Press "Enter" to skip to content

Tag: Audi

This site contains Ebay partner affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you.

2002 Audi S6 Avant 6-speed

The other day it seemed as though I switched sides, abandoning my preferred Audis for the dark star of Mercedes-Benz with the E55 AMG Estate. Don’t get me wrong, I do like the S6 Avant, but perhaps the lack of manual and the mere existence of the hotter and not-for-U.S. market RS6 Avant just takes the edge of the C5 for me. Plus, the transmissions in the Audis are notorious – correctly or incorrectly – for being a bit weak and expensive to replace. The solution? A 6-speed manual converted car, of course! And this particular example even steps up above that single massive advantage with a host of RS6 upgrades as well:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2002 Audi S6 Avant on eBay

5 Comments

10K Friday “80s Classic” Edition: 924 Turbo v. 5000CS Quattro Avant v. Golf Rallye v. 535i v. 300CE

One thing I really love about writing up these 10K posts is a odd combinations pricing allows me to come up with. For today’s post, I decided to do something a little different. Instead of maximizing the budget, I decided to look at it from the perspective of what was a classic 1980s car that you could buy and maintain well under $10,000. Obviously, if you’re willing to shill out much more, there are countless classics you can jump in to turn-key; but under $10,000 means with almost certainty that the car you’ll be getting in to today will be at least in part a bit of a project. Is there anything wrong with that? No, I think there’s an inherent appeal to trying to save and resuscitate a car that was in part neglected or just needs attention. Certainly I’ve tried to do that several times with 1980s cars – with mixed results. Today, I grabbed one classic from the 1980s (give or take, we’ll see…) from each of the major manufacturers – which is the one you’d like to save?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1980 Porsche 924 Turbo on eBay

3 Comments

Double Take: 2002 Audi S6 Avant

Amongst unappreciated Audis, the C5 S6 seems to be pretty high on the snub list for enthusiasts. Complaints that they were overly complicated and underwhelming were understandable in some regards as the C5 S6 only came in Avant and automatic form to the U.S.. Indeed, at the same time as the S6 was offered, you could get a twin-turbocharged Allroad 6-speed for a bit less money than the S6. Since it was effectively the same car with a manual and height-adjustable suspension, one would wonder why Audi would offer the S6 at all. However, compared to some other Audis of the same vintage, the S6 holds some advantages. To lighten the porky C5 up slightly, the S6 featured some aluminum body bits up front. Unlike the previous turbocharged inline-5, power came from a capable V8 – rated at 340 horsepower, it was effectively the same motor shared with the S8 and nearly 100 horsepower more than the V6. The S6 also got a special and unique version of the Ronal-made Avus wheel at 17″x8″, instead of the 17″x7.5″ on the B5 S4. Inside the S6 was much the same as the rest of the C5 lineup, though sport seats were standard as with the S8. However, for second or third-hand owners, the big advantages to the S6 are the steel suspension in place of the air-controlled suspension the Allroad featured – a complicated system that has proven failure prone. Additionally, the belt-driven V8 doesn’t have the same guide issues of the chain-driven later V8s in the S4 V8. True, you are still subjected to the transmission woes of this generation Audis – but properly cared for, even the weak-spot transmissions can go for some time. Today I have two examples of the S6 Avant; which is the one to buy?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2002 Audi S6 Avant on eBay

4 Comments

1973 Audi 100 Coupe S

One of the benefits to U.S. automobile enthusiasts of the recent global economic slowdown is the raise in value of the dollar relative to the Euro. For some time, the Euro was nearly a two to one ratio – it made contemplating importing vintage cars hard to stomach, because you needed to double the price and then deal with the headache and cost of importing the car. With it much closer to one to one as it is today, perusing the halls of German eBay suddenly becomes less of a pipe dream and more of a potential reality. Of course, if you’re going to be going through the difficulty of importing something, it better be worth it! For me, there are a plethora of rare Audis that I’d love to import. However, it does seem silly to import a S4 or S6, for example, since they were available here as well and you could get a pretty nice example. No, it seems to make more sense to look for something that you just don’t see on a regular basis – like this 1973 Audi 100 Coupe S, for example:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1973 Audi 100 Coupe S on eBay.de

3 Comments

1991 Audi 200 20V Quattro Avant

Last week, I wrote up one of the nicest 1991 Audi 200 20V quattro Avants that has graced these pages. Lower miles, a complete rebuild and professional respray with some desirable upgrades meant it was no surprise to see the car sell immediately; the seller reported it took 4 hours to sell it at the full $10,000 asking price, and there was a line of bidders all hoping to get in on it. Has the time finally come for recognition of how great these cars were? Well, shortly after the last listing another 200 20V quattro Avant popped up for sale. The asking price was exactly half of the first one, at $5,000. So this one is a supreme deal, right? Let’s have a look:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1991 Audi 200 20V Quattro Avant on eBay

2 Comments