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Register and post your questions. It seems to be very active. Ask away, I'm sure you will find good advice. If you don't plan on doing the fix-it work yourself I would include that in your post. If you can do the work yourself they are probably reasonable to maintain even if they break a lot if you have to pay to play you'll go broke.
I'm into Volvos myself, they are expensive to fix if you have to pay a mechanic to do it, otherwise parts are generally only slightly more expensive but the cars themselves will last 200k-300k.
OK I take back my bit on fixing it yourself, I found this on an A6 post:
Quote:
For example, changing the transmission fluid costs over a $1,000 just for the fluid (the fluid is $57 per liter) , not including labor.
That's freaking nuts. Those trannies had better last 1,000,000 miles (yes that's 1 million) with that fluid. Seriously. WTF??? I'll stick to Volvos with $5/quart (liter) synthetic fluid.
01 was a bit of a low point in VW reliability, and I'm not too sure how that translated over to Audi. Reliability aside, A6 avants are great looking and nice to drive as well. They always turn my head.
The Audi A6 shares a a modified platform and some components with the Passat, not the Jetta. The Papa bear, Mama bear, Baby bear comparo would be A6, VW Passat, A4. The one thing to be wary of is the turbo engines from about 98 to 04 since they tended to have more problems than the other models (I believe it was related to valve lifters or something of the sort.) I think the only turbo in the A6 line was a 2.7 V6 which was an upgrade/optional.
At that mileage you start looking at some pricey repairs that will come up....timing belt, water pump/radiator, CV Joints, Fuel Filter and so on. Not only are parts more expensive but labor will cost more for these repairs because of the way the engine is designed. Mechanics hate working on VW's and Audi's because the engine's are crammed with little space to work, so you must remove a lot of parts to make even a simple repair like the altenator or replacing the radiator. My '03 Passat cost almost twice as much in labor costs than what a Honda or Toyota would have cost to fix comparable parts. I'd say get a list and some receipts for any work done and if none of these things have been done yet you may want to find an Accord or Camry, you'll get more bang for you buck when it comes to repairs.
I wouls listen to the two posters above me. They said everything that I was going to say. Bottom line is that you don't want a European car at that age and mileage. I bought an 01 BMW with 76,000 miles. It broke down twice as much as cost twice as much as a Japanese/American car.
I would also question the $3000 under value. Most of the online sites for values are well over reality.
If you are looking for something kinda cool and fun, try an early Infiniti G35. They are pretty reliable and the prices on 03 and 04 are good.
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