Possible A6 purchase

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fafa

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Hi,

My first post on this forum as I've been searching around trying find a place where my questions might be answered and this place looks like it's full of knowledge and experience, so...

I'm looking at going in for my first Audi, I test drove a 2014 A6 2L TDI a few weeks ago and I like it, but I think my my heart is somewhat set on a BiTDI after watching a review on youtube - but I've not driven one. There are a few on AutoTrader in the 25-30K range that I might be able to stretch to, but if I can get one cheaper I would. I don't do a lot of miles it's going to be the occasional family cruiser/ my bit of fun on a pennines run. My questions then, hopefully they can be answered.

1. Is the difference between the BiTDI and the 245 or 208 3L that noticeable?
2. At what mileage should I start expecting to be shelling out for expensive parts?
3. What are the servicing costs likely to be each year?
4. If I get one with a wood trim can that be easily replaced with something more to my taste?
5. Are they suitable as a cruiser? (I'm also toying with a higher mileage A7 as an option)

I'm thinking of taking a 20K loan (over 7year at 3.5%APR) and putting up 8K of my own money. This means I'll be paying about 260 per month on the loan. I reckon this is better than taking a PCP as the APR will be lower and I'll be able to pay the loan off anytime by selling the car and hoping a BiTDI will hold it's value better than an A6 2 TDI does - or I just keep it if I really fall in love with the thing.

Cheers.
 
Afternoon,

Quite a few to get through...... So here we go.....

1. Honestly take a test drive of the bitdi, it is one hell of a machine, I had a run in the 2ltr - and couldn't get comfortable with the CVT, and that was the biggest issue for me, not sure what gearbox the 3.0's are running.

2. Without trying to sound obvious every car will be different depending on how it has been driven, and maintained by the previous owner, try and go for the lowest mileage and youngest car you can. If buying from a main dealer try and get a years warranty into the deal too, obviously a full service history is key also. I also had an independent inspection done on a few cars for the wife via the RAC which was a good use of £200 at the time.

3. I haven't had it serviced yet but am planning to put £500 a year away, (£46 per month into a savings account) if it costs less, let it roll over to the next year, that way if you get a big bill in subsequent years you ain't left high and dry.

4. Honestly I'm a big believer in the principle - if the car ain't right for you, wait a while, the next will be along in a matter of weeks. I thought I'd never buy a car with wooden trim, but bought a 535i hybrid with it because the rest of the car was so good. Got used to the wood quickly enough, and by week 2 I forgot it was there!

5. God yes, that is what they are best for - so quiet, relatively economical, and knowing that you have a demonic alter ego just waiting to be released under your right foot is what sold it to me.

As to the finance, each to his own, I went down a similar route to you, albeit over 4 years with First Direct, I get a company car allowance of approx £500 per month, so can afford those as my repayment, the beauty is that if I get a windfall / bonus I can pay off lump sums to either reduce the monthly amount or the term. 7 years seems a bit long, as you may not quite keep up with depreciation for the middle years, but I'm not that financially minded, no doubt others can help you with it. Same thing with me - if I get bored I'll chop it in against something else knowing I have equity in it.

It's a stonking car, and wholeheartedly can recommend!

Good luck
 
1. Big difference-especially from the 208 which is FWD. think all 2.0 tdi are s tronic now though.
2. As above-tyres and brakes would be the biggest expense.
3. My servicing is about £350 per annum but I am due another service soon which includes fuel filter so will see how much. Interim service is about £190
4. Yes if you can find parts. Buying from dealer you would probably be better waiting for the right car.
5. Brilliant cruiser. I regularly do 400 miles a day and it is painless.
 
Thanks, these answers are a great help. There are 3 I've got my eye on and the mileages are between 30K to 40K in different trims so pros/cons to them all. They are all with audi dealers so any tips on bargaining with them? e.g. go in towards the end of the month and ask for a lower price/services/warranty etc? Any experience of this from anyone?
 
I'd give each of them a call and see what their appetite is when you give them your situation. Tell them that you won't waste their time on coming back and forward - but your limit to buy the car is X. If that's in the right ballpark then you will happily come down take a drive and if the car is right, you will buy it there and then. . .

