All,
My 2001 A6 4.2L engine has died. The car has about 80,000 miles on it. Seriously giving consideration to replacing the engine with a used engine. Cost is estimated at 4500.
My question is how are the transmissions with these cars. I have had the car for about 6 years and have been pretty happy with everything. Just not sure about the logic of dropping 4500 on a car that is worth about 5500. Any thoughts out there, anybody else done this, how long can I expect a 2001 A6 to last. Thanks

 

When you say your engine died what do you mean? Did you have a timing belt failure which is repairable or did some other major component fail doing irreparable damage to the engine. It is rare for an Audi engine to die at 80,000 miles unless it was not maintained properly (i.e. allowed to run low on oil).

My recommendation would be get rid of the car unless you plan to replace then engine yourself and can do it for ~$2,000 and you perform other maintenance yourself. The car is at an age where rubber bits are going to start failing due to age, such as suspension control arms. These items are not expensive to repair if you do them yourself but they are quite pricey to have replaced by a shop. If you pay a shop $4,500 for the engine repair I would bet that within the next year you will have another $1,000 in maintenance items which will put you over the value of the car.

 

Good points,
and I actually agree, but we need a second car and even a 1000 a year in maintenance it is still cheaper than a new or used car. Not happy about but financially it makes sense.
Thanjs for your thoughts.

 

I'm in the same boat. Just found out that I need to replace my timing belt, cat and control arms at 84k miles. Debating what to do with a $5700 bill. Getting a second opinion today.

 

I've got a 2002 S6, with 112K miles on it, recent timing, water pump, tensioners, acce belt, etc.etc.etc. That I'll be looking to pull and sell at some point.

It's a project car, I'm still driving it and need to free up space in my garage, but I'll be pulling the engine at some point in the near future. If anyone finds they need a motor and well the transmission as well.

tmblue .. gmail com

 

I replaced the engine on a BMW a couple of years ago and it was like throwing money away. It started, it ran but it was not the same vehicle. And, after that everything else started to go....granted it had 150,000 miles but maintenance was a lot more thatn $1,000 per year and my wife got tired of driving me around while waiting out the repair.

Honestly, for $4,500 I would think you could find a more reliable vehicle