Upgrading to an A6

[Sarge17]

Yes, another one of those threads. Sorry.

Well nearly 2 years ago i joined the Audi club. I bought an 2009 A4 avant 2.0tdi. Its a great car and its been excellent. The thing is i kind of bought it in a hurry, without really knowing a lot about other options. In hindsight i quickly realised that i probably should have saved a bit longer or bought an older model with a better spec.

I like my gadgets you see and this just had the basic MMI, rear parking sensors and err..... yeah thats about it. I bought a device from Aukley to stream music from my phone to the head unit which works surprisingly well but id much prefer Audis own solution. i briefly looked into a retro fit system but it seemed too complicated and not great value for money.

So now, further down the line i may soon be in the position to upgrade. At first i thought that spending an extra couple of thousand on a better spec A4, but then wondered whether it might be worth spending a bit extra for the bigger A6 and all that entails. For nothing else than it would be easier for the Mrs to understand the point of an upgrade rather than (in her eyes) buying the same car with a different number plate!

I've had a quick look on Autotrader and can see 2012 models aren't as expensive as i first feared. I'd be looking to trade in my A4 and spend up to a maximum of 10 grand on getting the right car this time. But like before some of the model numbers, different trims, different packs are all still a bit foreign to me. Hence why I'm here.

So as I've mentioned, gadgets are important to me. Being able to stream music from my iPhone 6s is vital as is an in built Sat Nav, i love the look of the pop up screen as opposed to the in dash screen i have currently. Front and rear sensors (with display) are required.

Things like nice body styling, leather seats, heated seats, 3 zone climate control, wing mirrors that automatically fold in are desirable but not essential.

I'm a family man now with a young daughter who still needs a car seat. As a result rear space is more of a consideration than umph! But i wonder if the 2.0l versions are able to carry the bigger body? Is the fuel consumption on a 3.0l overly high?I don't mind high millage as long as it has a full service history (my A4 is on around 100k and still very good).

So in essence what I'm asking is what models i should be looking at to include as many of those requirements as possible and any general advice /experiences pros and cons on moving up from an A4 to an A6.

Also, does the current fuel emissions scandal effect my situation when bartering a deal when trading/buying an Audi?

Thanks for reading and for any replies.

Sarge

 

[Cantata]

You asked about fuel consumption on the 3.0L. I've got a 2012 3.0L tid S-Line auto and, driven 'reasonably 'sensibly', it does 45mpg on mixed driving and 50-52mpg on motorway trips.
But if you're inclined to stamp on the loud pedal, you'll pay for it!

 

[Scottk]

Get the car with the options you want. They are difficult to retrofit. The 3.0 tdi should easily give you 40 mpg. Probably one with the tech pack or tech pack advanced. Find out which seats you prefer as well as I don't like the SE seats but some do. Same with the suspension.

 

[gordie1973]

Yes, another one of those threads. Sorry.

 

[gordie1973]

Don't know what happened above - but ......

Don't worry - the more the merrier on the A6 side of the fence.......!

I had a run in a friends a6 2.0tdi last summer, and it was quiet and refined. Was it overburdened with weight vs power - nope felt fine. I've a personal dislike of the CVT / multitronic gearbox, but most people don't mind it. Got 53mpg on a 40 mile (mostly motorway run at normal cruising speeds) so was impressed. Yup decent car, was the deciding factor for me to get my Bitdi, although I'm lucky to get 45 on a similar run in that...... 20mpg in stop start this morning on the drive into work through town!!

 

[Rhyso]

I have just come from an A3 and was initially looking at A4's

Went for the A6 simply because they tend to be loaded with more toys. Yes its a slightly older car but compared to the A4 B8 its as fresh as a daisy

I sat in an A5 two days after I bought the A6 and I was so glad I had bought the A6. The interior is a massive step up.

I went for the 3.0TDI with S Tronic and Quattro; the 2.0 IMO is under powered for the size of car.

