RE: Shed of the Week: Audi A6
Discussion
carinaman said:
J4CKO said:
There are still 1980's C4's around, the odd one pops up, Ferris Buellers dad had one.
Wasn't that the slippery C3, the 1982 ECoTY winner one?J4CKO said:
It cant depreciate, it probably wont break, it wont rust and any strange noises wont fill you with terror, you can leave it anywhere and do 500 miles in it with ease, it will do 35 to the gallon on a run, insurance will be cheap, its fairly safe, tax will be £230 ish, full set of disks and pads is £100 or not much more, loads of second hand bits available if you need them.
I assume these have the same brake accumulator 'bomb' as C3s as the C4 was essentially a reskin? They're available second hand?The 5 cylinder C3s can suffer from leaking PAS pumps, and I was told by one large VAG breaker that they'd cleared out their C3 stuff as there was so little demand for it now.
I suppose the 1.8 20V could be less prone to stuff going on the elderly five cylinders like exhaust manifold cracks or blown gaskets?
I've driven a 1.8 cc (cc as in trim level) C3 Avant. It worked and got there.
I agree with you on the likely bank vault like build quality.
Funnily enough the PAS pump was the only issues I had with my 5 cyl C3, used to lock the steering when I put my foot down.
Its weird, I get a similar kind of feel from my CLS as I did with having the Audi 100 when I was like 25, the feeling I am driving a way posher car than I should be.
SimonD said:
Wow. Just no.
That 1.8 in NASP form was even dumped from the Mk4 Golf as it lacked torque, and replaced with the 2.0 8 valve. In a heavier car like the A6 just forget it.
No redeeming features for me at all.
They have pretty much the same torque figure, though the 2 litre makes it 1000 rpm lower and has to less bhp at the top end, neither are very nice to use after getting used to modern turbos and big capacities but it will do the job, think of the poor sods that in the C3 had a Carb Fed 1.8 8 valve with 74 bhp.That 1.8 in NASP form was even dumped from the Mk4 Golf as it lacked torque, and replaced with the 2.0 8 valve. In a heavier car like the A6 just forget it.
No redeeming features for me at all.
carinaman said:
Did they drop the five cylinder engines for the A6 badged C4s?
Was the only 5 cylinder engines in the C4 the 20V Turbo S4 and S6?
No, the 5 cyl didn't reach the A6 badged C4 (probably not emission friendly enough). It was available initially in the C4 though in 2.3 normally aspirated form though as well as the 20V Turbo's but quite rare and were killed off after 1992 I think when the V6 engine took over in 2.6/2.8.Was the only 5 cylinder engines in the C4 the 20V Turbo S4 and S6?
EnglishTony said:
It was dull when new & it's not got any better.
Audi should buy it back to stop it doing any more damage to the marque's reputation.
They have done that all by themselves to be fair, though it hasnt harmed sales, I had more time for Audis when they were more like this with the odd quattro, 200 Turbo and V8 to keep things a bit more interesting.Audi should buy it back to stop it doing any more damage to the marque's reputation.
You wouldn't have it as your only car, travel the length of the country to buy it, polish it each Sunday, treat it to V-Power and take it out on Sundays...
But as a leave it at the station / airport run / family pool car / spare car left for months in a corner of the driveway but needs to start when you really need it, then yes - it's perfect.
For that sort of car, basic is better.
But as a leave it at the station / airport run / family pool car / spare car left for months in a corner of the driveway but needs to start when you really need it, then yes - it's perfect.
For that sort of car, basic is better.
Dale487 said:
MadDog1962 said:
Looks like mini-cab material to me.
It sounds like a mini cab, with the advert stating its really good for the airport run (which has never been a consideration high on my list when buying a car)The line "it's got the air of a car that you'd buy for a laugh and keep for a lifetime", made me think of my own old Audi purchase. Albeit its a 4.2 A8, but I bought it on ebay 6 years ago as needed a car to take 5 people holidaying in France, with the intention of selling soon after. 60000 miles later and I can't imagine wafting around in anything else.
The one benefit this A6 has is less electrical things to go wrong, as my dash has looked like a Christmas tree at times, and the stupid air con still clicks are whirrs for 10-15 seconds every 7 minutes which drives the missus nuts !
If the A8 died I'd envisaged replacing it with an A6 Avant...solid, practical but not quite an A8 (hmmm...maybe I lie, and would get another A8 if I had to.....or a Phaeton W12)
The one benefit this A6 has is less electrical things to go wrong, as my dash has looked like a Christmas tree at times, and the stupid air con still clicks are whirrs for 10-15 seconds every 7 minutes which drives the missus nuts !
If the A8 died I'd envisaged replacing it with an A6 Avant...solid, practical but not quite an A8 (hmmm...maybe I lie, and would get another A8 if I had to.....or a Phaeton W12)
SidewaysSi said:
I had one. It was shockingly crap. My W124 Mercedes is infinitely better.
