A7 purchase advice

dodzy

Hi folks,

I've a budget of approx 20K and I've always been keen on the A7 so looking at taking the plunge. Will probably head across the water but i'll obviously keep an eye out here too. Looking around 2012(ish) - Sline / Auto / with bells and whistles. Really just looking for anyone who has one and their thoughts on ownership/driving and those boardsies in the maintenance / sales arena, any achilles heel to be worried about or particular versions to steer clear from ? I know that the 3 versions 201/215 & 242BHP will obviously have different VRT and motor tax rates. I'll probably sit on the 215BHP (not sure if its €280 per annum) but if I see a really nice 242BHP then screw the tax; 570€ per annum will not be a deal breaker for me. So, owners, how do you find them in general ?
Many thanks

cpoh1

Bizarre that you would spend 20k on a car with a 3L engine that likes a drink, will depreciate quite a bit in the coming years and costs a lot to maintain compared to your average shopping cart but are looking at tax as a purchase consideration.

The €290 difference between the 215 and the 242 is the price of a tyre on these yet the difference in drive and spec is light years.

dodzy

cpoh1 wrote: »

Bizarre that you would spend 20k on a car with a 3L engine that likes a drink, will depreciate quite a bit in the coming years and costs a lot to maintain compared to your average shopping cart but are looking at tax as a purchase consideration.

The €290 difference between the 215 and the 242 is the price of a tyre on these yet the difference in drive and spec is light years.

I did say that it was not a show stopper.....and I cannot see how drive and spec can be “light years apart” with a difference of less than 30bhp Thanks for your input anyway.

bazz26

I don't own one but this is my 2c.

215bhp is low for a 3 litre 6 cylinder engine in this age and the A7 is a big heavy car so definitely should consider the higher powered ones even if you have to drop back a year to keep within budget imo. Quattro should also be considered as a must have imo for a few reasons, 1. The non quattro version is front wheel drive, this combined with a big heavy v6 diesel engine under the bonnet makes the A6/A7 very nose heavy. 2. Quattro versions are also much better to drive and have superior grip making the car more planted on the road. 3. With the quattro you also get the superior S Tronic gearbox. The non quattro versions come with the older multitronic CVT gearbox which can have a jerky feel when shifting gears. There is also a 313bhp bi-turbo but I'd say they are outside your budget.

So for me, the more powerful quattro would be the recommendation.

dodzy

bazz26 wrote: »

I don't own one but this is my 2c.

215bhp is low for a 3 litre 6 cylinder engine in this age and the A7 is a big heavy car so definitely should consider the higher powered ones even if you have to drop back a year to keep within budget imo. Quattro should also be considered as a must have imo for a few reasons, 1. The non quattro version is front wheel drive, this combined with a big heavy v6 diesel engine under the bonnet makes the A6/A7 very nose heavy. 2. Quattro versions are also much better to drive and have superior grip making the car more planted on the road. 3. With the quattro you also get the superior S Tronic gearbox. The non quattro versions come with the older multitronic CVT gearbox which can have a jerky feel when shifting gears. There is also a 313bhp bi-turbo but I'd say they are outside your budget.

So for me, the more powerful quattro would be the recommendation.

Thanks for the feedback Bazz, I was hoping you'd chime in. In terms of reliability, have you heard anything good/bad ? The A6 was also on my radar with the 3.0 block; I could come up a year on my budget too for a high specced car but there's just something about the shape of the A7. Seems more agressive.:)

bazz26

If your heart is set on an A7 then your not going to be happy with an A6 despite both sharing a lot of DNA.

Regarding reliability, I'm not an Audi head so cannot really offer much in the way of delving into details on common problems but from an outsider looking in you don't hear much around major problems. I'll let people with more experience of the brand talk about that. Of course irrespective of that you still need to keep in mind with any premium car can come the risk of premium repair and maintenance costs.

wcooba

I have the facelift A7 - 218PS FWD version. I don't really miss quattro to be honest - I don't think it's necessary in our climate. A7 is very well planted car but it's not a sports car - I don't think anyone will be driving it on the grip limit & whole "quattro is better to drive" argument is rather theoretical. It's motorway cruiser rather than a track car

Although pre-facelift FWD models come with multitronic (CVT) gearbox - I would avoid them.

Regarding reliability - i have this car for almost two years now and zero problems so far. It's still quite new car though and regularly services with the main dealer. In general newer generation of Audi V6 is rather reliable - I haven't heard any horror stories. Of course it's not an engine suitable for short journey use.

Re. maintenance cost - it is proportional to car's class. Set of tyres will set you back 1 grand. Engine's oil capacity is 10l. etc...

cpoh1

dodzy wrote: »

I did say that it was not a show stopper.....and I cannot see how drive and spec can be “light years apart” with a difference of less than 30bhp Thanks for your input anyway.

fwd v 4wd
Mutitronic (a must to avoid) v s tronic
15% extra power (from experience you will notice it)
lots of extra kit differences

Just dont understand why you would look at a car at this value and spec and sacrifice the above for a couple of hundred quid on tax is all. At the end of the day its an expensive car to maintain and the tax difference is small money.

kirving

cpoh1 wrote: »

At the end of the day its an expensive car to maintain and the tax difference is small money.

Like it or not, very many people, including someone who may buy this car next, justify the purchase to themselves by saying that the tax is cheaper on the new car.

For me, I changed to a car which ended up being over €500 cheaper to Tax per year. That's a months payment plus a basic service which can't be ignored.

In the OP's case, it might be around €300, but if you keep the car a few years, the lower tax may be the only thing that's slowing the already heavy depreciation.

Blazer

Kevin Irving wrote: »

Like it or not, very many people, including someone who may buy this car next, justify the purchase to themselves by saying that the tax is cheaper on the new car.

For me, I changed to a car which ended up being over €500 cheaper to Tax per year. That's a months payment plus a basic service which can't be ignored.

In the OP's case, it might be around €300, but if you keep the car a few years, the lower tax may be the only thing that's slowing the already heavy depreciation.

If you take that mindset then you’d be better off getting the 2 litre version. However most of us would plumb for the 3litre generally due to it being a more reliable engine due to 6 cylinders etc. I went for the 3 litre 525d Bmw but always regretted not going for the 530/535d for the extra power. It’s still faster than most cars but we don’t buy 3 litre cars for cheap tax and economy

wcooba

cpoh1 wrote: »

lots of extra kit differences

The amount of kit doesn't depend on it being FWD or AWD. It depends on the trim level (SE or S-line), model year and amount of extra options original owner has ticked?

Agreed that multitronic should be avoided though.

kirving

Blazer wrote: »

If you take that mindset then you’d be better off getting the 2 litre version. However most of us would plumb for the 3litre generally due to it being a more reliable engine due to 6 cylinders etc. I went for the 3 litre 525d Bmw but always regretted not going for the 530/535d for the extra power. It’s still faster than most cars but we don’t buy 3 litre cars for cheap tax and economy

Agreed, I'd really prefer the 3L too for all the reasons listed above. While the total cost of ownership isn't orders of magnitude more than the 2L, the €300 tax is only the beginning, and it's very understandable why potential future buyers may be put off.

GustavoFring

Personally I think if anything the fact it was the lower powered FWD version is more likely to result in increased depreciation on a car like an A7.

dodzy

All this talk of 2.0. That was not an option put on the table:)

What about a 4.0 Grand coupe beemer ?:D