High mileage A6's. Issues, problems?

High mileage A6's. Issues, problems?

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Discussion

warp9

Original Poster:

1,583 posts

196 months

Monday 30th November 2015
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Hi. I'm after an A6 Avant, have around £12K to play around with and would like something that's a bit pokey with the Quattro system. That has pretty much led me to 3.0TDI's. However most of them have well over 100k miles on the clock. Is this an issue, what am I looking out for and are there any known issues?

There also seem to be a lot of Allroad variants out there. I don't really need the extra clearance, can it be lowered and are there any other differences to consider.

High mileage example (although not derv) http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/a...

Cheers

Dr G

15,159 posts

241 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
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Allroads ride very nicely and have a dynamic setting on their air-suspension that drops them down if you prefer that look. The suspension is generally well behaved but like most air suspension systems if you do suffer a fault it can be expensive (although costs can be mitigated to a point by using specialist garages and parts suppliers).

A C6 A6 is generally good for big miles and the highest I've seen was 317k on a 2006 2.7 quattro tip saloon - it may be even higher now if it's still alive but I lost track of it.

At 12 grand I'd be tempted to buy a higher mileage, 2009> facelifted car and you're right that the 3.0 TDI tip is the pick of the bunch. S-Line and Special Edition (formerly Le Mans) cars come with Xenons anyway, the standard halogens are not much cop but if you're looking at an Allroad or SE hol din mind that these were optional. Bose is nice to have, AMI is nice to have and the later HDD nav (MMI Nav+) is a marked improvement over the earlier ones. That isn't to say DVD Nav is bad, if the rest of the car adds up it's still perfectly usable once you've got maps up to date. Special Edition also gets heated front seats and rear parking sensors that you'll probably want both of these(optional) on a lower trim level.

Feel for water ingress in the boot (particularly behind left hand trim panel), clonks over bumps/hard lock (front ARB bushes) and of course warning lights. Mechanically they're very robust but there's a small weakness in the flap system within the inlet manifolds that will throw an engine light but won't give you grief or slow you down. The manifolds are easily repaired (cheap) or even in an extreme case where they're beyond saving you can buy exchange units cheaply on ebay. Later cars ~2010 on) don't suffer from this. 6 speed tiptronic box is very tough with any sort of problem rare but an oil change at 100k is often recommended as a bit of preventative maintenance.

Really good cars. Harry Metcalfe once said in a column that we'd look back on C6 A6s in the manner we look some old Mercs now. They're unusually tough and they still look good today.

warp9

Original Poster:

1,583 posts

196 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
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Dr G, really useful post, thanks for that. thumbup

Andy JB

1,319 posts

218 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
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I have an Allroad and while I was not aware there were many around they do make sense if like me you firstly have an off road need and secondly have owned an A6 previously & dislike its crashy over damped suspension (I like firm suspension too!) then the Allroad makes sense. Like Dr G says you can adjust ride height & damper settings to suit your journey & I think overall build quality is better. Handles well considering size & weight.

3.0 tdi pulls well with plenty of torque & tiptronic works well despite my own preference for a manual and petrol this seems to be the way the market has moved & its a good car never the less if you have to have a derv auto.

Mine is a 2009 car & in 2.5 yrs ownership not had any real issues of note, although I am more confident the suspension won't be as problematic as I thought & appears to be better designed than the C5 variant. I changed gearbox oil as preventative maintenance & engine oil annually rather than longlife using an independent dealer. Keep on top of one & it should last well - that's why I tend to buy them.

a4cabrio

899 posts

158 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
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Great timing this post, I'm looking into the possibility of getting an A6 but the saloon version, looking for a 3.0 TDI around 2010 onwards

Dr G

15,159 posts

241 months

Thursday 3rd December 2015
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a4cabrio said:
Great timing this post, I'm looking into the possibility of getting an A6 but the saloon version, looking for a 3.0 TDI around 2010 onwards
Do it; saloons are silly good value.

