A 6 Questions
 

I have a 99 S 420. I am an occaisional skier, who lives in Northern
California. I am attracted to the A-6 4.2 because it has the power I
like, appears to seat four people with good leg and shoulder room, and can
handle snow from time to time without me having to drive a Ford Explorer.

However, in reading reports, the A-6 doesn't seem to get good points for
reliability. Other choices for me would be the E - 500 4 Motion Mercedes,
or just a standard BMW 5 series.

What can you tell me about long term ownership of an A-6 as far as fun,
reliability, power, and steering?

Thanks,
Larry

Re: A 6 Questions
 

"REInvestments" <nospam@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:TAKNb.45823$6y6.955027@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> I have a 99 S 420. I am an occaisional skier, who lives in Northern
> California. I am attracted to the A-6 4.2 because it has the power I
> like, appears to seat four people with good leg and shoulder room, and can
> handle snow from time to time without me having to drive a Ford Explorer.
>
> However, in reading reports, the A-6 doesn't seem to get good points for
> reliability. Other choices for me would be the E - 500 4 Motion
Mercedes,
> or just a standard BMW 5 series.
>
> What can you tell me about long term ownership of an A-6 as far as fun,
> reliability, power, and steering?
>
> Thanks,
> Larry
>
>

E500 4matic? for 8k more you can have an Audi RS6, or even for the same
price get an S4

Re: A 6 Questions
 

"REInvestments" <nospam@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:TAKNb.45823$6y6.955027@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> I have a 99 S 420. I am an occaisional skier, who lives in Northern
> California. I am attracted to the A-6 4.2 because it has the power I
> like, appears to seat four people with good leg and shoulder room, and can
> handle snow from time to time without me having to drive a Ford Explorer.
>
> However, in reading reports, the A-6 doesn't seem to get good points for
> reliability. Other choices for me would be the E - 500 4 Motion
Mercedes,
> or just a standard BMW 5 series.
>
> What can you tell me about long term ownership of an A-6 as far as fun,
> reliability, power, and steering?
>
> Thanks,
> Larry
>
>

Just another point, here in the UK you cannot buy a A6 4.2 you can get a 3.0
or a S6, the price of the S6 is £49000 and the RS6 is £56000,

I would imagine it would be worth waiting for the new A6 which is released
somtime this year.

Ron

Re: A 6 Questions
 

Larry writes:

>I have a 99 S 420. I am an occaisional skier, who lives in Northern
>California. I am attracted to the A-6 4.2 because it has the power I
>like, appears to seat four people with good leg and shoulder room, and can
>handle snow from time to time without me having to drive a Ford Explorer.
>
>However, in reading reports, the A-6 doesn't seem to get good points for
>reliability. Other choices for me would be the E - 500 4 Motion Mercedes,
>or just a standard BMW 5 series.
>
>What can you tell me about long term ownership of an A-6 as far as fun,
>reliability, power, and steering?
>
>Thanks,
>Larry

I just sold my 2000 A6 4.2 to my son-in-law and bought an RS6. The A6 4.2 was
a wonderful car that gave me many trouble-free miles. I had no maintenance
problems whatsoever. When I bought it I considered buying the S4, but it was
just a little too small for my needs. The A6 was perfect, but it was difficult
to choose between the 2.5T and the 4.2 V8.

I bought 4 alloy wheels and mounted a good set of snows for winter use. It
went anywhere I wanted to go, in the worst of New England weather. It was a
joy to drive. But the RS6 sang its siren song and has corrupted me forever.
d;o)


Dave

http://hometown.aol.com/davplac/myhomepage/index.html

Re: A 6 Questions
 

"Dave LaCourse" <davplac@aol.comPirate> wrote in message
news:20040116083845.25768.00000057@mb-m23.aol.com...
> Larry writes:
>
> >I have a 99 S 420. I am an occaisional skier, who lives in Northern
> >California. I am attracted to the A-6 4.2 because it has the power I
> >like, appears to seat four people with good leg and shoulder room, and
can
> >handle snow from time to time without me having to drive a Ford Explorer.
> >
> >However, in reading reports, the A-6 doesn't seem to get good points for
> >reliability. Other choices for me would be the E - 500 4 Motion
Mercedes,
> >or just a standard BMW 5 series.
> >
> >What can you tell me about long term ownership of an A-6 as far as fun,
> >reliability, power, and steering?
> >
> >Thanks,
> >Larry
>
> I just sold my 2000 A6 4.2 to my son-in-law and bought an RS6. The A6 4.2
was
> a wonderful car that gave me many trouble-free miles. I had no
maintenance
> problems whatsoever. When I bought it I considered buying the S4, but it
was
> just a little too small for my needs. The A6 was perfect, but it was
difficult
> to choose between the 2.5T and the 4.2 V8.
>
> I bought 4 alloy wheels and mounted a good set of snows for winter use.
It
> went anywhere I wanted to go, in the worst of New England weather. It was
a
> joy to drive. But the RS6 sang its siren song and has corrupted me
forever.
> d;o)
>
>
> Dave
>
> http://hometown.aol.com/davplac/myhomepage/index.html


I need to carry full size adults, and I'm on a budget. Mercedes as of late
has started to slip on reliability in their electronics (not the engines).
I want something that is trouble free, but fun to drive, that seats 4 adults
very comfortably, and can handle some trips into the snow, without chains.

