2001 Audi A6 2.7L (Twin Turbo, AWD)
I know very little on Audi's, however, I know how to repair cars. But, I am a full time student and am looking for a reliable 4 door. Dont have time to do repairs.
I live in Northern Cali and the other day I test drove a 2001 Audi A6 TT. The car was sweeeet.
The car was the AWD 4 door model (Audi C5 A6 saloon according to wikipedia)

Anyway, I'd like to know what are the common problems with Audi's at this mileage. Besides the timing belt, what else should I look to replace?

1.) Do the twin turbos last long? What should watch out for in the TT models?
2.) What other engines came in "Audi C5 A6 saloon"?
3.) Are these cars reliable?
4.) Seeing how the Audi is a German car, are these cars hard to work on?
5.) are parts hard to get or expensive compared to other cars?
6.) I see there is a 4cylinder version of this car. Is that also AWD?
7.) I see that from 1997 to 2004 they made a C5 generation? What exact generation is the Audi I was driving?

 

So i just called AutoZone and they tell me that parts are hard to find and expensive for Audi's. Can anyone comfirm that?

 

Well to begin, you said at this mileage and never actually posted it, that would help. The when you do the timing belt, you also do the water pump, it just makes more sense.

1) The turbos are iffy. Lots of people out there who treat their cars well, change oil regularly, and havent chipped have run well over 100 000. When you buy the 2.7tt its a time bomb. Its not if, but when.
2) There are 4 doors with 2.8 v6, 2.7tt, 4.2 v8, and I've read in europe they have a w12
3)Depends on a whole crap load of factors
4)They are definetly over way overengineered but if you have patience, mechanical inclination, and a vagcom/bently you should be fine. Plenty of guys on this forum have pulled the engine in thier driveway to put it in perspective, not easy, but definetly not impossible.
5)You wont find them in autozone type shops, but online there is a wealth of vendors dealing specifically with audi and vw parts. Shokan for example.
6)Nope, you want 4 cylinders? get an a4.
7)You already said yourself, correctly too that its the "5" generation. Audi goes "b" for a4 chassis then a number for its time block (ex b5 is 1997-2005), "C" for a6, and "D" for a8.

If you want a reliable car, get something else. I have a very complicated love-hate relationship with my audi. On the plus side, it makes having a gf easy. If all she asks is for me to cook dinner and tidy up a bit all I think is thank god, this is way better than an blown head gasket. Moral of the story, you have to pay to play with an audi.

 

They are sweet, but no one trades/sells a problem-free, 9 year old, possibly high mileage European car. At a minimum, you'r facing regular 6-8k mile oil changes with 7.5 quarts of Mobil1 0W-40 (about $50 just for the oil) because of the turbos. It needs the timing belt replaced every 80-90k. If you need suspension or tranny work, you are easily looking at $500-3000 in parts/labor. Unless you know how this older car was treated, you are possibly buying someone else's problems. Even if it is relatively cheap to buy, you need a little slush fund for problems. Not likely for a college student. I suggest buying one of the more boring, reliable cars (GM, Ford, Honda,Toyota) and when you get a decent job out of college, go hunting for a newer used Audi. BTW, I've driven mine from 37k to 166k and replaced the alternator, clutch and flywheel, and front CV covers. Still oem turbos, suspension, and even battery. There are minor little things wrong (headlight washers stopped working, temperature flops to C rather than F), but those are all bearable for the joy of driving the A6 2.7T. This month it goes in for ss brake lines (precaution), a brake fluid flush (every 2 year maintenance), plugs, and an oil change and I'm probably looking at a $300+ tab + I bought the brake lines.