Is buying a 100k mile audi a bad idea?

[72elan1304]

My dad has had a 99 A6 1.9 tdi for 10 years.

He bought it from the company I used to work for, so I've known the history since new.

The first owner, my boss at the time, thrashed it from new.

Dad bought it at 80k miles, now on 220k. Still on original clutch, exhaust, calipers, shockers as well as engine and gearbox. Uses no oil whatsoever and will steadily return 50 mpg.

He refuses to part with it even though the bodywork is shot - from his own neglect.

[r055]

My dad has had a 99 A6 1.9 tdi for 10 years.

He bought it from the company I used to work for, so I've known the history since new.

The first owner, my boss at the time, thrashed it from new.

Dad bought it at 80k miles, now on 220k. Still on original clutch, exhaust, calipers, shockers as well as engine and gearbox. Uses no oil whatsoever and will steadily return 50 mpg.

He refuses to part with it even though the bodywork is shot - from his own neglect.

Did you get rid of your defender?

[Doc883]

My dad has had a 99 A6 1.9 tdi for 10 years.
He bought it from the company I used to work for, so I've known the history since new.
The first owner, my boss at the time, thrashed it from new.
Dad bought it at 80k miles, now on 220k. Still on original clutch, exhaust, calipers, shockers as well as engine and gearbox. Uses no oil whatsoever and will steadily return 50 mpg.
He refuses to part with it even though the bodywork is shot - from his own neglect.

I have a 2002 A4 1.9TDi PD (130) Avant with 94k on the clock. We bought it Dec 2005 with 29k on the clock from Edinburgh Audi for £13k. It's worth about £3.5k now so has depreciated £1500 per year. If I bought a new A4 Avant today it would probaly loose £9.5k in it's first year. OK it's never going to feature in EVO's fast fleet but as a mile muncher returning mid 50mpg it's unstoppable. Again same clutch, exhaust etc but it has had a few niggles recently including failed bonnet release (£155) and failed front wipers (£220). Body work wise it had 2 new front wings under warranty for the standard Audi corrosion issue. It's on long life servicing so every 2 years or approx 18,000 to 20,000 miles

[TophaTron]

Buy an air freshener,seat covers and rubber mats

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p


Bid £7k for this Mercedes engined Monster

What a bargain! Shame about the £460 road tax though.

[72elan1304]

My dad has had a 99 A6 1.9 tdi for 10 years.

He bought it from the company I used to work for, so I've known the history since new.

The first owner, my boss at the time, thrashed it from new.

Dad bought it at 80k miles, now on 220k. Still on original clutch, exhaust, calipers, shockers as well as engine and gearbox. Uses no oil whatsoever and will steadily return 50 mpg.

He refuses to part with it even though the bodywork is shot - from his own neglect.

Did you get rid of your defender?

Still have the Defender. MOT is up in April, so will probably re-MOT it and advertise it again.

[roadboy]

My new tow car.

[mac]

I bought an 04 plate 1.9 TDI PD A4 estate 3 years ago with 108k on the clock, it has 170k on the clock now.
I use it pretty much every day for a 50 mile round trip mostly motorway commute and plenty of longer trips down south including towing the Locost.

In that time it has never broken down and has used only fuel, oil, front brake pads & disks, tyres, light bulbs and one wheel bearing. It still returns real world 50+mpg. Serviced every 20k, MOTs have all been fine. I'd have no problem at all buying another 100k Audi, the only thing that really shows the miles are the shock absorbers, it's very boingy but they don't leak and they're not bad enough to fail an MOT yet.

We had the head off another one of these - cant quite recall the mileage but the bores still had the cross hatching visible.

[Rag_It]

Bought a FASH'd one owner 84k 2004 Audi A6 2.5 Tdi 180 Avant Quattro last year and it is on 96k or thereabouts and not a single serious problem.

Issues I have, both front doors have knackered closing mechanisms so if you shut the door it doesn't close properly, you have to do it very gently... Common fault I believe.

Bit of rust on rear tailgate and drivers door at bottom. Still has Audi paint corrosion, however I hear they reject 95% of claims on older cars and say you should have spotted it earlier.

