A84Nate

So I thought I was making the right decision going with another BMW 5-series as my next car but now I'm not so sure. I've been looking at D2 A8s (2000-2002) and B6 A4s with V6 and Manual tranny
(before the horrific front-end facelift) because they are reasonably priced. I know the D2 has auto tranny issues and that I can expect to replace it during my ownership (the car has 102k). And because the A8 is audi's flagship, with every gizmo attached, by default it should be rather problematic because there are more features to break. My petition to you Audi owners is to educate me on which car would give a better ownership experience. In other words, which car will have me under the hood or be in the shop less? If you have experience with both cars please mention so. Please respond promptly as I am in negotiations with owners of both cars already.

lyleswk

I have no experience with any A8 except cleaning up the drool after one drives by. I do have about a year on my, er my son's, A4 that I drive quite a bit as my car is a 2 seater and doesn't handle groups of kids well and have spent a lot of time on forums to get to know the car. It is an 02 (first year) 1.8t sport with manual, totally stock with 190K miles. Anyway, my thoughts on the B6:

1) I know you said you were looking for a V6, but I would lean toward doing the due diligence and buying whichever you find that has been taken care of and has full records. If you want the V6 power, there are fairly inexpensive ($400 to $500) upgrades to the 1.8t that get you the same power with the same reliability. And you get the advantage of a lighter front end, so a little less understeer.
2) Regardless of engine, check for timing belt being done and when. If there is any question, assume $1000 to $1500 for a 1.8t or $1500 to $2000 for the 3.0...unless you DIY.
3) Check for routine oil changes espeicially on the sludge prone 1.8t.
4) Stay away from the fwd CVT (I don't think the manual and tip come fwd). They seem to have a high failure rate. And besides, what is an Audi without quattro
5) As far as the rest of the car, well, you are buying preowned and it is a highly engineered German car, so expect things to break. More common problem areas on the B6 range from not so costly (coolant flange, clogged heater core, coolant and engine speed sensors) to moderately costly (fuel pump, wheel bearing) to costly (suspension bushings, TCM on the tip tranny). I will say that my experience on BMWs from my father-in-law and the 2 Audis and 1 Benz I have owned is that BMWs are the worst of the lot when they get older.

I love this quattro as much as I did my first one

A84Nate

Thanks lyleswk,

Which BMWs did you have? I am only looking at 2001-2003 530i sedans with the manual tranny. I see many for sale but every seller is way optimistic about the price especially when the car has been driven 15,000+ miles over the years it's been in service. Today, I drove a 6spd V6 and loved every minute of it. The only major drawback was that the steering made a loud whinning noise at all speeds. Don't know what it was but it sounded exspensive so I'm not buying that one. I'm looking at another V6 tonight, with an unbelievable sale price. Hope it goes well but I'm really interested to know which BMW and Mercedes you've owned. I thought the inline-6 was a solid engine.

lyleswk

I haven't owned any BM's, it's my father-in-law. Not sure of the exact model year, but an E36 325 conv with auto tranny (1995?) and an e23 735 (1985?). Both spent / spend (they still have the 325) quit a bit of time in the shop. He drove an A6 Avant for a while and is now in an X3. I will say they live in Houston which is realy hard on cars and his wife (second wife) is really really nit picky, so that may have something to do with my impression.

I should have mentioned power steering racks in my list of more expensive things. I think what happens is people drive them too long on too low fluid or the wrong fluid and the pump goes bad. Have to be careful on Audis and the fluids you put in them.

A84Nate

If everything looks good after the pre-purchase inspection tomorrow afternoon, I will be the proud owner of a 2002 Audi A4 3.0 6spd.

jordonb

congrats, i think you made the right choice!
i really loved my old B5 A4 2.8 5spd... ownership was a pleasure. i had it for about 3 years with only minor problems.

my current B6 is a 1.8T. i like it a lot, esp the handling, but miss the torque of the V6.

A84Nate

Thanks, my only fear is that the timing belt or suspension components will need changing right away but at a price of $4500 I just don't see how I could walk away from a deal like that. The title is clean and the car is in astounding cosmetic condition.

lyleswk

Congrats!! Sounds like you got a better deal than me. I paid the same ($4500) but had one fender that had a bad fender dent repair / paint and a rip in the driver's seat...and 187K miles...

A84Nate

So I picked up my A4 today and I couldn't have been happier until the information display in the gauge cluster showed an oil lamp icon with the word "sensor" next to it. Not long after that, the CEL came on and has not gone off; even after filling up with Premium fuel and making sure the gas cap was on tight. This is especially frustrating because just a few hours before buying the car I had taken the car to a mechanic shop certified to work on Audi. They performed a comprehensive pre-purchase inspection that cost me $123 and said everything was in good order. It is issues like this that made me apprehensive about buying an audi in the first place. Would someone please help me with this situation, I really want to love my A4.

lyleswk

1) Start with checking the oil level. If that is normal, then the sensor is bad. The sensor is on the bottom of the oil pan. Easy DIY when you change the oil.

http://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B6_A4-...ch/Oil_Sensor/

2) You will have to get codes to start that journey on what is causing the CEL.