I may purchase an A6, second opinion needed!

Alright, I am going to (probably) pick up an A6 to replace my dying Subaru OBS. It's an 1998 A6 with 120k on the clock. I have looked at the service records and it seems the car was regularly serviced. My questions are:

How difficult are these cars to work on (i'm decent with a wrench)?
How hard would it be to cough up a few more Highway MPG?

I have read the reliability on these cars is much better than the media makes it out to be, and for $8000, I would consider this car to be a nice deal. I appreciate all comments regarding this issue.

- Ben

A little info:
What engine?
What tranny?
Have the tie rods and control arms been replaced?
When was the timing belt changed?

2.8, auto, I believe so, I don't know.