A6TDI purchasing help

[802330268]

Hi Guys

I am concidering changing my current drive and I am torn between a 2002 A6 1.9TDI 130 and, dare I say it, a BMW 320d.

Having read through many posts on the BMW forum I am concerned at the number of turbo failures with the 320d and was wondering if the A6 1.9 suffers with any common failings or major problems.

I know you will be biased towards the Audi but any genuine comments would be welcomed.

Is the 1.9tdi engine the same as that used in the VW? if so how do they get it uo to 150bhp?

 

[simonwjones]

used to have a 1.9tdi A6.

Its a good engine with no major faults that I can think about apart from the common ones present acrross the range like MAF etc.

The biggest think I noticed coming from petrol engines was the lack of power bewlow 2000rpm, but again this is down to the diesel engine rather than the quality of the car.

In the end the thing that got to me was the lack of power due to the size and weight of the A6. Not the engines fault, its a cracking engine and can easily be chipped upto around 170bhp.

I have always had quattros and as you may be aware that engine never came with quattro as an option on the A6, even though all the other models did.

So I had the dilema of chipping the car, which would give me the extra power I felt its really needed, or changing the car so I got back my missing quattro.

In the end I opted for the other, I changed for an A6 2.5tdi Qutttro sport with 180bhp as standard.

Ok, the design and technology of the engine isnt as modern as the 1.9PD but it gave me the power back and im back in quattro.

Once you have had quattro its very hard to go back.

If you were looking at an A4, it would be a different choice, I would have a 1.9tdi quattro and chip it, but you dont get this choice in the A6.



Hope this helps,

Cheers

Simon

 

[fjtwelve]

We test drove a 320d (150hp) estate back to back with the A4 Avant before buying the A4. The A4 is bigger, better finished and equipped, more supple ride, has quattro not 2wd rear wheel drive, faster due to the chip and cheaper to buy. You could feel the difference when you got in let alone in the first 100 yards. You can say the same only more so about my A6.
I have not driven a 1.9tdi A6 but an A6 weighs about 1.75 tonnes and without chipping I would suspect a 1.9 is a bit sluggish. If you do a lot of cruising motorways the A6 is a much more comfortable ride than the 320 or the A4.
I would have thought that the 5 series was a competitor to the A6, its about the same size, the 3 series is a lot smaller, estate or not. You'll find the A6 a bit of a barge compared to the 3 series, if you are around town a lot this may become a pain.

 

[B6Rich]

Hi,
I own an A4 1.9TDI 130SE Avant and we have just also bought a 1.9TDI 115 A6 avant as a second car (dog bus!). The 115 is a bit underpowered at low revs for such a big barge, but cruising is more refined than the lighter and more powerful A4. We looked at 320d's but found them too small (more like a hatch) and dare I say 'dated', but it is down to preference and whether you were after a saloon or estate. 45 - 50 mpg from the A6 on a run!