Advice/Tips on purchasing a 2002 A6 3.0
 

First post, new to the fourm. I have been looking at A6's and have narrowed it down to the VW Passat W8 and A6, but after hearing issues with the W8 I am going A6.

I have found a showroom quaility 2002 A6 3.0 with 65,000 miles on it, what types of things should I look for.


As far as maintence what things are coming up, what is the typical mileage for timing belts/chain?


The car was checked out with the dealers independant mechanic and everything out.

Only issue I had was the rear heated seats did not work


Thanks for all your help

Welcome to the forum, Kobe.

Here's the Maintenance Schedule for a 2002 A6.

I would assume the dealer whose "independent mechanic" found everything ok with the car is a non-Audi dealership. As a general rule of thumb, you should do a drive-test if possible, but most important you should perform yourself a thorough visual inspection.
Targeted areas: underneath (CV axle boots; brake hoses; muffler/exhaust pipes condition; brake rotors) and in the engine bay (oil leaks, cleaniness, state of the various reservoirs - liquids color, etc).
Here I repeat myself from a previous thread, but in addition, as many guys with long stats around the forum say, IT IS a wise idea to take it to an Audi dealer for a thorough mechanical inspection, since they know the car inside-out and can detect eventual problems, otherwise unseen or unfound by the selling dealer's "independent mechanic".
It's just something you can look into before signing the papers and buying a headache.

The provider of inspection is legally responsible for any omissions or wrong assumptions!

As an unfortunate owner of a 2002 A6 3.0 my advice would be don't buy it.

The 3.0 is widely known to be a problem.

How much is the 70K service, should I just do it now at time of purchase