2007 A6 Quattro 3.0 - anything to be wary of

[torqueofthedevil]

Potential to buy one around £1500

It’s done 170k so obviously a gamble but generally are these seen as a safe-ish bet? Or money pit?

Any particular things / servicing I should check has been completed?

I had a 330d that went to 250k but around the 170k mark and onwards it did have plenty of expensive issues - high pressure pumps and injectors etc.

Thanks

[blueg33]

I had one from new and drove it 120k miles in 5 years. It was an A6 Le Mans 3.0tdi

Things that went wrong

MMI system mainly, especially the bluetooth module, but when that failed other parts of the system failed
Appetite for ARB bushes
Body control module failed due to bad earth (car was 2 days old) Opened all the windows and unlocked all of the doors on a rainy day

Nothing else went wrong with my car.

Things I have read about

An important ECU lives under the cup holder, spillages can kill it
If its an Avant, look out for leaks in rear washer pipework, that can kill electronics in the boot
Although "sealed for life" its best to have the gearbox oil on an auto changed
Best to have matching tread depths and tread patterns all round, but at the very least the same across an axle

[joshcowin]

My dad has a 10plate 3.0 le mans avant on 140,000ish

EGR, rear spring, rear led light, rear window motors.

That's all that has gone wrong, he is on it with maintenance though but the car does sit for long periods without use.

Great cars, I will hopefully inherit it once he decides to get something new.

[GordonGekko]

Open the bonnet with it running.
Pop off the plastic top cover.
Listen for timing chain rattling towards the rear of the engine - if it’s audible then better to look for a different car.

[shtu]

I had one for a few years, another Le Mans version. Tihngs that went wrong,

Front ride height sensor.
Couple of wheel bearings.
Inlet manifolds.
Set of glowplugs.
Headlight bulbs faded, and the lenses of the HDs needed to be cleaned, which was an epic task to dismantle the units and feed the parts out through the rear of the lamp, then reasseble it all inside the lamp.
A parking sensor.

Overall, not too bad. One thing to watch for is the tax - mine slipped in just before the £500+ tax, and later ones were more sensible, but lots of 56/57ish plated ones will be immense on tax.

Be wary of any fault that requires you to remove the front upper arms or uprights. The top bolt on the upright corrodes in place and it's an EPIC task to remove it.