I did it! Now a proud 2012 A6 owner

"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen) 12/18/2018 at 08:33 • Filed to: None

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o last week Friday I managed to sell my 2010 Taurus for a tidy profit. Over what I paid insurance to keep it and along with the insurance payout it was well over what it was worth pre-accident. So that was a good feeling! So then in the spirit of letting the good times roll, I headed to Chicago-land the next day, Elmhurst, specifically and picked up this:

It’s a 2012 A6 Premium Plus (a step down from the range-topping Prestige model), it has the 3.0 TFSI, supercharged V6 and a wonderful brown leather interior with beautiful wood accents.

Then yesterday I decided to buy myself an early Christmas present, well... I hope it arrives before Christmas, an RSNAV module, it fits behind the dash and plugs into the MMI system and enables you to run Android auto, which in the 2 weeks I had it in a rental was something I decided I can no longer live without, haha.

So how does it drive? Compared to my Taurus this is like F1 car adjacent. You don’t realize how much a landbarge a 2010 Taurus SHO really is until you drive something with a chassis like the A6. It feels quick, nimble and composed in ways that the SHO never did (although I still dearly miss that car). The 3.0 paired with the ZF 8-speed is fantastic so far!

Duck Duck Grey Duck FTMFW! > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 08:54

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Wow!!! Congrats on the sweet ass new ride!!!

Nibby > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 08:55

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BROWN INTERIROROEDORSJRIOPDSJRIOFD’;N GHFDB RGSHS

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Nibby 12/18/2018 at 08:59

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it’s pretty much how I knew that this was the Audi A6 for me.

Tripper > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 08:59

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Congrats!!

boredalways > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 09:04

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Congrats! A co-worker has one and loves it.  Hasn't been too thrilled with repair costs tho -- I think it was close to 4 figures for the brakes.

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 09:04

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now you just need to race williamsv’s E550 in the battle of chicagoland oppos

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 09:13

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Love that interior and exterior color, and I see heated steering wheels as well . Very interested in reading a full review and also how the reliability is in the upcoming years. How many miles on this ?

functionoverfashion > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 09:13

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Congrats! I love the look of that generation Audi, about the only bad thing I can think of to say is that the A4 and A6 are indistinguishable to the untrained eye, but that’s not so much a bad thing. It looks good, why mess with it?

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > boredalways 12/18/2018 at 09:14

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Nah, brakes aren’t too bad, except at the dealer.... I’m on my 3rd Audi and 3rd brake job and I’m still under $700 for all the parts, the S4 was under $600, and the Q7 was less than $400. And that’s Pads and rotors and sensors as needed. But yeah the dealer will cost you twice that amount.

That being said, I picked up the new rotors for my S8 and holy balls are they massive. They have to be over 40lbs apiece.

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 09:20

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Nicely done! That’s a pretty ride. Once you open the intake up, you’ll really like it. Make sure you get out to do some sno-nuts once the white stuff falls. You can get a nice feel for the limits of the car. They do well to hide the nose heavy layout when doing normal driving. You start to notice when you get to the limits. But you really have to push to get it out of shape.

Now go out and get yourself an oil extractor so you can do easy 5000 mile oil changes and avoid going into the dealer for their $200 oil changes.  Ecs tuning has a nice site to pickup parts and maintenance items for reasonable prices.  

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 12/18/2018 at 09:20

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It’s got 57k miles. It had Audi-care up to 45k miles, so well taken care of. The reliability of these engines and transmissions is reportedly very good. But I’ll keep you guys updated!

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero 12/18/2018 at 09:21

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Haha, I actually live in the Grand Rapids Michigan area. But I will gladly challenge him to a drag race post APR tune!

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Duck Duck Grey Duck FTMFW! 12/18/2018 at 09:21

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Thanks!

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Tripper 12/18/2018 at 09:22

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Thanks man! And thanks for chatting Audi with me last week!

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc 12/18/2018 at 09:23

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oh phewf. Was scared for a second there. I couldn’t imagine why it would cost 4 figures unless it had like Lambo-derived brakes.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > boredalways 12/18/2018 at 09:24

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close to 4 figures for pads and rotors all the way around? What exactly did he have done?

