This paper presents an application of the dual reciprocity boundary element method ( DRBEM) to transient advection-diffusion problems. Radial basis functions and augmented thin plate splines (TPS) have been used as coordinate functions in DRBEM approximation in addition to the ones previously used in the literature. Linear multistep methods have been used for time integration of differential algebraic boundary element system. Numerical results are presented for the standard test problem of advection-diffusion of a sharp front. Use of TPS yields the most accurate results. Further, considerable damping is seen in the results with one step backward difference method, whereas higher order methods produce perceptible numerical dispersion for advection-dominated problems.