What car? - resonably economical Barge for £2k - A6?

[Emeye]

I want a largish car that I can fit the family (baby + 7 year old in) in comfortably on a budget of £2k.

14 miles a day commute, family weekend use and the 240 mile round-trip journey to my bro's. Maybe even a long trip into Europe next year.

I was thinking an Audi A6 1.8T or something similar. i.e. Petrol, not dead to the world but reasonably economical and reliable.

Saloon with a big boot should be fine or an estate. Not sure a diesel would be the best option for me but willing to consider it.

One slight odd-ball requirement is that it is relatively easy to fit an aftermarket stereo and speakers etc.

Oh, and I used to have an E39 BMW 530i Sport and loved it, but not 100% sure I want another 5 series.
Something different would be nice! I quite fancy a Quattro so been looking at A6s.

Cheers.

Edited by Emeye on Sunday 4th September 20:36

[Emeye]

Oh dear - everyone had enough of What Car threads?! Or is mine just too boring?

Well this is one I'm interested in.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUDI-A6-1-8T-QUATTRO-200...

And another, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewIte...
but I spoke to the dealer and he seemed a bit of a prat - evasive answers when I asked about the history and cambelt and whether there were two keys or not - his attitude was that he'd not really looked at the car etc etc - and every question ended up being answered with usual bad car-salesman BS - you'd think that someone selling a car would know about it. Still it's nearish to work so may go for a nosey.

Edited by Emeye on Sunday 4th September 21:09

[B.J.W]

I paid a little bit more for my A6 Allroad, but not a lot. Unfortunately, my dealer experience was not great either. I went to see four cars that were all described as being in excellent condition - they were anything but.

Anyway, back on topic. I'd check on the A6 regarding stereo. My A6 - 51 plate has a built in Bose system which I don't think can be replaced (not that I'd want to because the sound is rather good).

A W124 Mercedes (if you hunt around) should be within budget and will last forever.

Other suggestions would be Volvo 850 or a V70 (the 850's are very good cars and bullet proof)

Drop down a class and there would be plenty of Passats, Mondeos and Vectras (to name but a few) to choose from. Newer cars, but without the cache (?) of the Audi or Beemer.

Not trying to turn you off the A6, but I'd say that petrol is definitely the way to go if you do as, from my experience, the petrol cars are usually in a lot better nick than the diesels. Equally, petrols are a lot cheaper - my 2.7 V6 Bi-Turbo was 2k less than the equivalent 130k mile 2.5 TD..... mine had 1 owner from new, 70,000 miles and full Audi Service History. 2k buys a lot of fuel given the 5 mpg difference.

[Emeye]

I'd rather have something that felt a little bit more special than a mondeo or passat, but I have looked at them.

Doesn't the A6 Allroad have a reputation of being a bit unreliable compared to the rest of the range due to the complicated suspension etc? They do seem a lot of car for the money!

[Emeye]

Anyone........

[ad551]

Volvo S60? All the engines are five cylinder so they might not be as economical as you want, but the D5 is a really strong engine if you don't mind a diesel.

I believe it is fairly easy to fit an aftermarket radio but the bonus is you don't really need to because the factory one is so good.

[Emeye]

ad551 said:

Volvo S60? All the engines are five cylinder so they might not be as economical as you want, but the D5 is a really strong engine if you don't mind a diesel.

I believe it is fairly easy to fit an aftermarket radio but the bonus is you don't really
need to because the factory one is so good.

My boss loves his volvo diesels, but he just got his 120k mile D5 V70 back this morning after having to spend £500 on two injectors!

Hummm you got me thinking though, I wonder what economy can you get from a T5...

[Emeye]

Tempted by this but think the mpg might be a killer.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Audi-A6-2-8-quattro-/260...

[ad551]

Emeye said:

My boss loves his volvo diesels, but he just got his 120k mile D5 V70 back this morning after having to spend £500 on two injectors!

Hummm you got me thinking though, I wonder what economy can you get from a T5...

Hmmm I think you'd struggle to see anything over mid to high 20s from a T5, unless you take it very easily. Which is kind of missing the point...

[confused_buyer]

Emeye said:

I'd rather have something that felt a little bit more special than a mondeo or passat, but I have looked at them.

Doesn't the A6 Allroad have a reputation of being a bit unreliable compared to the rest of the range due to the complicated suspension etc? They do seem a lot of car for the money!

The problem is you want something "special" but only want to spent £2k. Something boring will be newer and less mileage for the same money and, on average, probably go wrong less because of it.

I couldn't think of anything more ruinous than a £2k allroad, air suspension, 4 wheel drive and whether petrol or diesel eat fuel at an amazing rate.

