Recommend me an auto

I would normally recommend a Prius too but considering your coming from an A6 I’m not sure if you’d like the idea of a Prius. What about a Lexus IS300h? You should just about be able to get one within budget if you buy private. They are bulletproof cars.

Automatics cause more fuel consumption and can give issues.

I would avoid CVT ( prius exception ) they are cheap crap and they are horrible to drive really and they can give a lot of issues due to lots of friction on the chain.

Torque invertor is probably the oldest and most reliable of them all but far thirstier.

Ford's Power Shift or Dual clutch has been known to give issues.

If that 3.0L Audi is multitronic I would avoid this as it was known to give issues.

The VW group DSG is pretty reliable but has been known to give issues too, the oil needs to be changed the oil every 60,000 Kms. If it's not known whether this has been done, I would change it anyway.

The CVT in the Prius is probably the most reliable of them all because it uses 1 of the 2 electric motors to propel the car so it's much more simplified but you get that horrible CVT driving experience.

The prius is a sound car, over engineered, at least that was the case with the MKII 2007 I had, there were taxies in North America with over 400,000 Miles on them, 643,000 Kms.

The Prius gearbox oil was fill for life oil, there's no such thing so it needs to be changed and I was glad I did mine because the mechanic told me it was black, the electric motors use this oil to keep them cool so the oil should be free from contaminants that can damage the electric motor coils.

The lexus uses the same powertrain as the prius so it's very reliable.

As with any car, higher mileage older cars can give issues, manual is best and simplest and cheapest to fix as it gets old with high miles.

I have a 2012 A7 - 3L TDI.. fantastic machine. Had 2 of the A6 C6 models myself (a 05 and 10 - also 3L TDI) so I know what I'm talking about.

If you've been told to go smaller you'll struggle if used to the comfort/power/quality of the A6. Maybe an A5/A4 with a decent trim? 3L is rarer in those but they do exist.

With your budget, I think your best option would be Honda Fit. This is the only car that you can get with this amount of money that is extremely reliable, cheap to maintain/run, automatic, small but pratical/spacious at same time and it's not too old. You probably can get a 2015.

The cons: Not very powerfull (quite boring) and the insurance is not the cheapest (should be cheaper than your current car).

No, I'd say. That probably has old Euro5 compliant emissions which would mean you will be screwed in VRT. You then have to pay VAT and customs duty on top due to Brexit.

The taxes are designed to make importing old diesel cars like this unattractive.

I'd have to disagree - my last A6 was a 2010 facelift with 410,000km on it when I changed. Plenty of life in those cars if they're looked after.

Exactly. VRT & Nox way too high

DAMN IT! So I’d have gotten the flat rate and no Nox charge even though if I’d brought it in when they would have been due? Just turning up late let’s me avoid that?

Time to set up an alert on gumtree so! Thanks for the info 👍

Check Youtube and find out how to change the key battery

Done the youtube search to change the battery, use the key to pry the cover off, it did not work, turns out the key was different on the inside.

hold the key as you would a remote and use your thumb to slide the cover off,

My battery lasted only 3.5 years from new.

But unlike an audi we had, there is no "hold the key here, and start the car" option...