A6 diesel engines

Trojan · 20-10-2018 7:57am #1

I’m looking at 2007-2010 A6 diesel automatic as my next cruiser. There seems to be 3 engine sizes, 2.0, 2.7 & 3.0. There could be other variations in there too.

Are there any of these significantly better or worse than the others? Anything else I should look out for on these?

(All else being equal I’m looking at getting a post 2008 2.0.)

tossy · 20-10-2018 8:34am

If you can get one with a decent service history and post 08 tax the pick of the bunch is an automatic quattro 3.0.

The 2.0 TDI suffers from problems with oil pump failing.
The manual gearbox in these cars is generally a good box but the Automatic gearbox in the 2.0TDI FWD versions is also prone to trouble.
The auto boxes on the quattro versions is a different type of box and generally much more reliable.

A car like that i would buy on mileage and service history - not price, most examples for sale now will be leggy and poorly maintained, there was a facelift in 2011 which is a far better car the auto boxes were improved and no issues with oil pumps.

Trojan · 20-10-2018 8:57am

tossy wrote: »

If you can get one with a decent service history and post 08 tax the pick of the bunch is an automatic quattro 3.0.

The 2.0 TDI suffers from problems with oil pump failing.
The manual gearbox in these cars is generally a good box but the Automatic gearbox in the 2.0TDI FWD versions is also prone to trouble.
The auto boxes on the quattro versions is a different type of box and generally much more reliable.

A car like that i would buy on mileage and service history - not price, most examples for sale now will be leggy and poorly maintained, there was a facelift in 2011 which is a far better car the auto boxes were improved and no issues with oil pumps.

Thanks for the detail, much appreciated.

The 2011+ will be out of my price range. Should I be looking elsewhere with a 3-4K budget? Is there anything here that is worth considering? https://www.donedeal.ie/cars?sort=price%20desc&bodyType=Cabriolet&bodyType=Coupe&bodyType=Saloon&bodyType=Hatchback&bodyType=Estate&bodyType=SUV&country=Ireland&transmission=Automatic&fuelType=Diesel&make=Audi;model:A5,A6,A7,A8&year_from=2007&price_from=1000&engine_to=3&price_to=4800&engine_from=1.9&alertId=673351&saved

bazz26 · 20-10-2018 2:36pm

I'd say you will even struggle to get a 2009 onwards facelift model on that budget unless it's got mega mileage on it. If I was going 2.0 litre then I'd go with the manual as the multitronic gearbox was never known for being reliable.

Another thing with the pre 2009 facelift 2.0 litre models that 2.0 litre PD engine has known issues with the oil pump balance shaft so look for evidence that it was replaced at some stage.

This 2.0 litre looks tidy:
https://www.carsireland.ie/detail.php?ad_id=2115031&r=s.php%3Fm%3D7%26o%3D45%26r%3D2008%26pp%3D50%26g%3D0

Or if you don't mind the high motor tax then this 2.7 litre:
https://www.carsireland.ie/detail.php?ad_id=2123409&r=s.php%3Fm%3D7%26o%3D45%26r%3D2007%26pp%3D50%26g%3D0

And a 3.0litre:
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/audi-a6-2008/19984149

GreeBo · 20-10-2018 7:04pm

How long ate you gong to keep it?
Wouldn't a 2009 pay for itself tax wise in a few years?
I have 2009 2.0 tdi sline import and it's a lovely car

Trojan · 23-10-2018 1:19am

I thought I'd be waiting to change cars until after I saw how the the NCT on the 9-5 went next month, but it decided otherwise today and left me looking for a tow-truck again.

So I bought a 2008 3.0L auto diesel quattro like the last one listed above. Very good service history, single owner car, with good premium tyres which I read as a good sign. The tax bill is a bit more pricey than the 2.0t petrol but that'll be more than offset by VAT savings.

Thanks for the help here.

Trojan · 23-10-2018 8:51pm

Lovely to drive. We'll see how it goes!

GreeBo · 23-10-2018 9:19pm

Looks tasty, nice rims.

Well wear.

tossy · 23-10-2018 9:59pm

Fine car, well wear.

Trojan · 01-06-2021 11:05am

Just posting an update on this one. I bought this in Oct 2018. It had ~290,000km. 3.0L auto Quattro and cost €3750.

