Which Audi Estate?

Author
Discussion

rfisher

Original Poster:

5,024 posts

283 months

Friday 8th February 2008
quotequote all
Which Audi estate is the best?

Need lots of room, good economy, reasonable servicing costs and low depreciation.

Not asking a lot really!

Ta.

Dilligaf10

2,431 posts

210 months

Friday 8th February 2008
quotequote all
Lots of room. A6.
Economy. Diesel
Servicing. 1.9TDi
Low depreciation. Audi
Next!

Edited by Dilligaf10 cos he can't spell after only 1 can on Friday 8th February 20:27


Edited by Dilligaf10 on Friday 8th February 20:28

agent006

12,039 posts

264 months

Friday 8th February 2008
quotequote all
What he said.

Jack Blag

941 posts

213 months

Friday 8th February 2008
quotequote all
I drive an Audi A6 Avant 1.9 TDI... I'd have to agree with the two gentlemen above!

Ordinary Bloke

4,559 posts

198 months

Friday 8th February 2008
quotequote all
But... my 2002 A6 1.8T Avant was brilliant, however my 2005 A6 2.0TDi is cr&p. I think Audi deleted almost anything they could think of from the SE spec, the pushbutton handbrake is cr*p, X billion patents but the car is less useable, random radio tuning every time I get back in the car, all the useful storage compartments are gone or 'optiona;', p1ss poor user interface, cup holders under your elbow etc etc.

My next car won't be an Audi...

agent006

12,039 posts

264 months

Friday 8th February 2008
quotequote all
Did you not notice any of this on the test drive?

Waugh-terfall

18,488 posts

200 months

Friday 8th February 2008
quotequote all
Ordinary Bloke said:
But... my 2002 A6 1.8T Avant was brilliant, however my 2005 A6 2.0TDi is cr&p. I think Audi deleted almost anything they could think of from the SE spec, the pushbutton handbrake is cr*p, X billion patents but the car is less useable, random radio tuning every time I get back in the car, all the useful storage compartments are gone or 'optiona;', p1ss poor user interface, cup holders under your elbow etc etc.

My next car won't be an Audi...
My Dad had a 99 1.8T Saloon which was great aside from speakers blowing, a dodgey volume on the radio and after 105,000mi expensive things started to break, then the keys were nicked in March 05. So we sold it and bought a new A6 Saloon 2.4 SE, just wondering why you find the handbrake useless, we think it's a fantastic thing, other than on rare occasions it wont disengage automatically... Our A6 covers 2,000mi each month and sometimes takes on the role of a van, despite being a saloon, plus it's made 2 trips to the deep south of France. Yes the cupholders are a bit useless but they are't that bad. Storage compartments are still plentiful, if not there are many more than in the C5 A6. The MMI-High (DVD Nav) is brilliant, even my technophobe Mum who can't even do anything other than answer or made a call on her very, very basic mobile can use it, and as for random radio tuning, if you use the same key each time you shouldn't have that problem as the keys retain Audio & climate control settings from the last time they were used.

Edited by Waugh-terfall on Friday 8th February 22:55


Edited by Waugh-terfall on Friday 8th February 22:56

Ordinary Bloke

4,559 posts

198 months

Friday 8th February 2008
quotequote all
agent006 said:
Did you not notice any of this on the test drive?
Ahh, yes, should have done a test drive. Office politics and the arrival of my first child meant that I didn't do a test drive. Plonker!

I assumed the new A6 would be >= the one I had...

agent006

12,039 posts

264 months

Friday 8th February 2008
quotequote all
I guess Audi are in the process of the quality dip that merc are on the way out of now.

Waugh-terfall

18,488 posts

200 months

Friday 8th February 2008
quotequote all
agent006 said:
I guess Audi are in the process of the quality dip that merc are on the way out of now.
Naah, definately not, if anything it's better than ever

Ecurie Ecosse

4,812 posts

218 months

Friday 8th February 2008
quotequote all
rfisher said:
Which Audi estate is the best?
There can be only one:


Ordinary Bloke

4,559 posts

198 months

Friday 8th February 2008
quotequote all
Waugh-terfall said:
My Dad had a 99 1.8T Saloon which was great aside from...
I had to roadside breakdowns due to coil packs, but otherwise a brilliant car...
Waugh-terfall said:
...just wondering why you find the handbrake useless, we think it's a fantastic thing...
ever tried a hill-start from cold between parked cars?

Waugh-terfall said:
...Storage compartments are still plentiful...
I guess you chose the storage pack option then, I assumed the SE would have compartments under the seats etc. FFS my friedn has no hooks in the boot, because he didn't choose the boot-hooks option. Oh yeah, Special Edition, very f&cking special...

