Purchasing advice required for A6 2.5 TDI & or Quattro ??

[Kobilexisdad]

Hi I am new and looking at buying an A6 2.5 TDI and am not sure what's the best model etc... Quattro or not, it's got to be an estate due to 2 toddlers and associated kit !
and prob year 2000 - 2003 by the looks of it.

Any help on what models would be great, I had been looking at Range Rovers P38's but lots seem to be riddled with problems and expensive to get parts & fix again.

So I looked into the Audi estates and Allroad too but these seem to have some air suspension problems too ?

I would need to travel from Jersey to U.K. and ship back from south coast so I need to gather as much info as possible.

Please help !
Thanks, Matt.

[Teflon]

I had an A6 2.5TDI Avant 2002 and still miss it. A significantly better car than the Passat that replaced it.

I looked at and test drove both the base car and the quattro. The quattro was very impressive and certainly did shift, but considering I wanted an auto I decided to avoid the much poorer mpg and "old fashioned" slush box auto and instead got the 2WD multitronic. A wonderful gearbox that I will have again. Lots of complaints about it here on the forum but a well looked after vehicle would not worry me.

The bad news is that at this age a 2.0 litre 4 cylinder might be a better bet. The 2.5 V6 is a superb engine, but parts costs are eye watering. Full belts swap and a new dual mass front pully cost me almost £800. Watch out also for a gummed up turbo (which affects all VAG diesels) - it didn't cost me a lot to fix DIY but if you are not handy, the solution can be a new or recon turbo.

Watch out for electrical gremlins and rattly front suspension.

I'm looking now at what will be my next car. Certainly not another Passat. I'll be going back to either a 2.0 A6 Avant or I'll be waiting for the Jag XF Sportback to come out.

[drpellypo]

I too went from a Passat (brand new when I got it in 2005) to a 2002 A6 and they are worlds apart. The Audi is so so much better. The 2.5 is a glorious engine and coupled with a multitronic is a real mile muncher. Just be prepared, if you're getting one so old, that it's going to cost you a lot. Cambelt -£550 minimum at specialist. Auto box clutch replacement - £1000. ECU replacement in the auto box - up to £800. I could go on. Lol. If you want lower servicing costs and better economy, go for a manual 4 pot. The 1.9tdi is a very simple engine in comparison and rock solid.

[man le-mans]

I also had the A6 2.5tdi sport auto FWD 04 plate 163bhp with all the extras great car. I had always had fords till then and was looking at BMW's, Audi, Passat, at the time, i just wanted a big engine auto car and something nice. And now i have been converted to Audis you won't look back

[Kobilexisdad]

Cheers guys, my wife's Uncle is an Audi mega fan and has a mint condition red Quattro as in Gene Hunts ashes to ashes car and what I grew up idolising in the rallies and what a car it is and also has a soft top too, he drove down from Port Seton up by Edinburgh down to Weymouth via Liverpool last year to visit us in Jersey and made it back from ferry to up there in 6 hours ! I sh*^ you not.

I am getting to be honest a little scared off by the reports that a V6 A6 will cost me a mint as I didn't think it would be such a minefield as in what gearbox is good, what year, what model Quattro or not which would be best I thought really and the like.

But I used to have a Golf VR6 and people warned me of massive bills etc.. etc... and she ran like a dream all be it a very fast dream for year after year and that was a 1992 model mk III and I loved the build quality but a big Audi would be a dream.

Surely if had a decent service history etc.. it would be unlikely to be a major money pit ????

My Audi dealer workshop manager buddy was saying that motor at 150,000 miles is just run in ! Is that rubbish then ??

Please advise am looking at £3,500 maybe a little more maximum for something is that reasonable or not enough cash ??

[Dozy]

Hi
I have got a 1.9tdi PD (AWX engine) and had it re-mapped to 169 bhp. Produces 320 ft/lb , 150bhp plus between 2700 rpm and the redline and still returns 48mpg. These engines are bomb-proof if oil changed every 10k with the proper fully synthetic. Mine has just reached 150k and doesn't even need the oil topped up in between services. A much simpler engine that can be tuned up to v6 performance.
That's my tuppence worth
Cheers
Dozy

[mikeybutch]

I have had 2 A4 2.5tdi Quattros currently atiptronic and manual before.The engine has more torque than the 1.9 but can be high maintenance if not cared for.Quattros are much harder to find and you will need to look at a few.Audis have a range of expensive extras which means that they are often limited My favourite is heated leather

[Kobilexisdad]

Thanks Dozy & Mikeybutch I was looking at some but thought there were only the 2.5 and a 2.0 ltr is that the 1.9 ? badged up as 2ltr or something else ?
Thanks again Fellas

[fionn]

The 2.0ltr replaced the 1.9.
The 2.5 A4 quattro feels solid and capable. A car that inspires confidence. The tiptronic box generally doesn't give a lot of problems and the car can hold its own in most company. A little bit hard on juice, but it's definitely worth it. I drove mine for three years, clocking up nearly 70,000 miles, before changing to an allroad. I would recommend the A4 quattro and may go back to that model. Try a few out before you decide, I think you will be impressed.

