my "new" twin turbo Audi!

[TurboSedan]

yup, i bought a new car, and i ended up with EXACTLY what i wanted in the first place! i was also looking into 2000-2004 Subaru Legacy GT, as well as Volvo S60, Saab 9-5, and some other misc cars. i really wanted AWD, manual transmission, boost, midsize sedan and something within my budget - and the 2.7T had it ALL plus i LOVE the styling. the S4 was generally out of my budget from what i could find in the area. early 2000-ish A6 looks better than the same year A4 anyway and a 2.7T-era S4 would have likely been beaten on more than a 2.7T A6.

i picked up a 2000 Audi A6 2.7T Quattro with a 6-speed manual i was lucky to find this especially since most of these are equipt with the Tiptronic 5-speed automatic *yawn*. i found it on craigslist.com in Denver advertised for $8995. when i picked the car up today it had exactly 93,818 miles. it has been very well maintained and was owned by an older man that had health problems. his son (who was about 45-50 or so) was selling it for his dad because he had Crohn's disease which made it impractical for him to own or drive anymore. the owner's son who sold me the car did not need it and flat out told me he was worried he'd get speeding tickets driving it but it also wasn't big enough to hold all of his kids' car seats so it was impractical for him as well. according to him, i'm the 3rd owner and the car has been in Colorado since new (which means no rust).

this car has just past the 90k mile service schedule and has already had the ever-so-important timing belt replaced along with the tensioners, water pumps, and a TON of other stuff. the car had new tires installed just over one month ago. it came with a HUGE stack of receipts in the glovebox! and no i don't mean to imply the car had problems or was a lemon; i mean all of this stuff is maintenance. they were religious about it. just the timing belt job receipt was almost $1700. i still need to go through all of the receipts and paperwork/notes as there is a ton of it. this car runs and drives amazing. it almost looks just as well as it runs & drives but there are a few scuffs here and there. nothing major though. no dents and absolutely NO rust anywhere. the trunk is deceptively huge and includes a stock matching full size spare - not a steely.

as you can see in the pics it is silver. it has black leather interior which is in almost perfect condition with the exception of a broken cup holder and the all-too-common problem these cars have of missing/damaged pixels in the DIC section of the instrument cluster (works better when cold it seems). i'm not really sure what option package this car has if any. it has heated seats (all four - front & back), memory seats & mirrors (3 different settings can be programmed), auto-dimming mirrors rearview mirrors, power adjustable moonroof, and dual zone digital climate control. i'm not completely sure what is or isn't an option. he left the Sirius satellite radio in the car for me which was nice to listen to on the way home hell you can't even hear the engine or exhaust it's soooooo damn quiet! not only that, he even filled the gas tank before i picked the car up!

btw, the speedo goes to 170mph! this thing HAULS arse (for what it is of course) and it has NO lag at all. and obviously - no lack of traction either. 1st gear feels really steep (to me), yet despite being steep you don't even have to know what you're doing to get this thing out of the hole with explosive force & very quickly screaming down the highway in NO time. redline appears to be ~6300 RPM. as some of you know, it's basically an Audi S4 engine. it is a 250hp 2.7L DOHC 30-valve twin-turbo V6 (and twin intercoolers for that matter). add a 6-speed manual transmission (which shifts beautifully i might add) and AWD and this is one badass family sedan. speaking of the shifter, you should see how SHORT this thing is! it's just a stub! anyway, supposedly just an aftermarket chip alone (from GIAC or APR etc.) can add a ton of power...not sure how much though. i think some have claimed 50+ horsepower from a chip alone (probably including high octane gas).

i don't want to mod this car though. i mean, if the turbos did go out i would obviously replace them with K04s, but i'm not going to go out of my way to make so much power that i'll end up having a car sitting in the garage while i save the $$$$ for a replacement engine and/or trans. i'd rather mod my R/T or GS and just keep this Audi NICE and most importantly, dependable. the only mods would likely be a set of 18" ASA AR1s, stereo and good boost gauge, and tint. it has more than enough power as it is. it would surely whoop the crap out of either of my other cars right now....but then again, the A6 is easy to drive fast with the AWD. the R/T especially is extremely hard to launch for me.

