YACT: How reliable are Audi A6's after 60k miles?

[Syringer]

I've been looking around, and for about $15k I can get one of my favorite cars on the road from '98-'99 with maybe 60-70k miles, which is pretty decent considering what else is in this price range.

However would I be looking at major repair bills this late into the car's life..which may explain why they depreciate relatively quickly compared to their German counterparts..and coupled with the expired warranty, would this not be a safe bet?

Or do they usually hold up pretty well at this age?

 

[fs5]

that cheap? really????
they didn't start offering the 2.7T's until '00 IIRC, the 2.8 v6 is a pretty decent engine. I can't speak from experience though.

 

[Syringer]

Yup, http://www.edmunds.com/used/1998/audi/a6/14666/prices.html?tid=edmunds.u.review.usedvdpheadertitle..1.Audi*

 

[Mill]

Don't get one unless you get a 2.7T

 

[Syringer]

a) Not all of us care about stoplight racing
b) They weren't offered in '98-'99
c) The twin turbo engine and quattro would add a lot to the price/maintenance fees
d) Reviewers have criticized it for acting too much like an on/off switch

Not that I wouldn't go for it if I had the money..though I think I'd go all the way with the 4.2L v8 at that point.

 

[Mill]

Originally posted by: Syringer
a) Not all of us care about stoplight racing
b) They weren't offered in '98-'99
c) The twin turbo engine and quattro would add a lot to the price/maintenance fees
d) Reviewers have criticized it for acting too much like an on/off switch

Not that I wouldn't go for it if I had the money..though I think I'd go all the way with the 4.2L v8 at that point.

a. Has NOTHING to do with that.
b. So? Up your price range or consider something else.
c. Price, sure. Maintenance? Not really. If you buy an Audi without quattro you're the fool.
d. It's a turbo, it has lag. I test drove a couple of A6's that had the 2.7t before I bought my A4. It has a lot more power, and the lag was actually less.

 

[Syringer]

a. So explain to me why would someone with little desire for extra power or the ability to go faster want to spend $10k extra on more hp? Of course it would be nice to have it, but not worth it to ME.
b. Who are you to dictate what I want in a car?
c. You don't think an AWD and turbo system will cost more to fix/maintain if and when if breaks down? And again, I have little need for AWD, and less desire to spend money on it.
d. It's actually not lag that they complain about..but rather..

The A6 2.7T Quattro comes close. Partly, it's a turbo problem. The V-6 has twin turbos blowing through an intercooler. Lag is the usual failing, and this car has close to zero lag, if you define that as throttle-open time where nothing seems to happen. Some Volvos have lots of lag by this definition. When you push this Audi's pedal, something happens almost instantly. The problem: In a tick or two of time, way more happens than you want. For example, on corner exit, you call for power, then quickly find yourself backing off, then pressing down again, trying to chase the optimum as torque ramps up on a slight time delay rather than rising predictably with revs. This up-and-down of the pedal makes ragged exit lines. The best partners don't dance like that.

http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=15&article_id=4225&page_number=6

Now I know it's against the trend here, but if anyone can actually answer the original question here it'd be great

 

[Mill]

Originally posted by: Syringer
a. So explain to me why would someone with little desire for extra power or the ability to go faster want to spend $10k extra on more hp? Of course it would be nice to have it, but not worth it to ME.
b. Who are you to dictate what I want in a car?
c. You don't think an AWD and turbo system will cost more to fix/maintain if and when if breaks down? And again, I have little need for AWD, and less desire to spend money on it.
d. It's actually not lag that they complain about..but rather..

The A6 2.7T Quattro comes close. Partly, it's a turbo problem. The V-6 has twin turbos blowing through an intercooler. Lag is the usual failing, and this car has close to zero lag, if you define that as throttle-open time where nothing seems to happen. Some Volvos have lots of lag by this definition. When you push this Audi's pedal, something happens almost instantly. The problem: In a tick or two of time, way more happens than you want. For example, on corner exit, you call for power, then quickly find yourself backing off, then pressing down again, trying to chase the optimum as torque ramps up on a slight time delay rather than rising predictably with revs. This up-and-down of the pedal makes ragged exit lines. The best partners don't dance like that.

http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=15&article_id=4225&page_number=6

Now I know it's against the trend here, but if anyone can actually answer the original question here it'd be great

a. Drive both cars and then get back to me. Then you will understand exactly what I'm trying to tell you.
b. You posted a thread and asked for opinions. I gave you mine.
c. You've obviously yet to compare a FWD Audi to a AWD one. Simply, I'd never buy a FWD Audi, and I don't live in snow country either. Go drive them both.
d. If you're going to bench race, and not actually drive the cars and compare, then I'm wasting my time. Go drive them both and decide if the difference is worth it. There are a lot better cars out in 98-99 than the A6 IMO, and I have an Audi myself. The redesign was huge. If you let Car and Driver pick your car, then you desire the misery that will ensue.

 

[StageLeft]

The link you found rates it at 7.6 by consumers. I didn't read their responses, but if they're anyhing like the 98 A4s I would highly recommend you do. I was actually thinking of a late 90's a4 and after reading the reviews it was a no-brainer about how terrible a decision it would have been. Nice car to drive, bad car to own. Maybe the A6 is diff, but with that 7.6 rating i doubt it. Reliability problems _like you would not believe_.

 

[Triumph]

the 2.7TT is a horribly unreliable engine. get the 4.2 V8 or don't even bother. the 2.8 V6 is underpowered for a car that size, especially with quattro.

