Interested in buying an A6 avant, 3.0 TDI Quattro...

[ollienoclue]

Hello, first time poster here.

Wife and I live in rural Somerset, I am contemplating buying a nice middle aged A6 Avant with say 60,000 on the clock, budget of 10-12K. Due to the nature of where we live I'd consider 4wd essential, as the Audi will be my car but could potentially be used as a back up for my wife when she is on call at work (Farm vet), but all of her work never leads her off a hard standing so I don't think a cross over is necessary, I like the Allroad but I am put off by stories of magic air suspension gone awry.

My question then, is would this be a good choice as a family car, we have 1 under 2 year old and probably might spawn a couple more, plus dog and the like. Quite like the idea of a quiet and refined car for long distance trips away and for driving to work.

Don't mind the thought of an automatic, I am told the tiptronic Audi gearbox is OK provided the oil is changed on schedule.

Any other suggestions or things I need to know about? Are these cars/engines reliable? I don't mind the MPG/Tax angle as I don't do crazy mileages- say 15K a year maybe, tops.

What major repairs and maintenance can I expect in a 50K plus car? I know about the intake manifold/swirl flaps thing, I would be happy to pay £300 to replace them provided it is a one off. Do they have electronic trick dampers that fail, is it cam belted, does turbochargers disintegrate etc etc I don't mind the odd repair bill but I won't tolerate intermittent faults. I have a relative who owns his own garage so I am happy to pay the money to give good maintenance and he is something of an Audi nut as well.

Basically this is a 3 way shoot out between the A6, Volvo V70 or maybe a BMW or something, I just really like the look of the A6, the interior is very grown up and I know they drive nicely. 3.0 TDI is probably a bit greedy but it's going to be effortless on the motorway and make overtaking a breeze, I don't think the 2.0 unit will suit such a large heavy car.

All suggestions and help gratefully received.

Thanks

Ollie

[Sciroccorrado]

Hi there and welcome! Excellent choice sir! I have just bought my second A6, the first with Quattro and 3.0. Previous to this I had an A6 2.7tdi, and an A5 3.0tdi Quattro, and decided that the combination would be a great package.

The Autobox is strong, and the combination of strong engine and gearbox means that mileage is not something to be afraid of. Both the cars mentioned above cleared 200k miles with no problems whatsoever, just requiring regular and sympathetic maintenance.

The swirl flaps is relevant on high mileage cars, but as you correctly surmised is probably once every 150k miles, or 5 years. I had them done on both of the above cars, but only once in the 4.5 years of ownership.

Personally I chose the A6 Allroad as having the best features, and it's probably worth looking out for the run-out models as they have the 3G stereo system, and tend to have just those extra few nice features, especially if you intend keeping the car which it sounds like you do. Also, for some strange reason, the Allroads seem to be cheaper than the equivalent straight Avant, despite being higher specced.

[MarkTM]

Things to look for

1) Regular oil changes/annual service (NOT variable)
2) Transmission fluid changed at 80k miles and then each 50k
3) MOT advisories
4) Get is scanned for faults before buying (VCDS)

I own the saloon and a really easy car to work on for oil and filter changes (if you're planning to do these yourself)

As to MPG I've had 950 miles from a tank and upwards of 50mpg, quattro's have a larger tank.

I was looking at the Allroad in 2012 but like you the air suspension issues put me off.

[lynalldiscovery]

If your wife is going down tracks etc dont buy the S line its way to low with next to no ground clearance.
Wifes on her 2nd 3/0tdi quattro, engine amazingly good on fuel, loads of grunt, instant throttle response, handles pretty decent, easy to service.
The 4 wheel drive gives damned good grip no matter the weather and wont leave you stuck like an RWD car.

Niggles? washer bottle capacity way to small and er thats it.
She loves it, I think its like a go-kart!

[C6Allroad]

Just done a year / 20k miles in my Allroad and absolutely nothing to regret in buying this car. Astonishing comfort an long journeys and nimble round corners ( considering it's size). The grip is phenomenal and the tremendous power is delivered to the road without fuss. I like the air suspension and wouldn't like to go back to springs and fixed rate dampers anymore than I would like go back to a clattery 2L 4 pot diesel. I do mainly M-way miles and have averaged on brim to brim calculations 33mpg ( Onboard Computer says 35mpg long term average) but I don't mind trading this for all the other plus factors. I have found the ability to raise the car up and drive off road to be useful in my circumstances and glad I didn't get an SUV. I was lucky and got a very low mileage late production C6 which is only now just past 50k miles. Servicing has been cheap so far just engine oil and filters. I've got Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymetric 2's on which have been there for 18k miles and still have +5mm of tread on them (so much for 4x4's being tyre eaters......)
If you don't need to go off road then I'd get the normal suspension.

[ollienoclue]

Thanks a lot guys, I was reading some other threads- what is all this talk of spending thousands on these cars for every year of ownership? They can't be that much different from an A4 surely?

I love the Allroad don't get me wrong, but the suspension puts me off. I would have one in a pinch but I would need to know how to cope with the air suspension. Is any of it simple to repair? What's the cost of the compressor and air bags etc?

[lynalldiscovery]

Air susp is nice and simple its all the gubbins that controls it.
I run a discovery 3 with full air susp and they do have their issues but all well known and simple enough fixes, albeit in some cases not cheap!

[aarongs]

I agree with the above points. They are lovely to own and run.
I bought mine to do family holidays, regular trips from manchester to aberdeen with the family and for my commute and it manages all those fine.
its comfortable and great on the motorway. I have the Le Mans with S Line and agree ground clearance ain't great but its okay. (I started looking at the A6 for the air suspension and ground clearance but was put off and ended up with the other end of the scale. But I get down out pit hole ridden drive just fine.
Mine is on 120k miles and only issue so far is the radio.
I really like the auto box; its comfy and easy on the motorway and responsive enough elsewhere.
The back seats are not huge. Then I have two kids seats in (using Isofix or not), there is very little space to get anyone in the middle seat and if you do, accessing belt buckles is not much fun at all.

The boot is big. and easy to access and mine has load rails so you can use a net to secure things when boot not full - might be useful for your wifes veterinary equipment. You can fit a large dog in there too.

Also, as mine was under 100k when I got it, I purchased a full warranty from warranty direct as this covers the expensive issues such as gearbox and MMI modules. But its several hundred a year so a bit of a trade off...

Good luck.