Audi owners in here!

Looking for advice on buying an Audi - considering A4,5,6

Looking for the following and wanting general advice on things to look out for -

1. Car must last 5 years due to cost of financing it.
2. Don't really want to have to change the clutch of DMF as don't do enough mileage to warrant it circa 8,000 miles a year.
3. When I do drive distance I do drive 300 miles plus so economy is nice.
4. I want good room in the rear seats.
5. Would like something circa 0-60 < 8.5 seconds (Current mazda does 7.9 but can be flexible for the right car.
6. LED running lights because I just like them!
7. Adaptive suspension sounds nice but would be considered a bonus.
8. Rear parking sensors because I am used to them.
9. Cruise control for motorway driving would be nice.
10. Entertainment system not that important.

Looking to pay circa £12,500

what is more important for reliability I am guessing mileage as opposed to age as that would suggest a less mechanically abused car?

What should I be looking out for? What are the auto boxes like. When did the 2.0 TFSI oil issues get fixed?

Avant or saloon or sportback is fine.

What is the difference between SE, SE technik and Sline. Apart from the fact the sline looks by far the best?

Sorry for all the questions etc but I am guessing current owners are the most knowledgeble
 
Last edited:
A6 Avant for that money I think. 2.0TFSI can be a bit of a pain due to the oil issues (my 57 plate suffered).

I wouldn't get hung up on parking sensors being a deal breaker, I added them to my A6 (front and rear), it's a piece of cake to do to get the proper factory system installed.
 
Aurhinius said:
8. Rear parking sensors because I am used to them.
Click to expand...

Don't know about anyone else but I am so glad I have them on my 2014 plate, as the rear boot is completely invisible, I am 6'3" and all I can see from the rear view mirror is the rubber around the window :p
 
paradigm said:
A6 Avant for that money I think. 2.0TFSI can be a bit of a pain due to the oil issues (my 57 plate suffered).

I wouldn't get hung up on parking sensors being a deal breaker, I added them to my A6 (front and rear), it's a piece of cake to do to get the proper factory system installed.
Click to expand...

Better to try and get a 3.0 l diesel or stick with the 2 tfsi? How old before im likely to not get 5 years out of it? Whats clutch life like? If i buy a 70000 mile model am i likely go need a new clutch at 100k. Might be hard to say but hard to judge as well. What am i likely to get for 12,500 in an a6 avant then? Would have thought i would get more for money on an a 4 avant?
 
It's all about compromises with what you are wanting.

You want decent space in the back. That means, realistically, the A6, as the A4 isn't great in the back, and A5 even less so.

So you go for the A6, so really you should be looking at an Auto. The A6 is a cruising car, not a sporty car. It's a big barge. You want to be wafting about in it, not strangling a gearbox.

So then you don't really need a diesel due to your useage. But there are 2 petrol auto's on AT just now for around your budget. A 2.8 Le Mans, which will be relatively nice to drive. But it wont be fast (although will meet your requirement of 7.9 sec 0-60), and it will be quite thirsty (official average 31mpg, but realistically be closer to around 27mpg). Or there is a 4.2 V8. Which will sound great, and go pretty well (6.1 seconds to 60). It will only be around 3-5 mpg worse than the 2.8, so the performance will definitely be worth the fuel economy (official : 26mpg, realistic : 23 mpg). The realistic fuel consumption, for the V8 at least, is from experience. But you may well be put off by the £500 a year tax. AND, it is only an SE. I'm not sure the 2.0T, as mentioned earlier, is even an option in an A6.

So then the compromise is the Diesel. You don't want a 2.0 TDI in this size of car. Apart from anything else, its a 9+ second to 60, so not fast enough (although it will probably feel "quick" enough in the real world). But the 4 pot diesel isn't nearly as economic as it should be (in my experience). And really isn't a pleasant drive.

So you are basically left with the 3.0 TDI Quattro. Which is really always the one to go for. But it is just a procession of compromises to get there.

I also wouldn't be so worried about mileage. Certainly from a reliability point of view. If you have a relatively new, but high mileage motor, then chances are it's spent most of it's life on the motorway. This will more likely to have been easier mechanically on a car, than one that has sat in stop / start city traffic all it's days. Even if it is low / average mileage.

