QuestionQUESTION: Hi, I'm going to take a 1999 Audi A6 with 82k miles for a test drive tonight. It looks great on CarFax and has only had 1 owner (it was part of a corporate fleet). I haven't seen the car yet, so am I basing everything on how it looks on paper. Should I be concerned about the mileage? I'm also looking at a 2002 Volvo S60 with 67k miles.
ANSWER: I own three cars, all with well over 100,000 miles on each. Today, I personally don't consider 82k to be "high miles" with one important factor: condition. I feel that the condition of a vehicle, and the care that it has had, is much more important than the mileage. People will pay a fortune for the super-low-mileage car the little old lady owned down the street, yet it's that little old lady that's notorious for not performing basic maintenance. All she knows is that she's supposed to be changing the oil every 3,000 miles, but if she's only putting 1,000 miles/ year on the car, then the oil gets changed...once every three years. Definitely not good. The money I've saved by buying good-condition, high-mileage vehicles has, in the long run, not even come close to what I spend in repairs. Occasionally I shell out $500-$1,000 to fix something, and no one likes to pay that bill. But when you add it up at the end of several years, I'm definitely money ahead.
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QUESTION: So you've definitely answered my question and I appreciate that.
My follow up is more specifically related to Audi A6s, so hopefully you can help here too. I understand German cars are more expensive to repair and maintain and I'm OK with that. What worries me is that these cars need require repairs on a more frequent basis than a standard vehicle so not only would I be paying more to keep it up and running, but I'd be more, more frequently.
Do you have any personal experience or know anyone who has owned an Audi A6? Any help would be great.
Thanks for the first answer as well.
AnswerThere isn't a European car made that doesn't require more repairs, more maintenance and more costly repairs than an American or Asian-built vehicle. But some are better than others. Personally, I'd stay away from a Mercedes, Jaguar or Land Rover. Volkswagens, Saabs and Volvos are slightly better, pretty close to Audi. BMW is a notch higher still, and getting better, but that does NOT include MINI; they've been troublesome. I don't know anyone personally with an A6, but if I were you I'd like to see ALL the maintenance and repair records on this car before I went forward. If it was always serviced at one dealer, then it should pretty easy for that dealer to call those records up and show them to you. And if the car has had only one owner, then don't put all your trust in CarFax; I'd approach this car as if CarFax didn't exist, and inspect the car closely for any repaint or other evidence of collision damage. You'd be surprised what the original owner can hide from sources like CarFax, if they know what they're doing.