It's just passed the NCT again with 380,000km on the clock and is going strong.

It's had a few services, consumables like a couple sets of tyres (Sports Contact this time, RainSport 3 the first time), and brake pads. I don't know if a control arm on the front counts as a consumable, but apart from that, it's had zero issues - touch wood!

So thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread and especially for pointing me at the 3.0L.

Trojan · 12-06-2023 12:40pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117319312#Comment_117319312

412,000km and it looks like the ECU has packed in. Don't think it's worth replacing - I will take any advice on that, but I understand it's a €1.5-2k job and not guaranteed to work.

I got nearly 5 years and 120,000km from it, so definitely got my money's worth.

Looking for a budget ~200bhp+ automatic, ideally leather & good sound system (if you think that's impossible, see above). Not sure if I need diesel any more - I'm doing 26km twice a day, mostly 20-50km/h. That's around 15,000 per year with the occasional longer spin.

Any recommendations? Nearer Sligo the better!

_Kaiser_ · 12-06-2023 10:44pm

My 2010 3.0 TDI Quattro A6 S-Line LeMans ran like a train till it got to about 410,000km - started giving intermittent oil pressure warnings and going into limp mode and with the age and mileage it wasn't worth the effort/expense to sort - everything else though... the electrics, the toys etc all worked flawlessly and people would regularly comment that it didn't look or feel like a (then) 11 year old car with starship mileage.

The 2012 3L TDI Quattro S-Line A7 that's replaced it has 160k km on it now (120k when I bought it 2 years ago) and is likewise perfect - but I service them as needed or when due and they spend most of their lives cruising up and down the motorways so they have a relatively easy life!

But.. for all that, I do miss my A6 sometimes. I may have to break my 2-by-2 car buying next time and just get the A8 I've been threatening to for years now - especially given that the spec on A6s is even harder to get now since Brexit.

User1998 · 12-06-2023 11:09pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120704753#Comment_120704753

I replaced an ECU on a 2010 VW Golf for around €350. Why would an A6 cost so much more?

Buy a second hand ECU and get a good auto electrician to program it to the car?

mk7r · 13-06-2023 12:53am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120707446#Comment_120707446

Audi use something called component protection that basically makes it so a new virgin part (Ecu, cluster, even the heater controls) will marry to the car one time and thats it, even Audi cant program a used ecu, its a very different prospect than doing it on a VW

newmember2 · 13-06-2023 1:12am

You can code around CP afaik.

Trojan · 13-06-2023 6:14am

I took my mechanic's word that it would cost north of €1500 for the part(s) and labour, and is not guaranteed to work. I have also read some people's experiences where it seems to be not that simple. This is well outside my wheelhouse, but if anyone can point me to a competent auto electrician who has experience of doing this successfully, I'd be willing to give it a shot if it makes sense. It's a stretch at €1500 for a 400k 15-year-old car, even if it is a good one.

Plan 'A' is still to find a replacement car.

mk7r · 13-06-2023 2:30pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120707786#Comment_120707786

You can't code around it but some people have had limited success in virginising some second hand parts, definitely not commonplace though

Trojan · 14-06-2023 12:53pm

It's not worth the risk when I can spend 2X the money and get a replacement with nearly half the mileage.

Should I be looking at petrol too? I'm doing 26km twice a day, mostly 20-50km/h. That's around 15,000 per year with the occasional longer spin.

Trojan · 26-06-2023 11:53pm

What are these like? Anything specific to look at?

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/mercedes-benz-cls-320-cdi-coupe/34341420

User1998 · 27-06-2023 12:10am

You’d want to have deep pockets buying a 16 year old Mercedes

bazz26 · 27-06-2023 12:44am

The CLS is basically an E Class in a fancier dress. You can see the rot has set in on the bottom of the passenger side rear door and wheel arch. And that's only what you can see in photos. Unfortunately an all too common issue on Mercs of that vintage.

What about a Lexus GS300?

Trojan · 27-06-2023 1:36am

Open to it. Haven’t set anything in stone so I’ll consider anything right now. Must be auto 200bhp+ and have working AC 😀

Trojan · 27-06-2023 9:07pm

Having a look - a couple of GS300 and IS250 here. Anything the pick of these?

A6 diesel engines

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