anyway, here are some (shitty) pics from today:

right after i bought it:










some crappy night time pics i took at a rest stop along I-25 near Wheatland, Wyoming earlier tonight:





i still need to clean/detail it. i haven't washed it yet or anything. i'm tired. time for bed. oh yeah, i have to go back down to Denver next week to pick up my Spirit R/T, which is sitting at the PO's house right now hahaha.

thanks for lookin!

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Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'87 Shelby CSX #667
'98 Buick Regal GS
'00 Audi A6 2.7T Quattro 6-speed

[Captain Chaos]

They're cool cars and the engine is a great platform. Check with the Audi dealer or PO and see if the turbos were ever replaced. They are a common fail item on the 2.7T. We'd do about 6-8 cars a year and it requires pulling the drivetrain. Other than that sounds like a great car for the money!

[omni_840]

Looks like a nice ride, it's good you got exactly what you wanted too

[Pat]

The S4/2.7A6 is a sweet ride. I'd love to have one someday.

[TurboSedan]

wow, going through these old maintenance & warranty receipts/invoices is very interesting! i'm probably going to scan and save all of them and keep them stored on the hard drive. there are also various CO State emission inspections that all passed. the guy i bought this Audi from owned it at least since early 2002 with less than 20K miles so far as i can tell. there are even receipts for every tire replacement/mounting/balancing he's had done and minor stuff like oil changes, cooling system flushes and even light bulb replacements! Brakes Plus replaced all four rotors and all pads including brake fluid flush @ 36K miles ($720!). however, almost all of the work done to this car was performed at the Colorado Springs Phil Long Audi Dealership and McDonald Automotive Group Audi Dealerships (nice detailed invoices btw). the factory stereo had to be replaced once. the right front window guide had to be replaced once. right side cat convertor was replaced at @ 61K, auxilary coolant pump and right front outer CV boot replaced @ 76K (almost $1000 job right there), both rear upper control arms, both upper front control arms, tierods, CV boots, 4-wheel alignment and headlight washer pump were replaced @ 72K (just over $1250 job). the "worst" thing i've found so far is that the rear bumper trim had to be replaced and the bumper cover itself repaired & refinished in 2002 (but it wasn't replaced, indicating he probably just bumped into something as opposed to an accident). there is even a receipt for the rental car he got while the rear bumper cover was being repainted! he seems to have kept every single receipt through the years

the most important receipt however is the one McDonald Audi Dealership did in September '05 @ 66K miles, which is of course the timing belt job which actually cost *only* $1332. besides the timing belt itself, the right belt cover, two "rollers" (whatever those are), both water pumps, thermostat, another? belt cover and the serpentine belt were replaced.

and last but not least, the new tires that came with the car were installed on October 28th, 2008 only 191 miles before i bought the car. they are 225/55-16 H-rated Pirelli P6 Four Seasons.

when i first met the guy yesterday he let me take it for the test drive by myself and even told me to take it for a 1/2 hour. considering the new tires, the fact he included the Sirius, all of the unexpected maintenance recordes, the great news that the car was actually a 6-speed manual and not a Tip (which his ad did not mention), AND the full tank of gas, i happily gave him his asking price and did not attempt to haggle over the price....which was actually below book anyway.

i'd say i did pretty good. damn...i just want to go out and drive the car right now!! and i know i know....i'm basically talking to myself here but what can i say i am on that "new car high" i have this Monday off and am going to thoroughly clean and detail it then get some good pics.

-----------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'87 Shelby CSX #667
'98 Buick Regal GS
'00 Audi A6 2.7T Quattro 6-speed

[RoadWarrior222]

Nice, keep up with the $1700 dealer "service"s and it should be dependable.

