Hello!

My son wants an Audi. This will be his first car, and I must say, the Audi's we have driven (A4, A6 Quattro's) are wonderful driving/riding autos.

I have the opportunity to buy an 2001 A6 with 122000 miles. It recently had a new timing belt, water pump, tires and oil change.

The owner tells me the check engine light is on and the dealer said cam sensor.

The headliner is loose in the back, which I think I can repair easily.

I think I can buy it for around $6700 which is full "good condition" KBB.

Is the car worth it?

I don't know a thing about these cars except that they drive and ride well.

Thanks for any help/advice you can give, and I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.

 

Willkommen to the forums!

A lot of the car's value comes from what the market is like in your area. Some cars will sell for more than book value, while others can be had for significantly less.

given the fact that the CEL is on, you can probably either make a reasonable offer conditional on the seller getting the the car fixed first, or make a lowball offer with the explanation that the car needs repairs, and it is going to be expensive and it is going to be a hassle... I would recommend that you try to have the car evaluated by a reputable independent shop, that specializes in Audis (or at least knows their way around one), prior to purchasing the car either way. it may cost you $100 to have them give it a once over, but it is well worth it.

Now, on to what you can expect...well...any car with 122K miles on it is likely to have "issues". Parts are expensive, at least for quality parts, and you don't want to skimp on parts. Labor is ridiculously expensive ($100/hr or more for the dealership, and only slightly less for an indy shop). Book hours to fix an Audi are very high. They are well engineered and designed cars, but once they are put together, they want to stay together. Even simple repairs can be a hair pulling, tool throwing, knuckle busting, break out the BFH type experience.

Routine maintenance will be key to making the car last.

that is pretty much what I have for right now.

good luck

be sure to post back if you have any specific questions, and/or to let us know how it goes

 

Danke schön for the great response. I must say, however, you have me a bit nervous about the repair costs.

I can do a lot of my own wrenching with the right manual, but I know zip about Audi's.

The Audi's we've driven were impressive.

 

I have an audi 2.8 quattro a6 2001 ,89007 miles engine light on 3 month old tires new radiator new brakes replace rear driver side caliper leather seats in front a little rip but even with engine light on car runs great never once did it quit running and leave me stranded anywhere and i would go on long trips all over east coast car being on for hours even all day long and this car never gave up on me unfortunately i can't keep up with insurance payments and maintainess cost i was in a head on accident last Saturday hit by a drunk driver while driving my uncles car so i been out of work all week and its almost the end of the month so all my bills including rent is about to b due i hate to sell it cause i love it but i need the money its a great car I'm sure u would love it i have a low paying job and everyone told me i could not afforded it but i always wanted an Audi there really great cars just a little expensive to own if you're interested let me know and i will send u pictures and answers any questions u may have ill take 5000

 

I am not sure where you are but the cost is too high. Especially with the CEL on...

 

good thing is the 2.8 is considered the most reliable engine in the c5 a6. Bad thing is parts are still expensive and DIY is highly encouraged. Especially for little things. With 122k on the ODO the price is high. 5k is a reasonable value for that car.

And get a scan tool and scan for codes. Make sure the MIL is on for the Hall sensor and not some other hidden failures or hidden failures + hall sensor. Take it to autozone for a free generic code read.