Really could use some insight from those who know.
Currently have a 2004 Audi A4 1.8T Quattro, great car but at this point just want something I can buy and not have a payment on. Love the Quattro and really like the design and performance of the Audi so thinking about getting a 2000+ Audi A6. Looking to spend in the ball park of $7K or less. Have seen a number of 2.8's and a fe 2.7T's in that range with half decent miles 100k+/-.
Had a few questions:
-So what is the deal with all the repair shop horror stories I have heard with these cars?
-Are the repairs that expensive?
-Anything to specifically look out for on the Quattro 2.8's and 2.7T's?

Any information is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

The best advice I can give you is that Audis are Audis.

With an Audi you can expect to spend money.
As they get older you can expect to spend more money.
When they get really old you can expect to spend really large amounts of money orto live with a few annoyances.
If you can do some of the work yourself you can spend less money but you'll still spend it.

All Audi ownersneed to have a VAGCom and know how to use it.

PS I prefer the A6s because of their size. -It's probably because I moved from a 200QT.

 

No one is going to sell an 8-year old Audi in perfect working order for $7k. So you'll be trading monthly payments for random $1000 repair bills. You already own a turbo car, so you should know the risks there - just double it with a 2.7T. Make sure it had the timing belt replaced and have someone who knows Audi'sreally go over suspension and transmission. Those are probably your biggest risk areas. And be prepared for lots of possible electrical glitches from windows to instrument panel.

My 2003 has 107k miles and everything works, but I would not sell it for $7k. Oops - Just remembered, I could notstop the headlight washer linesfrom leaking so eventually I capped them.

 

Yea.... You have to maintain them. And it does get expensive. My '01 has not been bad but I just discovered a small coolant leak. Don't know where the leak is but it's there. I bought it new. I got the '03 2.7 this year and it wasn't maintained very well. It runs OK but it needed work. The body is excellent and it already had the timing belt replaced. The good this was I only paid $10,500 for it and it had 86K miles. Not a bad deal (a great deal actually). There are some good deals out there but it's risky. I bought the 03 expecting to have to do some maintenance. At worse, I can sell it and get what I paid, or more back.

 

You should expect to spend $, especially if yuo buy a high mile and cheap A6 2.7T... unless you're lucky.

Great car, love mine but they egt pricey with mileage especially if the previsou owner beat it up or did not religiously maintain it.... andI DO mean religiously!

 

I don't think that I am too far off on pricing for this car. I have done research via cars.com and all themajor sites and have scene numerous 00+ A6's in that range(I know I'm not getting a 02-03 for that price). Also have been considering getting one from an Auction, I work at a dealership so I have access to the dealer auctions. Been alittle weary of that due to the fact that I can't have someone really go over the car thoroughly. However, there are Audi Certified lanes that run through the auctions and also general certified lanes that run through where they guarantee a clean bill for the car or you can get your money back. So still tossing up that idea.

As far as maintainence and repairs go my 04 A4 hasn't cost me anything beyond general maintaince. No glitches or electrical problems to speak of. I just don't want a car that is costing me a crazy amount of money to repair constantly. Is most of the stuff that goes wrong with these cars maintainence related or is it just crazy electrical querks or what?

I'm using the rule of thumb here where a bad experience is told to 100 people and a good experience is only told to 10.

Not interested in the 4.2 just way too much car with way too much stuff to go wrong. Figuring that the 2.8 is simple and the safest bet. The 2.7T is tempting though for fun factor.

 

The 4.2 is a more basic motor than the 2.7. It's more to maintaining the 2.7 (or any turbo charged motor) than the 4.2. I don't really base this on having them both but more from what I read on the forum. The 2.7 is "quicker" IMO than the 4.2. The 2.8 would be a good choice for the same reason as the 4.2 but from what I hear and read, the 2.8 lacks power.

 

dmrdennie
Great input. The 4.2 would definitely be my first choice, but from what I have found the only one's in the price range of around $8k are with about 140k+ miles on them. Just worried about crazy repairs lol. I remember working at a dealership and we traded a 00' Audi A8 and that thing was like the plague with repairs and repair costs. It came in without a center armrest and the dealer wanted like $900 for them with a dealer discount. Now I know that they aren't the same cars or in the same class. I don't mind paying to drive what I like to drive just don't want to be spending a $1000 a month in repairs or have my car constantly in the shop.

 

The 4.2's aint cheap!! That's for sure. I didn't realize this until earlier this year when I bought the 2.7. A lot of people have told me that the "4.2 is a different A6". The only thing that's different is the wide body and the 4.2 is more luxury than sport . The wide body is a BIG plus for me. If only they made the 2.7 with the wide body.....