HoustonRunner > Nibby 12/18/2018 at 09:24

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I second that. There is a red Suburban that parks near me with a dark brown (think they call it mocha) leather interior. I have many lusts for that. (Though I will admit I looked for black leather specifically in my ‘burb as it shows kiddo spills / incidents much less.)

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 12/18/2018 at 09:25

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and yes, the colors are phenomenal inside, I will try to get some good pictures of that. The heated steering wheel was very nice this morning at 20 degrees (F).

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc 12/18/2018 at 09:28

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I will definitely be playing in the snow once it hits!

I think I actually need an oil change. What’s the scoop on these, I’m not quite ready to tackle that project on my own yet, I want to take my time and get everything I need . I don’t HAVE to go to the dealer do I? A decent mechanic could do a good job I imagine.

Audi at the PPI also told me it’s due for a 55k service, the biggest item on that, I believe, was the drive-belt change. Think that’s a good thing to go ahead and take care of?

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 09:28

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thats hilarious, he lives here in chicago but bought his E550 in Michigan and you live in Michigan but bought your A6 in chicago. Did you buy from a dealer or private party?

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > functionoverfashion 12/18/2018 at 09:30

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Thanks!

Yeah, my previously untrained eye always had to check the badge. I can judge it pretty well at first glance now though, haha.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero 12/18/2018 at 09:32

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I bought from a dealer, a Chrysler dealer. It used to be the owner’s sons car or something. They were selling $2k under KBB, so it was the best deal in a 300 mile range.

MUSASHI66 > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 09:35

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My best friend has an A6 with the S Line package and that same engine and it’s amazing. It really pushes you in the seat when he punches it. Oh wait. Had, not has. Ex wife got it in the divorce. He’s looking at RS5 to replace his ttrs. He likes Audis.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > MUSASHI66 12/18/2018 at 09:36

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Yeah, it will definitely push you into your seat. I have gone much past 1/2 throttle and my girlfriend and I were already grinning ear-to-ear.

boredalways > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 09:37

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IDK... probably went to a dealer and less than reputable independent shop.

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 09:54

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well congrats and have fun with it lol

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > boredalways 12/18/2018 at 09:55

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I’m honestly not too shocked with “close to 4 fig ures” if it was a thorough brake job, maybe a little on the high end, but fairly in line with lots of other cars.

Chariotoflove > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 10:06

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Congrats!  And welcome to the shiny wood trim club. Now you don’t have to pretend to like these peasants anymore. 

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero 12/18/2018 at 10:10

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Thanks, will do!

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Chariotoflove 12/18/2018 at 10:11

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Thanks, hahaha. Lowly matte-finishes. Blegh.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 10:18

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Congrats! Safe motoring and t ake more pics.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever 12/18/2018 at 10:21

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yeah, the brown leather interior seems to be a hit, so I’ll take a few more of that!

functionoverfashion > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 10:23

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I think they’ve aged really well, and really I’m a sucker for any car that has a line you can follow from the hood/front fender all the way through the doors right to the back. That little crease really does it for me on those Audis. Similar to that line on the E46... hmm...

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > functionoverfashion 12/18/2018 at 10:29

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Yeah and the cool thing is that they managed to do it without “over-styling” the thing like the 2-dozen angles you can find on just the nose of some cars these days. It’s nice and reserved.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc 12/18/2018 at 10:31

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And would you recommend Injen for the intake? I’ve been reading good things about theirs.

FSI > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 10:50

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Congrats and welcome to Audi ownership. 

Nibby > HoustonRunner 12/18/2018 at 10:52

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hot

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > FSI 12/18/2018 at 10:57

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Appreciate it!

Tripper > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 10:58

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Anytime, looking forward to a review on it.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Tripper 12/18/2018 at 11:05

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Yeah, I’ll be sure to do that once I’ve owned it a little longer. It’ll mostly draw from my experiences of owning a Taurus SHO, as that’s my best frame of reference.

Future Heap Owner > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 11:09

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Nice!

BeaterGT > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 11:38

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Congrats! Glad to hear you made out well with the SHO.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > BeaterGT 12/18/2018 at 11:49

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yeah, that sure was a relief, haha.

Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 11:50

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Congratulations! I think/hope you’ll quite love it.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) 12/18/2018 at 11:54

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I AM very much so far! It’s a great chassis as well as a fantastic transmission/engine combo.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 13:09

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I’m jelly. Glad you moved on from the SHO (RIP in peas). New experiences, ahoy!

