Hello to everyone,

i figured i would ask those who have expertise in audis to help me.

i have my car up for trade on craigslist (01 oldsmobile aurora 4.0-101k)

a guy emailed me with a offer of a trade for his audi

99 a6 quattro with the 2.8

he says it has 155k, lots of hwy mileage between milwaukee wi to madison wi for college.

im scared of that mileage on that car, im by no means someone thats knows audi very well, but a guy at work has a audi a6 but it has a 3.x motor in it and loves it, his is newer i think, another buddy says he prefers audi and they are really reliable, over mercs and beamers.

i asked him about a few things, i asked about the timing chain, he says he has never messed with it, he has owned the car for 3 years.

he says he has changed the oil every 3k with synthetic, he just did the brakes all the way around, calipers and rotors as well.

i asked him about the trans and he says he has done nothing to that as well, but when he gets his oil done they top it off and its always full.

thats about as much as i know.

i may go see it to take a test drive, anything i should look for? any sounds?

whats your opinion on this trade?

avoid it or take it?

my car is a gas hog, i do allot of freeway driving and the best i can get is about 22mpg, the aurora is a die hard, but it has allot of underlying (dinky gm issues) issues im tired of after 5 years of ownership and im ready for a change.

thanks everyone!

 

Comparing the reliability of an Audi to that of MB and BMW is like comparing a jockey to some pigmies and saying "boy, is he tall".

I'm willing to bet the car has hidden issues he isn't talking about because his car should be worth twice or three times what yours is worth. Control arms, oil leaks, trans issues, door switch, etc.

Good luck,

Bob

 

lol
dont take what i said so serious, i was just telling u what a friend told me.
As for 2-3x worth more then my aurora, not really,
just because its "valued" in a book to be "worth" more doesnt mean it will fetch anything more then what my car will get and be anymore reliable.
his asking cash price is 3500
and i dont think anyone ever would pay 6k+ for a used audi with over 150k miles?

not really.

my car will easily fetch 3k, i got it for sale for 4 and compared to other auroras on craigslist it seems to be on the cheaper end with less mileage, so i could ask for more.

But now the more i look at it, it seems as if my aurora may be more reliable then this audi?

what kind of things should i look for? any type of trans behavior? what about the control arms? how could i tell?
door switch?

thanks

 

I have to go with bob on this one. If they guy is offering you a straight up trade I would suspect that his car has some hidden issues he is not being forthcoming about. As to what exactly those issues are, the list could be extraordinarily long and expensive.

some things to think about: the 2.8 has a timing belt, not a timing chain. At 155K miles and he had done nothing with it, it is most likely due for a change ~$1K (DIY for $350 ish)

transmission he has done nothing with but when they change his oil they top it off and it is always full?!?!?!1?!1?!?1? there are just some many things wrong with that statement that I cant, wont, dont even.....

the 2.8 in an A6 is a pretty anemic engine in a big heavy car. there are no reasonable performance mods. don't expect much in the way of good gas mileage.


-these are just my opinions

 

thanks for the heads up on this, while the car itself is nice looking, gas mileage is a big thing for me.
same with some sort of reliability.

 

If your cocerned about milage and reliability do not buy an Audi . period .. go buy i honda.

i am kind of serious there

I have the 2.8 in my 00 and the statements are bang on ... it is very anemic that desription is bang on .. therefore it takes a ton of gas to get that all wheel system moving forward.
the belt is overdue and itf it hasnt been done is about to snap at 155k . Thats why he wants rid of it.
when the car heats up see if you can still see the lcd screen on the dashboard . Oil will probably be leaking out everywhere too

 

It is the most reliabl. Engine out of all the engines that were put into that body style. That being said doesn't mean it has no problems. If it's quattro the tranny will probably leak. The engines valve covers and cam adjusters tend to go bad and cause oil leaks. Also the oil pan leaks. Most importantly right now would be that the timing belt has not been changed and the transmission oil has not either. When u drive around shifting from P to D listen for thuds ect.. Watch the rpm and see if it us slipping. The trannys in this shift smoothly so check that out. Mpg i get is 21-22 mix driving. But 26 on strictly hwy with premium fuel.

 

I have two 97 A6 Wagons and neither of them will eek out 22mpg, so if that is why you're looking for better mileage than that I would look elsewhere.