A4 Avant quattro 3.0 petrol reliability & running costs
Discussion
Hi, anyone tell me if the 2003 A4 Avant quattro 3.0 petrol is a safe bet . I reckon 25mpg and should be more trouble free with no turbo. How does it drive, does it feel rapid (keep in context). What should I watch out for with this model. I´ve had varius quattro models before inc. Ur´s but not this one and don´t want a problematic car. The car I´m looking at has 80k miles Black(nightmare colour) and grey leather ,though not an awe inspiring interior like an RS4.
Any advice welcome as viewing Saturday against a E39 2003 BMW 530D Touring , yes very different but its a sporty economy drive against a 4x4 Audi that I always drive ,so sometimes a change is a rest ,and to be honest I expect to be doing alot of miles so bit worried about economy.
thks Tony
Any advice welcome as viewing Saturday against a E39 2003 BMW 530D Touring , yes very different but its a sporty economy drive against a 4x4 Audi that I always drive ,so sometimes a change is a rest ,and to be honest I expect to be doing alot of miles so bit worried about economy.
thks Tony
Your choices echo mine. i went from coupe quattro's B3, B4 to a B6 2.5 tdi quattro sport. it gets slammed here a lot i know but i have maintained it religiously and its a good drivers car to be honest i have heard some BIG bills on the engines at 100k, but it returns 40mpg and quite spirited, quite laggy sub 1800rpm but nicely setup imho. hasnt troubled me at all, bit of a lottery engine i reckon, might get a good one, might not.
However, the cockpit is much smaller than my previous cars, i am 6ft3 and its a proper squeeze, feel very enclosed. the seats are really comfy, best i have had. handling wise the quattro sport setup i think is good in this car, slightly nose heavy when pushed. I narrowed my choice down to a 3.0 petrol or a 2.5tdi. and went diesel for the fuel cost. after a year of ownership, its not that much more efficient to warrant the cost in my view, unless you do lots of motorway miles. i had a 3.0q for a weekend to try and was getting 28-29mpg from country B roads, ok maybe more spirited driving than normal. but i am sure you would see over 30mpg on longer runs, but not much over 30. I had two audi 2.8's previous to that and the 3.0 sounds far better as a lump, again its very smooth across the range so the speed is deceptive. reliability i assume if fine the previous generation V6's are reliable as hell, there is a Serb on audifans with 700k on his.
mine is met black with grey leather/ alcantra interior. the black is an arse to keep clean, but a good wax and a coat of collinite keeps it shiny! but any blemish becomes like massive beacons.
My brother recently bought an E39 528 of the same vintage and i loved the drive of that. the E60-61 is a cracker as well, maybe pushing the budget i am guessing your spending what £6-8k ish? I wouldn't rule out an A6 3.0 quattro of the same vintage. its much roomier inside and generally a little better spec'ed and at that age makes little difference to price.
drG and a fair few others are in the trade so can give you an idea of what prices/ specs/ as they generally have driven most models.
However, the cockpit is much smaller than my previous cars, i am 6ft3 and its a proper squeeze, feel very enclosed. the seats are really comfy, best i have had. handling wise the quattro sport setup i think is good in this car, slightly nose heavy when pushed. I narrowed my choice down to a 3.0 petrol or a 2.5tdi. and went diesel for the fuel cost. after a year of ownership, its not that much more efficient to warrant the cost in my view, unless you do lots of motorway miles. i had a 3.0q for a weekend to try and was getting 28-29mpg from country B roads, ok maybe more spirited driving than normal. but i am sure you would see over 30mpg on longer runs, but not much over 30. I had two audi 2.8's previous to that and the 3.0 sounds far better as a lump, again its very smooth across the range so the speed is deceptive. reliability i assume if fine the previous generation V6's are reliable as hell, there is a Serb on audifans with 700k on his.
mine is met black with grey leather/ alcantra interior. the black is an arse to keep clean, but a good wax and a coat of collinite keeps it shiny! but any blemish becomes like massive beacons.
My brother recently bought an E39 528 of the same vintage and i loved the drive of that. the E60-61 is a cracker as well, maybe pushing the budget i am guessing your spending what £6-8k ish? I wouldn't rule out an A6 3.0 quattro of the same vintage. its much roomier inside and generally a little better spec'ed and at that age makes little difference to price.
drG and a fair few others are in the trade so can give you an idea of what prices/ specs/ as they generally have driven most models.
If it helps I had the A6 version for nearly 2 years (3.0 quattro sport saloon). The only issue I had was with the coil packs and Audi replaced them FOC under warranty. Other than that it was a decent enough car although quite dull to drive. I did feel that the 6sp gearbox was too low geared so 80mph was close to 3K revs but it was smooth and good for long distance driving. Economy was over 25mpg so I expect the lighter A4 to be a bit better. I sold the car with 26K on the clock so can't comment on high mileage durability.
I've had a 3.0 quattro sport avant since new in 2002.
Not terribly quick, not that economical. It was my company car for the first three years so kept records of all petrol purchases, it averaged 22mpg for that time. the best I achieved was 26 driving back from the South of France.
The coil packs have failed twice and it needed a new rear antiroll bar to get through the MOT week before last.
Apart from that it is comfortable but not really a drivers car, reasonable to run servicing wise, although I have had a few issues in the past with main dealers. The rear pads were replaced last winter having only lasted 9k miles, couldn't get Audi to admit there was anything wrong with this.
Not terribly quick, not that economical. It was my company car for the first three years so kept records of all petrol purchases, it averaged 22mpg for that time. the best I achieved was 26 driving back from the South of France.
The coil packs have failed twice and it needed a new rear antiroll bar to get through the MOT week before last.
Apart from that it is comfortable but not really a drivers car, reasonable to run servicing wise, although I have had a few issues in the past with main dealers. The rear pads were replaced last winter having only lasted 9k miles, couldn't get Audi to admit there was anything wrong with this.
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