[adamss24]

Hi
I have got a 1.9tdi PD (AWX engine) and had it re-mapped to 169 bhp. Produces 320 ft/lb , 150bhp plus between 2700 rpm and the redline and still returns 48mpg. These engines are bomb-proof if oil changed every 10k with the proper fully synthetic. Mine has just reached 150k and doesn't even need the oil topped up in between services. A much simpler engine that can be tuned up to v6 performance.
That's my tuppence worth
Cheers
Dozy

You can tune ANY engine to a point where it makes more power than the stock v6 tdi but at the same time you can tune the v6 tdi to get silly power numbers. They are brilliant engine, much, much better engines than the PD lumps and the only thing that let's them down are the injector pumps electronic brains. The "chocolate" cams are the results of poor servicing as many garages use crappy semi synthetic oils from a 200 L barrell (one size fits all!) and that's what eats the cams. I have a tuned up 250k v6 tdi quattro with over 300Bhp, very few mods: race injectors, GTB2260Vk turbo, ported heads and remap. The power delivery is completely different to the 4 pot engines and you need to drive one to really appreciate.
I had a VE 1.9 Tdi audi a4 tuned to over 200 Bhp and that still returned 60 Mpg if taken easy on motorway, it was so powerful it would give me whip lash every time i drove it hard but it's in a different league to the v6 ! The v6 is higher maintenance and can be a money pit but with the right know how it's not any more un-reliable than any other engine in the Vag line up. For example i supply and fit a full cambelt kit with all bells and whistles for £450-480 and that needs doing once every 5 years. How many folks keep their cars beyond that age ? Find a good indie and you won't look back, the v6 is just as good as a pd 1.9 if not better !
To the OP, get a manual gearbox at all costs, either quattro or FWD just don't expect the quattro to be as frugal as a FWD ! 30-40 Mpg from a 1.7 tonnes v6 is decent in my books, i buy, fix and sell cars for a living and drove ALL sorts of cars, guess what cars i drive ? Allroad for towing (275k), c5 audi a6 tdi quattro as a toy (250k)and b6 v6 tdi quattro as family car (135k) ! In a ideal world i would have a facelifted audi a4 b5 quattro with a 1.9 Tdi VE AFN/AHH engine for pottering round town. Easy to double the power with just bolt on mods and as reliable as it gets...

[f2raf]

3 years ago I bought a 2002 2.5 TDI SE. It's brillianto! Expensive?? What expense. I bought mine with £127k Full Audi Service History, Paid £3250 back then, it now has 186K on the clock. Mine is a saloon and it's manual, i stayed away from Auto's after finding forum after forum on google with Autobox issues. I service mine twice a year, I pay £120 to my mechanic for the full service. Last year I shopped around for a cam belt change and paid £550 in the end after the garage I used suggested I change a few other belts, I wish I had used my regular local who quoted £440. But i did have the original SPK/SPV? kit fitted. It runs like a dream, its so powerful, even modern cars are not capable of challenging it on the motorway, it has so much power it keeps saying, more more more!!! I just cruise in it and really enjoy the drive. I have had no problems. Due to my insurance premium I was thinking about changing it, but then when I weigh up that I would get £1500 apx fpr my car due to miles, even though it drives as strong as day 1, for that money I could not possibly buy the same car again. And now after reading comments here, i definitely want to keep it, I want to modify it if at all possible, to increase bhp but i dont know where to start. One thing I would suggest buy one with preferably Full Audi History & one that has just recently had the timing belkt changed, again preferably by Audi, Does not matter even if you pay an extra few hundred pounds for it because look at my car stands me at £1,266 over 3 years that includes the timing bet i changed, next yr it will be even cheaper. BTW i drove a friends 2.0 TDI Audi avant, it was pants in terms of power, there was nothing there, the V6 is like a baby. Also make sure you get one that has all the extra's like reverse parking sensors, i know you dont need them but trust me when you get used to them they are brill. And try for a sports interior, with sports seats that have electronic lumbar adjustment (maybe they all so, but some seats are flat on the edges whilst some have the bolsters. I can go on and on and on....ABout the Quattro cannot comment I have no experience, sometimes in winder I wish I had Quattro but then it beats being in a BMW....I was actually considering buying a MG ZT witha BMW engine because its cheaper on insurance OMG!!! what was i thinking. lol

[f2raf]

can you suggest where i can get my 2.5 TDI SE remapped? costs? thanks

[adamss24]

^^^ Viezu in Brumsgrove, drove a c5 a6 155 Bhp 2 weeks ago with a map from them and it was rapid, about 180-200 Bhp... Mind you, the b6 163 Bhp was faster with just a tuning box from Steinbauer but it was a bit too smokey on higher settings !