Should I replace my S6 and what with?

[Gez79]

So, I've owned my c7 facelift Audi S6 for almost 2 years. Last week the engine developed a fault with the timing chains and I'm now booking it in to have the engine and gearbox out at a cost of £3.5k!

Plus I'm now reading about turbo failure which I thought was cured for the facelift but now I'm not so sure. The car has only done 51k and is totally standard but I'm not sure if I want to keep it after this.

But after some extensive browsing I don't know what I'd replace it with.

I'm quite tall so I need a decent sized car for my kids to fit behind me, so I'd maybe drop to 3 series/A4 sized but it would probably need to be an estate to make up for the size drop.

I'd look to spend low 20s on it, with similar or slightly slower performance and under the higher road tax bracket.

Sounds a bit snobby but I like a well built interior, as that's what you interact with, so not a fan of fast Fords or Vauxhall's.

When I was looking for an S6 I did consider 550i/650i gran coupe but I'm worried about their residuals and potential for big bills like the S6.

A few of the new shape S4 saloons are just in budget, is the 3.0 considered to be reliable?

Otherwise I've thought of Golf R and Leon Cupra estates but the golf looks a bit spartan inside as most cars are relatively low spec and I worry about thefts with one of those. I quite like the SEAT but they are a bit cheap inside.

Is the ea888 engine also prone to cam chain problems?

I know the internet exaggerates failure rates but it seems like all VAG engines have a huge problem with cam chains?

Any suggestions of other cars to replace it with or a load of 4.0T owners to tell me how reliable their car has been!

Thanks

[Zetec-S]

Volvo S60/V60?

[lawyered07]

The 3.0 in the s4 are pretty reliable as far as I know, at least as far as reasonably quick expensive German cars go.

Have you considered an s5 sportback with the 3.0 supercharged engine? Should give you decent space and they arent slow. A conservative remap will have you knocking on 400bhp if you wanted

[ZX10R NIN]

If you're tall with long legs then your children won't thank you for dropping down a size, I have to say after spending so much on your current car I'd want to run it for a bit.

But if you really want to change I'd say the:

CLS 400 AMG Line

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

640i GC SE

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

3.0T A7 Black Edition

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

[Gez79]

I know what you mean. I would like to keep it, just if another 4 figure job comes along then I don't if I (or my wife) would forgive myself for keeping it.

I'll see how I feel when it's fixed I suppose and maybe see how much a warranty would cost.

Good shout on the CLS, I didn't know about that 400 model.

I did look at V60 Polestar 2 years ago when I bought the S6, but they're a bit small and the old fashioned gearbox plus 550 tax put me off, although the 2.0 version might now be in budget. But I think with that engine it has probably lost some of the charm.

I had a 335i before the S6 and I saw it for sale again on AutoTrader about 6 months ago. I'd be tempted to buy it back if it was still for sale.