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Last post on Dec 26, 2012 at 7:05 AM
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Audi A6 Forum.
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Audi A6, Sedan
#3591 of 6920 Confessions of a used Audi owner.
by dreamcatcher
Feb 12, 2003 (6:44 pm)
Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa...I confess...I am not wealthy enough to own a used Audi... nor am I an engineer or a German mechanic. However, last month I did refinance my house and took out a home equity loan...so I might be able to keep the car (1996 A6 wagon) for another year if I don't add new windshield wipers. I accept the full chastisement I received after my post of February 2 (#3573). However, I am still curious about a solution to my headlight concern (when the key is shut off, the headlights and radio go off...but the parking lights remain on). Am I missing some hidden switch? Is it possible to re-wire the light switch so that the parking lights also go off? I humbly thank any readers who will offer sustenance.
Feb 13, 2003 (7:34 am)
Volkswagen/Audi in Massive Recall
More than 850,000 Volkswagen and Audi vehicles --
about 530,000 sedans and hatchbacks sold in the
U.S. alone -- are being recalled for a faulty
ignition coil. Volkswagen announced the recall last
week, noting that the problem could cause spark
plug failure and rough running, which is usually
indicated by the vehicle's "Check Engine" light.
Most of the cars affected carry the VW corporate
1.8-liter turbo four (which includes the Audi A4
and TT coupe; the VW Golf, GTI, Jetta, New Beetle
and Passat), the 2.8-liter VR6 and the 3.0-liter
V6 engines, as well as the VW Passat's W8.
#3593 of 6920 Headlights, milage and money
by markcincinnati
Feb 13, 2003 (8:13 am)
I know of no hidden switch. If the headlights are on in this model and the key is turned off, only the headlights go off -- the parking lights stay on.
Now, having said that, it is at least possible that something could be done to make what you want to happen happen. But, unless you are willing to shell out a few bucks for someone who knows what they are doing and will fix it if they screw something up, well I guess you'll have to live with this "feature."
My "head service tech" has a 1985 (or '86) 4000CS quattro (5cyl engine, manual tranny, etc.) approaching, he said, 200,000 miles. If I had the courage to try this, well perhaps then I could afford a used Audi. With the way things seem to go with respect to repair costs, however, I am certain I would lose much sleep wondering if and when there would be a multi-thousand dollar repair bill coming.
Perhaps we should have a contest -- unofficial of course -- to see who has the highest milage Audi and what costs have been incurred to achieve such miles on the od.
My service guy says -- fluid changes, fluid changes, fluid changes -- and timing belt every 60,000 miles (no matter what).
OK, I've now got 6000 miles on my 03 allroad.
My wife has 3500 miles on her 03 TT.
Hardly a record, but it is a start!
Feb 14, 2003 (3:50 pm)
I recently purchased a 2003 A6 3.0 quattro sedan, and I love the car. I traded in my 2000 BMW 323CI because of the several problems I had with it. I was nervous about getting into another German vehicle, but I love the way German cars look and drive. Now I see that Audi has recalled many cars for faulty ignition coil. Should I be worried and go ahead bring it in to be checked, or should I wait for something to go wrong before I bring it in? I've had my car for two weeks, and I haven't received any information about a recall. I talked to my Audi dealership and was told that there were only problems with early 2003 models, but my car was OK. I don't know who to listen to, the dealership or the posts on Edmunds? Can someone help?
Thank you, and drive safely.
#3595 of 6920 Worried New Owner
by timcar
Feb 14, 2003 (7:15 pm)
I wouldn't worry too much. Evidently, a particular VW/Audi supplier of ignition coils used plastic insulation that can become brittle with too much heat and fail. I suspect that as is normally the case with such things, the majority of such ignition coils won't fail, but that the percentage that might fail threatens too much liability not to issue a recall.
It's possible that VW/Audi may have changed suppliers during a model run, or the supplier may have upgraded the part. The dealer should know this, but if you're skeptical, I'd call AoA determine if a portion of the model run is unaffected, and assure your car falls within that portion.
My wife's '01 A4 1.8T is also affected by the recall, but as of now, she's got close to 50K on it without that issue. (Knock-on-wood.)
