Audi A6 Avant S-Line Quattro Le Mans
Discussion
Hi all, I'm looking or some advice, I currently have a lease car but at some point I wanted to get my own car, nothing too expensive, I work away and do roughly around 8k a year mileage mainly around town.
I've seen a nice 57 Audi A6 Avant S-Line Le Mans model which has 171k on its clock, looks in amazing condition and is £3000, I'm thinking of buying it, I like the space it has and it still looks a nice modern car.
Anyone know of any pitfalls to look out for on one of these cars please?
I've seen a nice 57 Audi A6 Avant S-Line Le Mans model which has 171k on its clock, looks in amazing condition and is £3000, I'm thinking of buying it, I like the space it has and it still looks a nice modern car.
Anyone know of any pitfalls to look out for on one of these cars please?
My dad has one the same spec and it was a lovely car. One day it just died. Months with a VAG specialist and it was found to be the fuse box on the bulkhead underneath the windscreen. Apparently rain drains straight into it so when they looked it was full of water and everything was corroded badly. The whole box and wiring would have needed to be replaced so the car was sold to a breaker as it wasn’t worth fixing.
The breaker tried to fix it and got it to run once but then it never worked again and it was scrapped.
Since then a guy at work had the same issue with an A3.
The breaker tried to fix it and got it to run once but then it never worked again and it was scrapped.
Since then a guy at work had the same issue with an A3.
I’ve had two of these, although neither in Le Mans spec, but both Quattro. A 3.0TDI and a 3.2FSI. Excellent all round cars, however at that mileage you will undoubtedly need to put some things right, so keep some cash aside for maintenance. The Tiptronic gearbox in the Quattro version is reliable, but at over 150k miles there will undoubtedly be risk.
If I’m honest, I would try and find a well looked after one with a few less miles, if of course you can stretch the budget a bit?
If I’m honest, I would try and find a well looked after one with a few less miles, if of course you can stretch the budget a bit?
Inlet manifolds can fail. Fixable, about £2-300 in parts.
Wheel bearings occasionally.
Water leaks as mentioned.
The "chrome" trim on the window cills isn't, and will go white. A Very Expensive Job to replace, so vinyl-wrap it.
Aftermarket tinting can soak the radio and amplifier rack in the boot.
You may want to change out the gearbox fluid - there are several types that have to be chosen from correctly depending on the car and the gearbox software, and the fluid itself is made from baby unicorn tears judging by the prices.
Retrofits for DAB, Satnav, AMI and Bluetooth are all doable with OEM parts. At that age it's probably MMH High 2G, and those parts are on A6, Q7, A8 from the D3 model on. A6Retrofit has lots of good info there.
Also - the tax is likely to be around £500 a year on that, check before you buy.
Very good cars overall, but at that age\mileage you may have some looming Large Bills for things like suspension work, so tread carefully.
Wheel bearings occasionally.
Water leaks as mentioned.
The "chrome" trim on the window cills isn't, and will go white. A Very Expensive Job to replace, so vinyl-wrap it.
Aftermarket tinting can soak the radio and amplifier rack in the boot.
You may want to change out the gearbox fluid - there are several types that have to be chosen from correctly depending on the car and the gearbox software, and the fluid itself is made from baby unicorn tears judging by the prices.
Retrofits for DAB, Satnav, AMI and Bluetooth are all doable with OEM parts. At that age it's probably MMH High 2G, and those parts are on A6, Q7, A8 from the D3 model on. A6Retrofit has lots of good info there.
Also - the tax is likely to be around £500 a year on that, check before you buy.
Very good cars overall, but at that age\mileage you may have some looming Large Bills for things like suspension work, so tread carefully.
Ive always had Audi's
Got an s4 avant
Had it for 2 years.
Big reliable and nippy.
You can get a nice A4 avant with a bulletproof (almost) 2.0 tdi engine.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2019... (if it works)
Got an s4 avant
Had it for 2 years.
Big reliable and nippy.
You can get a nice A4 avant with a bulletproof (almost) 2.0 tdi engine.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2019... (if it works)
I have a 2011 3.0tdi avant model. It must have been one of the last of the C6 models manufactured. I am the second owner having bought it 5 years ago with 71,000 miles. I have now hit 130,000 miles and it still drives and looks like a much younger car. In my 60.000 odd miles of ownership it has beyond service items needed a fuel gauge sender (replaced under warranty) and an A/C compressor which failed last week.
I have today driven from London to York and back again and it was quiet, comfortable and returned 40mpg. I have never owned a car for so long but my biggest fear is if I were to replace it then I would regret the change. It owes me nothing and it is such a smart and capable car for its value. I just cannot justify replacing this excellent car.

I have today driven from London to York and back again and it was quiet, comfortable and returned 40mpg. I have never owned a car for so long but my biggest fear is if I were to replace it then I would regret the change. It owes me nothing and it is such a smart and capable car for its value. I just cannot justify replacing this excellent car.

