hello all, I'm new here and have question.
I'm about to buy an 2000/2001 A6 , could you help me make the rigt decision.
I always tought that manuel cars are more reliable versus autos. How is 2.8 auto compared to 2.7 T manuel as far as the reliabilty goes?
In general how problamatic aoto trannies on audis, because it is very costly if it goes bad.
Thanks all.

 

What are you looking to do? if its up grade the motor then the 2.7T is the way to go but if you want a good NA motor then you might want to look into the 4.2. as for reliability VAG is good at making things bullet proofing there equipment. With all Germans you will shell out some cash if there is a problem. I have a 2.8 12V B5 and it strong as the day i got it and my 4.2 is doing well too but i just got that literally a week ago. there are a lot of things you can do if you have a little mechanical skill but anything big will cost you. so find a good local shop stay away from the dealer they will stick it to you. But i don't know much about the automatic VAG's but there manuals are bullet proof.

 

My main cocern is relia biliy. If it takes v8 no problem since I dont drive to many miles. How is the autotranny in A6? I would prefer a naturaly aspirated 2.8 actualy but I dont think they came with manuel trans. How is the A6 with v8 and auto trans on those cars?
Is the 2.7T roublesome? I can work on my cars no problem as far as I know the info. I built and played around American classic cars and built 67 Camaro with an engine trnasplant from newer car with fuel inj. So thats not a problem.
Thanks again.

 

I struggled with the same question about 3 months ago. I decided to get an 01' 4.2 and so far the car has been amazing. The engine is very powerful and the body style of the 4.2 gives it a more agressive look. As far as reliability is concerned i asked the same question on the forum befor i bought and people said that the 4.2 was more reliable however like all german cars if something goes wrong prepair to open your wallet. As a tip and what others will probably tell you... check if the previous owner has replaced the water pump and the timing belt because that can be a costly replacemtent if you have to do it.

 

oh also since you were asking about the transmition the transmition in my 4.2 is smooth and it works nice when in automatic, however the problem with the auto boxes is that the tiptronic system is kinda....well... its not like a manuel, it switches gears diecently fast when you want it to however, you cant go into first unless you come to a complete stop and lets say you put it in 2nd and floor it, it will drop to first than shift when you want, however if you put it in normal gate and floor it, it will hold to the limiter until you shift, i have often thought about re-coding the ecu to make it normal, however i find that most of the time the D'mode is fine for me, and when you want manuel its nice nice to have some controll, i know i make it sound bad but it really isnt. Like all cars, if you treat them well they will last longer, i know if you blow a transmition on any car its gonna be expensive, but beleive me when I say that even though im still an AUDI newb they are amazing cars

 

The only thing i would say bad about the 2.7T is that if the previous owner neglected it there will be high repair costs. turbos are very costly and with a higher mileage cat they will need to be replaced. if the car has over 80k on it then you might want to look into what it would cost to get new turbos. and compare that to the repair cost of other things on the NA models. but the 2.8 is a good motor just there is little that you can do to build it up. if you not into to tuning then the 2.8 W/ auto will be the motor to get. i have a manual in my B5 and i get 26-28 on the high way and 24-26 in the city. so the mileage is good. with the 4.2 i just took it on a small trip about 350 miles and i got 27 about 80% high way so there are some numbers for you ask a 2.7 about there cant help you there. sorry. but keep in mind do all your maintenance before you have a problem and it will save you a lot of green.

 

fergoson,
Thanks alot for your help. I'm eying a A6 4.2 fairly close to me it has a new tranny, timing belt changed, have the lovered springs and sport S line bumper or whatever with 78000 miles.
Or I will get a 2.8 auto. I just want a clean car that does noty give me lots of headache.
I would not have problem changing turbos altought if I have to which I beleive around 750 each.
Anyway will see what comes along. 2.8 are alot cheaper, and I m ight lean towards that as l;ong as you guys say tranny is not a problem on these cars.
Thanks

 

PT,
No problem you find out that in the few weeks after you but you Audi that you will fall in love with her fast than any other lady just because they are amazing cars. so good luck with you new toy. it will be lots of fun.