C7 purchase advice

**new2vwa** · 04-09-2016,12:19 PM

Hi all, just looking some advice on perspective purchase of c7 avant, either the 2.0 TDI (177bhp I think) or poss the 3.0 v6 TDI (204bhp) automatic transmission preferably.

Is there anything to look out for ESP Re service items due or should have been carried out on car which will prob be 3yrs old/80k-100k miles on the clock.

I know higher miles on well serviced car shouldn't b an issue, just want to avoid paying a big outlay (to me) on the car only to find the next service will be expensive for a major service.

Haven't driven Audi in couple of years since I sort of fell out of love with them after my c6 suffered oil pump failure which blew turbo and resulted in a hefty repair bill - but after couple of years driving a ford 'blandeo' I've a hankering for German prestige again. Having said that for the same money of he 3/4yr old Audi I could pick up a year old 10k mileage Mondeo which won't need major work for long time giving 4/5 years hassle free driving if I kept it that long...

Any advice much appreciated, decisions decisions...

**johnsimcox** · 05-09-2016,09:17 AM

For the 2.0 177bhp and assuming the 3.0 is FWD, then both will have the multitronic gearbox. These have to have the fluid changed every 40k miles without fail so on an 80k plus car it must have had 2 changes, get close to 120k and it needs 3. Walk away from any car that does not have hard evidence this has been done and ideally by an Audi dealer (or at least an Audi specialist) as it is not simply a case of drain out the old fluid and pour in some new

**new2vwa** · 05-09-2016,09:46 PM

Hi thanks for that - gearbox fluid change wasn't on my immediate things to look for, so that's really good to know it's important....

What about timing chains/belts/pulley's - is this an expensive service item as it has been on older vw/Audi I've had in the past, more down to labour cost of needing the front of car stripped to gain access to replace them, maybe they've improved the design these days. Anyway what mileage for replacement (if required).

Is there any common faults to look for on an inspection/ test drive other than my pretty uneducated look for any obvious fluid leaks, strange knocks/ rattles/ vibrations at idle and while driving with no pulling to one side under braking - all done with the radio off..😉. That's about the limit of my fault finding...

**johnsimcox** · 05-09-2016,10:14 PM

Originally Posted by new2vwa

Hi thanks for that - gearbox fluid change wasn't on my immediate things to look for, so that's really good to know it's important....

What about timing chains/belts/pulley's - is this an expensive service item as it has been on older vw/Audi I've had in the past, more down to labour cost of needing the front of car stripped to gain access to replace them, maybe they've improved the design these days. Anyway what mileage for replacement (if required).

Is there any common faults to look for on an inspection/ test drive other than my pretty uneducated look for any obvious fluid leaks, strange knocks/ rattles/ vibrations at idle and while driving with no pulling to one side under braking - all done with the radio off..

. That's about the limit of my fault finding...

If the car is over 3 years old then you qualify for Audi fixed price servicing. Cam belt is £455 and with water pump £599 for the 2.0 car

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

**ukgroucho** · 06-09-2016,01:54 AM

The other option if you are "of a mind" for a 204 bhp V6 is to seek out an allroad... there are some around and they are quattro and have s-Tronic 7 speed boxes. The gearbox should be fairly under stressed as it's the same box in the 245bhp version - at least I believe so.

**new2vwa** · 06-09-2016,09:56 PM

Yes I just stumbled on an allroad which has just come up for sale in local ford dealership - it does look the part and is definitely an option I'm going to consider. Thanks for that...

**KevTrem** · 07-09-2016,09:28 AM

i have a 3.0 tdi multi and its brilliant. Had it about 6 months now and just been in for its service. I had the gearbox service done at same time as major service. Mileage being about 65k now. Cost was £574 from main audi dealer using the fixed price servicing. Worth the money for peace of mind.

Before buying mine I looked into the multi box a lot as heard some horror stories but they mostly seem to come from cars that have not been serviced correctly. Mine was an ex lease plan (company car) which means its had everything it needed and there is receipts and invoices for this, the downside is its not as high a spec as privately purchased car.
HAve a look around, you will find some good deals.

BTW im averaging about 43mpg on my commute to work and around town, a little more on a motorway and averaging 33mpg while towing a caravan. Done 12k since January and love it, had no issues as yet

**new2vwa** · 07-09-2016,10:55 PM

Thank for those details - good to know some real world facts and figures/ costs.

In terms of the auto transmission - is there a hierarchy in terms of reliability between multi/tip/s tronic. Having a quick look seems the multi is more frequently on the smaller lower powered engines and stronic on the bigger/ Quattro with tipronic somewhere in between. Is there any way to tell visually on the shift knob or anywhere which is which (assuming all have paddle option). I'm guessing stronic is best but prob more expensive to service and from what I read it's easy enough to tell stronic while driving as shifts are instantaneous. So how easy to tell difference between multi/tipronic as most seller listings just have transmission type as automatic.

My last Audi c6 was multi tronic and although it turned me into an auto box convert it did behave strange at times with revs fluctuating all over the place which I always thought couldn't be good for fuel economy (which got even worse after trying a remap which I had to get undone, but that's another story). So wondering are the c7 multi tronic much better - obviously a test drive will reveal but haven't arranged one yet so just curious.

As is typical of most of my new car hunts they start at a sensible price/ budget which for me is the smaller engines like 2L/170 bhp models but by the time you pour over all the sale ads I find myself trying to justify the expense of a bigger more powerful engine - now looking at the 3L 245 bhp Quattro version with stronic 😉

**ukgroucho** · 08-09-2016,01:30 AM

multi was on 2.0 TDi and the 2 wheel drive 3.0Tdi 204
s-Tronic (robotic dual clutch) is new 2.0 Tdi Ultra (190) and 3.0 Tdi 204 quattro (allroad) and 245 / 272 quattro
tiptronic (ZF8HP 8 speed torque converter - so a more traditional auto albeit very slick) is on the 3.0 Tdi BiTdi 313 / 320 ps quattros 'cos the s-tronic could not handle the torque (also on the RS6 and the 3.0 supercharged petrol in the US, although the few examples of that engine in the UK had s-tronic).

I think the consensus is that multi needs more servicing, s-tronic very good but does need some maintenance (and there was a difference between the wet and dry clutch versions that I do not recall) and seemed to suffer occasional issues in high output engines such as the 3.0T 300+ BHP supercharged lump (S4, some A6 quattros) and the tiptronic boxes are very solid.

I had a ZF6 tiptronic in my old A6 C6 3.0 Tdi quattro and despite the "oil is sealed for life" stance of audi it definitely benefited from an oil change at around 80k miles - there are threads on the C6 forum to that effect - and it is a costly change on the C6 as they did not fit a proper drain plug (think I paid best part of £500). Not sure if that will be the case with the ZF8HP that is used in the C7 - variants of that box are used in all kinds of vehicles from Range Rovers to BMWs to Bentleys, google ZF8HP gearbox and you'll find plenty of info.