Buying advice Audi A4 (B6) 2001-2004 Common Issues, Engines, Inspection
Hello everyone, thanks for watching another buyers review, today we take a look at the second generation Audi A4 with the internal code B6. This car was launched in 2001 and marked the beginning of a new era for Audi. The A4 and Passat are technically the same for the most part. Audi was still in the race of establishing its name as a luxury alternative for BMW, Mercedes and Lexus.
In all fairness the B6 is getting old and diesels with low milages are difficult to find, there are lots of engines for sale, even the legendary 1.8 liter turbo is available. In the S4 they managed to squeeze an 4.2 liter v8. That is quite some overkill for a small car like this, performance of the S4 was 344 HP and 410 NM of torque. Not bad. Now lets start with a list of common issues that you should be aware off.
- Broken ignition coil.
- The coolant flange giving out before its time.
- Water pumps and timing belts that fail before they should.
- Petroleum sludge.
- A broken PCV valve.
- The gasoline pump failed prematurely.
- Problem with the power window regulator.
This list is about the most common issues and these can apply to both the diesel and or petrol engines. Back in the early 2000’s they still had the legendary 1.9 TDI that was bullitproof, that engine really put VW and Audi on the map in the diesel world. It is logical to think that if you buy a car with low milage that you will be fine, but that is not the case for this generation that went out of production almost 20 years ago. Age is going to be an issue when cars get older, rubbers, plastic, moving parts, oil pumps, gasoline pumps, they will fail aventually due to age alone. So do a proper inspection of your B6 before buying the car. This lets you see the overall state of the vehicle and this can help you negotiate the price.
Parts are still available, many B6 cars already broke down and can be used as donor cars if needed. All in all this was a huge step up for Audi, the A4 is really entry level luxury. Now in 2023 you can clearly tell its age but the design did stand the test of time if you ask me. Please subscribe if you find these reviews useful, thanks for watching.