Hello everyone,

My mom works at a hospital and a doctor there recently took a job in Califronia so he wants to just sell his car. It is a 1996 Audi A6 4 door with a V6 2.3 liter and the Quattro AWD drivetrain. It is also an automatic leather seats and some other fancy fixtures but that isnt the most important point. I asked about services and he has receipts of all the schedule maintenance and said there was some other "things" he had to bring the car in for. The car has a little over 100,000 miles on it and he is asking for 5000. I was wondering if there is anything I should asked about the car or problems that pertained to the A6 that I should check for so it doesn't ruin into problems in the near future. So basically should I buy this car?

 

For $5000 you could buy a much newer Audi. Doctor's don't know much about service, They've got the $$$ to not care. However if he hands you a pile of service records indicating that the timing belt, water pump and all of the tensioners were recently replaced. And ALL, excluding Transmission, of the fluids should have been changed multiple times along the way. Brake fluid, coolant, etc.
If it is clean inside and out then I would give it consideration. OTHERWISE your looking at a hefty price tag to get it up to date on service.

I do not think it is worth $5K, In good condition KBB says 4K this economy says name your price. Please do your homework on these cars they tend to be a handful sometimes.

 

I second all of the above.

Personally, anytime I buy a "new" vehicle, I always give myself a baseline for maintenance - meaning that I change all fluids, plugs, filters, etc. Now you don't have to do that, but if you don't have records of recent service, it adds up quick - I bought my '02 w/ 60k two months ago and have spent about $1300-1400 (in the middle of replacing a transmission sensor right now & did the timing belt myself). If you're not inclined to work on your own vehicles, you could easily triple that. Nothing on these cars is cheap.

Honestly, if he has "things" that have to be taken care of, ask him what dealer or shop he's taking it to - then maybe you can pay them to do a buyer's inspection while they have the car. It might cost $200 or so, but it's cheap piece of mind. If you know someone w/ VAG-COM, it can be a good idea to have the codes pulled too to make sure something isn't lurking. My "intermittent" problem when I bought it, turned into an almost every day issue and that's why I'm now replacing the sensor - BUT, I was expecting it - makes it a lot nicer than being caught offguard.

 

I agree...There are tons of newer Audi cars out there for less. You can buy a nice fixer upper for about $2000 g's.

Check craigslist and search for "audi" in your area.

$5000 for a 1996...hell to the NO! I bought mines for $900 bucks and rebuilt the transmission. By the way...I am using mobil 1 systhetic and it's been 9 months and the car shifts smoothly still. You can use Mobil 1 atf synthetic. I was the poster boy and guinny pig/ lab rat for this test. it works better than the expensive dealer oil.

 

I agree with all the previous posts about the price being too high. It should be closer to $3500

The timing belt is the bigest issue beyond price... If it hasn't been done expect to spen $1200 to $1,800 immediatly for the belt and ather stuff that needs to be done when it is apart.

Then get a VAgCom, Bently manual, and plan on having fun. If your faint at heart about chasing automotive challenges get a Honda.

 

I second what everyone said up to this point.
You should only pay $ 5000 IF the car is in MINT condition: great exterior paint (no scratches and shiney); impecable interior (no tears in the seats; clean looking headliner and upholstery; clean and unbroken pillar covers, center console, center stack, etc);
(from here on could also be a list of "what to check for") impecable working condition for all the electrics (p. windows, p.locks, sunroof, AC, heat, etc); engine in sound working shape with NO LEAKS; no problems with the transmission (no thunks or other strange noise/symptoms when shifting); rotors/calipers/pads in decent condition; suspension in great condition (control arms, tie rods, struts - look for shock absorber torn dust boots; check for bouncing); CV axles with intact boots; NO MIL(CEL); TB, Water Pump, T-stat done recently.
Otherwise, I wouldn't pay more than $ 2,500!
Good luck to you.

P. S. By the way, the fact that he's a doctor doesn't add any extra merit to the car, hence to that unreasonable price...

 

I bought my '96 A6Q 2.8L w/ 130k miles for $2000. Good condition with slight bumper rash and in need of new shocks. No service records, but inspection showed timing belt and pump had been changed. Valve covers are starting to leak now. I'd say the price of $3500 quoted above w/records and recent timing belt service would be about right.

 

Thanks everyone... seeing how this guy wont budge on the price I think i am going to pass on this A6 at least.