Thinking about a C6

[ScottD3]

The time has come for me to get a new car and I've been thinking about the C6 chassis.
I would like a Allroad but my budget does limit me on the extra I can get and the miles appears to be around the 150k mark.

Coming from a A4 B5, I'm full up to date when it comes to the newer TDI and petrol engines, that also includes the gearboxes and general extras. I am doing my research but I do applogies if anything has been answered before.

Engines.
I've been told a couple of times and read that the 2.0PD engines (140 and 170s) tend to have issues the oil pumps as well as other bits and should be avoided.
Is this something to worry about on all 2.0PD engines irrelevant of miles?

There was two allroads that sparked my interest. Both was 06 plate with around 150k miles, one was 2.7TDI and the other was the 3.0TDI. There is a couple A6's with the 2.7TDI engine that has also sparked my interest but had a lot less miles.
Is miles an issue or something I should be weary of when looking at the 2.7 or 3.0 TDI engines?

What's the 2.0 and 2.4 petrol engines like in the C6 chassis?

I am mainly looking for diesels but if the right petrol motor comes up I will be considering that as well.

Apart from my general concern of miles, is there anything else with the engines that I should be checking or looking out for?

Automatic Gearboxes.
No idea on theses.
Anything that's worth knowing?

What else?
I've read about the rear washer pipe leaking causing issues with some electronics and to look in the spare wheel well along with the side cubby for signs was water. Updating the infotainment firmware and the air suspension pump failing.

Is there anything I should check, know or ask before venturing down C6 ownership?

Thanks in advance for anything help or information.

 

[a6_chris]

Avoid all 2.0 PDs, there have been oil pumps and balance shaft faillures on 08 and 58 plate prefacelifts.

Miles aren't an issue but please get the youngest car within your budget as the parts have been updated/upgraded and are less susceptible of going wrong. Ie in 2007ish the injectors were changed/revised and early cars have had problems with injectors ie chucking out white smoke on idle, loss of power etc.

also don't get one without a warranty, if your budget can stretch get a car from audi then you'll have at least 1 yrs minimum audi approved warranty with the option to extend afterwards. i wouldn't touch one now without a warranty and would never consider something with air suspension without one either!

 

[ScottD3]

PD engines are out then.
That narrows down the search criteria a bit, thanks.

I'm looking at trade only with warranty, Audi don't have anything within my budget that I want, so that's that out.

Age wise, I think i'm looking at around the 06/07. 08s do crop up but then the miles tend to go up as well but if miles are not an issue with a good service history plus a warranty i guess its ok?

Thanks for the info chris.

I'm off to look up info on the MMI.

 

[a6_chris]

Personally I wouldn't go any younger than 07. Thats the year they sorted most things out, facelift started in early 09, so 09 plate onwards-ish.

Mine is just about to see 98k, will have it 5yrs this April, got it at 1 yr old with 33k, full Audi SH and I'm now onto my 3rd year of extended warranty. No extreme issues.

 

[ScottD3]

09 is out of the question.
As much as I would like to go that new I can't.
07 is doable but there seems to be nothing in the Devon/Cornwall area, so a road trip is in order I think.

Thanks again.

 

[a6_chris]

Definitely travel for the right car, I travelled 400 miles to get mine

 

[ScottD3]

While looking at different A6's I've noticed a couple of things.

They say colour navigation and post a picture of it, that's ok but what I don't get is the TMC bit at the bottom has a line through it.
What does that mean?

Noticed some with colour satnav but red monochrome DIS, some with monochrome satnav and colour DIS and others with all in colour.
I assume the red monochrome satnav is the MMI low with a red DIS. FUll colour satnav and colour DIS is MMI high?
what's the combination of the two? MMI low plus?

 

[a6_chris]

TMC is the traffic updates shown on screen like accidents, roadworks etc. This depends 100% on whether local radio stations support this, if not, then the line is displayed. If its supported then the TMC icon is filled and you can view all jams/roadworks through the INFO button.

