audi 5000s (inherited this diesel... 43 mpg hwy ... should I keep it?)

[audi5000]

Hi all! need opinions please.Just inherited a 1981 5000S diesel.I have a 60mile a day commute,all easy hwy driving and am looking for some mpg.I drained the old fuel,changed the oil,put a new battery in it.Lo and behold it fired up.Smoked quite a bit until warm but then cleaned up.The Audi brochures from the day say 43mpg hwy.Is this possible?
My QUESTIONS ARE.
Were these cars reliable? Should i put some money into it or look for a more modern mpg car.
I will admit that the lack of multiple computers to deal with is a big plus to me.My wifes volvos60 is a computer controlled nightmare.As an acft mech by trade I will be doing most my own work.Please send your thoughts.

[Miller88]

Originally Posted by audi5000

Hi all! need opinions please.Just inherited a 1981 5000S diesel.I have a 60mile a day commute,all easy hwy driving and am looking for some mpg.I drained the old fuel,changed the oil,put a new battery in it.Lo and behold it fired up.Smoked quite a bit until warm but then cleaned up.The Audi brochures from the day say 43mpg hwy.Is this possible?
My QUESTIONS ARE.
Were these cars reliable? Should i put some money into it or look for a more modern mpg car.
I will admit that the lack of multiple computers to deal with is a big plus to me.My wifes volvos60 is a computer controlled nightmare.As an acft mech by trade I will be doing most my own work.Please send your thoughts.

Personally, I'd hold on to a mechanical injection diesel ... It needs 2 things to run : Fuel and air. No computer garbage.

[PressEnter[]]

I'd definitely hang on to it as long as possible. Diesels love highway cruising, and yours isn't fettered by all the emissions gear that make modern diesels only just able to run on our borderline American fuel. I'm not real familiar with the Audi engines of that era, but in VW and Mercedes diesels, half a million miles is not uncommon.

Plus, as I see you live in Oregon, it is legal to pump your own diesel

[justme1969]

Very familiar with them. Excellent driveline and very safe car for inclement wearther driving. By now hopefully many of its issues were fixed from recall visits to the dealership.
Most issues were electrical switches and lights because of bad {Soldiring} practices.
Keep it? not sure thats really a question since it was free and it fits your requirements.
You wont get a lot selling it unless its a quattro sport sedan and they diddnt come in diesel. As you may have noticed the ride is solid without alot of bounce and such when you get used to it you wont want another oversteering slushy ride car again.
A good upgrade from that was a thunderbird turbo coupe in those days better upgrade was the supercoupe. Touring car suspensions really went down hill since then.

[hmdelgato]

In April I just bought a 1980 5000s diesel much to the disapproval of my VW mechanic but this car is amazing. My electrical system is really messed up but the beauty is that it is easy to rewire due to the lack of computers. Mine has about 240,000 miles on it, it runs really well and I drive it every day to and from work, a 40 mile round trip Recently my wife and I took a 3 day road trip around the north shore of Minnesota putting on about 650 miles and averaged 44 mpg!
I am finding that parts are a chore to find, these cars just do not exist anymore, I am told that only about a half dozen of these are known to be roaming our great highways. Overall if you are mechanically inclined and want an obscure car to drive that you can fix with simple tools and maybe a machine shop keep it, if not find something newer but concede to the fact that you are bound by computers and specific highway fuel, no bio-diesel, no fryer oil!

I'll post some pics later!

[euromodder]

Look for Audi 100 parts on the European end of the internet.
Occasionally, you still get to see one of them around here.

These are the cars that built Audi's reputation.
Nothing short of an air strike will take these down ...

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

I wish I could get one of these back here in the Republic of Bananas. A real full-size that can be set to run cheaper than a Prius...

[Arragonis]

Another vote for keep it. Simple to keep going, parts might be an issue but some of us Europeans (hey, the internet goes overseas - who knew ?) might be able to help with parts as it is the same as the Audi 100/200 here - and there are quite a few survivors - not many TDs though (at least in the UK).

[robchalmers]

Definitely a vote for Keeping it from me. if its a straight diesel or even an early turbo, they will just keep going, Injectors are pretty uniform in size, with the odd bit of wrenching other pumps can be fitted if yours ever dies. other than that its service items.

I drove a 2.4 (5cyl) diesel Audi 100 station wagon about three months agon with 400,000+km on it and to be honest the 2013 mazda 3 rental I got into afterwards felt positively flimsy!