Would you recommend your A6?
 

Hello. I was wondering, would you recommend your A6, just the car not the engine etc, to a grandmother about to retire? My mother in law is close to retirement and we are looking for a replacement for her SUV. The A6 in TDI form is very compelling but we are not sure about reliability and overall happiness for the sedan itself.

Has your A6 been a car that has lived up to its expectations as an Audi or is it a lemon on four wheels?

I would recommend my A6 without a doubt - in 18,000 miles it's just been in for scheduled maintenance. I can't say as much for my last two vehicles, so I'm very satisfied with the A6 at this point.

To use your metaphor, it's no lemon but it's sweet as a plum. No car is perfect but aside from the usual quibbles about this or that, you won't find too many negative responses on this forum about owning the 2012+ A6. I've had 35+ cars over my lifetime (including four Audis) and without a doubt, this is the best one overall of the bunch. It won't be the least expensive to repair (like most high performance German autos) but the driving experience is worth it to the vast majority of us A6 owners. If your mother in law can justify the car in her retirement budget and would appreciate the value of owning a highly engineered vehicle, there's no reason to not consider it.

Funny you ask...
I bought 7 new cars between '09 and present (Mercedes, Toyota, Infiniti, and Audi). Every single one of them went in for some sort of warranty work (Mercedes GL450 and GL350 being the worst) except for the 2 Audis; yes, even the Toyota had issues.:rolleyes:
Audi has come a long way in every department IMHO. So yes, I highly recommend an Audi and I absolutely love my A6 Prestige. TDI would be great choice; I love the low end torque of a turbo diesel!

I would not hesitate recommend my A6 to someone I knew had the same car nut instincts and sensibilities as I do. Not knowing your mother in law I cannot say with certainty, but I suspect there could well be a number of vehicles out there that would suit her with equal reliability, more coddling comfort and offering the chance to save some bucks. To me a lot of what the A6 offers and I appreciate may not be so obvious to someone not enamored of German design and technology.
That seeming negativity aside, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend an A6 to anyone truly interested in fine German design, engineering and performance at a reasonable price. I have had both the 3.0T and the 2.0T in A6’s since 2010 and they both seem very reliable.
However, as an example, an Acura might have an overall edge in terms of what I believe the average near-retirement American (assuming that is where you/she are from) might be happy with. Further down the luxury scale a well-equipped Subaru Outback or Legacy might fit the bill as well; I assume she would want AWD seeing she has/had an SUV.

A6 comfort
 

Areas I know has strong importance to my wife was:

- can she shoulder check or, because of her size/shape, is there something that impedes her vision
- can she get in and out easily - my wife hates the car because it is tough to exit
- does she need more than one cup holder

It's hard to generalize these things. My 2013 A6 was a retirement present to myself and I didn't consider anything else. If I had only $70K in my retirement accounts I would still have spent $65K to get one, sold pencils on a corner and lived in the car eating dog food. But then, I'm a true blue, dyed in the wool, rabid, over the top, Audi fan boy for life. I just have to live with that affliction.

I wholeheartedly agree. The A6 is an amazing car, and I would not hesitate to recommend to someone with the same car tastes as myself, but that does not mean it is a good fit for everyone. There is a bit of a learning curve for new owners, especially if they are comming from non-german vehicles. For the first few months of ownership, every time my wife drove the car she would have a negative comment on how some system or control on the car was 'stupid'. This was after 10 years of driving Japanese luxury makes (Infiniti, Acura) . Meanwhile I was (and am) completely enamored with the car. She is now comming around the appreciating the vehicle, although many of the more advanced features (HUD, night vision, active lane assist) are lost on her, she does appreciate some as well (side assist, auto wipers). Good news is she can turn off the features she doesn't like, and the car remembers her preferences associated with her fob.

I guess the answer to the question is likely is the mother in-law used to driving german luxury makes? Does she appreciate the latest technology? If not then likely forego some of the more technological features and maybe set her expectations accordingly for a learning period - in the end she will likely find it worth the effort.

Areas of strong importance to me related to my wife:

- Can the trunk hold her, a shovel, a large tarp, and duck tape
- Can I still hear her nag in the drivers seat.



(kidding, I like my wife, no really!)

in one word....NO

Frequent trips to the dealership for little crap, rattles, technology overload, and if you troll the postings there are a lot of issues from A/C, steering to transmission.

Not supposed to happen to a luxury car in its second year of production

....and Audi Care is an add on..There are better luxury values out there with better reliability