So right now I own a '98 A6 Quattro. I love the drive and feel of it. However, it is not very maintenance friendly.

I've just had my second water pump in 5 years replaced and if any of you know how intense of a job it is you know it can be very costly and time consuming to do. It requires removal of the whole front end and changing out tb belt, t-stat, drive belt, rollers, tensioner, lever, and any hoses required.

I think this design is ridiculous as it shouldn't require removing the timing belt to replace a t-stat or water pump.

My question for your C6 owners is, are the C6 Audi's just as frustrating to work on?
I'd really like to stay with Audi but if newer models are not more maintenance friendly than I may just stay with BMW (owner of one as well).

End of rant. I appreciate any insight you can give me into the newer A6's.

thanks!

 

I don't own a C6, so take my 2 cents as however you want to take it.

My buddy wrenches for an Audi dealership. Their, the dealership's, income comes from both selling the car as working on the car. The percent difference? About 30% from selling the car and the rest from wrenching on it...

So with that said, every auto manufacturer, not just Audi, is trying to make the maintenance a proprietary process as much as possible. Yes, I am generalizing over the top, but I think there is truth to what I am saying.

I am a firm believer in the power of diy. Heck the techs at the dealership are humans just like you and I. But the difference is that they have the proprietary equipment that costs thousands of dollars as well as the space to do the work. A set of sockets don't really work on new cars...

With that said, compared to your C5, C6 will be more complicated to work on.

 

Thanks for your response. For some reason I thought you were an Audi tech.

I guess specifically I want to know if changing out a t-stat and waterpump are as time consuming and and work intensive as it is on our C5's.