A6 Allroad C6 Buying Advice

**Boat_face** · 07-10-2022,06:37 PM

Hi All

As per the title looking at purchasing an A6 Allroad, C6(4F) 2011 model 90K miles on it. I have had a search on the forum for buying advice and still have a few more questions. Experiences seem mixed, I hear of expensive repairs, equally though there's a lot of folks who say its been areally excellent car and lasted well with the usual maintenance required and that with a bit of effort and after market parts its back on the road and going strong.

I would plan to do as much work myself and as an VCDS owner/user I hopefully stand half a chance of isolating and fixing things.That said I still feel a bit of concern about buying into problems so all advice gratefully received

Engine is the CDY 3.0l 176kW

Information suggests timing chains need doing at 200K - is this pretty much a given? Should I expect this to need to be done? I do about 5K a year so would take me a few years to reach this mileage
How much does it cost for the timing chains to be done?
Any other specific known issues things I should look/ask with regards to this engine?

Adaptive air suspension- this is the one thing that comes up all the time and I accept that at some point this will need doing and with VCDS and my middling mechanical ability I should be able to tackle this (barring stubborn pinch bolts).

The front air spring can be purchased on its own and then fitted to the genuine strut. Alternatively you can buy the strut and air spring as one unit. Does it matter whether strut as a whole should be changed or whether it is ok to just replaced the air spring on its own? It makes a big difference to cost!
Can anyone PM me a copy/link to download a copy of the owner manual that details how to operate the adaptive air suspension? I test drove one last week and the salesman didn't know how to operate it. I had a good go at guessing but it looked like it wasn't getting the full bars on the MMI, as the blocks didn't light up all the way to the arrow on the MMI. Although the car did change ride height as I watched it and the compressor didn't sound like it was really noisy. I'd like to make sure that when I go and see the next one I know exactly how to operate it. It's probably really obvious but I'd just like to make I am totally clear on this
For anyone that has done replacement air springs either front or rear and used non-genuine parts, have you had them running a while now without issue? If so can you share with me the make and where you got them so I can price up?
Could anyone give me a price for genuine front air springs and genuine rear air springs? I'm just curious to see how much they are. I expect they are insanely expensive and way out of my price range

Service History

Its had full main dealer service history and I've seen the stamped service book. But I've not got the additional paperwork that usually gets printed out and gives all the breakdown and costs on the work done etc. It has been serviced roughly every 10K, but I'd like to know if there has been anything else repaired and replaced. If I ring up the Audi dealer, where it was serviced, would they be permitted or even willing to provide me records of this? I wasn't sure if this was allowed due to data protection? Or if it was allowed whether the Main Dealer would even be preparedto do this?

Factory Recalls/general problems

Are there any known issues, including factory recalls that I should be aware of and check/ask?
How reliable is the electronic parking brake and at what age/mileage do they start to go and how much are they to fix? Never had an EPB before

Small but important stuff!

Should there always be a skeleton key provided by the dealer?
Where is the jack stored in the vehicle so I can check for it?
Should there be AMI leads for this vehicle as part of the Bose sound system?
Anything else you think I should check/test/ask for?

Thanks very much in advance of your help and time

**dean warren** · 08-10-2022,06:21 PM

Never had an allroad but had several 3.0tdi quattro’s never changed a timing chain one had 350k when i sold it another 238k injectors will need changing before a chain if you service it regularly.
No had air suspension so cant help there.
Also never heard of a skeleton key with any car, maybe you mean the vallet key? The plastic one, then yes they all had one from new.

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**Boat_face** · 08-10-2022,08:05 PM

Thanks Dean, reassuring info there. They sound like solid engines if well looked after. That's quite some mileage you got out of those engines, really impressive and testament to good engineering and decent regular oil changes I guess.

Sorry my turn of phrase, yeah I mean the vallet key. My A4 Avant B6 has one and wasn't sure if it was unique to that era of cars.

Cheers

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**Whippy53** · 08-10-2022,08:05 PM

Timing chain issues usually stem from extended oil changes. If yours has been changed every 9 - 10 k it shouldn't (in theory) be an issue.

**Boat_face** · 10-10-2022,10:19 AM

Thanks Whippy thats good to know. From what I can see every 10k oil change for life of vehicle so far. Is there anything else that should be changed at intervals like gearbox oil?

With regards to getting hold of full details of work carried out on it at main dealer. Is it permitted for me to ring Audi and ask for copies of this? Assuming they hold it and that they can and want to do this? Sorry I know I asked this all ready but I posted so many questions I think it was likely a bit overwhelming/buried in my war and peace post!

Cheers

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**swalker** · 10-10-2022,01:54 PM

There are mixed responses in the classic audi scene on getting the history from a dealer.
Worth a try, all they can do is say no.

I got the delivery info of my 86 coupe quattro from Audi tradition, it didn't cover the dealer options like the BBS alloys it has, so the classic car guys seemed to have success contacting Audi UK for more history.
They got back to me and said see audi tradition!! I never got round to trying the local dealership it came from yet.

Good Luck

**Whippy53** · 10-10-2022,03:10 PM

Slush boxes although Audi state sealed for life should have a change at around 70 - 80 k. EPB problems usually stem from water getting into the calipers and causing corrosion. Pretty much solved by the time yours left the factory.

**Boat_face** · 10-10-2022,04:07 PM

Good point, what is the worst they can say....."err sorry no can't do that for you".... sometimes I just over think things. Just ask!

Cheers Whippy, when I find the right car I'll get the gearbox oil changed in that case. Prevention is better than cure.

One thing I've noticed, twice now, on the two allroads I've looked at and not bought is water in the rear light unit on the rear wing, passenger side. Not the light unit on the boot lid. Is this a known issue? Why would there be water in there? They hadn't just been pressure washed. I know the sunroofed A6 suffered issues of water ingress but these weren't that model.

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**swalker** · 11-10-2022,08:59 AM

My own A6 (salon) suffered from this when i got it. It was well dried out in the sun a few times but kept coming back - and i don't use a pressure washer, so i put it down to condensation build up or the lens to body not properly sealed (ultrasonic weld?)
There is a solution about drilling holes to let the light breath, but i took a more simplistic approach and removed the rubber seal around the bulb holder.
that was 4 or 5 years ago and it has been fine since.