My dad gave me this as a hand me down, I wouldn't have bothered with anything like this otherwise. But when I had my little one on the way I wanted something a bit sturdier than the little dinky Micra I had. The Audi 80 came with a good recommendation, and I knew he'd never had much trouble with it, so I went for it. I drove it for about three years in total before I sold it on, not because I wanted a different car, or wanted to get rid of it at all, I just couldn't afford to run a car any more.
It was great while it lasted though, the best thing was how long it went between trips to the petrol station. I got about 500- 600 miles out of a single tank, which I just thought was amazing. It's a big old tank, but still, great really. The Audi 80 looks all smart and bulky too, which is reassuring.
The boot I remember was a great size, easy to chuck the buggy and shopping and other stuff in the back, just simple to get me and the little one, and my parents sometimes, around town. It could have been easier to park, but only by making it smaller overall. I think for a car this size it was about as easy as it could have been to park. I took to it easily after driving a Micra, so that says something.
It's lovely and comfy too. My dad always liked it as he's got a back back, he only wanted to change so he could get a more upright Honda thing which is even better. I suppose the Audi 80 is a bit low down and the seats could be a bit firm for some people, but I loved it.
I don't know exactly what work dad needed to do to it, but all I had to do was tyres, and some minor thing with the suspension. The garage said they're both quite common in these, cos it's a weighty beast.
I would take it back in a second, really gutted to have had to get rid of it.
You'll never get an Audi 80 for the fun experience of it, but if you've outgrown wanting a go kart for a car, and are instead looking for low repair bills and long term reliability, then it's perfect really. I got it on a tip off from a golf buddy who had one for about 15 years. The one I got had 100 thousand miles on the clock, and I paid about five grand in 2004. I've since doubled the miles on the clock and it's still pretty much tight as a drum. How many cars can you say that about??
The repairs have been pretty minimal. The front tyres go pretty quickly, probably the heavy galvanised steel body and chunky engine etc. But that bodywork has also proved very reliable. It's had some work on shocks and things, but those have been very spaced out over the years and I've bought the parts myself through a local breaker, keeping the costs down. I'm under no illusions about selling this thing on, so I can do everything on the cheap.
Like I say it's dull to drive, the steering is a bit vague, hard to really tell what it's doing. You get accustomed to it eventually, but even now it's hardly engaging to drive. The Audi 80 just isn't that sort of car though, it gets you from A to B in reliable comfort, doesn't try to impress any other way.
The fuel economy is brilliant. It's a pretty old car but my Audi 80 still returns over 50 mpg, and if I'm doing long boring drives it'll give back a bit more than that.