Should I keep it? Or ditch it?

[Spitfire007]

2016 A6 3.0T.
105xxx miles

She burns 2 qts per 5000 mile oil changes with liquid-moly so I'm worried about the cats going bad soon.

She may need a PCV, but there are no codes.
With all the "while you're in there" stuff, Indy says $3200. Yeah, a little suction when I lift the oil cap, but I don't know what's too much.

Needs a set of tires $1600 for Michelin A/S 4s.
Have great tread STILL but they're noisy and have 40000 miles on them.

Probably needs a center driveshaft bearing (thumps hard under hard throttle accelerating from 70-95)

Probably needs control arms all over

Def needs shocks. That's at least $1400 all in

She still vibrates like hell on new brakes when slowing at highway speeds....they were 2100 with SS brake lines and full bleed. (a great upgrade. Recommend it)

I dunno if I wanna throw parts at it...

Thinking of launching it off a cliff as it vibrates and tramlines all over, and the best Indy in the area says everything tests well, including bearings. (They had it on lift at 100mph and no bearing issues.)

Talk me off the ledge here.
I dunno what to do, she's annoying to drive.


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[Alabama]

Talk me off the ledge here. I dunno what to do, she's annoying to drive.

Tough situation. Depends on your finances and alternatives. Trade in value is what, about $12,000 if not needing work. That's a lot of work you list. But it also depends on what else is available. The used car market supposedly is not as crazy as at the height of COVID. Audi Princeton lists a 2017 A6 Competition Prestige for $26,000. Probably worth at least checking out your options.

[A6sport]

Tough situation. Depends on your finances and alternatives. Trade in value is what, about $12,000 if not needing work. That's a lot of work you list. But it also depends on what else is available. The used car market supposedly is not as crazy as at the height of COVID. Audi Princeton lists a 2017 A6 Competition Prestige for $26,000. Probably worth at least checking out your options.

It is a tough call, but if you rip the bandaid off, and fix everything, you'll be good for a while with no car monthly loan servicing. On the other hand, you can get into something newer, and pay for it for 36 months. I'm just throwing it out there not knowing your financial situation.
You got some thinking to do...

[Spitfire007]

Trade in value is closer to 7000, even in good shape.
I'm not really interested in getting another A6, though it's been a fantastic family roadtrip car, it really lacks the engagement I'd prefer, and after 5 years of ownership I find myself looking for something non-Audi (I just don't feel like I fit in them).

I don't do debt, so avoiding a car payment would be ideal, especially since I have a lot to fix on the house...ugh.


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[sepheroth86]

Any oil leaks? Those belly pans can hold a lot of oil without dripping on the ground.

A lot of the items you listed can be done in a weekend (individually) for significantly less money.

I did PCV, related hoses, engine mounts, gutted cats, water pump, thermostat, new belts, and a handful of other items for around $1200 a couple of years ago in the garage at home. It wasn't too bad.

I have a broken spring in the rear, so springs and shocks are next.

[RLCree]

2016 A6 3.0T.
105xxx miles

She burns 2 qts per 5000 mile oil changes with liquid-moly so I'm worried about the cats going bad soon.

She may need a PCV, but there are no codes.

It needs a PCV. Pop for the relocation kit and you're done for life. This problem is unique to the platform.

With all the "while you're in there" stuff, Indy says $3200.

Get a new Indy.

Needs a set of tires $1600 for Michelin A/S 4s.
Have great tread STILL but they're noisy and have 40000 miles on them.

Expendable item, you'll have this on any car.

Probably needs a center driveshaft bearing (thumps hard under hard throttle accelerating from 70-95)

Probably needs control arms all over

It either does or doesn't. Both are unique to the car though.

Def needs shocks. That's at least $1400 all in

Again, any car will have that.

She still vibrates like hell on new brakes when slowing at highway speeds....they were 2100 with SS brake lines and full bleed. (a great upgrade. Recommend it)

Well that's your fault.

I dunno if I wanna throw parts at it...

Thinking of launching it off a cliff as it vibrates and tramlines all over, and the best Indy in the area says everything tests well, including bearings. (They had it on lift at 100mph and no bearing issues.)

Talk me off the ledge here.
I dunno what to do, she's annoying to drive.


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Go buy an Accord, or a Camry. You'll still be unhappy, but at least you won't be unhappy spending money on a car you clearly dislike.

