Audi A6

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Hi guys just looking for advice I'm looking to buy an s line Audi A6 from the uk.
Do ye think it's mad to be looking at cars with 100,000 + miles.
I think I heard that audis,bmws and mercs are suppose to be able to handle higher mileage better than other cars.
What do ye think. Any advice welcome.
Cheers.

bazz26

Can you be a bit more specific around what year the car is.

If the car is only a few years old then 100,000 miles is quite normal on a UK car if it was either a fleet or commuter car travelling the motorway network. Checking over the service history is paramount and ring the garages that serviced it. I'd also get the likes of an AA or RAC check done on the car, they are not cheap but are pretty comprehensive especially if your spending thousands on buying the car.

Also with that sort of mileage you can be looking at replacements of some consumable parts depending on what sort of wear they have, things like timing belts, clutch, flywheel and suspension bits normally have a life span based on wear and tear so potentially some of these things may need replacing in the short to mid term.

qm1bv4p8i92aoj

bazz26 wrote: »

Can you be a bit more specific around what year the car is.

If the car is only a few years old then 100,000 miles is quite normal on a UK car if it was either a fleet or commuter car travelling the motorway network. Checking over the service history is paramount and ring the garages that serviced it. I'd also get the likes of an AA or RAC check done on the car, they are not cheap but are pretty comprehensive especially if your spending thousands on buying the car.

Also with that sort of mileage you can be looking at replacements of some consumable parts depending on what sort of wear they have, things like timing belts, clutch, flywheel and suspension bits normally have a life span based on wear and tear so potentially some of these things may need replacing in the short to mid term.

Hi Bazz. I'd be looking at a 2011 or 2012 to buy. I do very little mileage myself, maybe around 10,000 miles every two years.

dodzy

Darren Prehistoric Misogyny wrote: »

Hi Bazz. I'd be looking at a 2011 or 2012 to buy. I do very little mileage myself, maybe around 10,000 miles every two years.

With that mileage, I'd forget the diesel variants.

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dodzy wrote: »

With that mileage, I'd forget the diesel variants.

Any reasons why? Filters?

acronym Chilli

Darren Prehistoric Misogyny wrote: »

Any reasons why? Filters?

Without wanting to speak for someone else...
Filters are likely to give you problems if you're doing that sort of low mileage.

More to the point, you only get the benefit of fuel economy by driving it and using fuel. Diesels are generally more expensive (new and used). They also cost a bit more to maintain (on average).
That cost premium may pay off, but only if you need to actually drive it and then save fuel (and money) on those journeys.

Low mileage generally means short journeys and/or very few journeys. Short journeys don't allow the engine to fully warm up (again this also takes longer on a diesel) which mean that the economy of the engine suffers (negating possible saving). Also means filters get clogged because they don't hit the right temperature to regenerate, and can incur further repair/maintenance costs.

5k miles a year is definitely petrol territory (and all things being equal, the petrol engine will generally be nicer to drive, quieter, less particulates into air, etc., etc.,). It's great not to need to drive so much (I can say while sadly driving about 25k miles a year).

dodzy

There are situations when cheap road tax should not enter the equation when car searching. This is one of those times. Chilli summed it up perfectly.

Zurbaran

Unless he went lexus there really isn't a diesel alternative in the year/class of car he is looking at.

grogi

Darren Prehistoric Misogyny wrote: »

Hi guys just looking for advice I'm looking to buy an s line Audi A6 from the uk.
Do ye think it's mad to be looking at cars with 100,000 + miles.

No. When car is properly serviced and not driven by a pig, it is the time not the mileage that is doing more damage...

acronym Chilli wrote: »

Without wanting to speak for someone else...
Filters are likely to give you problems if you're doing that sort of low mileage.

More to the point, you only get the benefit of fuel economy by driving it and using fuel. Diesels are generally more expensive (new and used). They also cost a bit more to maintain (on average).
That cost premium may pay off, but only if you need to actually drive it and then save fuel (and money) on those journeys.

Low mileage generally means short journeys and/or very few journeys. Short journeys don't allow the engine to fully warm up (again this also takes longer on a diesel) which mean that the economy of the engine suffers (negating possible saving). Also means filters get clogged because they don't hit the right temperature to regenerate, and can incur further repair/maintenance costs.

5k miles a year is definitely petrol territory (and all things being equal, the petrol engine will generally be nicer to drive, quieter, less particulates into air, etc., etc.,). It's great not to need to drive so much (I can say while sadly driving about 25k miles a year).

I really hate that too-little-mileage-for-a-diesel mantra...

For couple of reasons:

a) Getting a petrol with better than poor spec and performance is much more difficult, if not impossible.

b) Diesel, especially relatively new, does not mean worse reliability. Petrols got complicated as well - direct injections, turbo-chargers, dmf, stupid Stop-Start systems et al. The times when diesels were immortal are gone decades ago, but the times when petrols are less complex are gone too.

c) Taxation is more favourable for diesels. I don't agree with that - but that's the fact. With diesel you're saving - and not only on the fuel, but also with your annual tax-man bill. Even when something pricey breaks down, one should have already saved that on taxes.

Should we have more sensible tax regime - sure, this mileage does not justify the diesel. But with VRT and MotorTax based on CO2 emissions - a diesel makes financial sense much more often.