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 12/18/2018 at 13:12

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Thanks, after much deliberation I made the tough decision to move on. Just to many downsides to keeping it. The unknown final repair bill, the no longer being able to fully insuring it and the knowledge that I’d never get more money out of the car than I did. I got probably $2 - 3k over  what it was worth pre-accident by taking the ins. check and then electing to sell it on my own. I really feel like I gamed the system, haha.

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 14:36

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I did the 55k mike service on mine at home. No biggie. If you go to Ecstuning or fcpeuro you can get oem or equivalent parts for the service. I thought 55k was plugs and coil packs too? But the Manual will tell you what is required. An oil change with the extractor is dead simple and you don’t even have to get under the car. I use a Pela 14 liter extractor, it’s one of the only ones that will do my S8 in one go, something like 12liters of oil in that beast. But the 3.0T isn’t as crazy, I think 6-7 quarts and a filter. Ecs has some nice packages for oil changes and you can get them on sale and save 10-15% if you hit them at the right time. I used to buy two oil changes worth at a time for mine. I went with the CTS  turbo intake for mine, it was very simple, but not the best one out there.  There are a lot of good options, and I’d check the forums for recommendations.  I liked the CTS one because it got rid of the air box all together.  But not as good as the apr or other options out there.  It sounded great.  

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 14:41

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I can see a dealership brake job being over a grand. But if you’re sourcing your own parts it’s not bad.

One thing you may want to look into is the rosstech VCDS scantool.  I use mine quite a bit, and they more than pay for themselves if you DIY repairs.  You can read each individual module on the car to see if there are issues or to just gather data.  

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc 12/18/2018 at 15:01

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Yeah I think you are right on plugs + coils. Certainly can’t hurt to do those too! I’ll definitely look into that oil extractor too, sounds like a breeze of an oil change! (not jacking up the car sounds phenomenal). Do you use an particular kind of oil? Is the accessory belt doable as well you think?

As for the air intake, I’m torn. Retaining the factory box seems like a good idea to keep away some of the engine bay heat-soak. But on the other hand: supercharger whine. I suppose since I’m not racing it and since I don’t live in a hot climate (Michigan), I’ll probably be okay without the box. I suppose with the way the Injen is designed, I can run it both ways.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc 12/18/2018 at 15:03

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Ah I see. I did get some kind of bluetooth module, it was recommended for my Android Auto install. I have to enable the “green screen”. But I have read that if you want more functionality that Rosstech is the way to go.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 18:28

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Isn’t matte finish wood a recent thing?

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > MUSASHI66 12/18/2018 at 18:28

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Sounds like he made it out OK, at least money-wise. I’d be looking for an  EP3 Civic Si.

ihm96 > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero 12/18/2018 at 18:57

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I did a pull on a kid in a lowered 335i with unknown other mods one time in an E550 on the Ac expressway and shocked the hell out of him. He saw me coming up, both of us top down, raced ahead and was shocked to see me like glue on him and then once the lane opened up, I moved over and blew past him up to 125. After that I stuck to the speed limit the rest of my trip haha

Spasoje > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 19:09

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C o n g r a t s ! I l o v e t h e s e - p e r f e c t blend of luxury, elegance , p o w e r , a n d reliability.

Dantheman > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 19:44

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Nice ride and welcome to the family! I’ve recently (Sept 18) purchased one myself and love it! I got a 14' certified A6 TDI Prestige . Put an tune on it  and now I have a legit racecar. Didn't know about the after market Android Auto device and I'm  with you on needing it. I'll take any advice you've got on it too! Well good luck!

MUSASHI66 > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever 12/18/2018 at 20:00

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Ha! I had a 2003 Civic Si. He actually had an Audi A4 back then. He always spent his money on cars. 

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Spasoje 12/18/2018 at 21:41

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Thanks! I was amazed to discover upon researching these the 3.0T is very reliable, after horror stores of 2.7 allroads and engine-out service for the silliest things on the 4.2, this was a total 180.

functionoverfashion > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/18/2018 at 22:26

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“over-styling”

You rang?

Like, what is going on with the line along the bottom of the doors. And below the headlights. And, the rear window. And...