Waugh-terfall said:
...and as for random radio tuning, if you use the same key each time you shouldn't have that problem as the keys retain Audio & climate control settings from the last time they were used...
Not in my car. 3 counties radio. Radio f*cking Berkshire, Two-ten Fm and all sorts of sh1t. Whatever I leave it on, it comes back next day with random sh1t. And I live on the top of a hill, so it's not weak reception.

Waugh-terfall

18,488 posts

200 months

Friday 8th February 2008
quotequote all
Ordinary Bloke said:
Waugh-terfall said:
My Dad had a 99 1.8T Saloon which was great aside from...
I had to roadside breakdowns due to coil packs, but otherwise a brilliant car...
Waugh-terfall said:
...just wondering why you find the handbrake useless, we think it's a fantastic thing...
ever tried a hill-start from cold between parked cars?

Waugh-terfall said:
...Storage compartments are still plentiful...
I guess you chose the storage pack option then, I assumed the SE would have compartments under the seats etc. FFS my friedn has no hooks in the boot, because he didn't choose the boot-hooks option. Oh yeah, Special Edition, very f&cking special...

Waugh-terfall said:
...and as for random radio tuning, if you use the same key each time you shouldn't have that problem as the keys retain Audio & climate control settings from the last time they were used...
Not in my car. 3 counties radio. Radio f*cking Berkshire, Two-ten Fm and all sorts of sh1t. Whatever I leave it on, it comes back next day with random sh1t. And I live on the top of a hill, so it's not weak reception.
Not personally but my parents do all the time, I live in a very hilly area and no storage packs, I admit, not having draws under the seats is odd but there's still plenty of places to put things. There's the Luggage Compartment Pack but we don't have that but have hooks on the floor and a net

Ordinary Bloke

4,559 posts

198 months

Friday 8th February 2008
quotequote all
It's a massive step backwards from my 2002 A6...

agent006

12,039 posts

264 months

Friday 8th February 2008
quotequote all
Waugh-terfall said:
Naah, definately not, if anything it's better than ever
They've got a very long way to go if they want ot get back to the levels of quality they had in the early 90s.

rfisher

Original Poster:

5,024 posts

283 months

Saturday 9th February 2008
quotequote all
OK - it's turned into a bit of an argument but that's interesting.

Should have mentioned that I'd like a 2006 or newer and don't want to spend more than around 10k.

So now we're in trouble.

Last time I managed to easily get a Mondeo Estate.

Audi may be a bit of a different animal - they are certainly more expensive.

Waugh-terfall

18,488 posts

200 months

Saturday 9th February 2008
quotequote all
You'll get more around 02/03 A6 Avant 1.8T/1.9TDI or 04 A4's

Ordinary Bloke

4,559 posts

198 months

Saturday 9th February 2008
quotequote all
Waugh-terfall said:
You'll get more around 02/03 A6 Avant 1.8T/1.9TDI or 04 A4's
of which I can completely recommend the A6 Avants, especially with the CVT gearbox. The 1.8T has spark plug coil-pack failures, they should all have been changed f.o.c. by now. And it's a lot bigger than an A4, with the back seats down I could get internal house doors in the back. Handled well, stereo was not bad (but you need BOSE if you're a fanatic) and still look good, not outdated the way the 02/03 A6 saloons are.

LeoSayer

7,306 posts

244 months

Saturday 9th February 2008
quotequote all
Ordinary Bloke said:
You'll get more around 02/03 A6 Avant 1.8T/1.9TDI or 04 A4's
of which I can completely recommend the A6 Avants, especially with the CVT gearbox.
In my experience make doubly and triply sure that the CVT works well and operates smoothly and is well warranted.

If not, then I would steer clear.

istoo

2,365 posts

202 months

Monday 11th February 2008
quotequote all
i would also second a A6 avant 1.9tdi (130 bhp version).
Meets all the criteria you specified but you will be looking at an older variant, personally i would err for one of those anyway. I have a 1.8T SE avant A6 and a 2.5tdi qs A4 avant. The A6 is a FAR bigger, and build quality is better. Economy, not that great, struggle to get above 30mpg from the 1.8T unit on general driving but long runs will see high 30's. The turbo blew on the 1.8t at 110k, clogged feeder hoses. The 130 1.9tdi unit will be a good all rounder for your economy/ room needs, i only wish 3 years ago when i bought the A6 i spent an extra grand and got a TDi would make it into a near perfect family car, for me, wife, two kids and dog. The boot with seats down holds a daft amount of stuff, great cruiser as well driven from north of Scotland to south of France twice in it, effortless.

Personal preference, the SE seats don't hold you in that well, my ideal, which sounds not far of yours, would be for a 1.9TDi Sport A6 avant.

And wife finds it slightly big in tight car parks, ideals? Parking sensors. I have the Bose stereo in the A4 it is good, but the standard stereo in the A6 i think is VG for a factory effort.