Money Pit?
05-07-2006, 06:03 PM
#1
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Money Pit?
Hi- new to the forum...
I figured if anyone could help me you guys could. I am considering a purchase of a 2000 C5 A6 4.2. It has 134k miles on it. It's a repo, carfax came back clean, but I can tell some minor cosmetic work has been done on side sills, etc. I know very little about car.
The car needs a lot of work I think. Since it was a repo, I have no faith in what maint. work was done. Car had no coolant, I added some for a test drive. When checking oil, smoke came from dipstick tube. Autozone checked codes because check engine light was on....spat out 14 codes. I think 8 of them are due to cyl. misfires...think that's a tune up basically. One set of codes was a vacuum failure or something like that. Here's the list of what I know needs to be replaced...
- work to clear those codes (who knows how much work that will be) tuneup, etc.
- brakes/rotors (all 4) shudders hard at 20+mph
- tires - has 17s - think it's a 4.2 sport
- transmission service
- oil change/flush
- coolant service
- one xenon seems to be "down" leveler broken maybe?
- lots of cosmetic work needed:
> cupholder? broken by e-brake
> pass. window won't go up if lowered
> pixels out in IP display area
> needs OEM taillights (has clear ones)
> small driver door pocket won't close
I am going to have inspection done this week to figure out how much the must-haves and some of the cosmetic things would cost.
Any things I need to be aware of with these C5 4.2s? Big services I need to see if mechanic can check on? Timing belt? Others?
Trying to figure out if this would just end up being a massive money pit. Drove car and engine is rough at idle, then calms down a bit. Pulls strong and corners great. Need to get radio code from dealer because it says SAFE when it's on.
Any suggestions I need to follow, things I need to look for or questions to ask dealer at inspection? THANKS for any help/info!
I figured if anyone could help me you guys could. I am considering a purchase of a 2000 C5 A6 4.2. It has 134k miles on it. It's a repo, carfax came back clean, but I can tell some minor cosmetic work has been done on side sills, etc. I know very little about car.
The car needs a lot of work I think. Since it was a repo, I have no faith in what maint. work was done. Car had no coolant, I added some for a test drive. When checking oil, smoke came from dipstick tube. Autozone checked codes because check engine light was on....spat out 14 codes. I think 8 of them are due to cyl. misfires...think that's a tune up basically. One set of codes was a vacuum failure or something like that. Here's the list of what I know needs to be replaced...
- work to clear those codes (who knows how much work that will be) tuneup, etc.
- brakes/rotors (all 4) shudders hard at 20+mph
- tires - has 17s - think it's a 4.2 sport
- transmission service
- oil change/flush
- coolant service
- one xenon seems to be "down" leveler broken maybe?
- lots of cosmetic work needed:
> cupholder? broken by e-brake
> pass. window won't go up if lowered
> pixels out in IP display area
> needs OEM taillights (has clear ones)
> small driver door pocket won't close
I am going to have inspection done this week to figure out how much the must-haves and some of the cosmetic things would cost.
Any things I need to be aware of with these C5 4.2s? Big services I need to see if mechanic can check on? Timing belt? Others?
Trying to figure out if this would just end up being a massive money pit. Drove car and engine is rough at idle, then calms down a bit. Pulls strong and corners great. Need to get radio code from dealer because it says SAFE when it's on.
Any suggestions I need to follow, things I need to look for or questions to ask dealer at inspection? THANKS for any help/info!
05-07-2006, 06:26 PM
#3
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Most alarming - where did the coolant go? These cars can do high mileages IF looked after
but this one shows every sign of NOT having been looked after, which is a worry. Worse case, you could have head gasket or other engine problems.
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05-08-2006, 02:00 AM
#8
AudiWorld Super User
Sounds like quite a risk but if it is cheap enough to reflect the problems....
which will cost quite a lot to put right.
I would possibly bank on replacing both head gaskets on top of the other issues. The good sie to that is that you can do the timing belt etc...at the same time.
It can be satisfying bringing a car back from the dead if it seems straight otherwise and no previous accident damage.
Have a good look underneath before you commit, it may have been over a kerb or have other hidden secrets.
I would possibly bank on replacing both head gaskets on top of the other issues. The good sie to that is that you can do the timing belt etc...at the same time.
It can be satisfying bringing a car back from the dead if it seems straight otherwise and no previous accident damage.
Have a good look underneath before you commit, it may have been over a kerb or have other hidden secrets.
