rnelson284

I am looking to buy an A6 for a reasonable price and was curious if there were any year models that are preferrable. I'm looking in the 2005 - 2009 range and the last Audi I owned was a late 80s 5000.

uberwgn

I would get the newest you can afford and have $$$ set in reserve for repairs and outstanding maintenance. There seem to be plenty for sale. The later cars, referred to as "C6.5", will have the supercharged 3.0T engine and updated tail and front end.

rnelson284

Is it a car you would recommend? I like German engineering & have a couple of Mercedes Benz and a VW Touareg and I understand the cost of maintenance, but I'm looking for a reliable car.

mystrodo

Look for an Audi Club near you, members have well serviced cars for the most part but also check right here Audiworld ..the classifieds are always interesting and usually honest.

A6Gary

For the MYs 2005-2009, probably the best year overall, i.e., features, options, reliability, etc., is the 2007, IMHO. I base this on the fact that that year included storage drawers under the front seats (deleted in MY 2008), and the parktronic included the rear camera (AKA advanced parktronic). Being the 3rd year of the C6 means most of the bugs for the C6 platform have been resolved. However, if the car hasn't been maintained well, then it wont' matter which year you buy - it will be a money pit. For reference, my 2006 A6 Avant has 83.5K miles on it and I have had only a few repairs that I consider design problems (premature front wheel bearing failure. lower intake vacuum actuator failure, & most-likely a defective ECM for the PITA DTC P2404).

beep-beep

Cars with N/A 3.2L are cheaper to buy, more reliable and cheaper to maintain and own. Usual wisdom tells to not get the first model year so the Audi has time to work out the quirks of the design. So 3.2L 2007-2008 sounds like the best choice.

I know that A6 with 3.0 supercharger or with Lamborghini's 4.2L sounds like fun, but you will get more problems down the road. And if you are looking for an 7-11 year old car the readability part should beat the fun part.

raj99

Disagree on the 3.0T engine...it's actually proven to be one of the most stout and reliable engines within Audi. Furthermore, the fact that it allows for greater modification has made it tuneable and one can push the limits with relative ease. As for the 4.2...I'm biased, but it's been GREAT. I think you might be referring to the 5.2 lambo engine which has had much written about it and the maintenance nightmare it can be, if you're not one of the lucky few.

uberwgn

We each have our own biases, R. We've had our 2006 wagon since CPO purchase at 18k miles. It has been an outstanding car for us and is quickly approaching 130k miles. I know others have reported non-stop issues, but that hasn't been the case for us. It has been a thoroughly enjoyable car and, for me, represents the pinnacle of Audi build quality.


I could be wrong, but if you've owned a Touareg, you should be ready for just about anything, right?


If one's primary focus is "reliability", doesn't one purchase a late model Asian car?


I agree with Raj, the supercharged 3 litre engine is going to be regarded as one of Audi's better motors.