With that being said, you would need to discard your mileage requirement, and up your budget by around £4k to get into a newer shape A6, so you're as well off going for the lower mileage but older model anyway. But buy on condition and history, rather than mileage / age. You may find yourself better off going for an older, higher mileage example that was impeccably looked after, rather than a newer, lower mileage example, that has been neglected. Even if only by a little. And you could potentially save some money too.
 
Last edited:
xs2man said:
It's all about compromises with what you are wanting.
(I'm not sure the 2.0T, as mentioned earlier, is even an option in an A6.
Click to expand...
Of course it exists- paradigm had one!
Might be a bit slow for OP though and it has potential oil consumption issues. I don't think a 2.8 would be that bad for the OP honestly.

So then the compromise is the Diesel. You don't want a 2.0 TDI in this size of car. Apart from anything else, its a 9+ second to 60, so not fast enough (although it will probably feel "quick" enough in the real world). But the 4 pot diesel isn't nearly as economic as it should be (in my experience). And really isn't a pleasant drive.
Click to expand...
Agreed, don't get a 2.0 diesel. It's slow but the economy really isn't that bad. I'm averaging 47MPG on routes where my S3 averaged 26.
Either way, not suited to your requirements.

So you are basically left with the 3.0 TDI Quattro. Which is really always the one to go for. But it is just a procession of compromises to get there.
Click to expand...
Too much to go wrong with a 3.0TDI, especially if OP wants a petrol.

Solution? 3.0TFSI.
 
Looking at these cars, late-model 3.0TDIs are out of budget anyway.

That 2.0TFSI is from Audi and has low miles so with a decent warranty it will be fine.
 
Yeah that 2 L TFSI looked like a nice motor and direct from Audi makes me feel a bit better.

Also found a nice 3.0 TDI Quattro which I liked.

Then got distracted by an E60 525M sport touring......

Seemed to have more tech for the same money and better performance.

Probably shouldn't ask this in an Audi thread but is the E60 5 series a better buy than an A6?

This seemed to tick all my boxes - http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...&engine-size-cars=3l_to_3-9l&page=1&logcode=p
 
Last edited:
I'm not generally an E60 fan but that one does have CIC iDrive which means it has a massively better infotainment/nav system than either the E class or the A6 which feel far more dated to use. Heck even the next gen E Class is poorer than CIC let alone the 02-09 shape one.

Despite the advert it looks like that car is actually a BMW Approved Used car too - so great warranty.
 
Aurhinius said:
also liked this http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...tcode=dg29ny&search-target=usedcars&logcode=p

But had to give up the LED running lights which is a bit of a shame....
Click to expand...

Not sure why you care about LED running lights, you can't see them because if they are on you are driving it? But a far more important point is that LED running lights come with Xenon headlights which *are* a must have IMO.

So insist on Xenons rather than the pointless blingy LED's and you'll get the bling you want without making it sound so naff :p Rejecting an entire car on the basis it doesn't have crap LED's is daft but rejecting it because it hasn't got Xenon's is rational and sensible.
 
Okay far comment about the lights - Xenons are a must have. Make that much difference not really had problems with halogens. That last A6 looked like a B5? hard to tell.
 
mjt said:
Of course it exists- paradigm had one!
Might be a bit slow for OP though and it has potential oil consumption issues. I don't think a 2.8 would be that bad for the OP honestly.
Click to expand...

Didn't know it even existed. But then I did just look on Auto Trader, at the OP's budget, and only 2 cars came up. The 2.0T must be almost as rare as the 3.0T. And anyway, is over the bizarre 8 second to 60 requirement.

As I said, the 2.8 will be too thirsty for the power. The 4.2 wont be, but will be marginally worse on fuel than the 2.8.


mjt said:
Too much to go wrong with a 3.0TDI, especially if OP wants a petrol.

Solution? 3.0TFSI.
Click to expand...

3.0TDI isn't that unreliable an engine. Again with the diesel fear. But, in this instance, I agree that the 3.0 TDI is probably not really the right choice in an ideal world here.

As Fox said, 3.0TFSI is a rare animal. As evidenced by a 140k example being £12.5k. I think the seller is dreaming, but such is his right.

As for similar BMW's or Mercs. I prefer the A6 at this age / price bracket personally. Although the engine choices leave a lot to be desired.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom