offered A6 at £4900 - deal or no deal?

[COLRD]

Hi

I am new to this, however i have been offered a neighbours a6 2.4 16v 170bhp SE with full leather 2001 y reg avant estate. For £4900, it has 29000 miles from 2 very old careful men (know them both), 2 services (no cam belt change) and is spotless as far as I can tell. I don't want to rip him off and want a fair deal - is this a fair deal?

Thanks for advice
Colin

[NickPicks]

It sounds expensive to me. It should be a 30v (V6 2.4, 5 valves per cylinder).

I have the same car - mine's a 2000 X plate. Mine had 90,000 when I bought it 18 months ago for £3400. Mine doesn't have the leather interior though.

29,000 is very low mileage for that car, but VAG cars don't have problems with doing really high mileages.

I think it should have had a cam belt change - It might not have done 80,000 miles, but it should also be replaced on age.

Have a look at parkers for prices, and if you're both happy with the price you're considering, then that's a good price for you both.

[sbt]

hi the 2.4 a6 is a 30 valve v6 engine although its not covered many miles you will still need a timing belt change due to the time its been on the car 8 years audi recommend 80.000 mile or 5 years which ever comes first change intervals you want to budget about £450 to £500 for a timing belt on this engine this should include idler and tensioner also for what it costs have the water pump and thermostat changed because if these fail its belt off again . in my humble oppinion i dont think it is a bargain you have to remember its an 8 year old car whatcar state £3750 with this milage and private sale also with this sort of milage it must of been pottering about town ie engine never realy warmed up loads of stop start motoring is not good for a v6 or any engine for that matter so in my oppinion it might not be the bargain you think it is

[COLRD]

Thanks for the opinions - it is also multitronic - would that add much value ?

[sbt]

hi mate the mojority of the bigger engined a6's are so i would not of thought this would increase the cars value and again if these go wrong you are talking big bucks for repair its very specialist stuff

[STEWY L]

Thanks for the opinions - it is also multitronic - would that add much value ?

search "multitronic"--and then search --"multicronic" it should give you some idea.
it sounds a lovely car,"cherrished" from new but due maintenance which
should have been done prior to sale.
this should give you some "lea way" when agreeing price.
£4900 sounds high to me, ask them how much part ex they were quoted and look at "splitting the difference"
you need to ask yourself,
who else would buy it at this price?
not many perhaps,
regards,
stewy.

[COLRD]

Thank for adding to the debate.

I have become obsessed with buying a £30,000 car for less than £5,000 and I have provisionally agreed a price of £4,500, however i am now concerned with a warning light 'airbag' that has appeared in the last few days!! Any ideas?

I think i can get a cambelt service for less than £500(?) and I have considered a warranty direct warranty at £400 to cover a scary bill that might never happen.

All in all, for an audi at 29k with all the trimmings I think I have a decent deal.............or have I fallen into the trap of buying an 8 year car, when i should have paid twice as much for a younger car?

Colin

[onzarob]

its an 8 year old car and it your choice, the Cambelt ,as said, must be changed now. and will cost as £500ish. remember its a V6 engine so a long job.

The Multitronic does fail and would cost nearly the asking price to fix!!!

I think it would be a fair price for a diesel not a petrol.

[Teflon]

Try this link http://www.vauxhall.co.uk/vaux/pages...MyCarPopup.jsp to see what Glass's thinks it's worth. It must be one of the lowest mileage examples in the country, most will have been half way to the moon by now.

The multitronic gets bad-mouthed a lot, but any 8 year old auto box might be a bit iffy, Mercs and BMWs included. It's by far the best autobox I've ever driven and if it's not smooth as silk on a test drive walk away. It also fails if it doesn't get regular (specialist) gearbox oil changes. Audi say every 40k, specialists say every 20k, but at 8 years it ought to have had a precautionary change. A dealer will stiff you for £250+ for this.

Beware the airbag fault light. Mine took 3 dealer visits, a new module and a new sub-wiring loom behind the dash to fix it. My advice - don't touch it with a sh!tty stick unless fixed, especially if it is an intemittent fault.