Going to look at a 2001 A6, 4.2L, tonight. It has about 150K miles and the tranny is toast. The owner claims it's in excellent shape inside and out. She said it still drives, but very sluggish. Does this mean it's in "limp" mode? It was taken to a tranny shop that said it was an electrical problem. He referred her to a mechanic who specializes in German cars, he says transmission is bad. He checked the car out and gave it a clean bill of health, with the exception of the transmission, and quoted her almost $5000 to fix it. She drove it home, parked it and bought a new car. She is asking $2,000 for it.

I have done engine/transmission replacements before so I'm not scared of the project. I'm just not sure whether to try to track down a junkyard tranny or pick up a rebuilt one from somewhere. Is going the junkyard route even worth it? This is not the first A6 I have seen with a bad tranny and it seems like 150K is a common time for them to take a dump.

 

I would recommend passing on this car. It's basically a parts car at this point. You can find a number of better cars in the $4-5K price range without any of the potential problems.

 

if you can do the work yourself, and are willing to, why not go for it. I know you say you have done transmissions in the past, but there is a reason why the "german shop" quoted the lady $5K for the job. source yourself a transmission to get an idea of how much you will have to pay in parts. then try to talk her down from her $2K asking price. if you have the inclination and the time...

on the other hand, "you'll shoot your eye out kid"

 

I'd pass on this car. If you do decide to go with it don't put a junk yard tranny in, whats the point of doing all the labor on the job if the junker might go out on you. Reman or pass.

 

Here is a site that has used parts. I searched for 2001 Audi A6 4.2 transmissions. Average price seems about $2000. I just don't see the upside in trying to do it yourself.

Search Results

 

Audi A6 Allroad TIP To 6 Speed KIT Transmission: Audis4parts.com

 

I have a 2001 audi a6 4.2. I have just recently had the transmission rebuild at a certified mechanic shop. They had to send it from Boise Idaho to Bend Oregon and with the removal from my car labor/freight to and from Bend the rebuild and the replacement back in my car I was right around 5200.00. When they got into the transmission they found a a broken gear and a couple other issues. The transmission ran strong before I had it fixed the only problem I had was the car shifting hard from 5th gear to 4th gear. After replacing the transmission there is still a hard shift and we are exploring the option of being an electrical problem. Maybe the transmission control module (tcm) this unit is 1400.00 new. I have a great mechanic working on it and I new when buying the car there would be some maintenance issues. I think if you can buy the car for 2000.00 and put 5000.00 into it for the transmission you are still under what the car is worth. I might get another opinion if the transmission is sluggish. It might be in limp mode or there is a wire that my mechanic found was unplugged after they replaced the transmission that while unplugged only left the car with first and second gear.
Good luck