Soon to be buying an a6 estate diesel, anything to look out for?

[drfeelgood]

Hey guys

Sold the S3 a few months ago. Now back in the market for a cheap A6 estate diesel. ( quite a radical change)

Im favoring the 2.5tdi as i'm carrying around drum kits/guitar amps/band mates etc. Need that extra power over the 1.9 due to the weight, unless the 1.9 has enough poke to get 5 people and a fully loaded boot up hills with ease.

i'm spending around 2k with the prospect of putting in £500 to get it up to standard if need be. Milegage of the vehicle will be from 150k upwards. Im going to get one with a full service history etc Not expecting something perfect but I want a solid engine and a car which eats the long motorway miles.

What should I look out for. common niggles and faults, when the cam belts should be changed etc

thanks for the help guys and gals

 

[adamss24]

Look in the classifieds if you're in the market for a v6 tdi, got a 2003 avant for sale for a good price ! Price is a bit higher than what you're budget but i can be persuaded ! Just had new flywheel, full cambelt kit, water pump, thermostat, aux. belt bracket and new tensioners, full service and much more. It needs new pads on the front- pads are wearing and the sensor is on but still a few k left in them. Very good mechanical order otherwise !

 

[adamss24]

see the link: Classifieds: 2003 audi a6 avant sport diesel

 

[mrnice]

If you're set on a v6 I'd defifnely give adams24's car some serious thought, he seems to know these really well and it's clearly been taken care of,
as for the 1.9, I have one and while its by no means quick, it's had no trouble hauling 5 + luggage all over Ireland a few times, economy is amazing for the size of the car even when fully laden and at very high mileages the 4 cylinders can be a lot cheaper to put right when things go wrong.

 

[drfeelgood]

Adams car is out of my price range which is a shame, the max i can spend is 2200. Thats interesting about the 1.9. I think it all depends on the overal complete spec of the car which engine I lump for, as long as i get over 28mpg around town and 40 mpg on the motorway il be happy are the 2.5tdi all v6? or is adams a special example?

 

[TYphoon GB]

All V6. Not to say that adaamss24 A6's aren't of course all pretty special.

Thinks to look for .... Cambelts (£300 ish) water pump and thermostat at the same time. Fuel pump (£350 to £1100 ish) Diesel Bob is your friend.
Front upper and lower suspension arms (kits around £250). Injectors and glow sticks (Bob can service these).

At that spend I'd say your looking for a FWD as the quattro and allroads are 'desirable'. Seek an SE is my suggestion.

Acquired mine at 159K with a duff pump. Pulls like a train and eats miles. Diesel Bob recon pump mods give around 30 in town and up to 42 on a long motorway run (A/C off). Average 35 ish.

 

[mrnice]

Just for comparison my 1.9 gets around 40 urban and 50 motorway by the trip. Not bad as I think the official figures are 48 combined so not bad for 180k, however I'd understand going for a 2.5 if you're used to something quicker.

 

[adamss24]

Adams car is out of my price range which is a shame, the max i can spend is 2200. Thats interesting about the 1.9. I think it all depends on the overal complete spec of the car which engine I lump for, as long as i get over 28mpg around town and 40 mpg on the motorway il be happy are the 2.5tdi all v6? or is adams a special example?

The lowest i would take on mine is £2500 which is a steal considering it's had over £1000 in parts spent recently ! Give me a ring on 07789912128 if you wanna talk...

 

[abdul h ghafoor]

One of the things to look out for is turbo trouble. Make sure when you test drive you floor it in 2nd and 3rd gear and it pulls cleanly up the rev range. I bought mine and my car would hesitate and at times stop accelarating at just under 3000rpm. Quite disconcerting when in midst of overtaking. I reconditioned the turbo and fitted new actuator and fiddled with the length of the actuator rod till finally right.

 

[drfeelgood]

This is all great stuff!. Sorry Adam £2500 is just too much. Also Im over in London and if google maps is anything to go buy you are 180 miles away lol The 1.9 is starting to temp me more and more now. But i'am swayed by having some decent power under my foot. With auto transmission im guessing i just need to make sure there are no thuds between changes and gear selection? I have seen this rather high mileage example. The mileage is a bit off putting but that car has prob sat on the motorway cruseing with minimal stress on parts ( thats my logic anyway lol) Audi A6 2.5 TDI 163 SE 5dr Multitronic FULL SERVICE HISTORY - MOT+TAX

 

[mrnice]

A word of warning- I specifically steered clear of auto boxes after doing some (lots of) research (even though an auto was my preference), it seems that at high mileages multitronics can develop all manner of faults which can cost £3k ish to sort. I gather they need 40k fluid and filter changes (not a diy job) if they are to stand any chance of survival after 100k ish and this wasn't part of the dealer service schedule.
Obviously this isn't from personal experience (this is my first audi), but something to consider if you're going for a high mile/low price car as I did.

