Hey guys,

My wife and I have started looking for her replacement vehicle. We're trying to decide how old of an A4 Avant to get her.

From a DIY perspective, which generation is easier to work on, B7 or B6?

Are there any other aspects besides ease of DIY that we should consider?

Btw, I'm going to ask the B6 owners the same thing over in their forum.

I appreciate your responses very much!

 

Well the B6 versions would be cheaper while the B7's more. The B6's might be easier to work on motor wise. The B7 has better safety features and improved suspension/brakes. Also the engine range for the B7 was much improved over the B6.

Not sure of your HP requirements or if you want Quattro or FWD but if I were to get a S/W B6 or B7 I would look at these;

B6 Quattro 1.8T (163/190hp) 3.0i 220hp, 1.9tdi 131hp or the 2.5tdi 155/180hp.
B7 Quattro 2.0tfsi 170-200-220hp, 3.2fsi 255hp, 1.9tdi 115hp, 2.0tdi 140/170hp or the 2.7tdi 170 or 3.0tdi 204-233hp.

The majority of B6 S/W I see here in Germany are 1.9tdi's while the B7's are 2.0tdi's.

As far as issue's, I do not know about the B6 (except coil packs & timing belt's snapping) but the B7's had coil packs (Audi Recall), PCV, & DV. All these are easy or cheap to replace.

If you can afford it I would probably go with the B7 as you would no doubt get a good guarantee with it. A B6 would be nice too, but production stopped on those in 2005 I believe so it may be harder to find a good non beat up one with decent mileage (and a guarantee).

And of course, always take it for a test drive. Let your wife drive to see if she likes it or not. And good luck!

 

Thanks for the detailed reply, Aetius.

Are there any known issues with the Heater core on the B7's? That has been an annoying chronic problem with my B5, and Minnesota is not a good place to be without a fully-functioning heater!

How about the control arms? Another chronic headache for B5 owners that I was hoping Audi has fixed or changed the design of.

We will probably go with a B7, just because of the added safety features, but I wanted to make sure you all were more or less happy with yours.

Anything about the B7's that has been really frustrating or annoying that a lot of people are running into?

 

Well I have had no problems with my heater, which is good as I live in the mountains here and winters are cold too! . I purchased my car new in July 2007 and the only issue I have had with it (knock on wood) was two coil packs. One in 08 and one in 09 (fixed under warranty). Audi replaced the rest under the recall they had end of 2009.

I also had the PCV go bad. The German Audi people did not know what it was at first (never seen it go bad here I guess) but it was also replaced under warranty. (Out of pocket would have been around $110.00).

The rocker arms no problems as far as I know. I have been very happy with mine. I have pushed it several times on the autobahn up to the cutoff speed of 130mph (210kmh) and it purrs like a kitten. My average speed here is between 80-100mph, and no problems (the German versions can go past 240kmh 149mph easily so the engines are built to withstand high speeds/pressures)

I do know for the 2007/2008 models a couple of small changes were made. They came with a slightly revised BWT engine (2.0TFSI same HP/Torque as older BPG) but some internal changes from what I have read here. Also MP3 capabilities were added to the updated in dash 6 cd player, along with other minor tweaks. The 2008 (US spec'd versions) came with the SLine body kit which looks nice.

There have been some other issue's with A4's but I guess it is not wide spread (you can look around here). The one I am going to have checked my next service (March '11) is the cam follower. I guess these can wear out and do some serious damage to the cam and high pressure pump if not caught. Also I have read some of the 3.2fsi's have problems with carbon build up, but again not to all.

Anyway hope you find the best one for you and your wife, Good Luck!

 

Thank you, sir. Sounds like Audi is doing a little better with the B7's than with the B5's.