RAC/AA inspection?

[gilson]

Hi Guys, First post to this website, so hello. I have an old Volvo 850 which I'm about to sell to purchase an A6 Avant. I'm hoping it's going to meet my requirements, space, comfort and reliability.

I've seen what seems like a good A6 avant on autotrader and will hopefully go to see it this weekend. It's up for about 8K, 54 1.9TDI manual with F independant SH and is the Final Edition, (which seems a little, well, final). :-) Anyway, I've never spent that much on a car and am wondering if I should pay for an inspection - especially after reading the posts on this website! Although most of them to be of the 2.5TDI..... which is a shame as that was on the top of my list.

So does anyone have any comments or recommendations? Alternatively, does anyone have a lovely A6 for sale in the Harlow, Essex area?

Thanks in advance

[paul b]

Hi Guys, First post to this website, so hello. I have an old Volvo 850 which I'm about to sell to purchase an A6 Avant. I'm hoping it's going to meet my requirements, space, comfort and reliability.

I've seen what seems like a good A6 avant on autotrader and will hopefully go to see it this weekend. It's up for about 8K, 54 1.9TDI manual with F independant SH and is the Final Edition, (which seems a little, well, final). :-) Anyway, I've never spent that much on a car and am wondering if I should pay for an inspection - especially after reading the posts on this website! Although most of them to be of the 2.5TDI..... which is a shame as that was on the top of my list.

So does anyone have any comments or recommendations? Alternatively, does anyone have a lovely A6 for sale in the Harlow, Essex area?

Thanks in advance

First of all, you will be amazed by the spaciousness of the cabin, it is huge. Room in the back is more than adequate as well. In terms of comfort, if it's leather then there are no problems there! No honestly I really like the ride position of the A6. The ride will most likely be firmer than you are used to moving from your Volvo, but that is Audi trying to make the cars more sporting. The boot is enormous, even in my saloon! The 1.9TDI engine is very good, very torquey and has good mid-range motorway pull as well. I am getting 45 mpg out of my A6 saloon.

To be honest if you want peace of mind then you can get an inspection done, however if you give it a thorough test drive then you should know if it is ok. A few things I would do is:

- Check the passenger footwell carpet isn't wet (this can be caused by blocked drain holes beneath the battery... and your central convenience unit is in the footwell, and they don't like getting wet!)

- Ensure the air-conditioning system is fully operational, ensure the Econ light is not permanently illuminated, as this indicates a fault in the system.

- Find an empty car park or something and turn from lock to lock and check for loud banging... if this happens then the CV joints could be on the way out.

- Ensure all interior controls are fully operational.

- Ensure the test drive lasts more than 10 minutes, usually if there is an intermittent fault putting the car in limp mode would have happened before this time.

- Also (after a recent problem with my own A6!) check that there isn't a clattering sound coming from the power steering when you turn the wheel either way on full lock while stationary. This indicates a problem with a clutch in the alternator.

Hope that helps!

Finally, if it is a private sale then the price might need knocking down depending on the mileage, which you haven't stated. If it's done more than about 50-60k then try knocking it down 500 quid!

Paul

[gilson]

Thanks a lot, very helpful indeed. I'm fairly competant mechanically, especially after reading forum like this one.

The mileage is 52K and I'll certainly knock him down based on your advice... I'll also go with my gut feeling, important in situations where BS could be the currency.

It's relatively local, which is important... thanks again... I might be posting being the owner of an A6 ;-)

[paul b]

Thanks a lot, very helpful indeed. I'm fairly competant mechanically, especially after reading forum like this one.

The mileage is 52K and I'll certainly knock him down based on your advice... I'll also go with my gut feeling, important in situations where BS could be the currency.

It's relatively local, which is important... thanks again... I might be posting being the owner of an A6 ;-)

Well, mine is also on 52k!

Yeah knock him down to 7500 quid... the price of these C5 A6s is falling because of the sales of the new (4B) shape.

Paul

[tromppost]

You should do a HPI check.

[gilson]

Agreed. I called them and they don't give me confidence. During my searches for a good car, I've come across several scams. They really don't give me confidence in buying privately. On the other hand, I can't believe people fall for the, "I'm currently working in Rome and I'll ship the car to the UK for X amount", one... I'm still looking for a good estate, looking at, dare I say it on this forum, a Honda Accord estate, doesn't have the badge, or space of an A6, but reliability and price can not be beaten. I can't put a wanted ad. on here yet as I don't have the post total....

[gilson]

Ha! I do now!