Healthy 1.9's can be mapped to 150bhp and more torque too for £300ish for some extra go (again I have no experience of this, but I've heard good things from folk who've done this on vag 1.9's.

1.9's arent without their issues either-
Mine had a coked up EGR valve, split vacuum lines, water leaking into the footwells from cabin filter (search for 'plenum chamber drain holes blocked) and rear wash/wipe (common to all c5's), overboost fault on turbo (cleaning solved it) and friar tucked aircon.

Other common high mileage things i've heard of are- turbo failure, injector wiring loom breaking down (cheap easy fix as i understand), tandem pump failure (easily fixeable tho not necessarily cheap).

As with all of them at any mileage oil & filter yearly oil changes wit are a must. PD engines (1.9s) are particularly sensitive to correct oil specs.

 

[drfeelgood]

wow lol! I must admit hearing all that puts me off some what. I'm driving around in a 97 golf estate on 150k miles and the auto still seems strong on it. If it wasent for only getting me 18mpg I would keep it

 

[drfeelgood]

This one seems the better choice, just not as nice
Audi A6 1.9 TDI 130 SE 5dr Diesel Avant

 

[mrnice]

I'm assuming the golf would be an old style torque converter autobox although I stand to be corrected!

 

[drfeelgood]

Its got 4 gears and reverse. Its awful to drive and terrible for eco driving..but it works...for how much longer im not sure

 

[mrnice]

This one seems the better choice, just not as nice
Audi A6 1.9 TDI 130 SE 5dr Diesel Avant

personally I'd be more comfortable going for that one, almost same spec and mileage as mine when bought except the leather seats, I'd want to knock the price down a bit though, I talked the dealer down from £2.2k to £1.9k due to a few bits and pieces for me to sort out, mostly due to previous owner neglect. You can only really tell by viewing the car though of course, doing the usual used car checks and basically crawling all over it looking for issues,
best of luck with the search!

 

[mrnice]

Its got 4 gears and reverse. Its awful to drive and terrible for eco driving..but it works...for how much longer im not sure

sounds like my last auto a '78 Merc- hanging in bits, deadly slow and actually slowed down during shifts but would have kept going indefinitely if corrosion didn't kill it.

 

[drfeelgood]

Think i'm going to give that dark grey one a look over. I prefer the colour and the leather is a bonus. Its full service history helps ease concerns.

 

[drfeelgood]

Just had a look at that 1.9tdi as it was just down the road. Not great, drivers side window had come off its hinges and was rattleing around in the door and wouldent come up. Inside was tatty. Instant bad vibes from it so walked away.

 

[adamss24]

Come and see/drive the one i am selling, you won't be sorry- it's quite a tidy car despite the mileage !

 

[2stroke]

Thinks to look for....
Cambelts (£300 ish) water pump and thermostat at the same time.
Fuel pump (£350 to £1100 ish) Diesel Bob is your friend.
Front upper and lower suspension arms (kits around £250).
Injectors and glow sticks (Diesel Bob can service these).
Acquired mine at 159K with a duff pump. Pulls like a train and eats miles.
Diesel Bob recon pump mods give around 30 in town and up to 42 on a long motorway run (A/C off).
Average 35 ish.

Who is this Diesel Bob ??
Where to get hold of him ??
What is this Pump Mod he's doing ??

 

[adamss24]

Who is this Diesel Bob ??
Where to get hold of him ??
What is this Pump Mod he's doing ??

Diesel Bob is a diesel specialist that repairs injector pumps in Uk, don't know if he does any mods to the pump, all i know he's putting the pumps back to Bosch standards...

 

[TYphoon GB]

Diesel Bob Tuning - Home

He offers a mod service on the ECU's and also ensures 'chip fat' compatibility if you have a supply and want to run really cheap.

Oh and as to not selecting an Auto as long as they are serviced with the correct fluid and filter then they should be fine. Mine now on 169K. The issue is the inboard ECU that suffers from failed solenoids etc due to contamination. The A4/A6 models do not have the same issues as the Mk 1 TT DSG.

Replacing the ECU (with a refurb) is still about the same as a full manual clutch rebuild.

 

[mrnice]

Diesel Bob Tuning - Home

He offers a mod service on the ECU's and also ensures 'chip fat' compatibility if you have a supply and want to run really cheap.

Oh and as to not selecting an Auto as long as they are serviced with the correct fluid and filter then they should be fine. Mine now on 169K. The issue is the inboard ECU that suffers from failed solenoids etc due to contamination. The A4/A6 models do not have the same issues as the Mk 1 TT DSG.

Replacing the ECU (with a refurb) is still about the same as a full manual clutch rebuild.

good points there that I didn't really consider when buying (from a smarter man than me!)