Hi,
Im new to the forum however I figured that the people who know the most about Audi cars would be able to help me with this decision. Im 18 years old and about to head off to college and for the past 3 years I have been driving my dad's 2004 GMC envoy XUV, however its finaly time for me to get a car of my own and the Car im most interested in is a 2001 Audi A6 4.2, it has 82k on it, sports package, cold weather package, basicaly fully loaded for 13k, one owner, carfax shows no accidents and routeen maintainence (it will be inspected befor I truely consider it). I love the style, AWD(great for colorado snow), and size; However after much research I am questioning wheather this is a good buy. I have read reviews where people rave about how amazing they are to drive, how the performance is amazing, interrior is awesome and how they thing that the car is extremely reliable and worth every penny. Than I have heard almost as many people say that there are so many problems with them that its not worth it, so which is it? From what i could tell it seemed that the majority of the people with complaints owned the 2.7t not the 4.2. Either way what are your opinions on this car. Thanks for all your help.

Louis

 

you are correct, there will be a higher rate of mechanical failure on the 2.7 than the 4.2 due to the twin turbos. If you can get a good deal on a 4.2 and dont mind the gas (which if you came off of driving an Envoy you probably dont) then get it!

 

The 4.2 is alot of fun and is more durable than the other engines.

 

For your situation I would def go with the a6 4.2, I have the winter package on my 2001 2.7T and it puts a nice touch on the car

 

A few things you may want to consider:
- does the car come with a warranty?
- do you do your own work? (and do it well?)
- are you into modifying at all? (exhaust, forced induction, suspension, CAI, chip etc.)
- if no warranty is the $ coming out of your pocket?

I can tell you this the C5 A6 IS in fact a very nice car- no doubt about it. However they can be VERY maintenance intensive. The one I picked up at the begining of last yr had FAR less miles than you, was routinely maintained at the local dealership etc. and in the last 18 months I've dropped almost 6k in repairs to include new tranny, new front suspension, new brakes- not just pads, new battery (@21k miles) It would have been a lot more but I did the brakes myself.

If you are into modding do NOT get the 4.2. The 2.7T has a HUGE aftermarket while the 4.2 is almost non-existent. If I had to do it over again I would get either the 2003+ S4 or the A6 2.7T. (or if I had been really smart I would have just kept my modded 04 STI)

Just my .02...GL in whatever you decide.

 

Nah the gas isnt too much a worry for me. Also any car i by will not be used too much, mainly to get me to work and back during the summer and the time when i will put the most miles on it will be when I drive out to college 1500 miles. At which point it will prolly be driven maybe once a week for a short run to walkmart or on weekends. IM not huge into modding however if I do anything I would like to get some halo projector lights and led tail lights and thats about it. As far as engine mods go we will have to see how mch money I want to spend on it. Many of the small repairs I can do myself and a family friend of ours is a mechanic. However if something big happens... well we will cross that bridge when we get to it. Im basicaly looking for a car that is fun to drive, handles well in adverse whether and hate to say it but looks awesome. in the next 4 years I can see myself adding maybe 40k to the existing 82k.

 

That price sounds a little high to me. I would shop around.
On the other hand, if you want advice from an old man (58 yr. on the planet), I wouldlook at A4's 4cyl. TURBOAWD. These are great cars also and you can get a really nice one for half of the $ you are talking about. BENG