Yay or Nay on Super High Mileage 2017 A6 3.0T

[RosSauce]

So I randomly ran across a 2017 A6 Competition for a good price but it just rolled over 155K miles. It's from a dealer so they don't have specific maintenance records on hand and I have not checked the CarFax yet, but supposedly it has had only 1-2 owners.

As a previous B8 S4 owner and putting in $5K+ into it at 140K+ miles, I don't want to sink that much into a car right now for maintenance/repairs and have since learned to wrench on my cars a lot more. But my heart is in love with the 3.0T motor and the A6 while my head is saying avoid it for potential future headaches. Can someone help talk sense into me one way or the other? I've seen people run 3.0Ts to crazy miles and others with issues early on. Is the 2017 more buttoned up in terms of timing chain issues?

[MzA6]

I purchased a 2018 A6 Competition last year with 101k the car was dealer maintained. This was my first German car so I was definitely nervous about it. Just hit 111k I’ve done an oil change replaced the motor mounts, filters, battery and changed the brakes pads and rotors. So I put about $2500 into the car but I was prepared for that. The water pump and thermostat were changed at 85k I know that’s costly. But car runs great not sure if I should do the transmission fluid yet. Since the car has mostly highway miles on it. From an OBD11 scan it throws one soft code for the pcv regulator valve. Since I have changed the oil at 106k it’s burned half a quart. I don’t regret my purchase. Only bad thing is the car depreciates so much also the high maintenance cost, but oil changes are easy. I plan on tuning it in the summer just stage one maybe E85.

[Valpo A7]

We had a 12 A7 that we bought with 142k miles. Timing chains were done at 203-204K miles. Traded it at 234K miles. Still had the original trans fluid.

I think the 17 has the upgraded cam chain tensioners which were the major source of chain rattle on the older engines but the guides were still plastic and those will break.

As for repair records, Audi owners tend to go back to the dealer for repairs so the history should be in the computer but they may not give it to you until after purchase, you can try with the service department and see what they are willing to part with.


If you are paying for labor then owning a higher mileage Audi will be expensive, more expensive if you take it to a dealer for work. If you can do your own work then its not too bad. ECS, FCP, and Europa-parts will need to be on speed dial. They will carry parts from the OEM supplier and not have the OEM robbery price tag.

[jbain2]

I own a C[emoji6].[emoji6] with similar mileage. At that mileage you are definitely looking at maintenance items including the timing stuff as well as PCV, water pump, valve covers, etc. I would personally do the transmission fluid as well as the diff fluids at that mileage.

So I’d say in maintenance alone you are pretty quickly approaching your threshold and that’s all conditional on who does the work.

All that being said, I still think it’s one of Audi’s best motor/drivetrain platforms.


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[Spitfire007]

I personally think it's best to own one of these as a lease return.
You get the benefit of buying a pretty new slightly used car with some warranty left, and get to use it for 5-6 years before maintenance gets super expensive and no longer worth the investment.

That's what I did. I'm now at 119xxx miles with a new PCV, water pump, thermostat.....
It's got recent brakes and tires and should last another long while for me, and it's paid for.

Getting something beyond 120k miles is a no for me. Hard to know the history of the car, and it's a lot of miles over many seasons without knowing how it was used/abused.

That's said, if it's cheap enough (sub $5000) and you can do your own work, then maybe it's worth it. But at that mileage/age, random expensive stuff starts to go. Like light ballasts and mechatronics units, and electronic do-dads hard to get to.


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[ActiveMonkey]

The 2017 is a C7.5 and it has a slightly different 3.0T than you're used to in the S4, but it's a fantastic motor. I bought my 2016 A6 Prestige from CarMax at 85k miles as it was a 1 owner corporate lease before me. The car is at 197k miles and original transmission. I recently installed a used 85k mile motor because the original the motor developed a failed head gasket (extremely rare) at 191k miles. Aside from the head gasket, the timing chains never made any noise and ran perfectly. I am very meticulous when it comes to preventative maintenance, but the car has just be fantastic.

In the 2 years and 110k+ miles I've had the car, I've launched it ~1000+ times, tried 4 different tuners, gone stages 1, 2, 2+, run 91 - e85 and driven multiple 4000+ mile road trips. While everyone has slightly different luck with their cars, I would not hesitate to buy one of these again.

