still love it

[diztek]

that moment when someone crashes into your a4, insurance forces you to total it, you sell it to a buddy, you then go buy a brand new s3, but then your buddy fixes your old car and you miss the hell out of it.

[BARRY]

B6 A4 > S3

[diztek]

B6 A4 > S3

you know what, it is. put the s3's 2.0t in the b6 along with some of the technology comfort features and ill choose the b6 all day everyday.

[Furly]

New audi's suck.

Haldex instead of quattro
FWD based awd systems lol.

Electronic steering (absolute garbage)
Carbon buildup never fucking ending.
Chain tensioners exploding.
The list goes on. And with how 90%of the car is electronic , I'd hate to own one out of warranty when it starts having electrical gremlins.

We have a B8 and it's been to the dealer 80% of the time we had it. And it's been dealer serviced since new til this very day.
The A3 loaner car they gave us the first time was OK to drive but it was .... FWD. The fuck audi !
Also the engines all sound like tractors

- - - Updated - - -

that moment when someone crashes into your a4, insurance forces you to total it, you sell it to a buddy, you then go buy a brand new s3, but then your buddy fixes your old car and you miss the hell out of it.

Why did he fix it and put a regular A4 bumper on a USP ? And some old yellow ass headlights? Lol.

[diztek]

he already owned a b6 a4, so he transferred as many parts as he could from his old car to mine. usp lower will eventually be installed.

ya, i know, haldex is not ideal, A LOT of electronics. but, the s3 is a fun car. plus, electric gremlins are part of the fun of owning an audi. haha.

once my b6 got totaled, i was not interested in a used car and the size of the s3 was perfect for me. (hate how the b8/b9 a4s are so big).

dont knock the haldex though, it still performs haha:

Car & Driver quote:

"What if we tell you that the Audi S3’s lap renders the 2007 RS4 obsolete? Consider: The 292-hp S3 is but 0.1 second behind the 420-hp RS4 on VIR’s 4.1-mile gantlet, and this despite going 6.9 mph slower down the front straight. Clearly the S3 has higher cornering speeds. If today’s lowliest Audi S-car can match the hottest Audi sedan from 2007, a car that made our resident Porschephile, Tony Quiroga, quip, “This is a car that makes me not want a 911,” then we are definitely in the realm of greatness."

[texasboy21]

People like to dog the Haldex system, but in its current form it does do a good job.

[AudiSport12]

Do the Haldex cars sport the Quattro badge or nah?

[imnuts]

The latest FSI engines don't have carbon buildup like the older ones either. During normal cruising, it has standard injection that helps keep the carbon buildup to a minimum. The downside is you have twice many fuel injectors to look after.

Sent from my DROID Turbo 2

[Let it snow]

Threads like this scare me. I love the B6 but this has me wondering about the newer Audi platforms.

[diztek]

Do the Haldex cars sport the Quattro badge or nah?

they do.

[jonan]

b6 for life!!!

[diagnosticator]

Haldex works just OK, compared to the traditional quattro system. The Torsen center diff transfers torque to the front or rear according to which axle has the best traction, and does this practically instantly without any electronics involved. Compared to real quattro, haldex systems have a lot of inherent delayed response because of the multiplate clutch pack engaging and disengaging as a response to the control unit.

[diztek]

i wish hpa's haldex controller for the mk7 r was available for the 8v S3. from what i understand you can customize how much power goes to the rears/fronts. i hear you can even set it to 100% in the rear at all times if you wanted.

[audi_nightrider]

Couldn't agree more with the electrical issues.

Been driving my b6 a4 non-stop while my A5 is sitting in the driveway for more about 2 months now.
Too lazy to deal with electrical stuff: CEL/TPMS/ESP just all lit up with no symptoms or whatsoever prior to all the fckkkryyy.

