And so it begins... the great used Audi A6 Avant experiment.

[LeeH]

At least I hope it will be great. In Y2K, I bought a brand new A4 Quattro S 5 speed. I loved that car. But, as I read about what others were going through I got cold feet and sold it after only one year. Owning that car for a year cost me exactly $5000 in depreciation - about the same as a lease. Spendy, but could have been worse. As the years passed, I read about the class action lawsuit for coking in the engine and have patted myself on the back for avoiding a major headache. BUT, I still missed the car.

Fast forward a few years... I bought a 2006 Mazda5 when they first came out. By the time it hit 80K miles, Mazda had fixed every complaint I had about the car. So, I sold it and bought a 2009 with 40K miles. Its odometer just turned 90K miles. Hmmm... 9 years and 130K miles in the same (almost) car? Wait a minute that's not me.

I've been on a quest for something different as a daily driver. But I didn't want to lose one of my favorite features of the Mazda5... it's fairly unique. Low sales, low production means I rarely see another one. If I do, it's not exactly the same since mine's a GT with LED tail lights, and a rarer color. Can honestly say I've seen my twin only once in the time that I've had the car.

After lots (read: way too much by any sane person's standards) of thinking, researching, reading, I started feeling feeling like a German wagon might fit the bill. Audi's reliability has increased greatly in recent years. The A6's 3.1L V6 is no rocket, but reliability number are above average. While researching the car I've come across many at or near 200K miles. So, after several months of a nationwide search, I flew to Sacramento yesterday and drove this home.






It's a 2008 A6 Avant Wagon. 2 owner, California car with 80K miles.

$49,000 MSRP + $5,150 Enhanced Premium Package + $600 Cold Weather Package + $2500 Technology Package. That's $57,250 before tax, tag and title. I paid $16,500 for this one from owner #2, who bought the car CPO at 25K miles. I won't go into details about the owner, but let's just say he's exactly the kind of person you'd like to buy this sort of car from.

The car is in beautiful condition inside and out. It has every option I wanted except sport seats. But after 11 hours in the stock seats I have no complaints. Got to know the car pretty well on the 11 hour drive from Sacramento to Phoenix yesterday.

As of now, my only complaint is that the cupholders stink. I'll post about what life if like with a higher mileage used Audi as time goes on. I'm not going into this with rose colored glasses. I expect I'll have to pay for repairs and maintenance, but am somewhat optimistic that it won't be unbearable.

After all of the research and reading, I came to the conclusion that Audis are like pit bulls. The bad ones get lots of press. Most of them just aren't that bad. So, did I get a fuzzy puppy that will be a faithful companion for years to come or will it eat my face while I sleep? Too early to tell, but I'll post updates here as I put on the miles.

[Rick Lee]

A co-worker's '09 A4 w/95k miles started using a qt of oil/600 miles. It's out of warranty, but the dealer replaced a separator valve for free and said to keep an eye on consumption. Low oil light came on again 650 miles later. Dealer said it needs new rings. My co-worker didn't even have to ask and Audi said they'd goodwill it. How does that work?

[onewhippedpuppy]

Congrats Lee! I know you've been searching for a while, and it looks like your patience paid off. I personally like Audi and would take one over a BMW any day. For anything that Pelican doesn't have check out ECS Tuning, another great parts supplier that has a focus on VAG products.

[fanaudical]

Congrats! Looks like a solid car. Please do keep us updated. Enjoy!

[DaveE]

Unlike some on here we've had mostly good luck with Audis. I hope you get many miles of smiles from yours.

[stuffinder]

I bought a well maintained '06 A6 Avant 3.2 May '14 w/182K mi. The PO has been buying AUDI's since the 80's. Usually off lease at 50K & runs them to 180-200K. He bought an A7 and sold this car for $5K! It's always burned/leaked a little oil 1 qt/2K, I figure I can live w/that. I've driven it 18K just turning 200K yesterday. Didn't like the standard "Comfort" seats and found a pr of '07 S6 seats in a junkyard for $500 installed! Pulled the stock 245/45x17 Wheels & Nokian Zline summers and put on 225/55x16 Hakka R2's. The 16 in wheels were a scarce option, found a set 4 hrs away in Ottawa for $185. Incredibly winter ride. The seats are almost as nice as the Recaro's in my '95 S6 Avant w/138K. (The S6 is worth almost 2x the '06! Only problem so far, CEL when topping off & eventually hard starting after fill up. Bought Bosch Purge Vale on eBay for 15.95 & took 3 min. to change. Starts up fine after filling now. They way these cars depreciate I'd say they're a stellar buy if they've been maintained & you have access to a good INDY mech. The dealers do tend to bend you over pretty well!

[MBAtarga]

Shouldn't it be black?

[porsche4life]

Good luck lee! Hope it serves you well. You know you can use my lift if you need it.