I would suggest you drive both and decide for yourself . We all have our own personal preferences

 

[Sarge17]

Thank you all for your replies. Good to hear that the 3.0 consumption isn't too bad. Having watched just about every you tube review they all feature the 3.0 Quattro and I must admit I'd love to go for that option but can't say I've seen many come in to my auto trader search within my price range. I'd also have to investigate the rise in insurance.

So Scottk mentioned I should look for the "tech pack" option. What extra do you get in that ( in a 2012 model) than the standard version ( and indeed what's included as standard)?

 

[Rhyso]

Tech pack has the upgraded satnav and touch pad down by the gear stick. It also adds a few other things which I'm not 100% sure on

Try this link
https://www.audi.co.uk/about-audi/l...-right-boxes-in-audi-a6-and-a7-sportback.html

I paid just under £20k for my 61 plate 3.0 Quattro S Line; it had the tech and comfort packs, 19 inch wheels and panroof. It has 73,500 miles on the clock but to get a lower mileage one with the same spec was at least another £5k!! That's a lot of servicing and any repairs etc etc

With regards to insurance I paid just £44 to switch from my modified A3 until renewal in April. Come renewal time I'm still looking at around the £400 mark which is what I paid for the A3
That's with Greenlight Insurance

 

[Sarge17]

Thanks Rhys. I just saw your car on your thread and now I really want one! I find myself trying to justify somehow using my budget but I think I'm gonna have to stick with my 10k plus my car

I've been aiming at the 2012 because I thought the looks of the car improved but I must admit yours looks amazing.

Just another general quiery. I keep reading that the s-lines suspension is a lot firmer. Is that still the case when you alter the ride though the cars MMI?

 

[jojo]

If fuel consumption is a concern, then the 3.0 is not for you in my opinion. OK, mine is a BiTdi, and I'm averaging 30mpg, but that's with 75% town driving and the rest @70ish+. My B5 Passat 1.9TDI easily managed 40mpg+ doing the same trips as a comparison. Not trying to put you off, but a 3.0 is a high performance machine in any guise, so expect it to be a bit more thirsty.

Just another general quiery. I keep reading that the s-lines suspension is a lot firmer. Is that still the case when you alter the ride though the cars MMI?

You can only adjust the ride comfort on cars with Magnetic Suspension option. S-Line has 2 levels of suspension. Normal S-Line, and S-Line 'Sport' suspension, which was a no cost option. I have the latter, and it can be quite firm for a factory suspension setup. You really need to test drive one to make your own opinion. I think it's totally fine, but the wife as a passenger moans it's bumpy at the back! lol

 

[Rhyso]

I got the normal S Line suspension and the ride quality is amazing!! It glides over even the roughest bumps and potholes. Compared to the A3 I had it is again on a totally different level; the ride is much improved, even on 19's

With the A3 I would avoid every crack in the road! The A6 I just drive straight over

MPG is s bit of a shock but I have only had it less than a week so still playing around with the drive settings. I'm awaiting a complete set of tyres which I think will help. Once those are on I will get 4 wheel alignment done as the steering wheel is off centre

 

[Scottk]

I have the s line suspension and it's great for me but we are on our 5th Audi so maybe used to it. A lot depends on wheels as well. There is an option to spec SE suspension but I don't think many people do. Don't know what your mileage will be but mine is about 20k pa and long term average is just under 40mpg. My commute is A roads with 5 miles in the city but if I do the school run it drops a lot! My average is worked out on fills not the DIS and is pretty good probably due to the longer runs I do pretty regularly.

 

[Sarge17]

To be fair I don't do many miles. I live near a motorway junction so many journeys involve a quick blast.

It may be academic due to cost, but as many of you said I think a test drive of the 2.0 to see how it feels to me.

PS: I just checked the weights of my car now and the 2.0l A6

A4: 1530kg ( 4703mm long)
A6: 1725 kg ( 4926 MM. long)

So it's a fair bit heavier despite the allimiunium body.

