I have a 2001 A6 2.8 Quattro. I just went to get the inspection done, and found out that I need to have the following replaced:

The estimate for the work was $5700. The owner estimated its current value at $2500, and with the work put in, $9500-10000.

About the car, it has 84k miles and I just put on new tires. It has a few scratches on the bumpers, otherwise it's in pretty good shape.

What should I do? I am leaning towards getting the work done and keeping the car for another 50-70k miles. However, I feel that every year or two that I need to put in at least $3k. What are people's experiences with maintaining early 00's A6s?

 

My opinion is that is too much money to spend. But that is easily solveable by doing one of two things.

1. learn to do some of the work yourself. 1000.00 - 1500.00 (assuming you have tools)
timing belt 350.00
engine mounts 150.00
rear brakes 100.00 unless you need calipers but unlikely
control arms 400.00 good quality, 200.00 poor quality
cats 200.00 but unlikely that will be DIY without a welder

or

2. Find a new shop. Parts plus labor should cost no more than: 2300-3000k
timing belt 900.00
engine mounts done with timing belt 250.00
rear brakes 200.00
control arms 1000.00 for good quality, 400.00 for low quality
cats - go aftermarket from a reputable shop. My magnaflow aftermarket cats are ~ 4-5 years old now and cost me 500.00 total with new flex pipes.

 

can't find the edit button anymore. My cats are 3 years old not 4-5 like I said.

 

I called another mechanic and will get another opinion. I don't have the tools/knowledge to DIY.

So $3k would be a more reasonable estimate for parts and labor?

When I was on the phone with the original shop, he stated that he had just "bought the business in November" and it felt like a sales call.

 

Anyone else want to weigh in with their $.02?

 

If it's driveable, and you can't notice any problems while driving then I'd sell it and buy another one and hope that the owner took better care of that one.

 

I would sell and try to find a better kept car. A 2001 Audi A6 is going for around $5K in my area.

 

In terms of better kept car, what can I do to prevent the control arms and cat from needing to be replaced?

 

Basically just drive smoothly. Driving on rough roads (really bumpy dirt roads) always seems to loosen some of the bearings on my control arms. If it starts squeaking when you're turning (like mine started doing a while back) then that's when you definitely need to replace it. Replacing my control arms also fixed my engine shake so I'd look at that too.

 

2000 audi a6 will not sell for 9K. 5K or 6K if you are lucky.

I would say sell the car.

As for the $5700 repair cost for the all the things that you listed, it is actually not that bad.