# Looking at a 99 A6 avant.... what to look for, and should i stay away from it.



## plynch (Aug 30, 2006)

I thought I'd ask around and see how your A6's have been treating you guys. I have a 2001.5 A4 that i picked up used in n. philly about 2 years ago with 74k on it it has been a very good car, only 2 major failures, on the turbo went after about a month of ownership, and last winter the tiptronic came out. i replaced the turbo, and converted the car to a manual...so these were pretty minor in all it now has 124k. what items come up if any, for the A6? the one im looking at has a bad rack & pinion and steering fluid pours out quickly, it has 156k miles and is fairly clean. its asking price of 2k - due to miles and damage seems fine, although I do plan to talk them down if possible....


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## zeroboy (Sep 3, 2005)

plynch said:


> only 2 major failures, on the turbo went after about a month of ownership, and last winter the tiptronic came out. i replaced the turbo, *and converted the car to a manual...so these were pretty minor *....


Converting the car from Auto to manual is pretty minor? Holy crap! most people would call an 02' A4 with blown turbo and bad trans a "parts car". 
I assume the A6 is a standard 2.8L with no frills? Bad rack is no big deal, considering your experience.
Our A6 Has 175k on it and drives relatively like new. Totally awesome. But 150k seems to be past the mark where alot of big things (trans/engine/wiring) fail if they're going on the C5.
From my experience up here in the NW you a VERY nice average miles C5 Avant goes for $4k to $7.5k. Higher price = lower miles in general. If the car is otherwise pretty nice and you can do the fix yourself it would be hard to beat at $2k. 
You know the rest: CV joints/ Axles/ Leaks/ Maintenance.


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## plynch (Aug 30, 2006)

*a6*

thanks, yeah most problably would have got rid of the car when the trans went as a rebuild was 3500...I did the whole swap for less than 500, well drove the 4 hr trip to fairfax to check out the car after talking to them on the phone, "everything else is in good working order, no other issues other than the steering rack right?" right car is nice, ad says no dents, she says on the phone they have all records.... 4 hrs later I'm looking at an A6 with a busted windsheild, busted rocker on the pass. side fender on the pass side had dents all over it, seats had big rips, back seat had stains, rips. the lcd cluster was not working at all, the cup holders were broke off the radio was in safe mode, the switch in front of the cup holders in the 99 was pulled out of the socket. the cubby hole on the door was broken and did not close, the sunroof was burned a little from cigs, the rear hatch trim inside was busted, and the headlights were faded, with what looked like house paint brushed on around the knicks, car was filthy, and the rims were curbed and dented to about squares, and had mismatched tires, which had been ran flat once before... so needless to say i didnt bring this cherry home, i offered 1500 as a max and they said no... that 2 others had offered 1800 and she had turned that down, the gas guage did'nt work either. the exhaust was hacked up and had several weld patches done poorly, and the coolant was green. Had to decline. I'd but a car like this for 500 in reality here.
so the search continues have a few of the 97 styles with lower miles on radar now...


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## zeroboy (Sep 3, 2005)

sounds like a good call when you can pick up a pretty nice one for $4k and not have a mountain of work ahead of you.
When I was looking it took a couple 3 weeks to find a 99' that was well taken care of and low-price. The trade is the high (170k) miles, but I have records from day one. I could sell it today and MAKE $1k off it believe it or not. ..


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