[88_pacifica]

Be sure to continue with the "receipt process." Even if you do some of the work yourself, I would find a local shop that can write up receipts for all maint and repair records to continue the "track record." Sounds like you got a prize based on your description(I'm not familiar with Audi's), so it would be a shame to let it depreciate any quicker.

Nice find and I hope it works out for you...

[TurboSedan]

i'm really wanting some 18" ASA AR1 wheels. kinda leaning towards black with polished lip since the car is silver but still kinda on the fence about color. silver with polished lip would keep it looking stock but still 1000% better looking than what it has now. i HATE the stock wheels; they look stupid!



wheels and tint would make it look so much better.

i wish my brother would get something newer, like a nice, well taken care of '05-ish SRT-4. not that this A6 i bought is "new", but it is so much nicer than dealing with old school TDs all the time.

-----------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'87 Shelby CSX #667
'98 Buick Regal GS
'00 Audi A6 2.7T Quattro 6-speed

[88_pacifica]

i wish my brother would get something newer, like a nice, well taken care of '05-ish SRT-4. not that this A6 i bought is "new", but it is so much nicer than dealing with old school TDs all the time.

HURRY! HURRY!! Oh SHEIT, he's awakening from the TM slumber. Somebody QUICK..., grab some blown headgaskets or few sets of noisy lifters and throw it at him to take him back out of reality before this gets out of hand and he starts acquiring common sense.

HURRY UP DAMMIT! Time is of the essence here people! If we wait too long he'll end up saving money and not have any stress and own something more reliable!!

[JuXsA]

I have been thinking about getting a '00-'03 S4. I had no idea that the A6 came with the 2.7. It seems almost impossible to find these cars with a manual.

Also, as far as chipping the APR company claims to make 307hp/366lb-ft and from what I have read about their cals is that it gets even better fuel economy and they seems to run smoother. I would get one...

[mboyek]

Congrats!

In college my friends father had the n/a 2.7 in an a6. He did not keep up with oil changes because he could not find anyone to do them for a "reasonable" cost, the engine ended up seizing up on him on the highway.

Anyways, one of the coolest OEM warnings I have ever seen was on a Audi turbo, I think it was a 100 sedan or something, early 90's pre a-4.



I wish I had a car with that sticker on the dash!

[RoadWarrior222]

HURRY! HURRY!! Oh SHEIT, he's awakening from the TM slumber. Somebody QUICK..., grab some blown headgaskets or few sets of noisy lifters and throw it at him to take him back out of reality before this gets out of hand and he starts acquiring common sense.

HURRY UP DAMMIT! Time is of the essence here people! If we wait too long he'll end up saving money and not have any stress and own something more reliable!!

Heheh, you know we're still finding "DD" unmodified TMs in running condition right?

quotes from some Audi A6 lovers...

... "Seriously man, if you aren't going to do anything to it....4.2 is the way to go. From a reliability stand point alone, it makes more sense. The tranny on the 4.2 is the only question mark. 2.7t has countless potential question marks, and most of them come in pairs. I used to talk down about the 2.7t all the time, but the guys on here helped change my mind with constant verbal beat downs. The reality is...its a great motor, and some times you can have no real issues. Some times you can have major issues...for no real reason at all."

... "I have a 2.7T and absolutely love it! I have been pretty lucky as far a repairs have gone, but the preventative maintenance fees are plenty.
If you don't want to go really fast and are not going to mod, go with the 4.2. It is more reliable"

..."If you want fast and durable with no mods, go with the 4.2. If you want to do mods and deal with durability issues then go with the 2.7."

..."2.7T if you want it all , but....its going to cost you in repairs and main....."

found here http://www.audizine.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=5

So ummm I wouldn't be too ready to dis the Dodge and angelicise the Audi just yet.

[mboyek]

P.S. Why no engine + interior shots?

Those are my favorite!

