Buying advice on a 1999 A6 Avant Quattro

[councilfire]

Audi Experts: We have been searching for an AWD wagon for our college-bound 18 year old son who will be soon heading north to snow country. We have seen a wide array of Volvos, Subarus and Audis. The best of the lot to date seems to be a 1999 Audi A6 Avant Quattro with 106,500 miles with the following attributes:

1) Single owner (A recently-retired New Hampshire businessman who has relocated to Maryland and who is an Audi lover - has had 5, wife drives identical 2001 A6, etc.) with reference made to a complete 80,000 service.
2) Excellent exterior condition - no visible dings, dents, etc.
3) Mechanical condition looks clean at first glance with only discovered issue during test drive being a slight knock in front right over significant bumps (bushings?). We are having the vehicle thoroughly reviewed by a trusted local mechanic tomorrow.
4) approx. 30 % wear on tires
5) $6500 asking price; Subject to mechanical review, would pursue something around $5000 given Edmunds True Market Value appraisal placing it between $4800 - $5100.

Our questions for you:

1) Are there any know/obvious issues to be on the look out for with this model/year? Internet research is typically all over the map with some reference to timing belt and suspension issues but widely varying consumer experiences.
2) Are there any wear & tear related repairs that we would want to be sure have been done, given the age & mileage of the vehicle.
3) Your opinions as to whether the overall reliability is likely to be an issue with this performance car. It clearly meets all the parental concerns of safety and inclement weather performance for a child off to college in snow country but, at the same time, reliability will be an issue as he will be a relatively broke college student who would nto be well-equiped to deal with a car continually in the shop for expensive repairs . . .

Thanks in advance for the great insights!

[CARTEL]

Your greatest ally here will be documentation of previous maintenance, and who performed it. The C5 A6 that I owned was pretty maintenance heavy; I replaced the rear diff seal, tie rods, tranny seals, 4 control arms and shocks / springs at 90,000 and my car had seen a pretty easy life previously. With that said, I'm still in contact with the buyer of that car (I sold it about 3 years ago), and its running stronger than ever; scheduled maintenance will go a long way for the longevity of the car.

Make sure whoever your 'trusted local mechanic' is has experience with the C5 A6 specifically. If you think they might falter in that regard, don't rule out taking it to an Audi dealership, assuming they're any good in your area.

Even though that's a pretty killer asking price (these cars were in the high 30s / 40s new!), depending on immediate maintenance, it could easily turn into a $10k car.

Good luck!

[councilfire]

Tony: Thanks for the thoughtful response. We'll be asking for previous maintenance documentation for sure and the "trusted local mechanic" and his team have serviced my non-Audi foreign cars for several years and they have offered that they have considerable Audi A6 experience, including the fact that one of their mechanics is a longtime Audi fanatic who is currently driving an A6 himself. We'll just have to see. I do have the creeping sensation that even if we can find and purchase a great used one, the cost and time associated with on-going general maintenance of this performance car during the next 4-5 years may be a bit too much to deal with for a full-time student. May have to go back to looking at those ugly Subaru wagons . . . !

[CARTEL]

Haha, I know what you're saying. I had an Outback for my first few years in college and I still have it in Tahoe (with 300k miles on it!). Don't rule out the looks though - with a few simple mods they can look pretty amazing:

[Tamas]

Tony: Thanks for the thoughtful response. We'll be asking for previous maintenance documentation for sure and the "trusted local mechanic" and his team have serviced my non-Audi foreign cars for several years and they have offered that they have considerable Audi A6 experience, including the fact that one of their mechanics is a longtime Audi fanatic who is currently driving an A6 himself. We'll just have to see. I do have the creeping sensation that even if we can find and purchase a great used one, the cost and time associated with on-going general maintenance of this performance car during the next 4-5 years may be a bit too much to deal with for a full-time student. May have to go back to looking at those ugly Subaru wagons . . . !

Stick with the A6 over the Subaru. With a proper/good mechanic the service wont be that much more than any other car.