Oh really? I hope you check your w124 for rust on a weekly basis because it can seriously bite you in the arse and fall to bits underneath you. Oh, and then there's the snow or ice; you'd be lucky to get it out of the driveway. Not forgetting the fuel consumption of your Mercedes.Mine:-
1999, 2.4 30 valve engine, manual 'box. 147,000 miles on the original engine, transmission, even the exhaust is original, including the cats. MOT emissions at new limits last month. Superbly economical for a car of this size and performance.
After over 40 years in motor engineering I can safely say this is the best car I have ever owned. The build quality is second to none and the car is utterly rust free. As an advanced driver it satisfies everything I need it to do, and I enjoy every trip in it.
Buy one.
J
sjtgeray said:
The one benefit this A6 has is less electrical things to go wrong, as my dash has looked like a Christmas tree at times, and the stupid air con still clicks are whirrs for 10-15 seconds every 7 minutes which drives the missus nuts !
That's the correct way to look at it. Less to go wrong. I don't like the added complication of electric windows but have realised they're useful when dropping the windows to listen for approaching traffic at junctions with restricted visibility.jith said:
MOT emissions at new limits last month. Superbly economical for a car of this size and performance.
New lower limits? I wasn't aware the emissions test had changed?I think the C5 Avant is a great looking car. The 2.8 V6 Avant Quattro won a CAR Magazine test in the late 90s against the V70R AWD and some other pokey estate, but can't remember whether it was a Merc. or BMW.
Matt UK said:
But as a leave it at the station / airport run / family pool car / spare car left for months in a corner of the driveway but needs to start when you really need it, then yes - it's perfect.
Exactly that! Pretty perfect for that application. For the hard core sheddistas that don't get it: some people (me included) suffer from a bit too much empathy when it comes to old kit. If this was e.g. a 100 type 44 turbo, I'd start worrying about where I parked it, spend too much on maintenance vs. its value etc. This here is *just* right on the point where it's a bit cool/different, cheap enough, fit for purpose but all the while generic enough not to trigger any stupid expenses
. jith said:
Oh really? I hope you check your w124 for rust on a weekly basis because it can seriously bite you in the arse and fall to bits underneath you. Oh, and then there's the snow or ice; you'd be lucky to get it out of the driveway. Not forgetting the fuel consumption of your Mercedes.
W124s generally don't do structural rust, it's just the bolt-on front wings that go. W124s are fine in snow if you've got proper tyres on them, as are all RWD cars. I'd certainly rather have a nicely-balanced rear-driver than a nose-heavy front-driver in the snow.I bought one of these cars in 1999 as a second owner (albeit, the 2.5Tdi 115hp, Auto), a 1996 year model. It had 50K miles on it. I still have the car today, and it now has 250K miles, totally original - original turbo (never repaired or caused any issue) engine, gearbox, trim - even still, after 250K miles and 20 years, on the original exhaust with no indication it is anywhere near requiring replacement (it even looks visually quite new still)
Not the most exciting car, but certainly one of the best made - the underside of the car looks like new, the engine bay cleans up like a car approaching 5 years of age, not 20. It will still cruise all day high speed in total comfort, without a squeak or rattle in the cabin. I've had numerous other cars in the meantime and it's been a while since it was my daily transport. But I keep it a spare car - we don't really need a spare car, but I can't bear to part with it.
I had been through a string of accidents in my youth - fortunately not involving other people, but I managed to rid the world of several cars (including a couple of Lancia Delta Integrales). I bought the Audi A6 as something sensible to look after me and everyone else on the road - and it worked.
Not the most exciting car, but certainly one of the best made - the underside of the car looks like new, the engine bay cleans up like a car approaching 5 years of age, not 20. It will still cruise all day high speed in total comfort, without a squeak or rattle in the cabin. I've had numerous other cars in the meantime and it's been a while since it was my daily transport. But I keep it a spare car - we don't really need a spare car, but I can't bear to part with it.
I had been through a string of accidents in my youth - fortunately not involving other people, but I managed to rid the world of several cars (including a couple of Lancia Delta Integrales). I bought the Audi A6 as something sensible to look after me and everyone else on the road - and it worked.
Edited by matt5791 on Friday 22 January 23:31
carinaman said:
jith said:
MOT emissions at new limits last month. Superbly economical for a car of this size and performance.
New lower limits? I wasn't aware the emissions test had changed?I think the C5 Avant is a great looking car. The 2.8 V6 Avant Quattro won a CAR Magazine test in the late 90s against the V70R AWD and some other pokey estate, but can't remember whether it was a Merc. or BMW.
J
Dale487 said:
RoverP6B said:
If it was a well-equipped Quattro with a 5, 6 or 8-cylinder engine, I might take more of an interest, but just a base-spec dog-slow 4-cylinder...
I suspect a second hand set of alloys for any of the above cars would be about a grand - let alone the whole car.200 Quid!
J
jith said:
They'd look f
king terrible on this.
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