Anything with colour nav is High, this came in both red DIS and colour DIS, think there was some stage where they all became colour DIS.

So;

Monochrome MMI screen + monochrome DIS = MMI Basic or Basic+
Monochrome MMI screen + colour DIS = MMI Basic or Basic+
Colour MMI screen + monochrome DIS = MMI High
Colour MMI screen + colour DIS = MMI high

Simple

 

[ScottD3]

That is simple.
I was just reading to much into colour DIS then.

I'm currently avoiding all A6's that's not MMI high.
I spent too much time and effort on my B5 trying to get full colour satnav in it, I don't want to be doing it again in the next car. Despite the fun I had doing it.

 

[a6_chris]

Definitely get High, to convert is possible but a real pain.

 

[B5NUT]

If you want nav then buy a car with MMI high, even if it does not have the navigation installed it's an easy installation. I've done MMI low to high conversion, apart from the cost and going to the dealers to have component protection removed, the biggest pain was the wiring harness, did it once never again.

 

[ScottD3]

I found a guide on VWAF and it looks doable, no harder than RNS-d install in a B5 but I want to kind of stay way from doing that level of work if I can help it.


Don't see many manual A6's.
what are they like?

 

[a6_chris]

Manuals are fine but after driving a manual 3.0 you were on the gears all the time as the ratios were short.

In my opinion but it suits the auto far better, as with any modern diesel with a DMF it's maybe already been changed or due a change, check out for juddering from the clutch.

 

[ScottD3]

DMF always worries me.
I'll stick to autos.

Noticed this on a advert.

It looks like the drivers side temp screen is failing.
Is this something that happens?

 

[a6_chris]

Never seen it happen but suppose first time for everything, BBA reman could probably fix it.

 

[B5NUT]

You can get them but they are rare on the bigger engines, I've driven both manual & auto 3.0TDi's and I much prefer the Auto box. However if your looking at the 2.0TDi then I would not touch the Multitronic I would go for a manual.

 

[B5NUT]

You can always get another unit from a breakers, that's the first faulty one I've ever seen. Getting rid of that parrot kit will be fun, check the wiring harness going to the amp, I've seen them been butchered before after fitting a parrot kit into an A6 and A8.

 

[ScottD3]

I've been warned away from the 2.0PD engines a lot by different people.
I'll heed their warning and aim for the 2.7TDI or 3.0TDI

 

[a6_chris]

You can always get another unit from a breakers, that's the first faulty one I've ever seen. Getting rid of that parrot kit will be fun, check the wiring harness going to the amp, I've seen them been butchered before after fitting a parrot kit into an A6 and A8.

Remember to factor in the cost of removing the component protection as the aircon units have this

 

[B5NUT]

Should be no more that 30min charge to remove CP, that's all I've been charged in the past.

The 2.0 has it's faults with the balance shaft, but if you can get the car cheap enough then get a garage to change the hex and oil pump and you will be sorted for another 100,000 miles +

 

[ScottD3]

I'm not getting that car.
Its just an example of the HVAC unit having a screen issue.

Looked at a BMW the other week (Don't flame me!!) and it had a odd wire clip connected to a live from the xenon going off in to the scuttle plate.
I will always keep an eye out for odd bits like that and try and get them to sort or knock something off for it.

 

[Oddie]

Scott,

I bought a 2.7 S Line Le Mans a few weeks ago. I had an A4 B7 S Line but got a little bored so decided to go for a Mercedes C220 AMG Sport. The Mercedes was absolutely lovely, looked really aggressive and had a tonne of toys but it wasn't an Audi, I always wanted an Audi again. I spent a few weeks looking and finally found one within 15 minutes of me. Mine is a 57 2.7 TDI V6 S Line Le Mans Quattro.

After almost a month of ownership I can honestly say I am in love with it. I am amazed at the difference the quattro makes to every day driving. I thought the 4WD system may only be noticeable in winter conditions but boy was I wrong. The first time I drove it round a roundabout I couldn't believe the amount of grip, fantastic to experience.