Rosscow

8,723 posts

162 months

Friday 4th December 2015
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I have a 2006 A6 Avant, 3.0 tdi Quattro.

It's just coming up to 97,000 miles. We bought it 3 years ago with 50,000. In that time I've had no major issues, just a few niggles like a faulty fuel gauge.
Just recently the heating seems to have a glitch, but it's still working so will make do until service time in April/May.

Ours is in SE trim but is manual and also has the same air suspension as found on the Allroad. The suspension is great, very comfortable in Automatic or Comfort and if you want it firmer put it in Dynamic. The Lift function is very useful in snow or if in a muddy field.

We use ours to tow a large twin axle caravan and it does it with ease (again, the air suspension is brilliant for this).

A lot of people say the manual doesn't suit the 3.0tdi and whilst I would agree that 1st is a bit short, the gearbox is fine. Would probably go auto next though!

I also have a set of winter tyres that I'll put on soon. This car is unstoppable in the snow with these on. Incredible winter performance. I use these.

We have 17" wheels which I would recommend if you're after a comfortable ride and better choice of or cheaper tyres.

I use a local independent Audi/VW garage for the servicing. I supply parts and oil (you're looking at around 8 litres per oil change) and with the MOT normally pay about £300.00 all in per year.

I use this oil and get a 20 litre drum delivered for around £90. It has all of the BMW/Audi/VW/MB longlife approval but I change it yearly anyway.

It's been a great car, very comfortable and fast enough to get yourself in trouble. I'll probably replace it with a new shape one in a year or two.

Edited by Rosscow on Friday 4th December 11:09

a4cabrio

899 posts

158 months

Friday 4th December 2015
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Dr G said:
Do it; saloons are silly good value.
That's what I've been thinking, I've got around 15k to spend and am hoping to pick up a 2010/11 car with <70k miles, do you think I'm being over ambitious?? I'm hoping to buy from a main dealer purely for the warranty, my current BMW has just had £3500 worth of warranty done for a couple of problems and I'm going to wait until the spring to sell it as its a convertible.

I'm hoping to get the S Line version, do all the A6 models come with air suspension?? I never knew they came with air suspension until I read the above comment

Rosscow

8,723 posts

162 months

Friday 4th December 2015
quotequote all
No, my understanding is that air suspension is only standard on the AllRoad. Other than that it's an extra.

Standard suspension on an S-Line (18" wheels) is pretty hard and crashy from my experience.

a4cabrio

899 posts

158 months

Friday 4th December 2015
quotequote all
Rosscow said:
No, my understanding is that air suspension is only standard on the AllRoad. Other than that it's an extra.

Standard suspension on an S-Line (18" wheels) is pretty hard and crashy from my experience.
Ahhhh that makes sense, air suspension for adjusting ride height on off road surfaces I suppose

I had an S Line A4 on 18" wheels a few years ago and compared to my current BMW 330i m sport on 19" runflats, the S line on 18s would be like floating along the road lol

944fan

4,962 posts

184 months

Saturday 12th December 2015
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I have a 58 TDIe. I can write on a postage stamp the number of problems I have had with it. 101K miles on mine now. Have only every done wear and tear items (pads/disks/tyres).

Does 65 mpg although is quite under powered.

AudiSport

1,458 posts

215 months

Sunday 13th December 2015
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I have a 2005 A6 Avant 3.2 Quattro in Sline trim and auto.

It's done 70k miles now, and I love it. 30 - 35mpg on a run, and 20mpg around town. The engine is responsive, powerful and sounds beautiful when you press on. No major issues, although I do currently have a loose connection in the driver window controls that I need to sort.

icepop

1,177 posts

206 months

Monday 14th December 2015
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That looks a lovely car, and a nice place to be. But if you are going to be doing the same mileage as the previous owners, then I suspect big bills might follow. I've looked into this route myself, and always thought, yes, the car looks epic, great condition, fully loaded, but...the engine is starting to get old. No matter what feedback you might get, the thing that makes the car, a car, has done 140k, and probably will, not definitly, but probably start throwing up big bills. Now if you are planning 5k per year, no probs, I guess, but in that case why such a car, I'm assuming such a thing would be a 20k pa, motorway muncher. I have had 3 of my last cars as VW diesels, and all into the 150k region, but not without some financial input, or bailing out before an obvious impending money pit. For that price I'm thinking low,(er) mileage Octavia/(A4/Passat) estate.