[crazymadbastard]

I have the same car, but a 2002. Sports package (17 inch bbs wheels 1inch drop, heavy sways)and 6spd also has the aluminum hood. It is a blast to drive. I do baby it since it co$t$ a ton to fix and I don't have the urge to get under it to fix it either. I am at 111k miles(original turbos, clutch and timing belt will take care of that VERY SOON) You will love the car. I dynoed it for kicks since my td melted the day before a dyno day and will post the sheet.

[Dusty_Duster]

Nice find! I never liked silver cars until I got my silver Avenger, and now I LOVE silver. The color looks great, and it's really, REALLY easy to keep clean.

Chipping the car might not decrease the reliability, unless that chip drastically raises the boost.

I do not envy your repair bills, though.

["Top Fuel" Bender]

the v6 na's are junk
stick with the 1.8t or the v6tt
yeap everything is expensive
most of it is time related
they are relatively easy to work on just very time consuming and use alot of allens/ torx/ torx plus and triple square sockets
ko3 and ko4 turbos are all junk
wastgate flappers fall off all the time
for the price of the ko4 you can have a really nice garret
+1 on doing the Ko4 when the trans is out for a clutch job
but then might as well yank the motor and swap manifolds and get rid of the ko turbo's all together
not much gain for the price of a Ko4
if you can even find a ko4 anymore, heard they were used in some industial diesel application and won't be used anymore so now the aftermarket is running very low on good cores,crack between the wastegate hole and exhaust wheel , housing shifts and takes out the wheels
found 3 with snapped shafts

just like with any turbo engine, keep your oil changed regular and keep after the t-belt and you'll be o.k.
they respond well to exhaust upgrades also
just stay away from the miltech exhaust unless you like rattles or have alot of time and strength to really heat up the S/S to get it just right

nice car , enjoy

[black86glhs]

Nice car. I was concerned about the reliability. I have read about the $$$$ it takes to keep them running. Hopefully it stays in good running shape.

[2.216VTurbo]

See if Ian from IMP Designs is still doing boost gauges for these, it's the coolest boost gauge you've ever seen, he integrates it right into the cluster with ultra small LED's. I picked 15 blue and 5 red so without even looking down its easy to see the 17-19 psi range when i am drivng the Passat like I stole it I'll snap a pic later today if you want to see it.

Nice car BTW, good choice. THe Euro guys are kind of a waste of time to hang with, I've tried many times over the last 6 years

[TurboSedan]

Heheh, you know we're still finding "DD" unmodified TMs in running condition right?

quotes from some Audi A6 lovers...

found here http://www.audizine.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=5

So ummm I wouldn't be too ready to dis the Dodge and angelicise the Audi just yet.

uh, don't get me wrong, i love old school Turbo Mopars. i own two of them right now. but their is just no comparison (between them and most newer performance cars, such as S4 or SRT-4). that's all i'm saying. i love my R/T and intend to keep it for a long time, but all of the problems get old. they are one after the other. right now it's the A568 that is pissing me off. then i'll fix that and something else WILL happen. people talk about how unreliable Audi's are but any car is going to be unreliable if it isn't maintained.

i wouldn't mind having the 4.2 A6 but can you get them with a 6-speed manual? besides, they probably aren't as fuel efficient as the 2.7T. they do look better though (larger wheel flares).

--------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'87 Shelby CSX #667
'98 Buick Regal GS
'00 Audi A6 Quattro 2.7T/6-speed

[TurboSedan]

I have the same car, but a 2002. Sports package (17 inch bbs wheels 1inch drop, heavy sways)and 6spd also has the aluminum hood. It is a blast to drive. I do baby it since it co$t$ a ton to fix and I don't have the urge to get under it to fix it either. I am at 111k miles(original turbos, clutch and timing belt will take care of that VERY SOON) You will love the car. I dynoed it for kicks since my td melted the day before a dyno day and will post the sheet.

i'd like to see that dyno sheet! post some pics too!

--------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'87 Shelby CSX #667
'98 Buick Regal GS
'00 Audi A6 Quattro 2.7T/6-speed