[A665]

You post on here quite a bit about how much you hate the issues with this car. Nevermind that it's technically a high-mileage unit at this point, and most of the reported issues are to be expected for this brand at this stage of its life. At the end of the day, based on your frequent gripes, you just don't want this car anymore.

[ENV²]

Trade it as is as long as it presents well. Get an s6 or something you?ll enjoy in your budget.


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[Valpo A7]

Had your same thoughts December 2023. Traded it and have been enjoying the new ride for a few months now.

[Spitfire007]

None of you are wrong.

I can't do my own work since it's on the street, have no garage or driveway.

Indy is well known. I don't know why they can't find what's causing the issues I'm reporting.
I'd keep it if I knew exactly where to put $$$, but besides tires and a PCV, nobody, not a single Indy and not a dealer can point to any control arms, bushings, or mounts causing issues.

I'm flummoxed by this, as I've had many German cars in the past and issues were clear and easy to spot....



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[fastboatster]

sounds like you made up your mind and just looking for self-justification. looks like you were not overly impressed with your a6 to start with. so the real question is how to get rid of it without losing too much money, not whether to keep it or not. I'm not sure if 2 quarts per 5,000 miles is a pcv issue, with bad pcv it probably will be a lot thirstier. so could be some oil leaks which might or might not be expensive to fix, or even oil control rings getting slowly clogged up. I'd say that many of the issues you described could be diy'd with moderate difficulty, but that's not an option for you, so yes, maybe it is time to trade it in or whatever.

[Spitfire007]

I do like the car. It's been great for roadtrips, and the trunk swallows anything I throw at it.
Driving dynamics are ok, not the best feedback, but hey, she's a quiet cruiser with power, and a really nice place to be when the weather turns to crap.

I'm debating keeping it cuz it's paid for, and I've maintained it well for the last 6 years.
But my Indy and my dealer both shrug when I ask if they can minimize the oil burn, or if they can find the source of my shimmies or vibrations and why the rotors warped. Again.

They can't tell me: "yes, do this or that, and that will fix your problem"

They basically say: "it all looks good enough, drive it until it's much much worse, and we can clearly see what's causing it, then go from there."

But watching my coffee vibrate like hell as if a TRex is approaching (like in Jurassic park) on even the smoothest roads, considering the car used to be Bentley-smooth, is irritating. Even my wife and son are asking wtf. And I have no answer.



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[sepheroth86]

Feel free to sell it to me for cheap. lbvs.

[Spitfire007]

So, I'd checked the tires quite often recently. But got a new set of 4 mich AS4s because I had a doubt. Still ok tread all around but couldn't see the insides of the front were worn to the belts. Just awful. One had a major crack in the rubber, but I tried and just never saw it.

Can't share photos due to error messages I get.

But consider this a PSA to check your tires. It was only showing belt and wear on 1/4 AROUND the tire. Not even at all.

New alignment, new tires.
Will look into shocks as well.

Indy isnt worried about oil burn. He says he has a client with a newish Q8 burning 1 qt every 800 miles, which is nuts, but said it's due to shoddy modern engine design with bad rings and looking for fuel efficiency over longevity.
He says wait for the PCV to trip a code of some sort before digging in.

Wow.

In any case, most noise and vibes are gone with new tires, and she tracks straight.
Just getting a little wallowy and noisy over bumps , so I'll look into bilstein B4s, as she's paid off, and great for the long highway commute I do.



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[Alabama]

So, I'd checked the tires quite often recently. But got a new set of 4 mich AS4s because I had a doubt. Still ok tread all around but couldn't see the insides of the front were worn to the belts. Just awful. One had a major crack in the rubber, but I tried and just never saw it.

How many miles on the old tires? How often were they rotated and re-balanced?

[omgContra]

So you had the car in multiple times to an indy who presumably had the car on the lift and they never noticed how worn the inner of the tires were? When i read your first post that you were on 40k miles.. my first instinct was that you need new tires. Also when you check your tires dont look at it from the side, look from the front of car or turn the wheel so you can see the whole width. Measure tread depth from the center. Rear tires look from the rear of the car since you can't turn the steering wheel.

[Spitfire007]

How many miles on the old tires? How often were they rotated and re-balanced?

Every 10000.