#3596 of 6920 Audis and "battery jumping"
by dpedersen1
Feb 14, 2003 (11:20 pm)
Hmm .. OH well, so much for being the nice guy. Thanks for the advice. As for the Audi and miles and Costs .... 5200 miles - costs? $0.00 It is way way fun! (2002 A6 2.7T)
#3597 of 6920 Audi A6 4.2
by param
Feb 15, 2003 (4:28 pm)
I am in the market for a new audi. I went to my dealer in cincinnati and test drove the 3.0, 2.7 turbo and the 4.2 without the sports suspension. I liked the 4.2 version the best. Can anybody tell me about how much they have paid for a recent 2003 audi a6 4.2? Does the sports suspension make that much of a difference? How much is the audi extended warranty? Is it a bumper to bumper warranty or are there exceptions?
Param.
#3598 of 6920 Recall - A6
by nosho
Feb 16, 2003 (8:52 am)
The NTSA (www.ntsa.gov) only list an air bag recall for 2003 A6's with 3-spoke sport steering wheels.
No recalls for 2002 A6's.
2001 A6's have a windshield wiper arm recall.
1999/2000/2001 have a fuel tank level sensor recall.
That's it for recalls folks....
#3599 of 6920 Audi a6 4.2
by param
Feb 17, 2003 (7:21 am)
Will somebody reply to my above question.
Param
#3600 of 6920 A6 4.2 -- to sport or not to sport!
by markcincinnati
Feb 17, 2003 (11:07 am)
OK here goes: I have owned (leased) both a 2000 A6 4.2 with "standard" suspension and a 2001 with "sport" package (which includes sport suspension).
The 2000 had the optional wheels and tires (which are the same as the sport suspension's).
If there is an 18" wheel tire offering, I would probably avoid it -- I'll get to that in a minute.
The A6 4.2 with a sport package is different in many subtle ways from the one without it.
There is a "hunker" factor in the sport equipped version that is missing in the non sport equipped version. If you do get the standard version, at least get the upsized upperformance wheel+tire option (but stick to the 255 x 40 x 17" version).
The A6 4.2 w/sport is higher performance in the way that it handles when compared with the non
sport version.
When compared, the A6 4.2 with sport package will exhibit:
Less body roll (the body stays flatter in the sport version when taking curves aggressively).
Less "jounce" -- the motions, even when more violent (on a washboard surface or rippled alsphalt surface) surfaces are encountered are controlled much more easily -- in the sport version.
Less gap -- although slight, the sport version is lower than the non sport. This means that the look of the sport version is "lower" -- because it actually is.
Less floaty. Although hardly a slouch, the non sport A6 4.2, even with its aluminum front bits is heavy and can feel a tiny bit floaty-- the sport package serves to quiet this down without unpleasant firmness.
Now, why not to get the 18" wheels/tires, if avail: ride quality. Look carefully at the 17" wheel/tire option. 255 mm wide on a 17" wheel with an aspect ratio of 40 -- and z rated maximum performance tires (i.e., they are very stiff, the sidewalls are very stiff, etc.) Most of the plus one sizes I have seen keep the width at 255 raise the wheel size to 18 and lower the aspect ratio further to 35. Stiffer yet -- which is not bad for handling, but really becomes (or can become) bone jarring on pothole ridden city streets.
Unless you really need the extra extra stiffness of the 18" wheels and tires -- I submit you will love the "standard" sport package version of the A6 4.2 much more than the non sport version -- and more than the upsized sport version, too. If you really want all that extra performance, why not go all the way to the S6 (avant only, unfortunately)? The A6 4.2 w/sport is really an S6 lite, IMHO. The next thing would be to actually go to the S6, that is.
If you are at Northland, ask the sales rep if you can drive my old (2001) A6 4.2 which is still on the lot -- it has the sport package and at 37K miles might even give you an idea of how well the sport package versions hold up here in Cincinnati.
And with respect to the payments: how many months? I would go with a 36 month lease and no money down -- this is the best month, typically to get a cap cost reduction and the money factor (aka interest rates) are at virtually all time lows even for German cars.
Use the Audi of America configurator and payment estimator -- then figure in a discount of some sort and write down the numbers. YOu should come up with a maximum number and you can calculate a number up to what ever reasonable discount off list you care to play with. This time of year, this market -- try 2.5% - to 10% off MSRP of your A6 4.2 and see what the effect is on the calculator on www.audiusa.com.
The "best deal" will be from Audi financial, the best cap cost will probably be here in February or March and there are two dealers here in Cincinnati -- they are certainly competitive with each other. I use Northland Audi but have nothing against Beechmont Audi -- I live close to Northland and have purchased over two dozen Audis from them -- they are great. I have nothing negagtive to say, however, about Beechmont.