[trauma2]

Congratulations first of all ! Having been a Porsche owner for over 24 years I was a little biased but you ,I appears, have well prepared yourself in all aspects which I commend you on. Realistically Audi has certainly proved itself over the last dozen years for sure. I had to give up my 911 turbo due to my new addition to family but not many regrets since priorities change ones perspective. I have a wonderful "slightly modified " 2004 Avant that has nothing but wonderful to drive. It is well balanced as most avants are coupled with respectable power & geometries. My 280hp is not my 911's 375 but it is enough. Best of luck with your new addition at rest assured you stayed in the German family which is usually not regrettable in car selection. Happy holidays & motoring.

[LeeH]

Two weeks in to Audi ownership, and all's well.... mostly. I think I have all of the systems figured out on the car. MMI does take a little practice. So does the whole "smart key" concept. No pushing the button to open the car is cool, but I keep forgetting to lock it when I leave! I'm sure my hands will get used to the idea of the push button start/stop as well as a button for the parking brake. I've only gotten out of the car and left the engine running a couple of times!

Took the car to the dealer for the oil change that became due on my trip back from Sacramento. Figured it was worth the trip to the dealer to see if they could find anything wrong with the car. Service writer and mechanic were both impressed with the condition. After going over the car the only issues they came up with were that the back brakes were at 50% and that the wipers had some age on them. $100 for an oil change with 6.9 quarts of synthetic oil isn't too bad, especially when they're only due every 10K miles.

Just drove 11 hours from Phoenix to Amarillo, TX. The car is awesome at speeds of >80mph. Unfortunately, three of the four Rial aftermarket wheels are slightly bent. There's a slight vibration over 80, but not a big factor. Before I left, I paid a wheel shop to straighten two of them. Had them rebalanced once I got to Amarillo and Discount Tire said they're still not quite round.

Overall, I'm happy with the car. Definitely in its element on the highway. And, considering the weather right now, I'm REALLY happy to have the Audi and not the Mazda5 for the trip back to Phoenix!

[Don Plumley]

I really like that car. If I didn't need the higher GVWR that pushed me into an SUV two years ago, an A6 Avant was at the top of my list.

[Les Paul]

Little chilly there in Amarillo?

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by Les Paul

Little chilly there in Amarillo?

It's warmed up! It was 9 when I got up this morning! Thankfully the winds are calm! They say that's going to change soon.

[Seahawk]

In a lovely hanger in rural Ohio, a hangar filled with the results of his efforts: planes and race cars, musical instruments of quality and breadth, testimony to his skill and persistence, Tim Hancock's head just exploded.

Thank you, Lee. I hope you are happy

[Don Plumley]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

In a lovely hanger in rural Ohio, a hangar filled with the results of his efforts: planes and race cars, musical instruments of quality and breadth, testimony to his skill and persistence, Tim Hancock's head just exploded.

Ha! I was thinking that too.

Good thing you didn't get a V8: Here’s Why The V8 Audi S4 Is An Awful Used Car

It happened about five months ago. I'm sitting around the house in my underwear, wondering how the hell Drew Carey puts up with all those aging Midwesterners who scream like an airplane-riding infant the second they win a bottle of Listerine. And I get a message from Jalopnik editorial fellow Chris Perkins.

It's a picture of an Audi S4 parked on a Manhattan street. But this isn't just any Audi S4: it's an S4 Avant, the station wagon model. In Audi's beautiful Nogaro Blue color. With a stick shift. And a for sale sign on it.

For those of you who don't follow the world of high-performance Audis, a Nogaro Blue S4 Avant with a stick shift is rare. A unicorn, if you will. But finding one sitting randomly on the street with a "For Sale" sign is even more unbelievable. It's the automotive equivalent of a unicorn and Bigfoot and a space alien all sitting in one room, playing poker, and then the Loch Ness Monster walks in and gets a Royal Flush.

"I thought you might be interested," Chris tells me.

In reality, very few things would interest me more. To me, a Nogaro Blue S4 Avant with a stick shift is up there with having the power to become invisible. And if I were invisible, one of the first things I would do is figure out who owns a Nogaro Blue S4 Avant, so I could steal it.

So anyway, I called the number on the "for sale" sign, and I spoke to the seller. It turned out the car had some small scuffs and scrapes, and a minor accident on the Carfax. Mileage was a little high, at 122,000. But the seller only wanted thirteen grand! For a 340-horsepower, all-wheel drive station wagon! In Audi's famous Nogaro Blue! WITH A STICK SHIFT!!! I called Chris and asked him to set up a test drive. As long as it moves under its own power, I told Chris, I want this car.

And then, that night, I went on the Audi forums and did a little research.