They had about 40k on them, who h is pretty good for Michelins


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[WatchMeSpend]

Skipping the problems of the car, it does seem that you have made up your mind. This means that even if you do fix it, the next issue you have, you will think "I shouldn't have fixed the car and I should have dumped it." Kinda like when you make the decision to quit and someone talks you into staying, you end up quitting later anyway.

For me, I would focus on the oil consumption issue. If you can't fix that then get rid of it. Everything else is secondary. When I am going to sell the car, I sell it or trade it in without fixing any of the issues because I will use the money I didn't put into the car for a down payment coupled with the trade in value of the car. You'll never get your money or time back.

My 2016 has 75k miles and I need to change suspension components and if I still have the car at 150k miles they would need changing again. As soon as I feel a deviation or hear a click/thud that doesn't belong, I have it fixed. This way things don't pile up and make me want to dump the car. It's also better for me mentally as I don't have any anxiety or hate driving the car. Not much else gives me the comfort, size and raw acceleration (tuned) than this car. If it were gone tomorrow, I'm not sure what I would replace it with.

[Spitfire007]

So you had the car in multiple times to an indy who presumably had the car on the lift and they never noticed how worn the inner of the tires were? When i read your first post that you were on 40k miles.. my first instinct was that you need new tires. Also when you check your tires dont look at it from the side, look from the front of car or turn the wheel so you can see the whole width. Measure tread depth from the center. Rear tires look from the rear of the car since you can't turn the steering wheel.

You make an interesting point about the Indy.
I did check the fronts pretty regularly, while turning the tires. But I guess every time I looked, whatever damage there was was hidden under the tire.
That said, I did see a little more wear, but it wasn't enough to concern me at the time.


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[Spitfire007]

Skipping the problems of the car, it does seem that you have made up your mind. This means that even if you do fix it, the next issue you have, you will think "I shouldn't have fixed the car and I should have dumped it." Kinda like when you make the decision to quit and someone talks you into staying, you end up quitting later anyway.

For me, I would focus on the oil consumption issue. If you can't fix that then get rid of it. Everything else is secondary. When I am going to sell the car, I sell it or trade it in without fixing any of the issues because I will use the money I didn't put into the car for a down payment coupled with the trade in value of the car. You'll never get your money or time back.

My 2016 has 75k miles and I need to change suspension components and if I still have the car at 150k miles they would need changing again. As soon as I feel a deviation or hear a click/thud that doesn't belong, I have it fixed. This way things don't pile up and make me want to dump the car. It's also better for me mentally as I don't have any anxiety or hate driving the car. Not much else gives me the comfort, size and raw acceleration (tuned) than this car. If it were gone tomorrow, I'm not sure what I would replace it with.

I agree with you.
The thing is, I would bring up my complaints and ask either the dealer or Indy to check, and it would come back with a clean bill of health.
So, not one to throw parts at the car, I wasn't sure where to go with the issues.
I get liqui moly oil changes done, and the Indy throws in a bottle of Lucas to help with oil consumption, but she doesn't smoke, and there aren't even any soft codes.
The engine is great and calm and smooth and quiet....so what now?
Do I do a PCV "just cuz"? Do I wait for it to get worse?
It's pretty stable at 2qts every between oil changes.

And damn, but EVERY thing works in this tank. I'm just afraid I'll be faced with a major piston ring/burned out catalytic converter issue...
Cuz then I don't think it's worth putting the $$$ in.


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[WatchMeSpend]

I agree with you.
The thing is, I would bring up my complaints and ask either the dealer or Indy to check, and it would come back with a clean bill of health.
So, not one to throw parts at the car, I wasn't sure where to go with the issues.
I get liqui moly oil changes done, and the Indy throws in a bottle of Lucas to help with oil consumption, but she doesn't smoke, and there aren't even any soft codes.
The engine is great and calm and smooth and quiet....so what now?
Do I do a PCV "just cuz"? Do I wait for it to get worse?
It's pretty stable at 2qts every between oil changes.

And damn, but EVERY thing works in this tank. I'm just afraid I'll be faced with a major piston ring/burned out catalytic converter issue...
Cuz then I don't think it's worth putting the $$$ in.


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My Indy would go nuts and keep looking. Only once did I consume a lot of oil during a change that featured a three hour idling incident. If you can’t find any evidence of oil in the exhaust, then I wouldn’t worry about the cats. Compression test and borescope will check the rings. Tools that can be used forever, on any car.