Remember to tell them you are a cash buyer and no trade in. Finally tell them that you plan to make 2 other calls about another 2 Marques you are interested in (don't mention Audi at this stage) and you will be laying the same offer on the table to them.

Yes it is a good time to buy, as I'm trying to sell the wife's Altea and despite being a very very good car and great price, I've had nothing!!!
 
The BiTDI's a beast - I was VERY impressed.

One addition to the previous comments: the 3.0 208PS is also available in qiuattro... it is still a very reasonable car and probably the sensible choice if you were doing uber mileage so wanted really good MPG and low insurance... it certainly felt very capable, especially since the quattro version has the DSG gearbox.

I'd go for a 3.0 quattro in 208PS guise if the mileage + insurance made it the only alternative to a 2.0TDI.... if you want to have any fun, then dial it up a bit, but test drive all your options for yourself and weigh it against YOUR usage before buying.

When I was choosing, I drove a mix of A7/A6/A6 Avants in all available engines (even one FWD 2.0TDI, but that was more because it was a courtesy car for a week), mostly S-Line spec:
The BiTDI's were impressive and very tempting, but not for me: the TFSI was very comparable in most performance (less outright oomph, but more responsive - both of these cars had pace and responsiveness in bucketloads though and you'd be nit-picking to rule one significantly above the other), but when comparing identical, very high spec A6 Avant's* - they cost the same when new, but the pre-reg'd cars, the TFSI was £15k cheaper than a similar spec pre-reg'd BiTDI and I do VERY low mileage, so it made it a no brainer, especially given the tuning potential if I ever did fancy more performance... that saving means that my servicing, insurance and fuel is paid for the next 8-10 years (I'm planning on keeping this as the family snot-wagon for a LONG time!).

* I went with the A6 Avant over the A7 on a combination of reasons - partly cost, partly the appeal of more space... mostly on the insurance there was ~£1000/year difference when the A7 first came out!!

I know my choice and reasoning will not line up with most people's and it sounds like Fafa is after high mpg / low company car tax options, but this just highlights why people should choose their car for themselves (but people sharing their experience on this site always helps!).
 
BahnStormer77 said:
The BiTDI's a beast - I was VERY impressed.

One addition to the previous comments: the 3.0 208PS is also available in qiuattro... it is still a very reasonable car and probably the sensible choice if you were doing uber mileage so wanted really good MPG and low insurance... it certainly felt very capable, especially since the quattro version has the DSG gearbox.

I'd go for a 3.0 quattro in 208PS guise if the mileage + insurance made it the only alternative to a 2.0TDI.... if you want to have any fun, then dial it up a bit, but test drive all your options for yourself and weigh it against YOUR usage before buying.

When I was choosing, I drove a mix of A7/A6/A6 Avants in all available engines (even one FWD 2.0TDI, but that was more because it was a courtesy car for a week), mostly S-Line spec:
The BiTDI's were impressive and very tempting, but not for me: the TFSI was very comparable in most performance (less outright oomph, but more responsive - both of these cars had pace and responsiveness in bucketloads though and you'd be nit-picking to rule one significantly above the other), but when comparing identical, very high spec A6 Avant's* - they cost the same when new, but the pre-reg'd cars, the TFSI was £15k cheaper than a similar spec pre-reg'd BiTDI and I do VERY low mileage, so it made it a no brainer, especially given the tuning potential if I ever did fancy more performance... that saving means that my servicing, insurance and fuel is paid for the next 8-10 years (I'm planning on keeping this as the family snot-wagon for a LONG time!).

* I went with the A6 Avant over the A7 on a combination of reasons - partly cost, partly the appeal of more space... mostly on the insurance there was ~£1000/year difference when the A7 first came out!!