[oaybar007]

Ditto x however many discuss the pitfalls of the newer Audis. Here's my full take, Test Drove B8 Prestige S Line Quattro 6spd w/ Black Optics

I've now owned my B6 for over a decade and it's honestly been one of the most reliable cars overall. It's all stock and slow, and aging like hell but I'd still take it over many other cars. At least for daily driving. I bought a Mercedes C300 4matic and drove it for a year before selling it. Just didn't fit so I went back to my B6 and it continues onward. The B6 was praised for its handling and stability back when it was designed and I think that's really what makes the car fun. Mine is slow, so slow that modern economy cars can out accelerate it easily, but put me on a back road and I'm happy. It is time for me to pick up a new car but the Audi of today is overpriced, over complicated and disconnected. I know I'll be let down in some way but given the options elsewhere, I'd probably still take a newer Audi over anything else. What you experienced is a big fear of mine though, someone smashing into my car and bam, it's a write off...

[kwimberly]

I sold my B6 a few days ago, and aside from needing more space for my twins, the reason was because of electrical gremlins popping up. For about 2 years, my aftermarket radio would turn off and "reboot" when going over bumps. It's soldered into a switched power line under the steering column. Within the last couple of months, though, it would reboot constantly - if I touched the screen, making a turn, breathing on it... Then, it started going into limp mode when the radio would cut out. So, I unplugged everything from the back of the radio, but I'd still get limp mode - 3 dash lights, and zero boost.

I took it to the indie shop I've used for years, and they said limp mode looked like a throttle body issue. They wanted to fix that first before exploring other electrical issues - such as ground, ECU corrosion, etc. At that point I was done throwing money at it. I don't have time to wrench on it myself anymore. I wasn't going to try a new throttle body just to get beyond limp mode and then still have to track down the electrical issues. The car was also constantly burning the connectors off of both brake lights.

With the value of the car being around $2,500 at this point, I decided to cut my losses and sold it to my mechanic for $1,800. Yes, I could have parted it out and made more, but it's too much of a hassle with twin toddlers and both parents working full time.

$1,800.

[jonan]

I sold my B6 a few days ago, and aside from needing more space for my twins, the reason was because of electrical gremlins popping up. For about 2 years, my aftermarket radio would turn off and "reboot" when going over bumps. It's soldered into a switched power line under the steering column. Within the last couple of months, though, it would reboot constantly - if I touched the screen, making a turn, breathing on it... Then, it started going into limp mode when the radio would cut out. So, I unplugged everything from the back of the radio, but I'd still get limp mode - 3 dash lights, and zero boost.

I took it to the indie shop I've used for years, and they said limp mode looked like a throttle body issue. They wanted to fix that first before exploring other electrical issues - such as ground, ECU corrosion, etc. At that point I was done throwing money at it. I don't have time to wrench on it myself anymore. I wasn't going to try a new throttle body just to get beyond limp mode and then still have to track down the electrical issues. The car was also constantly burning the connectors off of both brake lights.

With the value of the car being around $2,500 at this point, I decided to cut my losses and sold it to my mechanic for $1,800. Yes, I could have parted it out and made more, but it's too much of a hassle with twin toddlers and both parents working full time.

$1,800.

damn, knowing our cars are worth basically nothing makes me feel financially irresponsible when i spend money on mods and shit...

at least it's paid off and i don't have a car payment...or so i rationalize to myself...

[oaybar007]

I don't blame you for selling at all. The value of the B6 is a shame these days. They are worth next to nothing. I always tell myself that I keep my car because I love it, but also because it hasn't given me a big reason to get rid of it yet. If faced with a large repair it would be a tough call. The worst situation is to need a major repair, not be able to afford it or justify it, and struggle to find a buyer. I think you made the right call. Spend money to maybe fix one problem, and still have more as a certainty or just wash your hands of it. I think I would have done the same thing.

[thetikm]

I've had to spend close to the value of the car on random maintenance in the past year. New cylinder head, cam chain tensioner, and a premature timing belt service. Even with all of that I just don't see the point in selling it. There's no way I am going to get even close to getting what I paid for just the mods done to the car. Also I'd either end up with some cheap econo slush box or have a car payment that I can't really afford. Plus the car is just so much fun to drive despite it's age. A B6 is just a good all round package. Fun to drive, comfortable for long trips, and 30mpg.