Anyone own an A6

I am currently driving an STS whose lease is due to expire on the 24th of July. I was thinking that I would just get another one when the lease came due as I really like the car. However, it seems that General Motors has other plans. The leases on the STS are through the roof and I refuse to pay over a thousand dollars a month for a car that is in effect daily transportation. So I am starting to narrow my choices down a bit outside of the Cadillac nameplate. I stopped by my local Audi dealership yesterday and drove the new 3.0 supercharged A6 yesterday and really liked it. The salesperson is still working on payments but it looks like it should fall into my wheelhouse for a 36 month lease. I have a few questions though. 1) what sort of discount from sticker should I expect on a prestige package 3.0 A6? (I know that every dealer will vary, but just a general arena would help) and 2) what is maintenance like on these cars? Never owned a German car before and I don't want to get into a situation that it is costing me $500 every time I take it in for an oil change.

Also, if any of you recently got into a new A6 on a 36 month lease could you post or PM me about where your payments are? I would GREATLY appreciate it as it will give me a little more information for getting the best deal I can on this car.

 

When you lease, Audi sells a maintenance package called "Audicare," which is around $700ish. It covers all service intervals up to 45k miles, so around when your lease should end. Audi service is every 10k miles, but the 1st service is 5k, then every 10k after that. Each service from the dealer will run at least $300, so getting Audicare, or getting the dealer to throw it in is vital.

For the most part, the A6 is a great car; I really like it. It's in its 4th year, so all the faults have been worked out, and the 3.0 supercharged engine is new for this year, and I heard it's great.

1) You can pretty much expect at least Invoice on the A6. Never ever pay MSRP, even on the new 3.0T A6. Invoice is pretty standard where I live, and it seems that if you haggle, you can get an even better deal

2) ^^ answered above

Overall, I've got to say the A6 is a great looking, and driving car. The interior is best in its class, and if you live in an area when it snows, the Quattro system will be great. I'm a pretty big Audi buff, so I do follow the brand, and there really isn't anything wrong with the A6. But one word of advice would be to hold off for a little while because the 2010 models should come in. Audi has updated its MMI system (the knob thing in the center console), so that you get 3D maps, traffic, and you can rip music to its on-board Hard drive. there's even an SD card slot for more music, and a USB port in the glovebox. It's a gadget-lover's dream and that new MMI system will be in the A6 for MY10, which should be out by July-ish.

Good luck on the car purchase! You can't go wrong with the A6

 

Good to know on the 2010 MY updates. My STS4 lease goes back at the end of July and I plan to keep it until the VERY last day. I got a SWEETHEART deal on the Cadillac when I got it a few years back so no matter what I do the payment is going up (currently a little less than $470/mo). I may wait on the new MMI thing just for the NavTraffic and the hard drive. These seem to be getting to be standard fare for these mid level lux sedans. Called my insurance agent and was absolutely blown away at the low cost to insure one of these cars. Ranks as an 18 on their scale whereas the other cars that I am looking at (CTS and MKS) rank as a 21 or 22, bottom line is that the A6 is about 100 less per 6 month billing cycle.

 

Yup, Audis and VWs are notorious for cheap insurance rates because they're so safe. They usually rate right at the top for safety, and loss prevention. If you look at the list of safest cars, (especially mid size sedans) Audi's A6 got a top pick, and that just doesn't mean its safe. They picked the A6 because many people don't get hurt in them. But this does seem the case with German cars in general.

Even the insurance companies know that Cadillacs aren't driven by old people anymore, so they're super expensive to insure.

 

Tell me about it...you should see the premiums on my STS

 

I agree about waiting for the 2010 NAV system. I've played with it a little in the Q5, and it's a big improvement. The 3.0T A6 is a fun car.

 

You want S6 V10

 

I do WANT the S6, but what I want and what the wife and budget will allow me sometimes can be diametrically opposed

 

I love my A6, granted it's 6 yrs old now. Maintenance has been ok to manage every 10k miles. I'm hitting 100k soon and will spend ~$1000, but that's because they do the timing belt, etc. I think the supercharger is nice to have as opposed to the turbos. I'm always worried mine will go out and I'll be hit with the repair bill.

Farah did a good review of the car here: http://www.garage419.com/episode/419_20090203