erik_plus8

Hi all,

after lurking over at the D4 section for a year or so, I hereby create my first post here... I took delivery of my new to me 2018 S6 Avant a couple of days ago and wanted to introduce myself and maybe also get some help. Because of work, I have mostly owned/driven Volvos until now, with a few enthusiast cars on top. This is my first modern Audi.

About a year ago "we" decided to pick a BEV as my wife's company car. It would replace a very comfortable and practical 2019 Volvo V90CC D5. I realized that our longer road trips might be in jeopardy with this choice (topic for another discussion - BEV practical useability...) so I started looking at an additional car to solve the longer trips. I was a bit into diesel at that time and I realized Audi had a V8 diesel in the A8 body, so that's where it started. Test drove a couple of those last spring, competent cars but not really inspiring. By chance someone mentioned the S8 which sounded interesting with 520-605hp, and I switched to look for those. Test drove an S8 Plus and was hooked - what a marvellous engine. However, from last summer onwards the prices just kept creeping up and one or two possible objects went away before I could pull the trigger. As time went and no 100% right car came up I also started thinking about practicality. The D4 body is a sedan (obvs) which we haven't had before and it doesn't even have foldable rear seats. What if wifey picks up an online auction find huge shelf/drawer or whatever and I tell her our new 65-70kUSD car can't be used to pick it up...? No good. Again, by chance, we were on a walk around here and crossing the street, a very good looking (what I thought) A6 Avant passed us. When doing that I noticed the "V8T" on the front fenders and then the four exhaust pipes... Heureka - that was the answer I was looking for! I had somehow missed there was a version with the 4.0TT in the C7... The current S6 is a V6 diesel for some reason, and my mind had stuck on that.

So, search commenced with renewed force. I am sure the S6 prices also have crept up, but now I was starting from scratch without previous knowledge - ignorance is bliss, man maths and so on...

It didn't take too long before I found one here, which I test drove and found to be conceptually ok, but with too high milage. After a couple of weeks an interesting car turned up in Germany, a 2018 low mileage model, with 95% of my preferred spec. (I wanted full leather, this one has alcantara/leather). Also, which no other car I have seen had, it has extended factory warranty to June -23 - not bad at all. Some back and forth discussion with the dealer and we finally agreed. Since travel restrictions into Germany are quite strict, I couldn't go and pick it up my self. Instead an import company helped me through the process. And last Sunday we took the train to where the car was and picked it up. It was a very nice 500km drive home, where the car exceeded my expectations in all areas. Wifey (remember, the BEV-fanatic) even said after one of the more inspired overtakes - "I understand why you wanted a V8 so badly, it really sounds good!"

Did the first wash yesterday which gives a good chance to get to know the car a bit closer. It's a one-owner car and he had really taken good care of it. It was clean in the most strange places - it was like I had bought a car from my self - haha!

So, a couple of questions if someone wants to help:

- When reversing and with a lot of steering lock, there is a slight feeling of "binding" in the drive train and a "booming" sound. It stops as soon as I straighten the wheel. I am thinking something in the quattro/4wd system...?
- When looking underneath the car, from behind, there are two rectangular reinforcement bars going slightly outwards towards the front. They pass just inside the control arms of the rear suspension and about there, there are "dents" in them. If only one side had been dented, I would have panicked, but it's on both sides, both bars, and looks the same. I assume it is made like this to give freedom of movement for the rear suspension, but it would be nice if someone could confirm also their car looks like this...

Updates planned:
- Oil change - not strictly necessary until next year, but I like to do that when I get a new car. Also a nice way to get to know the car, when you DIY
- Paint detailing - the paint is in really good condition, but can always be improved
- 20" wheels, Audi 5-spoke Rotors. I have them already, just waiting for new rubber. The current 19"s will get winter rubber

Thanks in advance, I am sure I will be back with more questions!

Here it is:

erik_plus8

No one?

gk1

We are all jealous of the avant since it is largely a US userbase here.
It is also a very slow forum.
Congrats though. Great color too.