I know my choice and reasoning will not line up with most people's and it sounds like Fafa is after high mpg / low company car tax options, but this just highlights why people should choose their car for themselves (but people sharing their experience on this site always helps!).
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice. I don't do high mileage as I work from home (8K last year) so my concern is what sort of mileage of car should i be looking at in the second hand market. The ones I'm considering are approx 30K(miles) but I see some up at 50K (miles) and I'm concerned that I might have to shell out for expensive new parts in the next 2 years if I get one that's done 50. I realise that could happen at any mileage but high mileage higher risk?
 
gordie1973 said:
I'd give each of them a call and see what their appetite is when you give them your situation. Tell them that you won't waste their time on coming back and forward - but your limit to buy the car is X. If that's in the right ballpark then you will happily come down take a drive and if the car is right, you will buy it there and then. . .

Remember to tell them you are a cash buyer and no trade in. Finally tell them that you plan to make 2 other calls about another 2 Marques you are interested in (don't mention Audi at this stage) and you will be laying the same offer on the table to them.

Yes it is a good time to buy, as I'm trying to sell the wife's Altea and despite being a very very good car and great price, I've had nothing!!!
Click to expand...
We're also re-mortgaging at the moment so I've been told by IFA not to get any more finance on my credit report until that's sorted.. It's quite painful having to wait but I'll use these pointers when negotiating. I'll post some pictures when (fingers crossed) a deal is done.
 
Just my 2c, but I've always placed a LOT more weight on a full, regular service history than mileage. Before this one (290m*), my previous two cars both had well over 100k, but were both well maintained and neither put foot wrong in the four years that I owned each.

*and I added 40 of those with my two test drives.
 
I've had to kick this in to the new year now as house move is going to happen in Jan (hopefully). Whilst I wait I have to think about which is more preferable (assuming the two cars I'm looking at are still unsold in Jan).
Car 1 - Black Edition
Car 2 - S Line, incl Privay Glass, Sports Diff, Heated Seats.

I kind of want the BOSE sound system but I don't really blast tunes out these days so Audi sound system might be good enough? I'm really interested in the Sports Diff but is it that noticeable and I would prefer heated seats to not having them.

What would you choose?
 
If you want big wheels anf BOSE the BE pays for itself. I went for s line and sports diff as I didn't want tints or big wheels. I did go for BOSE though.
Sports diff you notice but only if you are pushing on which you can't do if you are carrying the family! I don't know if I would spec it again in an A6.
 
I want to try an A6 with the Sports diff. To be honest though, the A6 is a big machine, I've yet to drive it hard on some twisty stuff since purchasing it, so I probably won't benefit from it at all. It quick in a straight line though, but squeezing between tight gaps is scary, as it's so wide! I use to bomb between cars in my B5 Passat, the A6 is 100mm wider.
 
Jojo, unless you're putting it on a track (for an A6?!?) or planning on drifting everywhere, I don't think you're going to be lacking for traction in any of the quattro's... you really have to be doing some silly stuff (or be on snow/standing water) to appreciably loosen up the back so much that you'd want a LSD of any sort: I've got got the back to step out a few times (on slightly wet roads), but with the A6's vague steering, it wasn't the fun "steering on the throttle" feel I used to get in my old E30 or even my (heavily modified) Golf GTI!

Save yourself a few grand and get an E36/E46 M3.... where you'll have the LSD, plus the steering to exploit the back stepping out.... and REALLY need it ;) Plus you'll have a car that's a lot more fun on a track / any road where you'd be able to use it!
 
BahnStormer77 said:
Jojo, unless you're putting it on a track (for an A6?!?) or planning on drifting everywhere, I don't think you're going to be lacking for traction in any of the quattro's... you really have to be doing some silly stuff (or be on snow/standing water) to appreciably loosen up the back so much that you'd want a LSD of any sort: I've got got the back to step out a few times (on slightly wet roads), but with the A6's vague steering, it wasn't the fun "steering on the throttle" feel I used to get in my old E30 or even my (heavily modified) Golf GTI!

Save yourself a few grand and get an E36/E46 M3.... where you'll have the LSD, plus the steering to exploit the back stepping out.... and REALLY need it ;) Plus you'll have a car that's a lot more fun on a track / any road where you'd be able to use it!
Click to expand...
It's not really the traction I'm after, it's the difference in feel of the handling and balance. Tried the traction out this morning in the snow/ice! Still not comfortable using the throttle in the turns, so maybe an LSD would change that?
 
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