That’s a face only a mother could love. And then the swoop down the side that just... ends mid way along the rear door. And many more weird details.

umm, what? My 6-year-old draws more cohesive things than this.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Dantheman 12/18/2018 at 22:45

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That’s a nice looking Audi! What sort of hp/tq does a tune get out of the diesel?

I just got notice that my RSNAV shipped, so hopefully I’ll get it soon, I can’t wait to install it, I’ll let you know how it goes.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > functionoverfashion 12/18/2018 at 22:47

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Yeah that’s exactly the kind of shit I’m talking about, haha.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/19/2018 at 04:46

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as an Audi dealer employee, why do you hate yourself and money?

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > pip bip - choose Corrour 12/19/2018 at 08:37

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The 3.0T (why a T is it’s Supercharged) + the ZF 8spd should be reliable from what I read. What makes you say I should expect to part with tons of money? I’d agree with you if I had bought an older 4.2 V8 or an Audi Allroad 2.7T.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever 12/19/2018 at 08:37

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haha yeah, I think so, was just being silly.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/19/2018 at 15:41

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All be vw group vehicles including Skoda sold her in oz are so poorly engineered

The sheer amount of warranty work we do to some is appalling for the cost of them

Especially electrical items and Oil leaks

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > pip bip - choose Corrour 12/19/2018 at 16:08

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Okay, have a piece of mind:

I don’t hear any major complaints about the 3.0TFSI + ZF 8-speed. You are one of few people that felt the need to say something so completely and utterly negative, I’m surprised. You seem to have a gripe with vw/audi/skoda/seat/etc. But they make so many vehicles , you can’t/shouldn’t discount them all in one swoop.

These generic comments are frankly just rude and don’t add anything to the conversation. If you have any concerns with this specific vehicle feel free to let me know. But if you are here to simply badmouth the whole VW group (using my new vehicle purchase post, no less) . That’s not helping anyone.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 12/20/2018 at 07:09

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how is telling the truth rude?

true, not what you want to hear. but it’s still the truth

VW.Audi/Skoda products that i’ve seen are poorly engineered

are they well thought out from a drivers perspective, yes

are they good to look at, yes

are they well assembled, for the most part yes. a few little niggles on Skoda.

but when it takes multiple days and tonne of bolts (and that is no lie) to reseal  an Audi engine for an oil leak.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > pip bip - choose Corrour 12/20/2018 at 08:46

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Again. These sweeping statements about the entire VW group are not helping anyone out. All it is, is you using my post as soapbox to air your complaints about the VW group . So again, if you have specific information about the car I bought, that’s great, but otherwise, this is extremely unhelpful.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc 01/04/2019 at 10:58

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Was just wondering something. I’ve got like $160 in credit at a Ford dealership. Would you think it’d be alright to have them handle 2 or 3 oil changes on the A6 so I can use that up? I really don’t know any other way to use it, haha.

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 01/05/2019 at 12:05

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You could possibly do that, but I would either DIY oil change or dealership. Just for the proper cert oil. And ze German cars have interesting ways to do certain things and like to use different covers and fasteners for splash shields and all that. I’d be more comfortable having a person that is familiar with the tricks to complete tasks properly, so something a European Indy shop would have, or a dealership would have. Just my opinion though.

Can you transfer the credit to someone else?  

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc 01/07/2019 at 09:16

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That’s another option I considered. Or possibly use it up by having them detail the car... Once this damn roadsalt-winter is over, haha.

CaptDale - is secretly British > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 02/05/2019 at 13:33

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That brown leather is awesome, but do you like the light upper element ? Like if the headliner was black would you like it more?

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > CaptDale - is secretly British 02/05/2019 at 14:26

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Honestly I’ve only noticed it when I cons ciously look at it, otherwise I haven’t even noticed.

So with that I’m saying I think it’s hardly noticeable and doesn’t bother me. Because how often do we really look up at our headliner really? The only place it’s visible while driving is the A pillars and it hasn’t bothered me there.

CaptDale - is secretly British > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 02/05/2019 at 14:38

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Honestly it bother ms a lot. It changes the whole feel of an interior to me. I love the cockpit cocoon feeling and especially when you have a dar interior and a light headligher it just really messes with me and I hate it so much. 

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > CaptDale - is secretly British 02/05/2019 at 15:13

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ah okay, I personally like a spacious feeling interior, I’m always happy with I can open my sunroof shade, it’s closed right now to keep the cold out, haha.