# Thinking of an A6 wagon...what should i look for (as far as repairs done etc)



## tsuga (Oct 2, 2006)

I need a bigger car! My two year old boy is starting to kick my elbow in my small car. I am thinking of replacing my 03 Jetta 1.8 with an Audi A6. I am not wanting to spend much more than 6 - 7k though, so I figure it will be a 99 to 02 depending on milage. What do you recommend I look for in the car? at 100k miles I assume the timing belt/chain should have been replaced but what else?
also, do you think a Passat would be easier on the wallet as far as repairs and reliablitly or would it be a wash? I much prefer the Audi, but if its a huge difference...
any insight would be appresiated! thx!


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## Massboykie (Aug 15, 2006)

*Re: Thinking of an A6 wagon...what should i look for (tsuga)*

Hey Tsuga
As for as the Audi wagon goes… my first question is always if you plan to be doing some of the work yourself or if it will always be going to the dealer for repairs…. I think this is where the expense comes in. Always keep in mind that this is an Audi and as a result everything is more expensive on them. Now the plus is that the model years you are looking at has been around for a while now so there are plenty used parts around which definitely helps, trust me. Even if you just do the basic stuff yourself brakes etc you will save yourself some good coin.
The motor choices... As far as I know the 2.8l 30 V in the C5 was a little sluggish, so if you are looking for a car with a little pep that motor will not be for you. Also if you intend to do a little tweaking the 2.8 does not have many options available, unless you start dropping some serious money on it (supercharger kits etc). I do not believe the 2.7T was ever put in the wagon, but I might be wrong, so I would suggest the 4.2. Again assuming you want some pep. The 2.7T did come in the AllRoad so that might be an option, but then you need to keep in mind that the turbos are a major expense so a warrantee would be a must. For the 2.7T here are two docs that cover their pros and cons : http://www.vaglinks.com/Docs/A...Q.pdf
And http://www.vaglinks.com/Docs/A...e.pdf
As for as the Passat goes… Also a great car. I was looking for one of these for a long time and eventually settled on the A4 Avant as I could not find any manual transmissions. It will be cheaper as far as parts go, but not hugely. On the Audis you get the Quattro, so if AWD is important to you, you will have to look for a Passat wagon with 4Motion. Most of those had the 2.8l motors and most have Auto tip tranny. If you want one in Manual you will have to look for a 1.8T with 4Motion and 5-speed. Very rare, but they are out there (this was the one I was looking for). As far as tuning goes, the 2.8 is less tunable than the 1.8, but if this is not something you care about the 2.8 is a rock solid reliable platform. Keep in mind that the timing belt job runs around $1000 on any of these cars so you can potentially use that as a bargaining chip. You can do it yourself for around $400 which will take care of all the stuff to make the motor as good as new. http://www.blauparts.com sell kits and even rents genuine VW tools to make the job as easy as possible.

Hope that helps and doesn’t bring up a lot more questions








Cheers
Massboykie


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## nissan sellout (Apr 9, 2006)

*Re: Thinking of an A6 wagon...what should i look for (tsuga)*

the allroad carries the 2.7t, however ive yet to see a manual transmission in any of them. one guy in my town converted his to a 6 speed though. the adjustable ride height in the allroad requires more maintenance to keep up with and can be very expensive to repair. in general the 2.7t needs a whole lot of maintenance to keep running properly and ive seen alot of people sell their cars for that reason. maybe an a4 avant with a 1.8t manual would suit your needs?


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## Snowhere (Jul 27, 2007)

*Re: Thinking of an A6 wagon...what should i look for (nissan sellout)*

The 2.8 is not that bad. I drive between 8000ft and 10,000ft above sea-level and if anyone would have a problem with the power it would be me. But as long as you are not afraid to downshift the tip, you have enough power to get by. I have no problem passing people on the pass, even up-hill. 
That said your choices are the 2.8 in the A6 avant, or the 4.2 in the S6 avant. I went for the 2.8 as I could find them. If you only have 1 kid, the A4 avant is fine, but the A4 avant is tiny. A outback is bigger then the A4 and a A6 is bigger then an outback. I have 2 kids and a dog, so the A6 avant was the only way to go for me. 
As much as I would not mind the Allroad, I did not want to deal with replacing the turbos. You have to drop the engine and tranny to get to the turbos. I also did not want to deal with the air suspension up here. I have friends with one and they do have trouble with the system in the dead of winter. Things freeze up and there is nothing worse then getting to your car after skiing all day, and being stuck all the way down with no suspension, and since it has been snowing all day, you now get stuck everywhere!


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## tsuga (Oct 2, 2006)

*Re: Thinking of an A6 wagon...what should i look for (Massboykie)*

Thanks for the responces everyone!
as far as repairs, I would probably take it to a dealership/local shop. I would love to have the nowhow, and would be tempted to try stuff, but with no background even changing breaks would scare me.
as far as all wheel drive, its not all that important to me down here, when I lived in Detroit, it would have been a must though!








I'm kinda getting the feeling a Passat would be a better bet? I would love to move up to an Audi though.
As far as engine, I would like to move up to a 6. I love the turbo 1.8 in my Jetta, but its been a while since I've had a 6...(and it sound like as far as repares getting rid of the turbo would be nice, one less thing anyway.)
Not sure if this makes a difference, but I drive about 8k a year...almost ALL city (my commute is 12 miles to work and back...).
thx!


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## Deathbot-b5 (Sep 19, 2006)

*Re: Thinking of an A6 wagon...what should i look for (tsuga)*

I love the size of my wagon and it would be perfect for a family. I have the 2.8 and it is rock solid and has never left me stranded. The passat would be nice but i feel you would be better off with an A6 avant.


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## Massboykie (Aug 15, 2006)

*Re: Thinking of an A6 wagon...what should i look for (nissan sellout)*


_Quote, originally posted by *nissan sellout* »_the allroad carries the 2.7t, however ive yet to see a manual transmission in any of them....

They are definitely out there, but probably rare. I friend of mine has one with the stock 6spd. Not sure what year it is though.
Cheers
Massboykie


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