 

[rrav3n]

Not to thread hijack, but add some thoughts, as I am thinking of moving from my A3 8P to either an A3 8V or A6 C7; the whole looking for a car that you can hang onto for 5 years and wont need to worry about the need for something bigger.

The A6 just seems like a lovely option, be gone the days when it was possible to drive with hast down back roads and have a little fast road action, it all seems gone with laws and cameras and stuff ...

I digress, but come back to my point .... A6 seems like such a decent jump and choice of car, it seemed to get a lot of the newer car tech early; for example it has all of the A3 8V's tech pack and the higher level of quality for about 5K less than the A3 8V.

20K seems to be the cost to get in a decent spec'd '12 saloon, the 3.0L option just seems like the only one to have, it came in multiple power options and gearbox options, anyone know years and PS outputs to transmissions, the one to have is the ZF box on the BiTurbo? The gearbox was shared with the RS6?

 

[Scottk]

The ZF is used due to the torque on the biturbo and RS, all others are s tronic. Even the new 2.0 tdi is s tronic. The 3.0 come in a 208, 245 and 313 which increased to 218, 272 and 320 with the facelift I think.

 

[rrav3n]

So based on that thought then ... with a little Google-ing later once I'm not of work ... the 208/218/245/272 would all be on a the S-Tronic, then the 313/320 would be the BiTurbo Tiptronic.

The facelift doesn't seem to be all that, a few little gimmicks with the lights and a base spec bump, after reading about some of the BiTurbo's, really want to take one for a spin now ...

Anymore know if the take rate on the matrix LED, seems to be next to no cars on the second hand market with them .. wonder the cost of a retrofit, that must be on here someone about people doing it/saying it too expensive.

 

[Rhyso]

Not to thread hijack, but add some thoughts, as I am thinking of moving from my A3 8P to either an A3 8V or A6 C7; the whole looking for a car that you can hang onto for 5 years and wont need to worry about the need for something bigger.

The A6 just seems like a lovely option, be gone the days when it was possible to drive with hast down back roads and have a little fast road action, it all seems gone with laws and cameras and stuff ...

I digress, but come back to my point .... A6 seems like such a decent jump and choice of car, it seemed to get a lot of the newer car tech early; for example it has all of the A3 8V's tech pack and the higher level of quality for about 5K less than the A3 8V.

20K seems to be the cost to get in a decent spec'd '12 saloon, the 3.0L option just seems like the only one to have, it came in multiple power options and gearbox options, anyone know years and PS outputs to transmissions, the one to have is the ZF box on the BiTurbo? The gearbox was shared with the RS6?

I just made that exact jump and its worth every penny

 

[Sarge17]

I have to say @Rhyso it seems you've done very well to get your motor at that price having had a quick look around at that model.

Talk of the 3.0 line quattro has really whetted the appetite but maybe a bit out of my reach. Having said that i don't want to make the same mistake as before and end up regretting a purchase.

 

[Scottk]

Retrofitting matrix LEDs is really not feasible. I'm sure one of the guys on the other forums was quoted over 2k as the matrix requires some of the cameras from the tech pack advanced -maybe for the ACC and if you don't have that then it needs to be fitted with new windscreen as well. Kufatec and Hazzydayz are the guys for retrofits. The upgrade to bi xenons in 2k and the LED upgrade for an R8 starts at 4.5 k!!

 

[Rhyso]

I have to say @Rhyso it seems you've done very well to get your motor at that price having had a quick look around at that model.

Talk of the 3.0 line quattro has really whetted the appetite but maybe a bit out of my reach. Having said that i don't want to make the same mistake as before and end up regretting a purchase.

I got very lucky Sarge. Originally i was looking at cars upto 3 years old due to being a bit of a snob with my A3, having bought it at 3 years old with only 24k on the clock. All i did was expand the search to 5 year old cars and this popped up immediately at a garage about 30 minutes away

It had everything I wanted and more. Initially I wasn't bothered about the panroof but its an excellent feature and I also didn't realise the car was sat on 19's!! To get a similar spec car and less miles would have been another 5k and to me that's a lot of servicing etc etc!!