Dave

[Doc883]

Bought a FASH'd one owner 84k 2004 Audi A6 2.5 Tdi 180 Avant Quattro last year and it is on 96k or thereabouts and not a single serious problem.
Bit of rust on rear tailgate and drivers door at bottom. Still has Audi paint corrosion, however I hear they reject 95% of claims on older cars and say you should have spotted it earlier.
Dave

If that were the case I'd be questioning why they didn't advise the 1st owner of the rust if it has a FASH ?
Don't take no for an answer. Take it to Glasgow Audi and if they reject try Edinburgh/Stirling. If Audi want to lavish their cars with a 12yr anti-corrosion warranty then they should stand by it. I had issues with my A4 where both front wings and the boot showed signs off corrosion. The boot was repaired at 1st ask but I had a bit of a battle with the wings as Edinburgh West VW/Audi rejected it saying it was crease/fold and only covered for 3 years. Then went to Edinburgh Audi and they approved repair under warranty so it went in to the Glasgow Audi body shop. Even got a free meal with drinks voucher from Audi Uk after I involved them over the poor service I received. Car was 8 year old at the time.

[Rag_It]

Bought a FASH'd one owner 84k 2004 Audi A6 2.5 Tdi 180 Avant Quattro last year and it is on 96k or thereabouts and not a single serious problem.
Bit of rust on rear tailgate and drivers door at bottom. Still has Audi paint corrosion, however I hear they reject 95% of claims on older cars and say you should have spotted it earlier.
Dave

If that were the case I'd be questioning why they didn't advise the 1st owner of the rust if it has a FASH ?
Don't take no for an answer. Take it to Glasgow Audi and if they reject try Edinburgh/Stirling. If Audi want to lavish their cars with a 12yr anti-corrosion warranty then they should stand by it. I had issues with my A4 where both fron wings and the boot showed signs off corrosion. The boot was repaired at 1st ask but I had a bit of a battle with the wings as Edinburgh West VW/Audi rejected it saying it was crease/fold and only covered for 3 years. Then went to Edinburgh Audi and they approved repair under warranty so it went in to mthe Glasgow Audi bodyshop. Even got a free meal with drinks voucher from Audi Uk after I involved them over the poor service I received. Car was 8 year old at the time.

I totally agree, and not one to lie down and take it anyway..... Also, do you know Audi UK that I am mates with a G Rolfe Esq.

[kerryxeg]

The B7? (2003) model had a problem with the front wheel arches, I took mine in and they repaired one under warrantee but refused the other wing as they could no longer determine if this was due to a stone chip (paint had flaked off). They also have issues with the flaws in the galvanising, which can cause pimples in the paint and result in rust or bubbles behind.

After the stupid proposal that I could have one wing repaired but not the other, I checked the paint very carefully and found quite a few pimples. Enough to require a visit from the regional paint man. In the end they repainted every single panel except the wing that had been originally refused.

I've got a lot of friends with A4's and have made sure they've all checked the front wings. I think repair tally is now over 7 - it would have been much cheaper to have painted my wing in the first place. Definately worth checking, but if it's too bad they suggest the only long term solution is new wings and they'll unwilling to go that far.

I can't comment on high mileage reliability as I normally move them on before 6 figures, but up to that point, I've not had any issues with the 2.5tdi, or 2.0fsi. Fuel, oil, tyres, brakes, suspension arms, timing belt (thats £800+).

[Doc883]

The B7? (2003) model had a problem with the front wheel arches

2001 - 2005 was the B6, the B7 went from 2005 - 2008. Good source of info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi_A4

[Doc883]

They also have issues with the flaws in the galvanising, which can cause pimples in the paint and result in rust or bubbles behind.
After the stupid proposal that I could have one wing repaired but not the other, I checked the paint very carefully and found quite a few pimples. Enough to require a visit from the regional paint man. In the end they repainted every single panel except the wing that had been originally refused.

I have an unusual fossil like shape on the base of my tailgate (cant be seen unless estate boot is open). I had it checked at the Audi body shop in Glasgow who submitted a report to Edinburgh Audi. I got the impression from the body shop that it would qualify under warranty. After about 4 weeks I called to check progress and they rejected the claim saying it was a paint defect and not corrosion. Now I'm no expert but I think they are talking a load of old tosh so I am going to get a 2nd opinion and involve Audi UK Customer Services once again.

[kerryxeg]

They check the paint pimples with a magnifier, basically if the paint is broken they'll claim it was a stone chip - even on the rear hatch, but if there is no hole they will fix it. I wouldn't hesitate to get the regional paint guy in, he knows what he's looking for and it is prety black and white. Dealing with the dealership body shop I thought he was going to have to pay for the work himself. The answer was no - what was the question type.

[mac]

Mandy's A4 has a rusting & bubbling front wing - we bought the car 2nd or 3rd though so don't have any warranty paperwork - is it still worth a go?