As it turns out, there's a reason these things have gotten so cheap. And given that this is a Volkswagen Group product, the reason is exactly what you'd expect: the engine has the propensity to blow up at any random moment, requiring a repair that costs approximately the same as one of those public art sculptures that always looks like a huge piece of discarded construction equipment, but actually symbolizes something like the struggle of the Asiatic Snapping Turtle against the tyrannical oppression of airplane noise.34

Here's the background: the previous Audi S4, which came out in 1999, used a timing belt rather than a timing chain. This annoyed the hell out of everyone, because the belt had to be changed every few years, and the only way you can do this job, or any job in a 1990s Audi, is you have to remove the front end, and the engine, and all the glass, and then you have to do a little jig on the service drive that involves a socket wrench and some lederhosen. For this, you may bill 31 hours.

So what Audi did on the V8-powered S4 model, which came out in 2004, was obvious: they ditched the stupid belt for a chain, like most other automakers. And since the chain was now designed to last the life of the car, Audi decided to stick it waaaay in the back of the engine, up against the firewall. Apparently the theory was that the chain would be so robust, and strong, and dependable, that it would never have to be serviced. You can probably guess what happened next.

Yes, that's right: it had to be serviced.

You see, as it turns out, the chain itself didn't have any problems with dependability. But Audi, being Audi, decided to use substandard materials for the chain tensioners, and the cam adjusters, which are two related – and highly important – components that keep the chain turning around and around and around every time you drive the car. The result is that these parts eventually fail, requiring the replacement of virtually everything you see in this amazing image of an Audi S4 engine worryingly sitting outside an Audi S4:



Apparently, what happens is this: you're cruising along one day in your 2004-2009 S4, listening to electronic dance music, thinking about how cool it would be to stance a Rolls-Royce Phantom. And all of a sudden, you hear a little rattle coming from the engine. This is the sound of your timing belt wobbling around like a toddler in a McDonald's ball pit.

Now, I know what you're thinking: this doesn't seem so bad! Hoist the engine out of the car, replace a few tensioners, and a few adjusters, and maybe a timing chain or two. And then you're good for another eight years!

Well, here's the thing: there's no such thing as "not so bad" in the world of used Audi repairs. According to this excellent summary of the problem over on the Audi forums, an Audi dealer charges around eight grand to fix this issue. You want to do it yourself? No problem. The parts alone are three grand, and then you have to consider the hours you'll spend under the car, covered in grease, wondering why the hell Audi designed this vehicle so that it could only be fixed by a creature the size of a cicada. All for a car that's only worth about fifteen grand, according to average pricing on AutoTrader.com.

Now, since this column will undoubtedly hit the Audi forums – a group of folks who haven't exactly been my biggest fans, ever since I once said that "a vehicle made entirely by chimpanzees using random car parts" would be more reliable than an Allroad – I should issue a disclaimer. This issue might not affect all V8 S4s. Some people have made it to 150,000 miles without issue. Some people have suffered the failure at 75,000 miles. But in the world of $8,000 automotive repairs, "might not" is hardly a comfort – especially since the problem could present itself at any time, without warning. Just a little rattle, coming from the engine. And that's when you know you're not buying name brand toothpaste for the rest of the year.

So I never did buy the S4 Avant that Chris found for me – and the last I heard, it's still for sale. Driving around Manhattan. "For Sale" sign in the window. With a nervous driver behind the wheel, fingers crossed that he doesn't hear the rattle.

[James Brown]

fricken Audis!! My 05' allroad is doing just fine thank you. just clicked over 60k and strong as the day it rolled out of the dealer. (I thank the previous owner for meticulous maintenance and some good recalls) so you soldier on with that Avant, hope it gets to 200k!!!

[LeeH]

Yeah, Tim's Audi experience was definitely on my mind when I chose this car. I know the 3.1L can have tensioner/guide issues, too. Can't seem to find hard numbers on the frequency. Not going to sweat it. There are plenty of people who've had problems. I'm thinking there are way more who have not.

Lots of pretty lights inside...

[RANDY P]

Originally Posted by Don Plumley

Ha! I was thinking that too.

Good thing you didn't get a V8: Here’s Why The V8 Audi S4 Is An Awful Used Car

That article is SCARY- upon further searching it's not uncommon to have S4 **** the guides under 80K.

That's criminal.

rjp

[Monza_dh]

I had an A4 Avant years ago and loved it. It really pisses me off Audi does not sell the A6 and S4, S6 Avants here. I have a BMW X5 now but will get another Audi for my next car.
I wish I could drive this:

[LeeH]

Four months and 5000 miles later and all's still good with the A6. 86K now. I REALLY like driving this car. Just the right combination of sport and comfort. Gas mileage isn't great around town. Some of that is the result of the car being so fun to drive that I get into the throttle without thinking. I'm seeing 18-20 mpg on tanks where I'm almost 100% on city streets. When I first got it I kept the instant mpg reading up on the computer and was probably getting 20-22 in town. Thank goodness for cheap gas! Sport mode is an absolute blast. Amazing that changing the throttle response and shift points can so transform a car. I'd hate to think was the mpgs would be running the car in sport mode for an entire tank of gas!

Only mod so far, if you can call it that, was to replace the grill insert. Came with the one set up for a front plate. $100 and 5 minutes to go from this:



To this: