Just wondered if anyone has experienced an A6 Avant? I'm looking at a max of £7000, 100k on the clock and cars like this crop up on Autotrader

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201101376691567/sort/priceasc/usedcars/body-type/estate/engine-size-cars/1-7l_to_1-9l/fuel-type/diesel/maximum-mileage/up_to_100000_miles/price-to/7000/model/a6/make/audi/postcode/yo124ss/radius/1500/page/1?logcode=p

I'm finding the vRS costly to run in some ways. My wage hasn't increased in the last three years, but everything else has. I'm finding it less easy to justify a luke warm performance car whilst the family does without each month. If I had a car that could do about 45-50mpg, cost about £250 to insure and tax was £80 less per year, I'd be about £100 per month better off.

I can't bring myself to drive a MPV - or spaz wagon as my mate calls them - and need the carrying capacity of the vRS for all the kids stuff. The A4 isn't big enough boot wise, so the A6 has caught my eye lately.

Any experience would help and other suggestions would be welcome. I don't want to get rid of the Skoda, but as a Dad, I've got responsibilities other than to myself and my love of motoring.

I'm going through a very similar thing at the moment.

I keep coming back to a mk2 Octavia based on value for money.

However looking at the link you posted this caught my eye.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201101376581591/original-id/201101376691567/associated-ids/201101376581581%2C201101376581591%2C201101376691719%2C201101376691722%2C201101376691603/usedcars/postcode/yo124ss?logcode=a

Seems a reasonable price to me but I must admit I dont know much about the pricing on passats.

I'm going through a very similar thing at the moment.

I keep coming back to a mk2 Octavia based on value for money.

However looking at the link you posted this caught my eye.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201101376581591/original-id/201101376691567/associated-ids/201101376581581%2C201101376581591%2C201101376691719%2C201101376691722%2C201101376691603/usedcars/postcode/yo124ss?logcode=a

Seems a reasonable price to me but I must admit I dont know much about the pricing on passats.

Similar in some ways, price economy etc. Like you though, I don't know much about some cars as I've been immersed in the Octavia scene for five years now. I had planned on keeping the car for a lot longer, but things have changed since I bought it in 2006. Tax was £165 when the car was new, fuel was about 80p per liter and insurance was cheaper on the whole. If I'd had a wage increase in the last few years, it may not be such an issue. I'm finding reasons to keep the car and reasons to change.

I have a feeling that the A6 would cost a lot to run?

My girlfriend's brother is looking at Audi A6's at the moment, went with him last week to look at a 2.0tdi highline. To be honest i was thinking why? It had all the buttons for tv, phone and sat nav which wern't fitted and had 120k on the clock which looked like they had been hard. Think most of it was in traffic aswell as the electronic hand brake button was well worn. Lucky he saw sence and listened to me when i pointed it all out to him. Gonna try and get him to have a look at a Superb though i think i might be wasting my time as he more interested in looks and the badge rather than value for money.

My girlfriend's brother is looking at Audi A6's at the moment, went with him last week to look at a 2.0tdi highline. To be honest i was thinking why? It had all the buttons for tv, phone and sat nav which wern't fitted and had 120k on the clock which looked like they had been hard. Think most of it was in traffic aswell as the electronic hand brake button was well worn. Lucky he saw sence and listened to me when i pointed it all out to him. Gonna try and get him to have a look at a Superb though i think i might be wasting my time as he more interested in looks and the badge rather than value for money.

Yeah, I've figured that my budget won't buy anything decent. I'm now looking at Nissan Primera diesel estates, they fall into my price bracket and return a reasonable mpg. Looks as though my Octavia will soon be in the for sale section. :'(

I'd planned on keeping the car indefinitely, but couldn't have forseen the change in my circumstances, or the hike in the price of everything. Hopefully it will go to a good home on here, as I'd hate to trade it in and see it go to someone who doesn't appreciate it.

Yeah, I've figured that my budget won't buy anything decent. I'm now looking at Nissan Primera diesel estates, they fall into my price bracket and return a reasonable mpg. Looks as though my Octavia will soon be in the for sale section. :'(

I'd planned on keeping the car indefinitely, but couldn't have forseen the change in my circumstances, or the hike in the price of everything. Hopefully it will go to a good home on here, as I'd hate to trade it in and see it go to someone who doesn't appreciate it.

What about getting a octy estate?

Found out I might be going to look at a jag diesel tomorrow, got a feeling that it'll be an x type aka mondeo with a smaller body and less reliable lol

What about getting a octy estate?

Found out I might be going to look at a jag diesel tomorrow, got a feeling that it'll be an x type aka mondeo with a smaller body and less reliable lol

Funnily enough, they come up on Autotrader too when searching within my budget. I'd be interested to know what you think as there are a few about.

Funnily enough, they come up on Autotrader too when searching within my budget. I'd be interested to know what you think as there are a few about.

You mean the x type or the octy estate?? lol

You mean the x type or the octy estate?? lol

The Jag. Sorry, didn't make myself clear. I've looked at Mk1 Octavias, but we might be having a third child and three in the back of a Mk1 doesn't work. If it weren't for that, I'd have a Mk1 diesel without thinking. The boot's massive, the economy is very impressive, but three kids under five in the back wouldn't work, unless I bought a Multimac.

Won't work in a xtype either it's smaller than an octy at the back

Try looking at a mk2 octy they do look bigger inside compaired to a mk1.

What do you really want?? Do you want to keep it VAG? With 7k you can keep it skoda with the mk2 octy or the roomster (might be too mpv for you). You can go volkswagen with the passat estate or the touran (again maybe too mpv). Seat does the altea xl (to me seats look all the same and that's cra*)

If you go away from VAG there's ford with the mondeo (7k brings you the newer shape one which look massive) or the s-max(too mpv?), Honda accord tourer they had good write ups when they were new, there's loads more to choose from, it's down to personal choice,

Stay away from the french poo and you'll be ok. If i needed an estate i'd be looking at octy mk2's, passats snd mondeos and personally i think you may need your eyes checking if you're looking at primeras

Try looking at a mk2 octy they do look bigger inside compaired to a mk1.

What do you really want?? Do you want to keep it VAG? With 7k you can keep it skoda with the mk2 octy or the roomster (might be too mpv for you). You can go volkswagen with the passat estate or the touran (again maybe too mpv). Seat does the altea xl (to me seats look all the same and that's cra*)

If you go away from VAG there's ford with the mondeo (7k brings you the newer shape one which look massive) or the s-max(too mpv?), Honda accord tourer they had good write ups when they were new, there's loads more to choose from, it's down to personal choice,

Stay away from the french poo and you'll be ok. If i needed an estate i'd be looking at octy mk2's, passats snd mondeos and personally i think you may need your eyes checking if you're looking at primeras

To be honest, I want to stay with VAG as I'd ideally keep the vRS. Other than that, I'm looking at Japanese as they appear to be more reliable than in the reviews and surveys. My budget isn't as healthy as I first thought and I'm nearer 5k including the car.

I've seen older cars with more miles than mine on Skoda dealer forecourts for at least 6.5k, but I'd probably get nearer 4k trade in. No dealer in their right mind will let me walk in and swap cars, even if the Skoda is worth more than the cars I'm looking to get. I'm kinda stuck really as all the money I have is in the car itself.

I agree about the Primera's looks, maybe that's why they aren't that popular? This move would be for practical reasons, so looks aren't a high priority. I dislike the looks of the MK2 Octavia more than the Nissan's to be honest, but neither are pretty cars. The MK1 Octy is far better looking, the MK2 is mismatched and out of proportion in certain areas.

The Honda is a great car, but they aren't quite cheap enough yet, so at the moment I don't know what to do.

You should only change a car if you want to, or have to, not to save in running costs. The savings per month are peanuts compared to the cost to change to anything decent. No point in saving £100/month in fuel and insurance if you have to pay £250/month on a loan for the difference or dig into your savings

Good reasons for change:

Better car that you really want and like and can afford to run and purchase

more appropriate size after change in circumstances, eg estate, need to tow etc

Cant get insurance after conviction

Vehicle uneconomic to repair

Bad Reasons to change:

Bored with current car and anything else will do

Save a few pounds per month

Smaller car will be cheaper to run (Not as safe and less comfortable usually)

Any currently well maintained car should continue to run for a long time. Say you spend £7k to change, you will need to run the new car for 7 years to save the difference, during which time it will have depreciated to a small retail value, and you may have had to pay back a large loan.

Good points there. I guess I'm panicking due to our income going down and the price of everything going up. I don't want to change and swore I'd keep it for as long as it was running. I'm also on a very tight budget, so really would be swapping cars rather than taking out any finance to add to the overall price.

I'm also aware that I could be buying a whole lot of trouble on my budget and inherit someone else's reason for selling. I need to sleep on this for a few days and weigh things up. I know this may sound daft coming from a Skoda owner, but I feel that if I did sell, nearly everything else would be an inferior car to own and run. The vRS gives me something that most other modern cars don't and that's a sense of connection with the car. It seems to fit and be just right. Very philosophical I know, but there you go.

Also, my wife says I can't sell as I'd be a nightmare to live with.

I would say keep your Oct'y as you will not be happy with anything else and it will always be in the back of your mind everytime you see one on the road.

Maybe try driving with economy in mind, set your trip computer to Avg. mpg instead of being on the clock in your revcounter, your soon be chasing the 40mpg avg per trip.

I'm doing the same maths and looking at the same sort of cars for similar reasons.

VATs the killer. Unless you sell private and buy private the VAT sucks away any savings you'd get. you'd save day to day on fuel but in the long run you've lost 20% on the value of the car.

If you do it the 130hp 1.9 diesel that is in the A6 and many other VAGs is pretty bullet proof if looked after. The A6 is a big motor so it'll be on the slow side and you won't get the economy that people see in a golf with the same engine. At 100k you'll be looking at it possibly needing brakes and wheel bearings soon but nothing that would affect the car really. But again it eats away at any perceived savings.

My octy just went over 40k + the turn of the year knocked a lot off the value. Fuel is going to be expensive whatever I'm driving.

After this winter I think I'll have to switch to a 4x4 pickup if anything. SWMBO spent the whole winter in abject terror of the weather and we're not through yet.

If your looking for a car that will get 3 separate child seats in the back I doubt an A6 will be any good. A mk2 octy is only 1-2" wider in the back than a mk1, same goes for a VW touran, while an A6 will be a bigger car you will still probably find the back seats aren't really any wider. You are going to be looking at shahambraxy or other mpv where the rear wheel arches don't limit the width of the back seats in the same way.

I looked at this a while ago and compared my mk1 octy to a mk2, a superb and a touran and width wise internally there was very little difference, and you need to look at the shape of the seats as well. The rear seats in my octy are flatter compared to SWMBOs seat leon and so you can get slightly more space in the middle in my car.

Edited 17 January, 201115 yr by trundlenut

Hmm. Some wise words there folks. I'm not prone to panicking and have calmed down a bit today. I have more reasons for keeping the car than getting rid. Also, it would only take one big bill such as clutch or turbo on the replacement car and the savings have been negated in one fell swoop. Then I'd be driving something I hate and be no better off financially.

It's a case of better the devil you know on this one I guess. Thanks for the advice over the last few days, it's helped a lot. This again proves why this forum is more than a place to sound off about who bet who at the lights, people genuinely do help each other.

I would say keep your Oct'y as you will not be happy with anything else and it will always be in the back of your mind everytime you see one on the road.

Maybe try driving with economy in mind, set your trip computer to Avg. mpg instead of being on the clock in your revcounter, your soon be chasing the 40mpg avg per trip.

Been doing this for a couple of weeks now and I'm saving atleast £15 per week so far, its amazing how much the mpg goes up just by lifting your foot slightly for example going on a straight piece of road at 50 showing 36mpg lift my foot slightly and it shows 45+ mpg with no loss of speed.

I've been looking at A4's/A6's in the same price range, as im getting fed up of the Skoda breaking every month or so.

Having had an A4 diesel in the past, i will definitely be looking seriously at Audi's. Reading through www.honestjohn.co.uk, most cars have loads of problems from that era, Audi seems among the best of them.

Most of the diesels at that price are soo dull. I keep falling asleep looking at Autotrader.