Any Car Guys?

[Ety]

I found a '95 Audi A6, it is FWD , automatic with a 2.8L V6. Its sorta near me about an hour and a half away. I got the guy down to $400 I think I can get him to deliver it too. It has about 136k miles according to Carfax, 5k on a new trans, and new tires and starter. He says its been going in and out of "limp mode" and he doesn't want to fix it. If it is going in and out of limp mode is it most likely a sensor problem? Do you guys think its worth it?

Pics: www.flickr.com/photos/ety

[beaker]

Gotta be careful with those kraut-rockets. Sometimes they can be tricky to fix, not to mention expensive. If you really like the car and don't mind spending some money on it, I'd say go for it. But don't buy it hoping for a cheap fix and then have a car you can't drive. Plan on at least $500 and maybe you'll get lucky. My understanding of "limp mode" is either low coolant or oil pressure or both. I'm not a big german engineer either, maybe someone else on the forum is an Audi/VW enthusiast.

I myself like to get the good deals, I might be picking up my 2nd Eagle Talon pretty soon. This time it's AWD, and it's only $1700. Had some timing belt problems, and needs a new cylinder head. But I wanted to rebuild the whole thing and make a 10-second car out of it anyways for auto-cross. Just remember, you're in fora little heartache when buying a project car, just make sure you like it when you're done fixing it. That being said, good luck with it.

[bulldog]

Limp Mode is usually tied to the MAF sensor on those, but it can also be the O2 sensor(s) or cat. Don't buy it without taking it to someone with VAGCOM to get the error codes checked out. Dealers will run the diagnostic for about $100, but the dongle and software can be had for under $50, so a lot of VW and Audi enthusiasts have them and will do it for free. I have one, but I don't imagine you'd want to "limp" to Ohio.

[Ety]

bulldog said:

Limp Mode is usually tied to the MAF sensor on those, but it can also be the O2 sensor(s) or cat. Don't buy it without taking it to someone with VAGCOM to get the error codes checked out. Dealers will run the diagnostic for about $100, but the dongle and software can be had for under $50, so a lot of VW and Audi enthusiasts have them and will do it for free. I have one, but I don't imagine you'd want to "limp" to Ohio.

The guy is about an hour and half away. I don't think I'll be able to convince anyone to drive me there first. But I found about 5 people near me with VAGCOMs. How much do the MAF sensors run? Do you still think it would be worth it? Someone on another forum offered me $401 if I don't want it. ;D

[bulldog]

I don't have the ETKA parts catalog installed on this laptop to dig up the price for your model, but MAFs start at around $75 and go up over $300. O2 sensors are about $100 each (on a '95 there should only be one, but not sure), vr6 cats are about $250.

If you have access to a laptop you might be able to talk a buddy out of their VAGCOM dongle for a day and install the shareware software to take with you.

Personally, I would pass because of the auto tranny alone. In a 100k+ car that's been neglected like this they are an expensive liability.

[Vashthestampede]

In those pics it looks like he has used the back seat as a garbage dump and its missing some of the front fascia. Older german cars are VERY expensive for parts. Honestly for 400 I'd go get myself a crx.