12th Jul 2010, 01:39

I own a 2001 Audi A6 2.8 and can't complain too much about the car. I bought it at 89000 miles and am just about to pass the 115 mark.

My only problems came from a blown alternator (which also caused me to replace the battery), and now a smell of burned oil. I am intimidated about going to a dealer because of the cost (being in college), but I do have an independent mechanic that I will have look at the car.

Otherwise it is very reliable and predictable. I think it depends on how the car was driven and how it was maintained, because mine is still beautiful and even with the leak, I couldn't be happier with the car.

25th Sep 2010, 19:36

Currently, I have 176000 miles on my A6 Avant 2.8. I love this car, bought it used with close to 80000 on it. Usual stuff, but now have to contemplate a second timing chain and water pump! Started looking at used A6 Avants 2004 or younger, and found mine was in better shape! Any advice is welcome.

21st Nov 2010, 20:07

I own two Audi A6 2.7T Quattro 2001. One I bought one new in 2000, the other used at around 60,000 miles. I am now retired and can spend time roaming the web whenever I have a problem. My advice based on my experience:

1- If you do not have time to investigate yourself each problem, be prepared to pay an arm and a leg for maintenance/repair. But, if you have plenty of time:

2- Get the tool to be able to read and reset the fault codes by A- spending about $15 for a USB-OBD2 VAG-COM cable (for example on eBay) and B- Loading on a PC the free VCDS-Lite software from Ross-Tech (http://www.ross-tech.com/products.html). Use the web site http://www.bentleypublishers.com/tech/audi/audi.dtc.table.htm to get more information on the codes.

3- Research each fault you have on the web using the code. There is a lot of information out there.

4- Locate a good Audi A6 mechanic at an Audi dealer or an independent garage. Talk to him/her directly, bypassing service managers, to figure out whether the problem is serious and what is the best approach to a fix.

5- Shop around for a good price quote for the fix.

6- Consider buying the official repair manual on a CD-ROM: Bentley Repair Manuals (http://www.bentleypublishers.com/audi/repair-information/audi-a6-repair-manual-1998-2004-c5-ebahn.html)

Each car is very comfortable, safe on the snow and get reasonably good gas mileage (22.4 miles per gallon, my average on the freeway, the same for both cars). Despite all the problems, I recently did buy a new Audi A4 AWT 2011 Avant. I guess I am infected by the Audi virus.

23rd Nov 2010, 17:44

I purchased a 2001 Audi A6 2.7 Quattro in 2004 with about 40k miles on it. I've been very pleased with the vehicle. I would echo the previous post about purchasing a Bentley service manual. I've found that I can get most any part needed for my Audi through my local O'Reilly Auto Parts store since it is 100 miles to the closest Audi dealer. I've successfully diagnosed most of the smaller issues. I now have about 99k on the vehicle. I've replaced the gasket seals, aux water pump and an alternator, but otherwise it's a great car, and not too bad to work on.

24th Nov 2010, 19:19

I own a 2001 A6 Q 2.8 that I bought new. It has 179,000 miles on it and I can't really complain about the car. It has been the best car I have owned.

I have read all the problems on this forum and I have to say I guess I have been lucky. I have replaced the timing belt twice and the last time my local mechanic told me that if the top oil leak gets worse, I would need to replace the cam seals and valve cover gaskets. This was at about 170,000 miles. I am starting to smell burning oil so I guess it is time to do this. Not happy about $1,500 to do repair, but it is a lot less money that buying a new car, especially since this one runs really great.

5th Jan 2011, 13:32

I sold my 2001 Audi A6 4.2L Quattro about 7 weeks ago, but I miss it dearly. Only had 153,000 kms (95000 miles?). I'm now looking for an A4 or a smaller-engined A6 of around the same year to use as a winter vehicle, and hopefully keep for a few years.

For those who are worried about maintenance - yes, it can be expensive. If you don't already have a mechanic you can trust, find one BEFORE you need a service. I do some work myself, but generally turn to my local import mechanic for diagnostic stuff.

My 4.2 A6 wasn't cheap by any standard definition, but I feel that it was pretty reliable. Right before I got it used, it had about $3000 worth of engine work (ignition coils for the V8, new intake manifold, and finally replaced one catalytic converter - it turns out that the plugged catalytic converter was the real culprit, but took the other $2500 to figure out what it WASN'T). I'm glad that the big repair bills ended up in someone else's hands, but a lot of that comes in being careful what you buy (I paid $150 for a full pre-sale inspection at my local Audi dealer), as well as doing regular maintenance, and noticing when something doesn't feel/sound right when driving it. (CV joints, for example, can affect the steering as well as having audible symptoms.)

I wouldn't say that Audi is as reliable as Honda or Toyota, but they are far nicer to drive. I would extend that to most Acura/Lexus cars, and when comparing used cars in the same price range, the Audis are far nicer. (My Mom wanted to trade me her 2007 Honda Civic for my 2001 A6, and I found it more comfortable than our 2006 Acura TL). Fully loaded means a lot more on the Audi as well - auto-dimming mirrors with heated sides and memory-link to the driver's seat memory (3 memory settings on each of the front seats), heated steering wheel, heated front and back seats, power sunshade in rear window, manual retractable sunshades in rear door windows, Bose Premium sound system with matched Subwoofer (6-CD Changer), and Audi DVD/GPS navigation system (this one was a little outdated, but worked well in one of the cities I lived in, though not nearly as nice as the newer touch-screen systems.))

For those who like the look and feel of the Audis, I would recommend buying one that doesn't stretch your wallet for the purchase price, and save some of the money you're planning to spend for maintenance, because it will be pricey. Good luck!