98Trans

I was just curious what you guys think, I paid $10,800 for a 98 T/A A4 with 46k on it. It seems pretty solid so far, although I get a weird shift and just started getting a strange noise at idle when it first starts up. It sounds like a tape player rewinding, then it goes into that whistle you hear at idle from the front of the car. I've heard a lot of people giving 98's a bad rep. Should I trade it in for a different year or anything??? Just thought I'd ask cuz I'm kinda worried about it bein a 98 and all, thanks!

YoungGunLs1

the tape deck rewinding sound you hear is the air pump or something like that...someone else will chime in, but all of our cars do it. congrats on the new car.

Swang

iTrader: (3)

dont worry, its fine. sounds like a good buy, good spot...youll be alright.

bsf

iTrader: (7)

Congratulations. I paid $13900 for my signature car with 18k miles. I am happy with the price I paid. I personally have no concerns about mine being a 98. This has been thoroughly discussed. Try the search engine.

WhiteKnightZ28

iTrader: (5)

I paid $9,000 for my 98 A4 Z28 with 48k on the odo...

...you piad an extra $1,800 for a better looking car lol

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Don't know why you'd be worried because it's a '98. I've had 3 LS1s so far ('98, '99, '00), and the '98 has been the best (with least amount of problems) of the group.

Whoever is telling you '98s are "bad", clearly knows nothing about these cars.

As for the noise, it's likely the AIR pump as stated above. All my LS1s have made that sound on startup. It goes away after a minute or so when the pump shuts off.

98Trans

Hey, thanks guys...appreciate it!!! Yea, that is true about the extra 1800 for a better looking car haha. I noticed when I went to buy my T/A, I almost bought a Camaro just for the price tag. As for it being a '98, just seemed like some guys had a bad vibe around here about them. So, just thought I'd ask....thanks for the assurance!

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

That's probably because the '98s have a PCM that makes them incompatible with a lot of the aftermarket tuning software that's avaliable for '99-'02. But from what I understand, that is/has changed and options are coming around. Anyway, that would only be a concern if you were planning mods that required tuning and you wanted to tune yourself. Any good LS1 shop can dyno tune a '98 so it really doesn't matter.

Other than that, the only real downside specific to having a '98 is the metal 15.5 gallon fuel tank vs. the 16.8 gallon plastic tank in the '99+ cars. There are some other differences among the years, and the '98s actually have some advantages over some of the newer models (like a temp gage that actually functions, bigger injectors than '99-'00 cars, and a stronger flexplate than '01-'02 cars to name a few).