hi everyone,

i am in the market for a car and have been looking at an 2000 A6 quattro with 92k (asking $7800). i believe its the 2.8L engine.

the seller told me he has changed the rear brakes and the front ones probably need to be changed. other then that, he claims to have had no problems.

is there anything i should look out for? i heard that the timing belt and water pump should be changed around the 100k mark or so?

im a noob when it comes to cars especially audis

any help would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT: there is also a 2001 A4 quattro 2.8L with 72k miles for a little bit more too (asking $8900). which would you guys recommend?

thanks in advance!

 

Older Audis, like women past a certain age, may need a lot of unexpected fixing up and cosmetic work. You're looking at $1000-1500 for the complete timing belt job and it needs to be done soon if you are at 92k. You should also get the vehicle inspected by someone who knows Audis because suspension or transmission (or engine) work will cost you dearly. There's a reason the owner is selling or traded it.

Drive both the A4 and the A6. There is a noticeable interior and trunk size difference. Don't expect explosive performance from either. Gas mileage on the A4 may be a little better because it is 300-400 lbs lighter.

Caveat emptor. You're looking at 8-9 year old cars.

 

$1000-1500? dang! im almost leaning towards the A4 since i am still a college student and not going to the pump as much would help. the A4 has also been dealer maintained so hopefully i can get a maintenance record to make sure everything is ok.

thanks!

 

I am selling m A6 it is a 4.2 though. You mentioned you were looking at the 2.8
If you are intersted I am in NY area and I am posting the link to one of my ads

http://https://www.audiforums.com/fo...d.php?t=124418

You can see by my description all the maintenance has been done.
JOHN

 

So as a student who's a neofite when it comes to cars period, you are willing to spend $ 7800-8900 on a car that would require soon enough a $ 1000-1500 timing belt job, which number itself scares you.

I am not caustic, and of course I'm not one of your parents (plus is not any of my business -I agree), but I would say you should buy yourself a $ 1500-2000 running car that would get you through the college years, and save the rest of money to pay back existing or to prevent you from getting more loans.

Then again it is your money (unless you got some inheritance, or is your parents' money), but living beyond your means is not very... cost effective (not to say it isn't very smart).

What's your field of study?

 

x2

Don't live past your means. The A6 needs it timing belt changed NOW and the A4 withing 10k miles or so, so basically a year. Your young and in school, don't waste all your money on a car. Go out and have fun with it, enjoy your "free" time before you grow up, get old and drive and Audi (ha ha). Seriously. But I suppose when I was your age I was buy Saabs. Wish I hadn't, but what the hell they were fun.

 

I bought my 2000 A6 2.8 5-6 months ago. It had about 60k miles. I had only driven it 3-4 days when my timing belt broke and needed to be changed.

I did the work myself and paid around $500 for all of the parts so it wasn't to bad.

But if you are going to buy either of them, don't waite! Listen to these guys and just change the belt and everything else (water pump, thermostat, seals, ect.) so you won;t run into unexpected probelms down the road!

 

i am actually a graduating masters student with a decent paying job so im ready to enjoy the luxury of an Audi

im also single so ive been going out and enjoying myself plenty! lol

the only reason why a $1000-1500 timing belt job scares me is because ive heard they are only $700-800.

im still on the fence between the A4 and A6. the A4 is newer and would cost more, but im trying to talk the A6 guy in giving me a good price since work needs to be done including changing of the front brakes and an oxygen sensor problem which set off the check engine light.

any ideas on how much this would cost? maybe i can use it a bargaining tool to get him to lower the price.

 

we're just checking your "pulse"... lol
It's great you have the means to back up your purchasing impetus.

Back to the car... If you purchase your own parts, most Audi dealers will still charge $ 500 (at least) to do the TB/water pump/T-stat job for you. I don't know how much an Indie shop would charge for a similar service. nevertheless, by the time you purchase the parts + paying the dealer to do the job for you, you still look in the $ 800-1000 ballpark.

An oxygen sensor costs in excess of 100 dollars. You can find cheaper "universal" ones with open-end wiring, but then of course you have to do perform the connective fitting on your own. You never know if the shops replace the O2 sensors with OEM ones, or with just "universal" type ones but charge you as much as using the OEMs...
It is better to do the replacement on your own when looking to save a buck; if you don't care, "let the professionals screw up the car"

As far as the brakes, probably even replacing only the brake pads would make your pockets lighter by at least $ 250. Guys who have had the brakes done at a dealer might be able to tell you exactly what you should expect.

Good luck with your forseen purchase and...congrats on the upcoming graduation.

Welcome into the Audi "family".

 

thanks for the warm welcome and all your input so far everyone. i have a feeling i will love this community

i looked closer at the A6 and its actually a 2.7T while the A4 is 2.8L. correct me if im wrong, but the non turbo is more reliable correct?