If you really want one then save a bit more cash; I've had mine less than a week and its just a stunning bit of kit. Launch control is EPIC!! Even more so now the car is mapped

 

[jojo]

Launch control is EPIC!! Even more so now the car is mapped

I have not tried this function yet! Afraid it will lunch my gearbox!

 

[Rhyso]

I have not tried this function yet! Afraid it will lunch my gearbox!

I've done it about 4/5 times in an attempt to video a 0-60. Looking at around 5 seconds now

The ZF box is robust; friend of mine has a BiTDI and has 'launched' it a few times

Plus i got 2 years warranty on the gearbox as it was replaced in the last week of December 2015 by Audi under goodwill!!

 

[jojo]

I've done it about 4/5 times in an attempt to video a 0-60. Looking at around 5 seconds now

The ZF box is robust; friend of mine has a BiTDI and has 'launched' it a few times

Plus i got 2 years warranty on the gearbox as it was replaced in the last week of December 2015 by Audi under goodwill!!

Mine has 100k miles and no warranty... Lol

 

[Sarge17]

Thanks for all the info so far. I'm certainly going into it a bit wiser than I did with my A4.

So my next question is about the differences in the Nav/MMI with the SD and HDD versions (bear in mind I'm looking at an 2011/12 model). Obviously I'm aware the newer cars include google maps/search with the HDD versions but interested to know any other differences and how easy each is to update the software etc.

 

[Rhyso]

I have the upgraded nav and today upgraded the firmware to the latest version using an sd card purchased from a seller on Ebay. The upgrade was easy but a bit nerve racking. I can now have a data sim in the car for Google Maps etc and use my phone for phone calls

I've not yet delved into updating the maps; that's a job for next month......

I think the HDD version is a bit faster and you get the touch pad down by the gear selector. The screen is also a higher resolution??

When looking at pics the normal mmi has silver strips in between the numbers on the pad. The touch pad does not. You'll know what I mean when you look at them

 

[Sarge17]

When looking at pics the normal mmi has silver strips in between the numbers on the pad. The touch pad does not. You'll know what I mean when you look at them

Having looked closely at a few online i can see what you mean. I've not found many (in my price range) that have the touch pad. To be honest, i love the idea of the touchpad but realistically ill normally be travelling to addresses in my phone book or i can pull over or use voice command to enter new addresses. I'll put that in the "nice, but not essential" column of my wishlist.

What is essential is music. Does anyone stream the music from their iPhone and if so how good/reliable is it?

 

[Rhyso]

There may be some other subtle differences that I haven't covered. Think you also get Google Maps overlay and streetview. One thing to note though; this does NOT give you the ability to use the latest Google Maps. It simply gives you a Google based overlay of the maps within the MMI

I had a quote yesterday to update my maps to the latest 2016 version and I was quoted £419.02!!!!

With regards to Bluetooth my phone pairs fine but the songs on the phone are in iTunes format and the car struggles to view the files?? I can however select them on the phone and have them play through the car

I suspect if you have them in MP3 format on the phone then they will show up within the MMI?? I haven't really explored the option as I have a 32gig SD card which holds the majority of my music. I have a spare SD card slot AND the MMI has 10gig hard drive space. There is also the AMI connection!! Crazy amount of options for playing music and I haven't mentioned the bog standard CD player!!

 

[DaveW]

Also there's the option of Internet radio and online music streaming via napster and aupeo, via the MMI Connect phone app

 

[Sarge17]

Well, i'm very jealous of seeing everyones new cars and mods to their existing ones.

After a while concentrating on other things i've started to have another little look around as i will soon be able to commit to buying. I had a look at a SE 2.0TDi today on an 11 plate (but the newer shape). Was very nice and seemed a decent spec, 20' wheels (Parking on the kerb outside my house make need a re-think) Only 34,000 miles for just under 16k. I do like the S-Line styling though which was obviously missing on this one.

