Hi all,

I'm new to Audi, and looking for purchase a used Audi A6 1996 model (C4). It's very well maintained, with about 188k km (117.5k miles) clocked. I've looked at the car and test drove it and seems ok to me, but I'm new to Audi (have been using Japanese cars before this) so is there anything in particular that I should look out for an Audi of this age? (15 yrs)

Thanks in advance!

 

The reliability of an Audi is no way near that of any Japanese car. Be prepared to spend money on maintenance and repairs. Price those future costs into the purchase price.

Good luck,

Bob

 

Oil leaks would be the main concern under the hood - is a "bitch" to replace the rear main seal, the upper pan gasket, or even the valley pan gasket.

As Bob said, for a 15 yr old car (no matter how "well" was maintained) expect to start replacing parts. If you're DIY-er, you should purchase a "Cursing for Dummies" book as well.

 

hi, thanks for the replies. yes, i'm actually from AP region and the audi has been maintained by a 3rd party audi specialist (not audi themselves). current owner has all records of the maintenance, oil change done every 5000 km, gearbox overhauled few years ago, Radiator, Stabilizer Valve, Air Flow Meter, Brake Servo, Fuel Pump, Distributor, Fan motors, Absorbers all changed before in the 14 year lifespan of the car.

going to take a final look/test drive on the car with a mechanic tomorrow before deciding.

just wanted to know if there are major issues with this model which i should pay attention to during the test drive/view.

thanks!!

 

As far as I know (read), there weren't major issues with the 2.8 L C4 since its inception (1991 - starting with A 100) and until 1997.
Looking through my 1995's service history, beside the "regular" maintenance and wear & tear items, I didn't detect any engine or transmission work performed on the car. The 1996 model probably were as fiable as 1995s, if not even better considering the evolutionary trend.
There are quite a few 1996 owners on the forum that probably can give you more and better insight as far as the particular year model than just my assumptions.
For instance I just got done changing the brakes all around on my 1995 and the calipers and carriers were the original ones. I still kept the rear calipers, although I cleaned and regreased the retracting/sliding pins on them.

Anyway, your test drive was a couple of days back. How did it go, did you end up buying it?

 

hi, thanks for all the feedbacks. yes, i did buy it in the end!

this is the car, it's a 2.0liter C4 1996.



the previous owner has all maintenance records, and most major parts have been replaced/repaired before. gearbox was overhauled at 150k km mileage, and so far it's really good.

may need to ask more questions as i learn more about it! i just found out today that it had this cool speed limit indicator, initially i thought something was wrong as the huge KM/H sign came out on the dashboard with a small alarm/siren.

 

Good luck with your new ride! Where in the AP are you? Also, mantain a good friendship with that 3rd party Audi mechanic. He knows the vehicle and has to be more reasonably priced than a dealer.

 

I'm in Malaysia. Yep, I'll continue to go to the specialist, he's definitely way much cheaper than dealer, but the parts are getting expensive as this model is rare here.

I'm thinking of getting the Haynes manual to read up more on the car and perhaps do some diy maintenance

Also trying to figure out how the alarm works in conjunction with the boot lock. Seems like if I were to mechanically lock the boot (keyhole horizontal), then when I try to unlock using the key fob, it's disarmed but the door locks does not unlock!??

 

hi all, does anyone know where i can download an owner's manual for the audi a6 (c4) 1996 model? thanks!