2005 A6 3.2 Purchase Opinions
 

Hi guys, Audi newb here. An 05 has popped on auction near me. Clean title, but the free auto check suggests there may be some odo issues. Listed as a run and drive, and I’ve checked it out, starts right up, no odd noises. Last owner had it for about 3 years if memory serves.

The ebrake just just sits and grinds when you try and release it, but I’ve worked on what I’m pretty sure is a similar system before (2011 x3) so no biggie there, I think. No other issues/lights when I started it, but the inspection area is such that I could only check for a shift into drive and reverse and creep a foot or two. No chance to see any gears other than 1st and no time
to get it up to operating temp, not that they wouldn’t let me, I was time crunched in lunch.

I’m thinking of pacing a low ball bid at $500+fees (so about 650 otd)

Is the car worth that? How much of a gamble am I taking. This is just for fun, so if it all went south, I could just call up NPR and get a tax write off.

Additional details:

I’d be picking this up to turn a few wrenches (not looking to do a timing chain or tension era, just fluids, brakes, auxiliarys, etc) and putz around in a nicer car for the summer. Sort it and get out what I put in at the end of summer.

At $500 it is not much of a risk. There is probably $50 worth of gas in the tank.

I personally think this car is GOLD. It has a few known issues but overall, it is very well designed and the quality is very good.

For that price, if all fluids are at level, there is no apparent leaks and the car is starting well, it's a steal. Go for it. The major downside is the price of replacement parts so get ready to spend 10x that in the future to fix a few glitches here and there.

Don't forget to check the headlights (freaking expensive), A/C, radio, sunroof, front seats mechanisms and pay attention to the warnings on the dashboard.

We bought a model of that year at 102000kms at 103000 the steering control module gave up. $3500 later we had the car back on the road. I bought the car off my son got it serviced and now at 130000kms the abs unit has ****ed out, to buy a new one in new zealand they want $4500 for a part for 14 year old car. Wouldn't touch this model of Audi for all the tea in China, its a piece of crap.

First of all...it us being sold on auction. If you google search you will learn how they get cars..who buys them..and how they get back on the road and finally how many upset customers get when all those warrnig lights pop up after 2 days of purchase.
If you cant turn wrenches or dont know basis audis how to...stay away from it...these kind of forums wont be able to help you cheaply fix it. Buying parts may not be a problem but replacing them will be.
Doesnt matter how much you invest in it..time..money wise...and how perfect you get it...in case of car accident...you will get handfull of peanuts for it.
They declared total on my a8 two years ago for bumper demage...last month again total on my wifes a6 sline also for bumper damage...my point is..it is not worth it your money time and energy...from auction?? Even worse...
I still drive a6 4.2 now with blown ac...will get rid of it...need to drop down the whole engine just to be able to see ac compressor...
Last week we bought used ford fusion energi..plus 60months/60k miles total warranty...and yes it feels like driving tricycle but i am at peace every time i start the car...
After having a4 2.8, allroad 4.2...a8 4.2...a6 3.2...a6 4.2...i realised im not that rich to keep going with used audis...
And after reading your post about buying audi from auction...i got goose bumps even though i will never see nor drive it..god forbid work on it...

Regarding my earlier post...perfectly running a6..in perfect condition...this video shows how little it takes..in usa...to declare it total loss...after so much money time and energy invested to it.
The first 40 secs show it the rest is nothing but the rest or 3 mins long video...

I love my A6, smooth and quiet ride, easy to drive, decent power, yet returns 25 MPG all day long. Not bad for an AWD vehicle and actually better than the underpowered Subaru I owned in the past. However they are not without their issues and cost of maintenance can be quite high. But for that price I would take the risk.

If it is just the ABS module there are companies in the US that will rebuild them for less that $200.00.

I am sure that if you reached out to one of them they would probably be able to sell you a complete refurbished unit so you would not have to send your in and ship it.

Wow Nurke, tell us how you really feel. LOL. Sounds like you speak from experience because that's a lot of Audi models listed there. Good luck with the tricycle. LOL.