[Spitfire007]

An amazing testament to how good they are.


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[Burkeomatic]

Yep, the 3.0ts are tough, and there aren't many engine out repairs (timing chain is the main one).

The ZF8 is nearly indestructible, and I don't think you'd ever get enough power from a 3.0t to hurt one considering the amount of power V8 folk regularly send through them trouble free.

If you spin your own wrenches, get it. You're probably going to need to change the engine mounts and front control arms at some point. Other than that, maintain it, be ready for a thermostat/water pump/PCV at some point and enjoy.

It'll probably be good to do a carbon cleaning on it as well.

[RosSauce]

Thanks all! Actually opposite of what I was expecting and making my decision harder haha. I recently sold my 2012 Mercedes E550 Coupe with the 4.7L bi-turbo and did a ton of maintenance on it myself which saved a fortune over the years. Is the 3.0T PCV, thermostat, and water pump DIY-able or would a shop be better for it? Funnily, the B8 S4 I owned before had zero chain rattle with all the miles on it but had a few oil leaks when I bought it. I really love this platform but know they require some extra maintenance and TLC.

[ActiveMonkey]

Thanks all! Actually opposite of what I was expecting and making my decision harder haha. I recently sold my 2012 Mercedes E550 Coupe with the 4.7L bi-turbo and did a ton of maintenance on it myself which saved a fortune over the years. Is the 3.0T PCV, thermostat, and water pump DIY-able or would a shop be better for it? Funnily, the B8 S4 I owned before had zero chain rattle with all the miles on it but had a few oil leaks when I bought it. I really love this platform but know they require some extra maintenance and TLC.

I'm going to do my PCV this weekend and i expect it to take just a few hours, really not that bad at all. Water pump is also pretty straight forward though a small bit tougher given the space limitation but still not bad to do .

[Burkeomatic]

Thanks all! Actually opposite of what I was expecting and making my decision harder haha. I recently sold my 2012 Mercedes E550 Coupe with the 4.7L bi-turbo and did a ton of maintenance on it myself which saved a fortune over the years. Is the 3.0T PCV, thermostat, and water pump DIY-able or would a shop be better for it? Funnily, the B8 S4 I owned before had zero chain rattle with all the miles on it but had a few oil leaks when I bought it. I really love this platform but know they require some extra maintenance and TLC.

All DIYable in your driveway.

[esimp2k]

I'd be more looking at suspension status at that mileage. The 3.0t is one of the most bullet proof Audi motors as everyone has stated. I'm at 113k and recently had to replace a lot of worn front suspension bits and struts. These are heavy cars. Prior replaced leaky valve cover gaskets and of course pcv twice over the cars lifespan. But I haven't found anything else I'd like better currently for a daily in New England. Stage 2 single pulley and tcu tune also with no issues.


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[jbain2]

All DIYable in your driveway.

Agreed. Or the street where I did mine.


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[RosSauce]

So I pulled the Carfax on it and there’s sparse maintenance records but the second owner bought it around 90K miles and then serviced it at an Audi dealership until now. It looks like it was taken to the dealership like 5-6 times in intervals ranging from 200-2K miles before the car was sold/auctioned. I tried contacting the dealer for info but they won’t disclose anything.

The dealer selling the car offered a 2 day/200 mile return period and also was more than ok with me taking it for a PPI. He claims the car runs well and everything functions as it should. Still, the recent Carfax history seems a bit fishy to me…

[Spitfire007]

I think you can call other dealers to see what mx was done on the car.

Mines been good so far. But even with a new PCV and all the other fun things "while you're in there", she's still burning a quart of liqui-moly every 2500 miles.....

If that increases much, I'll be selling/trading out, as I'm not up for an engine replacement.

Just be aware


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[wootwoot]

[SpongeM]

S6 prices dropped recently. But maintenance cost will also be "slightly" higher as well.
What I love most about the 3.0T is the reliability and the quick oil changes in the autozone parking lot which takes 8 minutes.

[srb_brah]

S6 prices dropped recently. But maintenance cost will also be "slightly" higher as well.
What I love most about the 3.0T is the reliability and the quick oil changes in the autozone parking lot which takes 8 minutes.

lovely example of price drops lol I spoke to this dealer mid 2024 and said I'd buy it for 33K lol

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/invent...0/NONE/DEFAULT