Mine has MMI 2G High (Full Colour Nav), the MMI system is fantastic although I would personally had preferred it to have the Audi AMI (iPod connectivity) as opposed to the 6 disc changer. Can't have everything though I suppose.

If you have any questions just let me know, il be happy to help out where I can.

 

[ScottD3]

Thanks for the offer Oddie.

There is so many 2.0TDI A6's around, loads near me with the spec I want but what people have said about them put me off and despite what B5nut said about getting bits replace they are not setting my pulse racing like the thought of a 2.7 or 3.0.
Quattro is slowly being added to the requirements.
I'm not sure about miles, I still can't make my mind up about that side of things.

 

[ScottD3]

MIssed out on this one sadly.

Audi A6 3.0 TDi Quattro Le Mans 4dr Tip Auto

It ticked all the boxes and more.

 

[a6_chris]

And what a nice car it was!

 

[Oddie]

I had a 2.0 TDI 140 in my A4. Prior to that I had a 1.9 GT TDI 115 in my MK4 Golf. I personally preferred the 1.9, I found it much more economical but just generally preferred the way the engine performed. I did have the golf remapped to around 150 HP so that probably made a huge difference. One thing I will say about the 2.0 TDI is that if looked after, they will run and run forever. There is a guy on youtube who has made a couple of informative videos regarding his A6 C6 2.0 TDI, his car is used as a taxi and has done 350,000 miles !

Decisions decisions !

 

[ScottD3]

At the moment, the car wont be used daily and mainly for holidays or trips back home.
I might go for the larger one.


Found a couple of cars that I liked the look of, clicked the Visit Dealer button on the right and it sends me to a basic page with just a telephone number. It don't really fill me full of confidence to want hand over my money. lol
Here's the two I mentioned and the cars.
Audi A6 2.7 TDI Le Mans 4dr Multitronic
Auto Trader Dealer Pages - Hilton Car Sales

Audi A6 2.7 TDI SE 4dr Multitronic Diesel Saloon
Auto Trader Dealer Pages - Ryszard Kowalski

Apart from the dealer page, the cars look pretty good.

 

[B5NUT]

Whats with the saloons don't fancy the Avant?

 

[ScottD3]

I do like the Avants but there appears to be a greater selection of saloons that tick my boxes.

 

[B5NUT]

That's fair enough, I noticed the same when I was looking around for a replacement for to the golf, I also had A8's on my shopping list

 

[ScottD3]

A8s are semi on my list but they all seem to be around 06 plate and over 130k.
Little bit dubious because of what's been said about the 3.0TDIs before 07.
But I Keep my eyes open.



Does anyone know if the 2.7 or the 3.0s suffer from swirl pot issues like the BMW?

 

[B5NUT]

What are these issues on the early 3.0, other than an engine mount I replaced about 3 years ago there have been no issues on my MY06 engine. Still going to strip down all the inlet and EGR system for a dam good clean out.

 

[a6_chris]

Swirls stick open on the Audi diesels and use a bit more fuel until fixed but Audi do a repair kit for cheap enough. Can't remove them like BMWs but unlike the BMWs, they don't break off and chewed by the engine causing damage.

 

[ScottD3]

That's what the BMWs do.
If the Audis don't do it, then that's cool.

 

[B5NUT]

Remember watching a program about that (watchdog I think) the repair bills on the BM's were about 7K from what I remember.

 

[a6_chris]

That's what the BMWs do.
If the Audis don't do it, then that's cool.

All you get is a nice little EML (subject to a proper scan of course) instead of the engine eating the flaps for dinner.

 

[a6_chris]

Remember watching a program about that (watchdog I think) the repair bills on the BM's were about 7K from what I remember.

Seen that aswell, think they touched on failed timing chains at 20k miles, you'll never see that on an Audi

 

[ScottD3]

Did the A6 C6 ever come with adaptive cruise control?

 

[B5NUT]

Looking at etka it started on MY 09 cars.

 

[a6_chris]

Looking at etka it started on MY 09 cars.

Came on prefacelift cars too but was a very very rare option.