So here is what I have going on.

I need a good reliable car for around 7-8k so I don't have a payment. This also helps be to afford the increase in repair cost that an Audi may have.

I keep finding plenty of 01'-02' a6's w/ low 100k on the clock within my price range.

The main car in question at the moment is a 2002, 4.2L with 111k. The timing belt and water pump were done 5k ago. The body is pristine, the leather is in good shape with no cracking, the rest of the interior is good but shows some wear.

So what things do I need to look out for?

Is the 4.2L a reliable engine? Does it really NEED premium gas? What kind of gas mileage are others with this big engine see?

Should I be looking at a different model (a4 is too small) or engine size?


I really appreciate any opinions or advice you all could share.

 

Well my a6 with 120k and the 4.2 engine has been very reliable when it comes to the actual engine department. However it does require regular maintenance. Every few thousand miles something new pops up and requires some tlc again - mostly electrical (buttons, lights, windows, etc). I just replaced the suspension on this car so you might have to look into that with this one if you want the car feeling like it should.

Gas Mileage really depends on your driving behavior and the condition the car is in. When I got my car at 82k my MPG was down to roughly 16. Since then I replaced the MAF, Airfilter with K&N, Coilpacks and Sparkplugs - this brought me up to 21 mpg with mixed driving (city, interstate, light foot and heavy foot on occasion).

The only downside with this car is the weight and torque. The transmission in this big car is really kind of weak. They can last if you drive like it is always Sundays and you have kids in the back seat. However if you start tuning, racing or just punching the pedal every time you can it will start to dissolve your transmission and you will have to replace it pretty soon which is like a 3k-4k job
Make sure if shifts smoothly and doesn't slip when you buy the car and drive it for and hour or so under different stress situations to ensure the previous owner didn't rape the car too badly

 

if you want reliable Audi is not the best choice.

Look into buying the 2.8 a6 which is the most reliable in that budget. It will leak oil now and then and is the slowest of all the engines.

the 3.0 is not the strongest engine. it has problems with the cat. convertor which is a 1000 dollar part and there are some issues with the cars Cams.
and if the 3.0 is fwd the tranny will need replacing sooner or later.

the 4.2 is a good engine and the transmission is its big let down. They tend to need a rebuild around 100k miles. i believe this was fixed around 2002-2003. but dont quote me

the 2.7 is the strongest engine and fastest based on the 2.8 but if the turbos fail its a 4k job. but if taken good care of by the prev. owner the turbos should last the whole car's life.

the 1.8 in the a4 has problems with sludge.

and all these cars will give you more problem if you dont use premium.
the 2.8 will get you 26-28 mpg on the hwy if driven easy and 20 on city.

 

Thanks for the input. I still haven't made a final decision but after reading through some post of problems people have had with the 4.2 this is looking like a money pit. Not sure if everyone has problems or if it's just because this forum is a good place to ask questions.

I really like the idea of the A6 but don't want to spend thousands a year keeping it running right. A few repairs here and there are okay but it seems that people are constantly fixing these and most repairs are 1k+. That does not sound fun.

 

I agree with the opinions you have received so far.

also your assessment that it seems like there are a lot of problems is dead on. it only "seems" like there are a lot of problems because folks tend to come to the forums when they are having issues. the majority, without problems, are out enjoying their cars. not posting on forums.

just like with any vehicle, if an Audi is well taken care of, it will last a long time. i find they do require a bit more "attention" than some of the other brands of vehicle out there but as long as you take care of the little things they will not become big things. when purchasing any vehicle used you have to have some faith that the previous owner took care of the car.

i bought my a6 with some issues. mostly unknown to me because the ford dealership where i bought it didn't have a clue. even after taking care of the problems and keeping up with the maintenance it has been a pretty reliable car and not unaffordable if you can diy. maintenance and repair becomes costly because to get it done right you have to take it to a "specialist" where labor rates are a bit higher. not taking to a specialist is not a good idea.

good luck.

 

As 02A6Beau stated, many of these posts are driven by problems, so it seems that Audis are unreliable. I doubt the 60+ year old couple who has been driving their A6 gently the last 10 years and has the dealer do all the maintenance ever post. That said, these things have lots of accessories, electronic warnings (they tell you when bulbs go out), and power everything and the more of that there is, the greater the risk of something failing. I do agree with the caution about checking out the 4.2 tranny and suspension. Otherwise it is the most bullet-proof engine of the bunch. If you can live with little annoyances, it is a good used car. If you expect perfection at 100+k miles and ten years, look for a simple Honda. I've owned my A6 since 2005 and after chipping (then replacing the clutch/flywheel - see the connection), it has been very reliable and is now at 190k miles. Yes, the turbos are leaking a little and may fail someday, but otherwise she's been good to me. But one rear window still sticks and I had the disable the auto-level headling warning.

 

you have 190k on stock turbos chipped?

 

Yes. 189,783 to be exact, and about to take it from MI to NY to FL for vacation. In the spirit of full disclosure, my indie shop has reported a slightly turbo oil leak for the last 10-15k miles. But no dentist drill noises. We are keeping an eye on it.

 

I drove the A6 4.2 today for a while and of course I loved it. There were a couple warning lights on so the car is going in to find out what's going on. If it's nothing major I think I may have to start negotiations

What would a good price for a 02', 4.2 with 111k that has had the timing belt and pump done? Interior and exterior are above avg for the age and what else I have seen.

ppgoal - I see you're in Holland. I live in GR, not sure that means anything just thought i'd say something about it. thanks for your input.

 

"A couple warning lights?"
Be careful - if they are minor known things you might be OK but manytimes the minor things add up at an impending BIG failure.


For example my last Audi was showing an auxillary air pump code when I looked at it.
It usually means it is a bad vacume line to a cambi valve -an easy fix - or it might mean the need for a reoplacement air pump -easy replacement $100 used - a lot more new - so i took a chace.

If it is showing cats yiou need to begin thinking $900 1,000 each maybe more.
Brake modules can be costly - ECM more than a few beers - Sometimes you endup changing most or the car to get the damn light to go out so you cna get it inspected.

Don't forget clunking and crunching suspension parts, universal joints (quarto's have a half dozen), the dreaded limp mode, and a non-engaging transmission.

You can sometimes get a real good Audi deal from someone that is frustrated with the Continuous $400 - $500 minor repairs.

If you have a good connection for Audi parts and can do the work yourself you can save a few $$$ but a high milage Audi will still cost a lot