One thing that annoys me whilst trawling the web is that often certain specs are left off the add. For example. The one i saw today most defiantly had memory and heated seats - but it doesn't mention them in the add. I've since seen an add for S-Line for 1k more, but again it doesn't mention those details. Are these things standard and just not mentioned or just an oversight by the dealer?

 

[Cantata]

I have a 12-reg S-Line (bought s/hand) and it doesn't have memory or heated seats. I expect all these details were options. For instance mine has lowered suspension, that was certainly an option. (Not something I'd choose, not with creaky knees).
I wouldn't like 20" wheels. Teeth-shattering, I'd think.

 

[Audimad]

Nothing wrong with 20" wheels.

 

[Scottk]

Heated seats are an option - about £300 for front and a bit more for front and rear. Memory seats are about £950. Heated seats for me are essential but the memory is nice but not really essential. It might be if my wife drive mine more as the seat position is set to the keys and saves getting the seat back in rain and snow which is a pain.

 

[Sarge17]

Nothing wrong with 20" wheels.

So just how careful do you have to be with those bad boys?

Heated seats are an option - about £300 for front and a bit more for front and rear. Memory seats are about £950. Heated seats for me are essential but the memory is nice but not really essential. It might be if my wife drive mine more as the seat position is set to the keys and saves getting the seat back in rain and snow which is a pain.

So it was just an oversight then. I will check with the S-Line dealers to see if they can provide me with a full spec sheet.

Going back to the one i viewed today, the glovebox had a case of a SD and a CD for the Nav info. I thought the info was on one or the other?

 

[Sarge17]

Apologies for being a newbie nause again, but i enquired about the service history on the SE i saw as there was some ambiguity in the description of the service history. This was their reply:

"This Audi A6 has had 2 services at Audi Southampton. First visit was on the 23/01/2014 this was a major service using the long life service plan. 15557 Miles. The second service was a brake fluid change on the 02/10/2014. 21313 Miles.

The next service is due at 35000 Miles or 2 Years. On the dash it is displaying service due now. This vehicle will have a service and MOT before purchase is completed."

Baring in mind this is a late 2011 model shouldn't there have been a service in the first 2 and a bit years??? (or is that what the "Audi long life service plan" is?)

 

[Rhyso]

My 4 year old Avant has had 3 services in that time and covered 75500 miles

Longlife servicing is based on the type of journey you do. If its mainly motorway miles then cars tend to go longer between services as the oil and other fluids all get up to temp and don't degrade as quickly

Short journeys tend to bring the service intervals right down

 

[Scottk]

If it's a late 2011 car and the first service is early 2014, it should be alright as there is some leeway on timings and mileage. If the guy was only covering that mileage it should really have been on fixed servicing but even the dealers seem unsure about this. The brake fluid change is due at 3 years then every 2 years. If you don't do many miles, get it onto fixed servicing or alternatively leave it on long life and do an oil change in between yourself.

 

[Sarge17]

Thanks guys. I was just unnerved by the way he omitted the word FULL when describing the service history.

Now to decide whether this particular model is the one or go further afield for a S-Line version in a different colour ( my last two cars have also been black)

 

[Sarge17]

Well, I've only gone and done it. I've put a deposit down on an A6. A pretty modest one compared to some of the beasts you guys drive but looking forward to it all the same!

 

[DaveW]

Well, I've only gone and done it. I've put a deposit down on an A6. A pretty modest one compared to some of the beasts you guys drive but looking forward to it all the same!

Don't be putting your new car down! An A6 is an A6 whatever the spec. I know you'll be very happy with your new purchase.
Good luck,
Dave

 

[gordie1973]

Yup - I'm with Dave, they are amazing motors no matter the spec! in my first job 20 years ago, my sales director got a shiny new 2.0ltr Audi 100 completely base model, and I vowed then I'd climb the ladder to get a whiff of one. Took me a while mind you...... Not to mention a complete overhaul of the company car taxation rules!!!!

G