New A6 Avant

MICKEYG

I am thinking of taking the plunge and buying a German car (a 2-3 old version of the current model). I always buy an estate so it is the E-Class estate, 5 series touring or A6 Avant. I love the avant. I also noticed how low the CO2 emmissiond are on the 3 litre version. I don't do many miles (8k Max per year) but am planning onbkeeping car for a long time so wondering sshould I go with the 3 litre?

Thoughts appreciated.

lomb

horses for courses. The day you buy a car is the day you sell it though. It could be written off, stolen, or you may need something else suitable-lower running costs, more power more seats , more or less storage, easier parking, lower tax ,different colour, something more reliable if yours gives trouble etc.
The 3l tdi would be the way forward if you can afford it,the 2l tdi is nice but there isnt enough power if you are used to it.

CianRyan

Not ideal for that mileage though, what kind of driving Are you doing? City/town stuff?
That's not great for a diesel engine.
Take a look at the petrol alternatives to save you the cost of repairs.

MICKEYG

CianRyan wrote: »

Not ideal for that mileage though, what kind of driving Are you doing? City/town stuff?
That's not great for a diesel engine.
Take a look at the petrol alternatives to save you the cost of repairs.

Mostly city driving with the odd long motorway trip to Kerry. I plan on keeping it a long while so want to spoil myself.

CianRyan

City stuff isn't great for modern diesels, you'd want to be doing a lot more long motorway blasts to keep it healthy.
You could save big time by buying a 3.0 petrol and converting it to LPG. Big savings over petrol, and the money you'd save going for the petrol you'd get the conversion done.
If there's a filling station near by it'd be a no brainer for me.


Loads of LPG threads on here to look through.

Edit: You could even go for an S car. :

sneakymidnite

For the same money you could buy a brand new top of the range Superb estate. That'd be my choice if I had that kind of cash to spend.

tossy

sneakymidnite wrote: »

For the same money you could buy a brand new top of the range Superb estate. That'd be my choice if I had that kind of cash to spend.

Unless the Superb is the 3.6 V6 then there would be no competition between it and a 3.0 A6. Last year i drove a new 2.0TDI superb from Kildare to Belfast and back and then got into my 2001 A4 again and i didn't miss the superb one bit,loads of toys but dull and powerless.

sneakymidnite

tossy wrote: »

Unless the Superb is the 3.6 V6 then there would be no competition between it and a 3.0 A6. Last year i drove a new 2.0TDI superb from Kildare to Belfast and back and then got into my 2001 A4 again and i didn't miss the superb one bit,loads of toys but dull and powerless.

Maybe so but OP doesn't drive much! The 170bhp 2.0 isn't what I'd call "powerless".

tossy

sneakymidnite wrote: »

Maybe so but OP doesn't drive much! The 170bhp 2.0 isn't what I'd call "powerless".

I don't think the one i had was 170bhp,i think it was 140,however 30 bhp isn't going to swing the deal over a 3.0 A6.

sneakymidnite

tossy wrote: »

I don't think the one i had was 170bhp,i think it was 140,however 30 bhp isn't going to swing the deal over a 3.0 A6.

E350 CDI then, bigger and better than the overpriced Skoda (Audi)

tossy

sneakymidnite wrote: »

E350 CDI then, bigger and better than the overpriced Skoda (Audi)

It was you who recommended the OP blow his money on a brand new Top o' the range (diesel) skoda remember

CianRyan

Ah sure if we're throwing all sorts around, OP might as well buy a Stagea GTR.
Cheaper, more powerful and much rarer.


:rolleyes:

Bobo78

Nissan Tida?

Sobanek

You could try a bit older BMW 530i E60 Touring - it's got the N52 unit which I hear are alright with LPG. (Especially Landi Renzo - it will be more expensive to install however, and not sure what the availability is like here)

Diesel will give you more issues than you can imagine with mileage this low.

Bobo78 wrote: »

Nissan Tida?

Leave. Now.

Bobo78

:D:D:D

Matt Simis

sneakymidnite wrote: »

For the same money you could buy a brand new top of the range Superb estate. That'd be my choice if I had that kind of cash to spend.

Good god whats wrong with you? I thought (hoped) we left the "Skoda is always the answer" notion behind in 2012.

galwaytt

Matt Simis wrote: »

Good god whats wrong with you? I thought (hoped) we left the "Skoda is always the answer" notion behind in 2012.

....not at all, sure isn't there a new Octavia out now - that'll keep them at the top of the charts for another 7 years or so.........

ironclaw

RS6. You know you want to! Debadge it and you got yourself the ultimate 'drop the kids to school' Wolf in Sheep's Clothing.

MadYaker

You will have a hard job finding and V6 petrol A6 avants in this country.

RedorDead

As an alternative to a petrol A6 Avant, what about this beaut i saw today.

Guy that bought this just traded it in for an S5 Cabriolet. Legend!

http://www.beepbeep.ie/used-cars/car-details.html?car=69663_1517025

MICKEYG

Thanks for the feedback folks. In summary this is what I think;
- I am a snob but I really want a nice comfortable German car to keep for around 10 years
- The 2.0 litre is perfect for the urban driving I normally do
- The 3.0 litre' although almost as cheap to run, would not like the urban driving I do and this may in fact cause it problems.
- The 3.0 litre would be best for motorway cruising but I do this only 4-5 times a year (with 3-4 of those trips being under 100km)

Some reviews on-line say the 2.0 litre is noisier than the 3.0 litre and also has more wind noise too when cruising. Could this be true?

CianRyan

You talking about petrol or diesel?
(Forget diesel, you don't do the miles)

MICKEYG

CianRyan wrote: »

You talking about petrol or diesel?
(Forget diesel, you don't do the miles)

Diesel due to low VRT (I will most likely import) and low annual tax (doesn't change no matter how many miles you do).

Would petrol versions be that much cheaper to negate the VRT/Tax impacts?

CianRyan

MICKEYG wrote: »

Diesel due to low VRT (I will most likely import) and low annual tax (doesn't change no matter how many miles you do).

Would petrol versions be that much cheaper to negate the VRT/Tax impacts?

The diesel will just have a hard life and die on it's ass with those miles, you'll end up with huge bills that will wipe out and savings.
Save yourself the hassle and just go petrol.

And I would fully condone a diesel if you did the miles for it but you said it yourself, town driving and only on the motorway properly 4 or 5 times a year, you'd be asking for trouble.

Matt Simis

MICKEYG wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback folks. In summary this is what I think;
- I am a snob but I really want a nice comfortable German car to keep for around 10 years
- The 2.0 litre is perfect for the urban driving I normally do
- The 3.0 litre' although almost as cheap to run, would not like the urban driving I do and this may in fact cause it problems.
- The 3.0 litre would be best for motorway cruising but I do this only 4-5 times a year (with 3-4 of those trips being under 100km)

Some reviews on-line say the 2.0 litre is noisier than the 3.0 litre and also has more wind noise too when cruising. Could this be true?

What do you mean the "3.0litre wont like the urban"? Neither the 2.0 or the 3.0 TDI are suitable for slow, short urban trips. Neither is worse or better, a small and light petrol (ie City car class) is what would be tangibly better.

But who cares, just buy the vastly better 3.0TDI and be happy. Its definitely going to sound and drive better than the 2.0TDI, which is there as the frugal option (which again without the milage is a moot point for you).

PS: Each month you will need one 20min +100kph trip if you go with a Diesel to keep the DPF ok (and generally better for the car). Highlighting, again, Diesels are not designed for your usage.