171k is only just broken in!
We have a Tiptronic 3.0tdi Avant Quattro S-line as a family runaround and to keep the miles off other cars, purchased a decade ago on 55k and now on 247k. It’s a reliable workhorse which flew through another MoT last week.
Aside from consumables and the weak spots already identified above (including two failed rear wash hoses over the years, which on each occasion has resulted in a ruined boot-mounted amplifier where screen wash fluid has dripped through it), the other big ticket items that we have needed at higher miles has been the EGR and a new set of injectors, which from memory cost somewhere in the region of £300. Each. And it’s a V6.
Our car is on 19” split rims which look good but its 35 profile tyres do seem especially susceptible to damage from poor road surfaces. Over 200k miles we have replaced around 6 tyres due to punctures, otherwise we tend to get around 15k out of a set, and they all wear out on the inside edge no matter how the suspension is set up. Having tried a few different tyres on it early on we have ended up using Eagle F1s on it, which are quiet and add a bit of extra ride comfort: the S-line suspension is quite hard-riding.
Last year the front of the car took a significant knock when a deer decided that it had had enough of chewing grass and skipping through fields so stepped in front of us. The car stood up to it well overall but needed a new Xenon headlamp, bumper, grille and all manner of clips, headlamp washed plumbing and other gubbins. Second hand parts are available but are expensive. We added facelift parts to our pre-facelift car but Bambi still cost us more than £2k, and almost certainly more than the car is worth.
I do sometimes think about replacing the old girl but when she doesn’t creak or rattle, when everything still works and when she still feels tight to drive I’m loathed to replace her. And I feel qualified to recommend them to anyone thinking about buying one.
We have a Tiptronic 3.0tdi Avant Quattro S-line as a family runaround and to keep the miles off other cars, purchased a decade ago on 55k and now on 247k. It’s a reliable workhorse which flew through another MoT last week.
Aside from consumables and the weak spots already identified above (including two failed rear wash hoses over the years, which on each occasion has resulted in a ruined boot-mounted amplifier where screen wash fluid has dripped through it), the other big ticket items that we have needed at higher miles has been the EGR and a new set of injectors, which from memory cost somewhere in the region of £300. Each. And it’s a V6.
Our car is on 19” split rims which look good but its 35 profile tyres do seem especially susceptible to damage from poor road surfaces. Over 200k miles we have replaced around 6 tyres due to punctures, otherwise we tend to get around 15k out of a set, and they all wear out on the inside edge no matter how the suspension is set up. Having tried a few different tyres on it early on we have ended up using Eagle F1s on it, which are quiet and add a bit of extra ride comfort: the S-line suspension is quite hard-riding.
Last year the front of the car took a significant knock when a deer decided that it had had enough of chewing grass and skipping through fields so stepped in front of us. The car stood up to it well overall but needed a new Xenon headlamp, bumper, grille and all manner of clips, headlamp washed plumbing and other gubbins. Second hand parts are available but are expensive. We added facelift parts to our pre-facelift car but Bambi still cost us more than £2k, and almost certainly more than the car is worth.
I do sometimes think about replacing the old girl but when she doesn’t creak or rattle, when everything still works and when she still feels tight to drive I’m loathed to replace her. And I feel qualified to recommend them to anyone thinking about buying one.
Which engine?
3.0 TDI is utterly crap on fuel driven round town low 20s or worse if you spend all your time in traffic.
57 should have a dpf as well, really needs to be doing motorway miles.
55/ very early 06 are cheaper on tax and no dpf.
You need the paid version of vcds to work on it yourself.
It's a fantastic car as long as you use it the way it's intended, but don't go in blind.
3.0 TDI is utterly crap on fuel driven round town low 20s or worse if you spend all your time in traffic.
57 should have a dpf as well, really needs to be doing motorway miles.
55/ very early 06 are cheaper on tax and no dpf.
You need the paid version of vcds to work on it yourself.
It's a fantastic car as long as you use it the way it's intended, but don't go in blind.
Edited by annodomini2 on Saturday 28th September 08:09
annodomini2 said:
57 should have a dpf as well, really needs to be doing motorway miles.
Not necessarily, the 3.0 TDI got the DPF a lot later than the 2.0 model. My A4 B7 on an 08 plate doesn't have one, you can check the VIN with Audi and they will tell you if it was fitted with one.AgentM said:
I have a 2011 3.0tdi avant model. It must have been one of the last of the C6 models manufactured. I am the second owner having bought it 5 years ago with 71,000 miles. I have now hit 130,000 miles and it still drives and looks like a much younger car. In my 60.000 odd miles of ownership it has beyond service items needed a fuel gauge sender (replaced under warranty) and an A/C compressor which failed last week.
I have today driven from London to York and back again and it was quiet, comfortable and returned 40mpg. I have never owned a car for so long but my biggest fear is if I were to replace it then I would regret the change. It owes me nothing and it is such a smart and capable car for its value. I just cannot justify replacing this excellent car.

Wise words.I have today driven from London to York and back again and it was quiet, comfortable and returned 40mpg. I have never owned a car for so long but my biggest fear is if I were to replace it then I would regret the change. It owes me nothing and it is such a smart and capable car for its value. I just cannot justify replacing this excellent car.

Changing a car that has done good by you for years should be kept.
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