A6's are OK, but remember they are a Passat and feel like it to drive.

[LayZ]

confused_buyer said:

A6's are OK, but remember they are a Passat and feel like it to drive.

C5 A6s are not a Passat. The engine is longitudinal, not transverse for a start.

We have a 2000 1.9 TDI A6 (110), you could find one for £2k no problem. Electrical things are starting to act up but generally it has a huge quality feel to it, and easily does 45mpg.

Performance is fine despite only 110hp, only feels slow when fully loaded, even then I still manage overtakes most wouldn't. Seen 125mph indicated in it a few times so maybe we got a good one.

edit: DON'T GET AN ALLROAD. They are cheap for a reason - ruinously complicated and expensive to fix.

[frosted]

Don't really see the fixation on a cheap Audi , I always bought the best car I could afford and that means looking at all different makes . This what car threads are stupid because there's no point in looking up and down the country at a6's when a 2k Mondeo or whatever would probably be the better car.

I went to buy an 330d and came home with a passat and it was by far the better car

[confused_buyer]

LayZ said:

C5 A6s are not a Passat. The engine is longitudinal, not transverse for a start.

Sorry, the engine is longitudinal on the Passat as well. I've driven loads of both - they feel very similar to drive and share one heck of a lot.

I'd agree a cheap 1.9 TDI A6 can be a good bet but I'd avoid the V6, auto and all-road examples at this price range.

[B.J.W]

Emeye said:

I'd rather have something that felt a little bit more special than a mondeo or passat, but I have looked at them.

Doesn't the A6 Allroad have a reputation of being a bit unreliable compared to the rest of the range due to the complicated suspension etc? They do seem a lot of car for the money!

Sorry, missed this post.

A6 Allroads can have issues with the suspension (£500 a corner). Mine had a sensor issue which was a £380 fix. However, this work was completed under warranty without issue.

My take on older A6 Allroads is as follows - if you are looking to buy any premium car that has dropped in value to 2/3k then you have to expect to get hit by a big bill if you are planning on keeping the car for a while. However, if like me you tend to change every 12 months or so, the chances of something going wrong in that period if you buy a well maintained example is fairly low. Mine is a 51 plate, and with a full audi main dealer service history I could see that most of the things that could go wrong with the Allroad had already done so, and all of the replacememt parts were relatively new.

[BillyB]

This is for sale by a PH'er. No connection to me but I thought it looked like a good price for a nice car. I looked at Skoda vRS's a few years ago and liked them. Surprisingly spacious inside and plenty of space for a typical family, if not quite "barge" sized:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200649080646?&clk_rv...

Seller goes by the same name on here (as ebay)

[LayZ]

confused_buyer said:

Sorry, the engine is longitudinal on the Passat as well. I've driven loads of both - they feel very similar to drive and share one heck of a lot.

I'd agree a cheap 1.9 TDI A6 can be a good bet but I'd avoid the V6, auto and all-road examples at this price range.

Pedant mode:

The C5 A6 is its own platform, not shared.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Group_C_pl...

The Passat is called a B5 platform, shared with A4 and Skoda Superb.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Group_B_pl...

[Emeye]

BillyB said:

This is for sale by a PH'er. No connection to me but I thought it looked like a good price for a nice car. I looked at Skoda vRS's a few years ago and liked them. Surprisingly spacious inside and plenty of space for a typical family, if not quite "barge" sized:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200649080646?&clk_rv...

Seller goes by the same name on here (as ebay)

I've already had that car shown to me by the owner on the barge thread - I'd forgotten about the vRS, and potentially it does tick all the boxes - there are a lot about - unfortunately it's the other end of the country from me. The only thing that puts me off is they feel a bit cheap inside.

I'm not just after an A6, I'd consider any thing else - I do want something comfortable for the family though.

[Matt UK]

Having owned both a C5 Audi and an e39 BMW, to pick the Audi because you have owned the BMW already is to pick the lesser car IMO.

For £2k I'd hunt around for a tidy e39 528i Touring.

[Jw Vw]

Saab 9-5 or Volvo S60?

[Emeye]

Matt UK said:

Having owned both a C5 Audi and an e39 BMW, to pick the Audi because you have owned the BMW already is to pick the lesser car IMO.

For £2k I'd hunt around for a tidy e39 528i Touring.

I hear you! I just like to experience lots of different cars! I've just scrapped my E34 525i Touring and sold my Alfa 155. I change my cars every 6-12 months though. I like the looks of the A6 and the sold feeling. I also fancy a Quattro.

I know for my budget I could get a newer Mondeo or Passat etc, but I just don't fancy one.