Petrol vs Diesel and more...

[paul1974]

Hi
Looking to get my first A6 and need some advice (have read through the forum, but want to be sure)


8k annual mileage (long motorway journeys once a week + around town at weekend)
Avant preferred but saloon will do just fine
Le Mans or S-Line
Around 3L engine
Quattro is a must
Prefer diesel to petrol
Timing chain preferred to belt


From what i read my mileage attracts a petrol rather than a diesel?


I know with the 2.7/3.0 diesel it is recommended 07MY or newer due to possible engine troubles in previous models?


What about for Petrol engines, can i go slightly older than 07MY?
Which Petrol engines have a timing chain rather than a belt?


If for the mileage a petrol is recommended, would the savings cover the pricier tax cost on a petrol?


Sorry for all the questions and thanks for your help!


Paul

[humphrey999]

What's your budget?

Chains can stretch and snap too, i'm in two minds about the relative merits for my next car, having seen an RS6 in pieces having the chains replaced and another A6 3.2 in close succession at my local independent, I think I'd rather have a toothed belt regularly replaced, it's not that expensive. But from what I remember all the engines above 2l are chains, not belts.

[Doctle Odd]

A diesel will have a DPF that will clog up unless it gets plenty of motorway miles, 8 k is low annual miles. The diesel will cost more initially. Chains aren't fit em and forget em, if they break or stretch it's often a big job at a main dealers to replace them. Not all diesels have a DPF, again it would depend on your budget and preference as to engine size.

[paul1974]

Well budget...

i've started from £6k max, then soon realised i wouldnt go far with that, so i think it will be more closer to £7k / £7.5k at a stretch.

with diesels most of them in this bracket are pre-07MY with a few choices
then i thought with petrol i would get more results but in fact there are even less.

i'm not in a mega rush but have been looking for a month and can wait another month for the right car...

re the chain vs belt is also mainly because i want the bigger engine this time rather than a 2L (i've had my current car for ages and getting bored: vw passat 1.9tdi sport chipped with 170k on the clock!)

thanks

[Chriseybaby]

Having been in the same situation a month or so ago I will give you my thoughts.

If after spending 7k it means you have no money for repairs then go for the petrol. I'm not saying that nothing will go wrong with it but they are generally cheaper to repair

I do a similar number of miles to you so my poor 3.0 tdi doesn't get many long runs but it doesn't have a DPF (mines an 07) so its no problem in that respect. Doing shorter runs I would expect the fuel economy on the V6 tdis and 2.0 fsi to be similar. Mine takes over 5 miles before its fully warmed up so fuel efficiency suffers on my 9 mile trip to work.

I've always wanted the 3.0 tdi and am very happy I bought it but I know deep down I should have bought the petrol.

[MarkTM]

Like Chrisey I too have an 07 3.0, no DPF and it's had a (economy) remap.

When I have to do the school run (due to kids carrying more than normal) I can return 30MPG, purely because there's no point doing anything other than coasting with kids and other drivers (of a certain gender) on the road. :)

On a run, I have to do a 370 mile trip in 10 days and leaving at silly-o'clock it will return over 50MPG and I'll complete the trip in under 6hrs, and have managed to do 920 miles on a single tank!

That said even on my 11 mile trip to work I've returned 45-50mpg, temperature dependant.

Only issues so far have been a faulty alternator and currently an ABS light on due to a faulty sensor

[Heavy11]

Unless your going to be doing at least 12k miles a year with routes regularly over 20 miles then it has to be either a DPF less diesel or a petrol otherwise you run a high risk of ruining the DPF. I have a 2.7tdi Quattro and my daily commute is 25 miles each way and 20miles is purely motorway driving and my mpg is around 42.

Hope that helps a bit and good luck


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[paul1974]

Thanks all! To add to my questions then, how do i identify DPF vs non-DPF ? is it by the MY or by emission level...?

[Heavy11]

Was on so thought I'd answer as best as I can. I'm not sure but if you google what year is DPF law or something like then that should give you an idea but I think it's around 2007/8 ish but not sure


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[Doctle Odd]

You can find the info on a sticker in the spare wheel well

[paul1974]

ok thanks, i'll check that. and going back to petrols, is it generally ok to go pre 07MY ? say 06 or 56 plate... or are there know issues with those too?

[MarkTM]

7GN on sticker denotes no DPF, 7GG = DPF fitted, if it is fitted you will also see a little coil in the instrument cluster on start up.

I've had my non-DPF for 34 months and covered 31k miles so averaging less than 11k per annum and no regrets, 07+ has newer diesel injectors which are at cheapest £600 for a set, whereas petrol injectors can be purchased for circa £40 a time and once cleaned and recalibrated (circa £100 to have this done) and will run better than new...plus they are much easier to fit (as spark plugs are over glow plugs)

Audi A6 C6 3.2 V6 Petrol Fuel Injection Valve Injector 06E906036C | eBay (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Audi-A6-C6-3-2-V6-Petrol-Fuel-Injection-Valve-Injector-06E906036C-/191294388597?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2c8a08b975)

I also have a petrol car (profile pic) which is now hardly used and the first thing I did was to fit iridium plugs and have the injectors cleaned :)

Apart from the chain issue common to both fuel versions there's only the rear washer recall which would affect both in Avant guise.