Just bought my first A6

[wcb]

Just joined this forum as i have bought my first A6 so a quick hello.

I have been running an old M reg Audi 80 avant for a year and it is just about dead but for £400 and 15k miles in the last year it has been superb.

I needed a bigger car for work as i want to sell my VW Transporter van and the A6 ticked the box.

As i am a bit of an impulse type of guy i saw a 2001 51 plate A6 2.5 tdi SE avant going to be auctioned so went and looked.

I fell in love and am now the proud owner of this car.

100k with full history mainly Audi main dealer, Black leather, silver, 2.5 tdi 155 SE with semi auto box.

I paid £3.600 for the car was that a good price?

Now looking at the service history its stamped at 75k as having the cam belt changed but i do not have any paperwork to back up any of the service stamps.

Have rung the company who are a used audi dealer who were less then helpful and said that they use outside garages to do there work.

Is it best to get it checked out as i can't afford for it to go wrong?

All seems great with the car except the boot lock which sticks but i have had a price of around £100 to put a new catch/lock on etc.

Is it worth sticking it on to a computer to check the car over?

Is there anything that i need to look out for/check on the car.

The engine perfix is AYM which reading this superb forum says its a 2002 but the car was built in 08/01

Were these good engines and do they suffer the cam problems of the pre 2001 engines?

As i will be doing 20k a year in the car i was thinking of trying to improve the MPG of the car and was looking at getting this tuning chip

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TDI%2FDiesel-T...23127004r13454

Any good or should i steer clear?

Any other recommendations?

Sorry for all the questions and i hope in future i can be of help to other peaople.

WCB

[NickPicks]

I'll be the first one to say "Steer clear of the 'Tuning' chip"

A remap is the best option for mpg gains

Other things you need to check on the car - Check the plenum chamber drains are clear. Shine a torch down the side of the battery and if there's any water down there, then you need to clear the drain plugs, otherwise the water will get into the car and fry your convenience module.

[NickPicks]

Small addition regarding the tuning chip:
Refer to post 14 in this thread

Re the 2002 / 08/2001 question, Audi Model Years (MY) run differently to calendar years. MY10 cars are just about to be delivered.

Who stamped the service book on the cambelt change?

It wouldn't hurt to have a vag-com fault scan done. You might be able to find someone on here local to you who could help.

[wcb]

Thanks for the reply NP.

The book was stamped by Streben who are a used audi dealer.

I called them and they were not interested in helping and said they used ind garages to do there work.

I called Audi and found out a bit about the servicing they have done and it seems the gearbox was worked on under warranty at around 20k and he seemed to think that it would have been upgraded.
This was around the beginning of 2003.

He did think a gearbox oil change might be worth doing and quoted around £160 for that.

Will steer clear of the chip

Will also check there is not water.

I have just found a ind audi specialist a few miles away from me so will go and check them out today as well.
http://www.avs-audi.co.uk/

WCB

[paul b]

Your A6 is most likely a Multitronic, luckily for you it sounds like the 7 plate clutch conversion has already been done. But changing the gearbox oil would be good preventative maintenance.

Park the car stationary and turn the wheels to full lock (either way). If you hear a horrible clattering noise then the alternator pulley needs to be replaced. Its amazing how many TDIs have this problem, my A6 and my van needed the pulley changing. Genuine part costs around £60 plus fitting so it's not ultra expensive.

[wcb]

Thanks for the reply.

I am going to go in to Audi Taunton tomorrow and get the full info pulled off i hope so lets see if the 7 plate conversion has been done

I am a little worried as its a bit jerky at sub 10 mph speeds

I went to this local Audi specialist garage and booked the car in for a gear box oil change.

Its going to cost £80-£90 is this good?

WCB

[paul b]

Sounds good to me, I can't imagine the oil to fill them with is cheap either.

[FoxA6]

Thats a fair price for a gearbox oil change, my only comment is I had a long chat with a service guy at my local Audi dealer. My 2004 A6 is also the dreaded multitronic but (touching the nearest piece of wood!) it is fine with no sign of problems. The comment he made was that Audi charge £120 for the oil change but you have more of an argument and more possibility of getting money off if it all goes wrong. I thought that was worth thinking about

[wcb]

Good thought.

If it all go's wrong will Audi help with the cost then?

Am thinking about taking a warrenty out on the car but looking at a few online the best i can hope for is then paying 50% of the bill.

Can anyone recomend anyone for warrentys?

Am also going to get a vag-com check on the car Monday to see if it comes up with any faults.

WCB