Edited by icepop on Monday 14th December 01:55

anonymous-user

53 months

Wednesday 16th December 2015
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This thread is perfect timing! I'm looking for a dog wagon/station car that normally would be boring but as I'm only 3 miles from the station I've been thinking about making it more enjoyable by going for a V8, ticking off the V8 ownership box in the process. Do the V8s suffer the same issues with the timing chain as the S4?

Given the choice and with MPG not being an issue what engine would you go for? Budget is around £6-9K

Kell

1,708 posts

207 months

Thursday 17th December 2015
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We bought a 58 plate 3.0TDi Le Mans about three years ago and I love it.

Had 32,000 miles when we bought it, and is now on 89,000.

Problems we've had have been far fewer (and a lot less expensive) than the E61 530d it replaced.

But they've been:

Passenger door lock stopped working. Needed a new mechanism.
Rear wash wipe is currently not working - yet to get this fixed.
Wheel bearing in the passenger wheel went relatively early at about 40k.

AFAIK, these are all common problems, but compared to the thousands we spent on the Beemer, are far less worrying.

Rosscow

8,723 posts

162 months

Thursday 17th December 2015
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Kell said:
We bought a 58 plate 3.0TDi Le Mans about three years ago and I love it.

Had 32,000 miles when we bought it, and is now on 89,000.

Problems we've had have been far fewer (and a lot less expensive) than the E61 530d it replaced.

But they've been:

Passenger door lock stopped working. Needed a new mechanism.
Rear wash wipe is currently not working - yet to get this fixed.
Wheel bearing in the passenger wheel went relatively early at about 40k.

AFAIK, these are all common problems, but compared to the thousands we spent on the Beemer, are far less worrying.
Rear wash wipe is common - It'll probably need a new motor (the old one will probably be rusted up). Have done this on mine.

Andy JB

1,319 posts

218 months

Thursday 17th December 2015
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Rosscow said:
Rear wash wipe is common - It'll probably need a new motor (the old one will probably be rusted up). Have done this on mine.


In my book this is unacceptable for a premium brand. I had the rear wash wipe issue on my previous C5 & replaced the mechanism which also flooded the floor along with ECU when it failed, therefore its ridiculous that the next generation C6 still has the same issue. While C6 wiper has been okay, the jet constantly gets blocked, but this time my HL rear brake light corroded which I've had to replace.

Why don't manufacturers accept an issue & redesign properly for the next model?

JaseB

854 posts

260 months

Thursday 17th December 2015
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My rear washer stopped working but it was only because the hose popped off, worth a check first before getting carried away.

Kell

1,708 posts

207 months

Friday 18th December 2015
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I did take mine all apart some time ago. From what I remember it's a right faff and quite hard to do. I think the hose was loose last time so hoping it's just that again. The spare wheel well was wet last time I looked so it needs sorting.

humpy999

195 posts

186 months

Monday 28th December 2015
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I must have been unlucky.

Admittedly, a different powertrain to the one the OP is interested in (2.0tdi pd/ manual) but I've had a broken rear coil spring, failed DIS (£1000), failed engine mount, cracked intercooler (although suspect a bump from FiL to blame), rear washer motor. Cracked cylinder head, failed turbo. Full front suspension rebuild at 120k with rear shocks. 2 camblelt changes, new DMF and clutch at 150k (normal wear). 1 litre of 507.00 oil every 1500m.

It's a lovely car to drive, still very tight at 8 years and 150k but she's been expensive to run.