"- When reversing and with a lot of steering lock, there is a slight feeling of "binding" in the drive train and a "booming" sound. It stops as soon as I straighten the wheel. I am thinking something in the quattro/4wd system...?
- When looking underneath the car, from behind, there are two rectangular reinforcement bars going slightly outwards towards the front. They pass just inside the control arms of the rear suspension and about there, there are "dents" in them. If only one side had been dented, I would have panicked, but it's on both sides, both bars, and looks the same. I assume it is made like this to give freedom of movement for the rear suspension, but it would be nice if someone could confirm also their car looks like this..."

Quatro "bind" is somewhat normal when turning in tight circles. It sometimes goes away after a center diff oil change, but comes back after a short time.

The bars are normal and just look dented they also exist on the 7's just not the 6 sedans.
4G8505475A
example

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erik_plus8

Thanks for that, gk1!

Haha, the bars look like they've been used in a street fight... Good to get it confirmed, though, thanks!

The regular gearbox oil change is up in just over 15000km, is the diff oil changed at the same time? I guess I can ask for it, but if it's part of the maintenance schedule, I mean.

Slow forum - is that because C7 is the older generation or just generally low activitiy?

gk1

Diff oil has no regular change interval, but you could do it at the same time. Just be careful. Very specific fluids and don't want them to be mixed up.
Just generally slow I think people switched to other platforms.

DupeA6

I am jealous of that avant- sweet car! Oh- agree with everything else he said also.

Alister

Congrats on the S6 Avant erik_plus8, and welcome to the fold.

Out of interest, what country are you in? Sverige?

Car looks great in Daytona - looks like a very tidy example too. Always nice to find a used car that is clean in places you wouldn't expect - says a lot about the previous owner.

I look forward to seeing some updated pics once you've got the 20s on it.

erik_plus8

Thanks guys, much appreciated!

Yes, I will definitely post more pictures, once the rubber arrives, it's a few weeks out still. I chose Michelin PS4 Acoustic for the new 20" wheels. They are said to be both quiet (foam strips inside the tyre) and have low rolling resistance. Maybe not as "sporty" as PS4S, but this car is all about long, high speed road trips, so PS4 ACO should in theory be the perfect choice. Not that the car was loud with the Pirellis that are on now - it's really quiet and road noise is well insulated. I guess the ANC works well.

Yes, I've heard that the diff and gearbox have very different oils, and that mix ups have happened with suboptimal results. Sometime I feel that DIY is the only way to make sure, but there's also a limit to what I feel comfortable doing, and also on which of my cars. The Miata has to put up with a lot...

Yep, I am in Sweden. Small country means few nice examples, especially of the more high end cars. There were two (2) C7 S6 Avants for sale when I started searching, both with a little too high milage. Germany is normally then my go-to market, this is my fourth car I've bought there and imported here. Normally I do it my self as a nice 2-3 day road trip, but this time I had to pay someone to do it for me. Me and the family also appreciates going on car holidays and we quite often go down to Germany and further through Europe. This summer we might have to go north, within Sweden instead. Will also be nice, but no Autobahn high speeds unfortunately.

Regarding forums vs other platforms: I've seen the tendency in other places also. Only exception - Rennlist seem to still have some traffic. For an old-ish fart like me (>50), the forum format is unbeatable. Lots and lots of info stored over the years, searchable, fruitful discussions with nice people, possibility to lay out the text, etc, etc. I don't understand where people are moving where the information exchange and discussions can have similar quality...? FB? Instagram? Don't think so

John Simcox

Hi Erik Welcome to the world of the A6. As already mentioned this forum is primarily frequented by US based owners. There are 2 UK based forums I subscribe to Audi-Sport https://www.audi-sport.net/xf/forums...7-chassis.262/ and https://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/...orum-2011-2018 both are very active and helpful and there are some on both that have the S6. With the strong push, in the UK, towards diesel during much of the C7 platform's lifetime those going for a performance A6 in the UK tended toeards the BiTurbo TDi rather than the petrol S6. Clearly that has all changed now for those buying new.

Enjoy the car

erik_plus8

Thanks John, good info, I will have a look! It is on purpose that I started here, partly knowing that US is a petrol market, partly because chances are bigger for more activity on the forum, with a large amount of members.
For info, there are 37 cars here in Sweden, with the same engine, 2015-18 (both sedan + Avant) Out of 9742 C7:s 15-18 in total. Not a huge S6 user base