Hello I'm looking into buying a 2001 Audi A6 4.2 (V8) Quattro, but I've got a few questions:

1) I'm a DIY person with automotive and other background experience. I work on my two other cars myself and dig in pretty deep when doing so. Entering the Audi family, I would like to do the same. My question is where can I find AND purchase the most detailed, preferably factory, service manual?

2) What do you believe a model like what i quoted above is worth, if all that it needs are new brakes & rotors, and timing belt service?

3) A more general question, which vehicle history reporting service is the best? I hear and see carfax and autocheck the most.


I'm looking to make the purchase by the end of this week, so I need as much info fast as you can imagine. Thanks in advance for any help that you guys can provide.

 

The best manual is Bently manual. Might want to consider getting a vagcom also. (code reader and much more)
Go with whichever has most reports on the car carfax or auto check.

The 4.2 01 I would pay around 8k-9k with <90k

Drive carefully as the 4.2 is known to have some tranny problems. Make sure the owner has done tranny oil changes. Atleast once before 70k.

How many miles on it?

 

Sorry I forgot to mention the mileage is 100,000 miles.

I suspected the Bentley Publications manual was the best. I was surprised to see that the manual for this car was only one volume though. I suppose it's because Audi does not make the information as readily available as other manufacturers, and so Bentley built their manual mostly from the ground up.

You mentioned that the transmissions are touchy. Does the Bentley manual cover a rebuild if i were to undertake that task myself?

Thanks!

 

Autocheck shows 4 "calculated owners".

 

Odd things I saw

1) 4 "calculated owners" on the report.

2) Vehicle showed up three times at auto auctions within 1 year If I'm reading correctly. What looks weird to you guys and why? What would you look further into? What would your final decision be about the vehicle, go for it or not? Ignore the smileys , <==except that one...


Event Date Event Location Odometer Reading Data Source Event Detail
1/11/2002 WI 15 Motor Vehicle Dept. ODOMETER READING FROM DMV
1/30/2002 Independent Source VEHICLE MANUFACTURED AND SHIPPED TO DEALER
2/4/2002 WAUKESHA, WI Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE (Title #, REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
4/10/2002 MATAWAN, NJ 6,486 Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE (Title #
7/10/2002 ROSS, OH 7,417 Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE (Title #
7/16/2002 OH 7,972 Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE (Title # (Lien Reported)
8/1/2002 FLORENCE, KY 9,135 Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE (Title # (Lien Reported), REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
6/13/2003 ROSS, OH 14,749 Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE (Title #
7/2/2003 OH 15,000 Independent Emission Source PASSED EMISSION INSPECTION
7/3/2003 CINCINNATI, OH Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE (Title #
7/10/2003 CINCINNATI, OH Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
5/10/2004 CINCINNATI, OH Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
5/25/2005 OH 45,000 Independent Emission Source PASSED EMISSION INSPECTION
6/15/2005 CINCINNATI, OH Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
5/30/2006 CINCINNATI, OH Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
8/7/2006 OH 61,587 Auto Auction REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION
8/7/2006 CINCINNATI, OH 61,527 Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE (Title #
8/16/2006 CINCINNATI, OH 61,587 Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE (Title #
8/17/2006 OH 61,627 Auto Auction REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION AS DEALER VEHICLE
8/24/2006 DAYTON, OH 61,627 Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE (Title #
10/30/2006 TOLEDO, OH 61,684 Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE (Title # (Lien Reported)
12/15/2006 TOLEDO, OH Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE (Title #, TITLE (Title # (Lien Reported), DUPLICATE TITLE, CORRECTED TITLE
12/15/2006 TOLEDO, OH Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
4/21/2007 TOLEDO, OH Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
10/17/2007 TOLEDO, OH Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE (Title # (Lien Reported), CORRECTED TITLE
4/18/2008 TOLEDO, OH 77,219 Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE (Title #
4/21/2008 MI 77,282 Auto Auction REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION
4/22/2008 MI 77,282 Auto Auction REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION AS DEALER VEHICLE
4/30/2008 HUDSON, OH 77,282 Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE (Title #
6/3/2008 MI 77,641 Auto Auction REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION
7/3/2008 OH 77,821 Auto Auction REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION
7/3/2008 OH 77,821 Auto Auction REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION AS DEALER VEHICLE
7/9/2008 HUDSON, OH Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE (Title #, CORRECTED TITLE
10/20/2008 CLEVELAND, OH 77,821 Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE (Title #
12/2/2008 OH Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE (Title #
12/23/2008 NY Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
3/3/2009 NY Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE
6/3/2009 NY Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
6/30/2009 NY 88,480 Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE
4/30/2010 NY Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL

 

Sounds like it didn't receive a lot of love in its life.
Look at it very carefully.
I'd probably drop 4-5K from the asking price recognizing a new transmission is in its immediate future. Unless you can get a reading on when a transmission oil change was, if ever, done, you might want to try to get a transmission oil sample but since there's no dipstick and opening the fill port will probably drain some transmission fluid (warm the trans up and open the port while the engine is running, trans in park, etc.)...shouldn't affect the trans fluid level if it's correct. Do you get to take the car to an audi mechanic for inspection?
Do you get to drive it? is it responsive, does it easily drop into first when you come to a stop, does it downshift easily? Get a code readout from the ECU...there should be none.

This is kind of basic, but pull the dipstick and feel the oil....if it's gritty, run, do not walk.
Most sellers will change the oil before putting a car up for sale, but some won't bother.

Look under the oil filler cap on the driver's side of the engine block...look for varnish/sludge. Milky mousse on the cap is a no-go. Look at the coolant expansion tank....is there pink sludge all around the various clamps...is the expansion tank cracked or is it new? Look at the coolant...is it nice and clear and pink or is it brown and cruddy?

Check under the car for leaks at the diffs and transmission. Torn CV joint boots (there are more than 8 of them!) aren't a big deal unless they're so old the joints have/will fail. Fronts tend to go most.

I like the eBahn PC Bentley manual...it seems to be a little better than the paper manual, which isn't very good.

You'll need to buy or rent a couple of specialized tools to do the timing belt service.

A ross-tech VAG-COM (google it) is a very good code reader unique to audi/seat/vw to have.

 

$5k sounds like a reasonable price to me. But that would be if it was working good and didn't need timing belt service. how did they figure it needs timing belt service?

 

From what you stated above, this is what i will be asking/doing:

Questions to ask seller:
Was the transmission oil changed? How often?
Any service records/receipts?


Things to check, inspection stage:
Read codes, (I do not have Vag-Com, using OBDII, may not get much out of it).
Pull oil dipstick and feel for grit.
Check under oil filler cap on driver's side, is there varnish/sludge? Varnish/sludge indicates poor oil maintenance schedule. Milky mousse is not good (ex. coolant leak into engine).
Check the coolant expansion tank for cracks, or if it is new.
Is the coolant clear and pink, or brown and cruddy?
Check the diffs and transmission under the car for leaks. Check for torn CV joints (8 or more of them). If torn, check more carefully for wear.


Things to check, test drive stage:
Is it responsive, does it easily drop into first when coming to a stop?

 

The owner said it was not done, and we both agreed that at 100k miles, it is due.

He also stated that the front brakes and possibly rotors need to be done. I will most likely do all of them regardless.

FYI, The discussion was at night, so I couldn't really inspect the car.

 

Whats wrong with having sludge around my engine block? I got it everywhere and my engine works perfectly. I just didn't have a good enough pick set to do the driver side valve cover gasket with tensioner gasket and the half moon(which is the source of the leak) and I always tend to spill oil everywhere when I add oil to the car. And pink sludge around the clamps and coolant tank cracked. I purchased a new one and it was cracked and yellow in a couple months, these tanks are crazy, but it doesn't leak... and I dont know how but the pink/orange stuff magically gets around the upper radiator hose, and the big hose that goes to the coolant tank, and I also always spill coolant everywhere.

best way to figure out if the engine is good is to listen to it and feel it through the revvs. Same for the tranny but they can also have low oil or soemthing. usually you will either get lucky, or unlucky. Thats it