Purchase question for used Audi for me *

[Fay Kelley]

Wow - great replies ...  Thank everyone

which I was searching I found this site, as an example

A6 92 - 97 full review
http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/1992-to-1997-audi-100-s4-a6-s6-6.htm

A6 98 - 04 full review
http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/1998-to-2004-audi-a6-6.htm

I am a bit concerned about the number of recalls for the 98 A 6 ...
I cannot afford a 2000 right now ....

Does the new owner when they bought the car get a notice to take the care back
to the dealership (having not bought a new car since a new Toyota in 1975) ... ?

I would expect the owner would keep a record of that .....

I'll look at the A4's today on the site.


Kent wrote:
>I'd go with the newer one, but I'd rather have an older
>one with a new t-belt and service history than a newer
>one that lacks history and may need its t-belt replaced.

Okay, records are important then .... sometimes a reason
to buy from a private party who takes pride in taking care
of their car .....

Would anyone on the list buy from a dealer?

I am not talking the previously loved Audis with dealer warranty,
which I cannot afford yet, but say buying an Audi from a non-Audi
dealer?

Or wait til I find a private party with records?

>>Is there a model that is better than the
>>A6 around 97 or 98 ?
>
>Honda Accord? Toyota Camry? :)

Honestly, I live in a small mountain town and there is
a surprising number of car repair problem stories, many
of which I experienced myself ....

I used to work on my
own cars up til they got too complicated for me to fix or
equipment too sophisticated for me to diagnose which has
been about 20 years ....

I went through all sorts of thousands
of dollars wasted on German "specialists" until I found the
N. Scottsdale dealership in Scottsdale.    Even tho it is
a little more to have it fixed, they always do it right, and
loan me a new car to drive no matter how long it takes.

I get good prices on parts when I do small things .... so I
am reticent to not get an Audi because of the peace of mind
of taking it there .... I have to go down to Phoenix to get
my tennis racquets re-strung so as long as the car is drive-able
it is a vacation day for me to get my car fixed and it is fun.

Everyone there in service and parts is wonderful and a real
pleasure to work with .... a huge change from the German import
places in Flagstaff or Sedona ... I have developed a loyalty to them ~

.... I kind of like the comfort and luxury of the 100/A6 line, but wondered
about the A4 ...   within my price range there is probably the A4 and the A6 ...


Grant wrote:
>Well, the 96-97 is the C4 and 98-99 is the C5 - radically different cars.
>
>Within the C4, the 96 is the 12v ( slow) and the 97 is the 30v ( fa, well, uh, less slow)
>
>Neither mileage nor age are as important as whether it has been kept up - t-belt, control arms, etc.

Okay, that is a very good point, others mentioned too.  Thanks!

>IMO, owning both, the C5 is a much nicer car, btu the C4 is "cheaper to keep"

Is that because of the cost of repairs period, or because there were more repairs to make because of recall issues?
Or mileage?  Insurance?   thnX


Grant wrote:
>A well maintained A4 1.8t is among the most practical, has the best mileage, chepest t-belts, fewest suspension failures. etc.

Okay,  I'll look at those.   Plenty in Phoenix to look at.    I would be willing to give up some space (have skate bag, tennis bag, etc., etc., to haul) for better economy ... at least until the economy is better.   I drive one hour each way to Sedona at least twice a week, and once or twice a month to Phoenix and put a lot of miles each year.   Thanks for the suggestion.

>Make sure it was maintained since its a turbo.

Okie.

>Hondas and Toyotas are, of course, more reliable.

I have had a number of them, they were very reliable and easy to fix years ago .... but I have no place now to get them fixed.   And I must say since my hubby introduced me to Audis and we have had many, I am totally addicted to them.   Plus having a place to get them fixed reliably is difficult to pull away from.    When we lived in Minnesota we had great place to get Audis fixed as the owner's wife wouldn't drive anything else ....  :-)


Scott wrote:
>Typically speaking you want to avoid the "first" year for any new model.

Oh, geez, I forgot about that.   Good point.

>So the 96 A6 would be "out". Also stay away from the 12V 2.8 V6 Engine
>in either car; without (or even sometimes with) proper servicing, Stuff
>just breaks. (EGR System gets plugged, requiring a replacement
>intake..or serious work).

Thanks - they didn't mention that age division in the reports.  Glad you brought that up.
I have the '95 A6 so I was hoping for 97 - 99 if I could find a great one I could
afford.

>Either car with the 1.8T is a great engine (thou not as peppy as your
>Non Turbo 5 cylinder).

I would hate to have less performance than my 95 A6, but then if I had
great gas mileage that might sooth the pain, LOL.

>If the cars are the in the same condition and you can prove that the TB
>service has been done, I'd get the newer one as the rubber bits on the
>car are just that much newer.

that's what my hubby said ... get the newer one.    I just wanted to be
sure about the recall situation as the 98's have a lot things that could
go wrong ... the windshield leak at the roof line and some other mechanical
things sounded worrisome.

>HTH. & Good Luck

Yes it does, a lot!   ThanX


Vittorio wrote:

> I've chipped both my 1.8T's - brings it to another level and
>still very drivable, power is there when you want it...

How did you "chip it" to improve the performance?



Thanks everyone for all of your detail info .... really helped me to eliminate some autos ~

Thank goodness I'll be able to get a newer car with less problems that have to put good money after bad into my poor A6 ... I am always sad tho when I have to get rid of one of my Audis .... It has been a wonderful car.

Fay