just wanted to get some feedback from you guys what you think about the car. I would also appreciate any common problems that happen to this car. thing is im looking into buying one and dont want to spend more on parts then on the car itself. thanks!

also from 1-10 how would you rate the transmission reliability? its kinda an important factor for me as i had a 99 TL before and went thru two..

 

Well I can tell you a little bit about mine but I'm no where close of being called an expert. I consider myself a beginner DIY guy. However I can gladly give you a run down of my car experience.

I had my car for about 2.5 years now. Since I got this beauty I had a few problems but nothing that made the car undrivable. I bought it with 82k miles on it and I'm up to 112k now.

First thing to consider with that mileage is a timing belt replacement. I waited a couple thousand miles since I just put a bunch of money down for the down payment. While saving some doh the engine started to overheat. I pulled the CC out instead of wasting time and bought the timing belt kit right away at around 84k miles. Took me about 8 hours of hard labor (you have to pull the entire front off, radiator, etc) and found out the issue was not the water pump causing the car to over heat but the radiator was blocked (my guess: very, very old coolant that started to dissolve). Anyhow timing kit replacement went very smooth and car was running like it should again.

Only another 2k later (we are at 86k now) the car was acting up again. Long story short I ended up replacing the MAF (had some strange CEL codes, all gone after that). I noticed an increase on performance and wanted more. I researched and found out that AUDI has had some issue with the coil packs in several Years and models (I think even until 2006). I paid the 300 bucks and got new Bosch 4 prong spark plugs and newest revision Coils. Again huge increase in performance (really night and day difference).

Driving around being a happy camper until around 100k. Check engine light "buddy" said hello again. Code was for the 2ndary air pump. First thought it was bad but I still heard it kicking in. So I followed all the hoses and found that big one going into the engine was pretty much non existent anymore. The end peace connecting to the engine was hanging there on about 0.5cm of left over rubber from the hose. The rest was somehow cracked, ripped and slightly melted away. I replaced that one with a generic heater hose for about 10 bucks - CEL gone.
I checked all the little vacuum hoses in the front of the engine, and they all looked cracked and old. So went down to Autozone bought 6 foot of vacuum hoses (yes I didn't need that much, but I wanted to have enough) for another 10 bucks or so and replaced everything. Not much increase on actual power however the engine was running smoother after that (idling) and when using the kick down, it really kicked in as it is supposed to (before I had kind of a 1-2sec delay).

Last thing that happened was at 110k miles. Coolant reservoir started leaking. Ordered a new one with a new cap ~70 bucks. Easy, painless and fast replacement.

In between there were some minor non engine related issues I attacked and still have to resolve but nothing serious:
- Driver door sensor stopped working, requires me to replace the entire thing ~200 bucks
- window motor on driver and passenger side need to be replaced (I tried to fix it with those plastic clips first, there is a DIY somewhere, however that made it better but still won't always go all the way up without "assistance")
- Fuel door lock actuator is not coming out when you lock the doors (still have to get to this, here is a DIY: http://www.audiworld.com/tech/misc46.shtml)
- Engine hood gas strut replaced
- Oil Pan started to leak, next oil change I will fix that with a new silicon gasket

My next big operation will be to replace the control arms, drive axle assembly and the struts. I'm planing on buying the reinforced Billstein Control arms and the Koni FSD for the struts (read good stuff about those). Again looking at a lot of money ~1300$ + a full day of labor.

I try to replace the oil every 3k-5k on every 2nd change the fuel filter as well. Already took care of the transmission fluid and did a fuel system cleanup.

Minor modifications:
- replaced the resonators with a straight through pipe for a better sound of the V8
-Got rid of the air filter box and replaced it with K&N filter (same for the 2ndary air pump). I try to clean it every 3-6months since Colorado weather is very dry and dusty. Be careful though with the oil after wards it can clog up the MAF.


Sorry for the long text but I hope this gives you some insight of 1 person actually owning a 2002 a6 4.2. I'm sure there are some more serious horror stories somewhere around

Edit:
I can't tell you how reliable the transmission is at this time. Mine hasn't acted up at all.
Also forgot to mentioned I replaced my rotors and brake pads at around 105k. Spend around ~400$ (cross drilled, slotted with EBC red stuff)

 

thanks for spending some time writing this up. it gives me lots of valuable information.

 

i have a 2001 on the same side of the mid model split as your 02 so every thing should be the same. I have 208,000 miles on it now, I bought it with just over 100k 3yrs ago. I have not had to put any money into it until this year.
I replaced the timing belt,my driver door would not latch but to fix it all i did was remove the latch and clean and lube it, all 4 struts, power steering pump, the one time it did strand me is when the fuel pump rely went out, and it is now in the shop for a trans problem.
With the miles on the car everything that i fixed would happen to any car. so far it has been a good car with very few problems.
If I had to rate the trans i would have to give it a 8 cause I went over 200k miles before any problems showed.