Audi A6 1.8T Avant (aka "look at this pile of crap...")
Discussion
So, the trees in fellow PHer MuffDaddy's garden had an Audi growing in them and he wanted rid
Pic taken post removal - it's a 1999 A6 1.8T Avant with 192k miles. Exactly zero pounds were exchanged and it was mine. Complete with new forms of life growing in the interior:
Never fear, the Eastern European car wash is here!
Paintwork is gleaming too, it has a few battle scars but what 14 year old 192k mile car doesn't?? Stacks of history including a turbo at 160k.
Couple of part worn tyres sorted out the punctured and damaged rears.
What best to do with an unknown car? Why, take it on an 850 mile round trip! It has been to Scotland and back with me this weekend and performed utterly flawlessly. 38MPG too which I'm shocked with, better than my 1.4 Kia Rio!
Few niggles:
Temperature gauge only works when it feels like it, sometimes going back to 0 whilst driving.
Headlights are woeful. They are cloudy and need polishing or replacing if that doesn't work.
Armrest and load cover are both stuck. Passenger seatbelt locks itself randomly.
Rear speakers and subwoofer are inop / poor
Manifold gasket is leaking badly.
Nothing major really and I'm really happy with the car! More pics soon, and updates of how it's going!
Pic taken post removal - it's a 1999 A6 1.8T Avant with 192k miles. Exactly zero pounds were exchanged and it was mine. Complete with new forms of life growing in the interior:
Never fear, the Eastern European car wash is here!
Paintwork is gleaming too, it has a few battle scars but what 14 year old 192k mile car doesn't?? Stacks of history including a turbo at 160k.
Couple of part worn tyres sorted out the punctured and damaged rears.
What best to do with an unknown car? Why, take it on an 850 mile round trip! It has been to Scotland and back with me this weekend and performed utterly flawlessly. 38MPG too which I'm shocked with, better than my 1.4 Kia Rio!
Few niggles:
Temperature gauge only works when it feels like it, sometimes going back to 0 whilst driving.
Headlights are woeful. They are cloudy and need polishing or replacing if that doesn't work.
Armrest and load cover are both stuck. Passenger seatbelt locks itself randomly.
Rear speakers and subwoofer are inop / poor
Manifold gasket is leaking badly.
Nothing major really and I'm really happy with the car! More pics soon, and updates of how it's going!
Edited by Toaster Pilot on Sunday 19th January 23:44
It doesn't get better than free, does it?! 
Bought my wife a new 1.8T A3 in 2000. It was replaced by a 225 S3 1 year later as it was painfully slow. I hope your car has more oomph. I'm still not sure my wife's A3 didn't have a problem as the torque wasn't enough to remove a rice pudding skin.
Bought my wife a new 1.8T A3 in 2000. It was replaced by a 225 S3 1 year later as it was painfully slow. I hope your car has more oomph. I'm still not sure my wife's A3 didn't have a problem as the torque wasn't enough to remove a rice pudding skin.
Toaster Pilot said:
Tiberius said:
Use toothpaste as polish on the headlights, brings em up like new
Way ahead of you - armed with some 25p Tesco Value toothpaste they're looking better after one quick pass. Will have another go soon. 
Going to an Audi dealer this afternoon to pick up a turbo to manifold gasket - £3.30 which considering I can't be 100% sure the factors are ordering the right part, isn't bad for a genuine one!
Decided to grow a pair and strip it down myself, can't justify getting a mechanic to do much to a free car really can I?
Ordered a new set of number plates and a windscreen chip repair kit (don't have glass cover and there's a chip on the passenger side that'll at least be an advisory on a MOT)
Decided to grow a pair and strip it down myself, can't justify getting a mechanic to do much to a free car really can I?
Ordered a new set of number plates and a windscreen chip repair kit (don't have glass cover and there's a chip on the passenger side that'll at least be an advisory on a MOT)
I looked a bit out of place in my knackered old Felicia at the Audi dealership earlier (the A6 is off the road until I sell the Felicia later this week and change the insurance over) 
Got the gasket (was actually £3.85 inc vat) so I'm hoping to get the exhaust leak sorted this weekend. Need to start investigating the other little niggles too (speakers, load cover, armrest, etc) - looking forward to driving it again once it's back on the road, it's a shock going back to the Felicia!
Got the gasket (was actually £3.85 inc vat) so I'm hoping to get the exhaust leak sorted this weekend. Need to start investigating the other little niggles too (speakers, load cover, armrest, etc) - looking forward to driving it again once it's back on the road, it's a shock going back to the Felicia!
Toaster Pilot said:
Few niggles:
Temperature gauge only works when it feels like it, sometimes going back to 0 whilst driving.
Headlights are woeful. They are cloudy and need polishing or replacing if that doesn't work.
I had both issues with my '03 A3. Temp sensor was an easy change, armed with a youtube video and 10 free minutes! Replacement cost about a tenner. Took a lot of goes with toothpaste to get the lights to improve and they're still bad. This might be why Audi drivers seem to love using their front foglights all the time?! Temperature gauge only works when it feels like it, sometimes going back to 0 whilst driving.
Headlights are woeful. They are cloudy and need polishing or replacing if that doesn't work.
I seem to have brightened up the lights a fair bit using toothpaste, I'm going to keep polishing away with it and then fit a set of brighter bulbs (I have Bosch "+90%" bulbs in my Felicia and they are noticeably better than standard, so I will get those again if ECP have them on offer, sure they were £9 or something)
The headlights do steam up a bit inside too which can't be helping, so I might need to take them out and try to reseal them with something.
The headlights do steam up a bit inside too which can't be helping, so I might need to take them out and try to reseal them with something.
Hi mate just to give you a heads up I've had a full SE spec cloth interior the same as yours inc door cards etc lying around for about year which I could really do with getting rid of! Not sure what the rest of your interior is like or even if you mind on a free car but give me a shout if you could do with anything! Cheers, Jim.
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