 

[Eli]

Dear Lord, I can't believe someone would consider 60 - 70k miles to be "late" into the cars life. :Q

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: Eli
Dear Lord, I can't believe someone would consider 60 - 70k miles to be "late" into the cars life. :Q

This is an audi we're talking about

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

Actually Mill, from what I've heard the 2.7T isn't exctly the nicest engine. Duringa certain years, the turbos fail.

Personally, I'd go for hte 4.2L A6. It has these fender flares that totally make the car. Plus it sounds good too

 

[VTEC01EX]

Why not an A4 2.8 Quattro? The 2.8 A6's just felt really porky powered by the 2.8. Hell, so did the A4, but it was better than the A6. Audi just had no better motor to put in the lower end cars at that time, and that's what they were stuck with.

If you're going to drive like a grandma, not having quattro and not having the bigger engine won't be a big deal. But you'll really miss it when climbing decent sized hills, or having fun with the car in the curves.

Oh yeah, and that whole reliability thing... Audis seem to be great cars to lease. Before the major problems set in you can either get them fixed under warranty, or turn it back in. This has happened to my one Audi-loving friend on more than one occasion with more than one car. There's a reason why the resale value is so low on late 90's Audis.

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: VTEC01EX
Why not an A4 2.8 Quattro? The 2.8 A6's just felt really porky powered by the 2.8. Hell, so did the A4, but it was better than the A6. Audi just had no better motor to put in the lower end cars at that time, and that's what they were stuck with.

If you're going to drive like a grandma, not having quattro and not having the bigger engine won't be a big deal. But you'll really miss it when climbing decent sized hills, or having fun with the car in the curves.

Oh yeah, and that whole reliability thing... Audis seem to be great cars to lease. Before the major problems set in you can either get them fixed under warranty, or turn it back in. This has happened to my one Audi-loving friend on more than one occasion with more than one car. There's a reason why the resale value is so low on late 90's Audis.

2nd... i own a 96 a4 quattro 2.8 and for car of that weight, thats probably the slowest engine id want in it. A6 is about 400 lb heavier, so you defeinitely wouldnt want that...

 

[TechnoKid]

Well regarding the maintenence needed to be done at that milage:

The water pump seems to fail quite a bit on the audis, whther it be the 2.8 30v, 2.7, or the 4.2. Usually the waterpump will fail before the timing belt does. My indie mechanic has seen em go as early as 40k when he was working at the dealer. The labor to do the timing belt and the water pump are the same, so get em done at the same time.

The cam adjuster seals. They have been the same design for so long in audi engiens, and are known to leak oil. This only takes a few more minutes when doing the timing belt.

Transmission fluid is NOT lifetime. Maybe lifetime of the transmission; but you'd defiantely want the fluid chaged by 60k miles. You will likely have to go to an independant mechanic for the tranny, many dealers stick with the "lifetime-it-never-needs-to-be-changed" additude; if dealer does do it, the charge $300 and up for this service. Indie is about $200-$250.

Front control arms. They tend to fail. I just got done replacing all 8 front control arms and all four shocks on my father's 1998 A6 2.8 30v (yes, its a FWD). Shocks were about $380 for all four, and the control arms were $600. I did the labor myself, indie mechanic will charge about $350. Also the tie-rod ends fail prematurely, those are about $100 for the pair.

Fuel gauge sender. Famous for erratic reading. Part is about $75 for non-quattro, about $150+ for quattro (the quattro has three sensors, the FWD only uses one). Labor is about $80-$100 at an indie.

Front window guide motor clips. Sometimes the plastic guides break, and this doesn't allow the window to go up or down. Parts is about $40 and labor is about $80 for both sides, so about $125 total for the front windows.

The center information gauge cluter display also is know to fade (the design like this is used on many cars and the same thing happens to them, they begin to faade after use, its really a desing flaw). It isn't really that big of a problem as the car will still function even if it fails; it's just an info diaply. If you want it chaged, part is $500 and up. Labor is like $100.

Brake fluid every two years. Oil change every 7.5k-10k miles with a good synthetic like Mobil 1 0w40.

thats about all I can think of right now. I do alot of the work on my dad's A6, cept for things like the timing belt and tranny fluid. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

 

[Mill]

Originally posted by: mAdD INDIAN
Actually Mill, from what I've heard the 2.7T isn't exctly the nicest engine. Duringa certain years, the turbos fail.

Personally, I'd go for hte 4.2L A6. It has these fender flares that totally make the car. Plus it sounds good too

I've only heard that engine failing in the S4, and you can guess why...

 

[TechnoKid]

Originally posted by: Mill

Originally posted by: mAdD INDIAN
Actually Mill, from what I've heard the 2.7T isn't exctly the nicest engine. Duringa certain years, the turbos fail.

Personally, I'd go for hte 4.2L A6. It has these fender flares that totally make the car. Plus it sounds good too

I've only heard that engine failing in the S4, and you can guess why...

The thing that fails more often on the 2.7t motors than the turbos themselves is the throttle body boot (it tears, get some Samco silicone ones), and the bypass valves (the rubber seal and the plastic in the valve deteriorate and you lose boost. The Audi TT "710N" valves are much stronger, or you can get Forge diverter valves).

I'd take the 4.2L V8 over the 2.7t, though the 4.2 doesn't come in a manual; the 2.7t does. On the newer A6 that just came out (05), as far as I know, Audi doesn't have plans of making a manual in either the 6 or 8 cylinder (I think they are only NA this time) engines they will be offering.