Advice for 12/13 A6
 

It is time for my daughter’s first car. Winter weather is strong consideration along with safety and reasonable fun as we are all car people (already said no to mustang/camaro with visons of the rear end swinging around dancing in my head :P). Added to that my wife and I might end up driving it for a year-ish if her college has no freshman with cars policy – pretty much a coin flip there.

A 2012/2013 A6 3.0T AWD is on the short list. But some questions

1) Will get independent euro focused mechanic to eval of course. But what typically goes wrong? I hear thermostat / temp senor and possibly engine mounts? Other items?
2) Given 60-90k mile car is in the budget. How do Audi’s hold up assuming regular maint is done by reputable mechanic? What are the big maint items to expect?
3) How reliable are stage I tunes such as from APR?
4) Is there a 'relatively' inexpensive way to get upgraded front brakes such as swap in from S6 or similar?

1: I am not your financial advisor but I'll take a look anyway. As a 90k mile car has seen its better days then spending thousands on upgrades seems a little strange.
2: As you maybe aware, German cars are not cheap to fix, therefore see item 1.
3: maybe you work at Audi in Germany and can get parts for cheap or your daughter is studying at an Audi appretiship?
4: Location, income, tuition fees, disposable income etc. maybe a factor.
5: Buy yourself and wife a new RS6 and get your daughter a truck.

Sorry I couldn't be of much help but I didn't have a lot to go on.

I'm confused. You say you want to avoid a hi-performance Mustang/Camaro for your daughter yet you are asking about stage 1 tunes and upgraded hi-performance brakes? Doesn't seem to make much sense for her first car and unnecessary - the 3.0T has plenty of power as is. That said, the A6 C7 is a solid car and if properly maintained will last for well beyond 100K miles. I would shoot for a 2013 since the 2012, the first year in the U.S. for the C7, had a few bugs.

Do yourself a favor and buy her a Honda, if only for the piece of mind. Just MHO but my feelings are that these vehicles can be too much car for young drivers... let alone maintenance nightmares.

Below is an example. It's what was left of my stock 01 2.7T after it was sold to a family member who ended up letting their 17 year old daughter drive it. She had it less than a couple weeks before it was totaled. Still unclear whether she was driving or not at the time of the accident.

Of course YMMV.

Ouch! Hopefully she was OK?

Somehow all of them (3 passengers and driver) survived - given none were wearing their seat belts and one was thrown from the vehicle.

Interestingly enough though, the Allstate claims adjuster commented along the lines that the car saved their lives.

Testament to how safe Audi's can be but they're obviously not bullet proof.

being that I have a 12' and it's well north of 100k, maybe I can shed some light as such if you just leave it stock.

1. Car has plenty of power in stock form
2. If properly maintained, has the potential to make it to 200k or more
3. Big Maint items past 100k would be to have the trans serviced (they say lifetime fluid, but get it done anyway) and upper timing chain tensioners and motor mounts.

I can't really speak to tunes as I never put one on my car and my guess is that your thinking about it in the event that you guys get the car if her college doesn't allow freshman drivers. Others will hopefully speak on the tunes & upgrading the brakes.

My car is at 169k, I put 100 miles on it a day commuting to work and drive it around town on the weekends as well. It's been super reliable for me, however I also do my own work on the car and am rather strict on keeping my maint schedule.

I don't know your daughter and don't presume to know how well she drives or what she has learned to drive on and is accustomed to driving. That said, the A6 is a large car and very powerful. If I had this car back when my daughter was in high school or going to college, it wouldn't have been my choice for her. However, to each their own.

What I can say though, is that if the car isn't maintained properly, it can/will get expensive quickly. Also, the quattro system isn't an instant savior in bad weather. The inexperienced can still easily mishandle the car in bad weather and bring the rear end around just like a RWD car, though the system does make it more difficult to do so. It does take some time to learn how the system acts and thus how to pilot the car so that the system works for you.

In the end, the car is fantastic, it's safe and for me it's been very reliable. Keep in mind that you can get the A6 with a turbo 4cyl that also has quattro. If the power of the car is a concern, that might be the way to go or even maybe a Quattro A4.

EXTREMELY lucky to say the least!

In the end, the car is fantastic, it's safe and for me it's been very reliable. Keep in mind that you can get the A6 with a turbo 4cyl that also has quattro. If the power of the car is a concern, that might be the way to go or even maybe a Quattro A4.[/QUOTE]
4 cyl will not help, it's not the going that is the problem, it's the stopping at impact that kills you.
Of course, not wearing a seatbelt doesn't help.

I did say look for the A4 Quattro is probably more appropriate for a college student, is safe, is got AWD for winter, less to maintain (marginally) and the cost of the car is less which means you can get a new year with less miles for the same price of a 2012 A6. I would also save for all the APR, BBK mods since she wont need it :-)

47K miles and has been trouble free

It took me a minute but I see the issue here, you want a car that YOU want to drive for a year and hand over. In that case it's much more understandable. Great vehicle, quite safe, the 3.0 is a lot for a kid and I would agree on principle that it would be too nice for a college student (that didn't save up and buy it themselves) normally. Most parents seem to go the big slow SUV route if safety and winter conditions are the concern. The A6 is pretty reliable without the sort of ticking time bomb issues some other options have. Personally I wouldn't go with an A6 for a college kid but to each their own. A stage 1 tune is really a top end focus from what I understand, you need the pulley for low end grunt. I'd say buy it for yourself, do a stage 2 pulley and tune, then trade it in for a used Jeep in a year for college use.