CFO

I’ve had a 2012 A6 Prestige for almost three years now. In those years, it’s been assisted by a reliable but predictably boring Toyota Camry because I have a 600 mile weekly commute to & from work (95% highway). I drive the A6 once or twice weekly to work and all through the weekend.

So far, everything has been fine but every time I return to driving the Camry after a weekend of driving the A6, the Camry really feels wrong. Put differently, it feels like a piece of crap. I'm very tempted to get rid of the Camry and make the A6 my only car and enjoy every second of it. However, the practical side of me thinks that may not be a good idea especially with just 5,000 miles before the A6 runs out of warranty.

Does anyone here have any experience with the A6 (C6 specifically) as an only car with a lot of miles? Any risks other than maintenance cost and usual wear and tear?

snagitseven

You say you have a 2012 A6 (which is a C7) yet in the last line of your post you say the A6 C6. We'll presume you meant C7.

There won't be too many C7 owners that have long term mileage but there should be a few who can provide out of warranty data.

CFO

Good catch. I meant C7.

tenspeed

You may want to consider a A6 TDI to use daily. The 2014's start around $42K and gets great highway mileage. You can drop the insurance, maintenance and fuel costs of the Camry.

Check the C6 section to see what common problems are experienced from the older model Audi.

ColoradoMark

Trade the Camry for a Miata or such...

CFO

Tall guy here. Need a lot of legroom. One of the reasons I picked the A6 is that the seat goes much farther back than any Sedan I've driven in its class.

snagitseven

The OP already has an occasional use A6 C7 and is considering disposing of the Camry. Wants to know about any long term issues if he turns the A6 C7 into his daily driver past the warranty.

eric strauss

… for a long time I had a 160 mile round trip commute which I did three times a week. I always used my favored car. I didn't have a "beater" or something as it would have been much less safe, I would have to insure another car and it just didn't make sense to me to leave a comfortable and capable car sitting in the garage. My colleague has a 2004 A6 2.7t that he has commuted primarily on the highway that now has over 230,000 miles. He is regimented with fluid changes and has been mostly trouble free.

The TDI is a solid choice but, in fact, the break-even point against a gas version is somewhere around 100,000 miles (unless of course fuel prices increase again).

Happy Motoring

Eric

BillBoost37

Like you I am a driver.

Skipping the car type etc, a highway mile car will outlast an around town car hands down every time. The stopping, traffic, turning, starting etc is what wears parts. Driving down the highway at say 2000 rpm constant is a cars best friend. The battery stays well charged, the exhaust system heats up and all condensation is removed etc etc.

I daily DD'd a 91 Grand Am that had 65K when I bought it to 190K when I sold it to a friend. 10 years later that same car was still cranking down the road.

I daily DD'd a 2000 Buick Regal recently to 260K and sold it, current owner loves the car.

I daily DD'd a 2000 Chevy pickup for a number of years and put over 100K on in record time.

Mileage only matters when you think of it as an issue. If you think about it, the car that sits will flat spot tires, bearings etc etc. Look at when a grand parent gives a kid a car. It's not always the kids radical driving that makes a ton of repairs necessary. It was the lack of driving by the grand parent.

I dd a 2010 Audi A6 that I bought recently. Had 94,700 on the clock and felt great. Seeing the trade in dates etc the car was driven close to 20-25K a year. That is highway driving. Overall the car is in great shape, drives amazing and I am continuing the trend of mileage. Likely I'll run into very few issues and less maintenance items than the majority of folks that put 5k a year on their cars.

CFO

Your TDI suggestion prompted me to compare the prices of Diesel and Premium Gas at the pump. I was surprised to find that Diesel is cheaper.