New guy after some buying advice.....

[PeteS]

I'm looking at getting an A4 tdi as my next car but I'm unsure what spec came with what trim etc?

What at sort of mileage do things start to go wrong at? Lots I've seen have 130k+, I've had diesel mondeo's in the past at this mileage that sound like a bag of nails, is that the case with these engines?

How reliable are the quattro's? Do they sap any economy?

Im only wanting to spend between 2-3k and ideally want an 03-53 plate 6 speed 130bhp model in estate form with reasonable mileage but I know I'm wanting too much for my budget and most likely will end up with a saloon.

Any advice would be welcomed,

Pete

[fourringsrus]

Hi Pete and welcome aboard, the 130 tdi avant(ESTATE = AVANT ) at 2-3 grand is not an unreasonable request.
These cars are superbly built and a treat to drive if, as with any car, it has been looked after, ie servicing etc.
The 130 is good for a million miles if as above,. You need to have proof of service schedule being up to date, you want to know the cam belt and associated pullies , tensioners etc have been changed at the required intervals or expect to spend 3-5 hundred quid straight away.
You'll see 50+ mpg easily and better if not hitting the pedal too much.
Saloon or avant, well to be honest the estate version does not really offer you tons more usable space, just convenience I suppose.
The quattro is great for the poorer weather driving situations, but probably not worth chasing after just for regular driving.
Trim spec, up to about 2002 your choice was SE or Sport, ie base or a bit nicer, S-line didn't appear till after then.
Quattro doesn't, in my opinion, drain too much power, mind you my one was a three litre petrol with 220 bhp, but others may believe otherwise and the handling unless you are nailing it everywhere does not feel any different to the front drive cars until you are in bad weather conditions.
All Audis are front wheel drive unless quattro four wheel drive, so if you are interested by an automatic transmission beware of the following.
Many advertisers will list an auto as "tiptronic", the front drive auto cars are "multitronic" also known as CVT, constantly variable transmission,
The multi/cvt front drive auto is well documented as a lovely box to drive but an absolute pig for reliability and expense if not serviced as per Audi guidelines, and sometimes still go pop even when looked after properly, so do your research, google is your friend, also called multi-chronic.
If you fancy an auto, then you want a quattro auto, this one is the "tiptronic" box, an evolutionary development of a Porsche 928 auto box and is bomb proof when servicing is kept as per guidelines.
So if you want an auto, you go quattro tiptronic, if you want to go multitronic , cvt you are safe after around 2005 when the thing was sorted, but I'm guessing the budget you are contemplating won't lead you up this path,if it does you will be in the B7 model and using the newer 2.0 tdi 140/170, and they come with a different chunk of research needed.
On the whole the B6 2001-2005, is a cracking all rounder,I had a 1.8 turbo, a 3.0 quattro and currently a 2.4 v6 cabriolet and love the things, though I would not slag off the Ford Mondeo, the Audi is in another league and once you have had a good one you wont want to change unless you have to.
Good luck buddy

Stuart

[PeteS]

Thanks ever so much for taking the time to write that, very informative!

Ive seen a couple of avants with mileage of upwards of 150k, a particularly nice looking one with 170k but I'm unsure if I could justify spending that much money for one with such mileage. There's a nice 53 plate sport I've seen for £2.5k but that's a saloon, we have an S-max as family car so this is going to be very much a mile muncher, commuter for me so I need to get my head clear on whether I need an avant or not, I've currently got an e46 touring 320 petrol which I've used to its full capacity probably twice in 10 months. Saying it out loud, I would be fine with a saloon.

What year did the 6 speed boxes start?

What are the differences between SE and Sport apart from steering wheel, alloys, and wind up rear windows in the sport?

[fourringsrus]

Maybe just trim level, ie leather versus cloth, different suspension ride height and damper rates etc, that sort of stuff, but remember some options may have been chosen at order so you may see things like leather on an SE model etc