this mean that the parts are mostly going to be pre-owned/second hand?

I've had a look online for some parts and I've been able to find most of the exterior light casings and amazingly the black side trim and bumpers new, but I can't seem to track quite vital bits like throttle cables, and clutch cables etc are these only available second hand now?

should be available new rather than 2nd hand

Motor factors or specialists may be able to source but may take a couple of days.

I wouldn't worry about throttle cables etc as failure is rare

It can be done, I have previously had 80 b2 and 80 b4 as daily drivers. Not really had too much of a problem with parts availability. I tended to plan maintenance by changing things before they failed and collect together all the parts beforehand.
Obviously if a sudden failure occurred I couldn't plan for that but overall that was rare and most of my parts and spares came from GSF, europarts or online. I was surprised at the number of things my friendly local car spares shop could get, usually same day if I asked them early enough

You won't find any clutch cables for B3, because unlike mk2 scirocco, B3 audi is more modern car and it has two cables less - clutch is hydraulic and speedo is electronic. As for the rest - I doubt that there are any mechanical part for B3 FWD which would be unavailable at least from aftermarket - the question is if stores you're using can find them.