How many miles did you put on your 4.2 A 6? Someone at eOpinions opined
that the V-8 was "sluggish" compared to the 2.7 Turbo? Any thoughts or
opinions?

Your new car is very nice, but well out of the price range that I'm willing
to pay.


>
>
>
>
>
>
>

Re: A 6 Questions
 

Larry writes:

>I need to carry full size adults, and I'm on a budget. Mercedes as of late
>has started to slip on reliability in their electronics (not the engines).
>I want something that is trouble free, but fun to drive, that seats 4 adults
>very comfortably, and can handle some trips into the snow, without chains.

Ta dah! A6 Quattro. It will seat four adults comfortably and there is a good
size trunk for baggage


>
>How many miles did you put on your 4.2 A 6?

It had 68,000 trouble free miles.

Someone at eOpinions opined
>that the V-8 was "sluggish" compared to the 2.7 Turbo? Any thoughts or
>opinions?
>

I drove the 2.7 Turbo the same day I bought the 4.2 V8. It may have just been
the particular car I drove, but it was under-tired. Straight line acceleration
was good, but in the twisties, it just didn't have the feel I was used to. The
4.2, otoh, came with 255/45 - 18 tires, more than enough to make the car feel
good. Plus, I'm an old man who has spent 50 years shifting 3,4,5, and 6 speed
trannies. My left leg ain't what it used to be, so the TipTronic of the 4.6
made sense.


>Your new car is very nice, but well out of the price range that I'm willing
>to pay.

When you're an old phart like me perhaps you can afford it. d;o)
Dave

http://hometown.aol.com/davplac/myhomepage/index.html

Re: A 6 Questions
 

>Other choices for me would be the E - 500 4 Motion Mercedes,

My uncle just bought an E500 sedan, it feels small inside, but is otherwise a
pretty nice car.

>or just a standard BMW 5 series.
>

Then you'll lose the AWD. Check out the X3 and X5, they both have very car like
driving characteristics, but give you AWD and more space. I'd reccomend looking
at the 2004 A6 2.7T over the 4.2. The S-Line version has been boasted to 265Hp,
it's actually slightly quicker than the heavier 4.2 (but doesn't give the V8's
seemless power delivery) and is less expensive.

Re: A 6 Questions
 

>Someone at eOpinions opined
>that the V-8 was "sluggish" compared to the 2.7 Turbo?

Neither one of them seemed "sluggish" to me. The 4.2 is slightly heavier than
the 2.7T and it's accleration suffers a bit. But it's got tottally seemlees
power delivery, whereas the 2.7T has a small spike at around 2,200 RPM after
the Turbo is spooled. However, I drove a 2002 2.7T with 250Hp. The 2004 version
has had software revisions both for the engine and the tranny, and it's now up
to 265Hp. It may be a better drive, and IMHO, it's certainly a better value. In
any case, even when eqiupped with the Titronic tranny, neither model will have
any problems laying down 0-60 in the mid to low 6s. There's also the S6, with
the 340Hp 4.2, but it's only avaliable as an Avant and it's more expensive.

Re: A 6 Questions
 

"REInvestments" <nospam@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:TAKNb.45823$6y6.955027@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> I have a 99 S 420. I am an occaisional skier, who lives in Northern
> California. I am attracted to the A-6 4.2 because it has the power I
> like, appears to seat four people with good leg and shoulder room, and can
> handle snow from time to time without me having to drive a Ford Explorer.
>
> However, in reading reports, the A-6 doesn't seem to get good points for
> reliability. Other choices for me would be the E - 500 4 Motion
Mercedes,
> or just a standard BMW 5 series.
>
> What can you tell me about long term ownership of an A-6 as far as fun,
> reliability, power, and steering?
>
> Thanks,
> Larry
>
the A6 is a nice car and when you compare it to it's class, like anything it
has it's problems. test drive them all and see which one you like the best.

Re: A 6 Questions
 

On 16 Jan 2004 18:55:00 GMT, davplac@aol.comPirate (Dave LaCourse)
wrote:

>The
>4.2, otoh, came with 255/45 - 18 tires, more than enough to make the car feel
>good.

Can you explain this a little more for me? How do you experience the
difference between 16" and 18" tires?