Looking to jump from C6 to C7 advice please

[stevo55]

After 10 months with my late 09 'loon I'm chuffed to bits BUT the usual issues are starting to niggle me a bit (old tech being one). I'm lucky that my RS6 is a well cared for example and (so far at least) the dreaded oil leak and coolant pipes haven't reared their ugly heads. Skirs9 on another thread has inadvertently revealed the possibility of getting into a C7. To that end I've been scouring the ads for likely suspects in the £50-60k bracket. One that has come up is this one at Cambridge Audi:
https://usedcars.audi.co.uk/usedcar/aud ... 921541.htm#

I'm off to see it this week and see if a deal can be done. The spec is pretty bang on but I have a few questions for you C7 guys:

1. Dynamic steering-heard a few negative reports from the motoring press about it. Any inputs?

2. Is the HUD standard? I can't see if the Cambridge car has it.

3. The pre face lift LED lights (as fitted as an option to this car), how do they compare to the current ones?

4. When was the facelift and what were the changes?

Anything else I need to be aware of? The Cambs car has 21" alloys which looks like a weak spot on the C7 from what I read. There's no sports exhaust which is a bummer, I have the Milltek on mine and it really makes a difference. Apart from that the spec is pretty impressive.
Am also considering an RS7? Much rarer on the roads, any thoughts on these?

Thanks in advance.

[wildbore]

No experience of Dynamic steering but, yes, it is universally criticised when fitted to press review cars.
HUD is an option. Not elegantly fitted but an invaluable way of keeping check of your speed.
LEDs seem popular and widely praised by those that have them (check out the VW Audi forum where features and options are widely discussed).
Facelift cars hit GB shores from January 2015 (cannot imagine a Dec 14 car existing but it's possible, I suppose). Big changes to the capability of the MMI, Double glazing (in the front) as standard, matrix LEDs standard, reduced road tax grouping through lower emissions.

If I were buying used, I would work hard to get an early facelift over a late pre-FL.

[doodlebug]

FL cars were built from Dec 2014, so more likely to be Feb/Mar onwards.

The PI dealer leaflet is buried in one of the C7 threads from sometime Q3/Q4 2014. Added 4G/LTE capability to the MMI.

[Tadass910]

After 10 months with my late 09 'loon I'm chuffed to bits BUT the usual issues are starting to niggle me a bit (old tech being one). I'm lucky that my RS6 is a well cared for example and (so far at least) the dreaded oil leak and coolant pipes haven't reared their ugly heads. Sklrs9 on another thread has inadvertently revealed the possibility of getting into a C7. To that end I've been scouring the ads for likely suspects in the £50-60k bracket. One that has come up is this one at Cambridge Audi:
https://usedcars.audi.co.uk/usedcar/aud ... 921541.htm#

I'm off to see it this week and see if a deal can be done. The spec is pretty bang on but I have a few questions for you C7 guys:

1. Dynamic steering-heard a few negative reports from the motoring press about it. Any inputs?

2. Is the HUD standard? I can't see if the Cambridge car has it.

3. The pre face lift LED lights (as fitted as an option to this car), how do they compare to the current ones?

4. When was the facelift and what were the changes?

Anything else I need to be aware of? The Cambs car has 21" alloys which looks like a weak spot on the C7 from what I read. There's no sports exhaust which is a bummer, I have the Milltek on mine and it really makes a difference. Apart from that the spec is pretty impressive.
Am also considering an RS7? Much rarer on the roads, any thoughts on these?

Thanks in advance.

If I were u:

I would get car with dynamic plus package
Install Miltek exhaust
Carbon styling inside car is must
Privacy glass in in rear
HUD must be it very convenient

Hope it helps

[gilford]

I was in this very position only 6 weeks ago, I would strongly recommend scraping another £5k together and get a 2015 FL.

HUD is great, I had it on my M4 and missed it on my GTS, glad to have it back

I would say sports exhaust is a must, it's the first thing I do when I get in mine, noise is great for a factory option.

Park assist is very handy, it's a pretty big car and the fact it can park itself is a bonus, not that I would park mine on the street anyway.

Black, carbon, Alun etc are all personal preference so I wouldn't worry too much about that, get what you prefer.

Nardo grey is my favourite colour but I opted for sepang in the end as I'm not confident it will age well (and this come from a man who had a smurf blue M4).

All in all an awesome car and there were some cracking deals to be had in late December, I'm not sure dealers will be willing to slash prices so much now.

[skirs6]

That looks nice mate. It doesn't have HUD from the photos. As for Dynamic steering I have that and find it absolutely fine. It's a big family car why would I want to track it or thrash it round dangerous lanes?? Spec wise it's not a mile off mine. I have parking plus /assist and night vision assistant. Like this one standard exhaust but not really bothered as it's going up to Demand to have some sound treatment.
Privacy glass is nice plus panoramic glass roof. I think the 21 wheels look great and look better than 20's. I have read the thread on the wheels but reading between the lines the broken ones have been thrashed round a track. With the state of our roads many wheels stand a good chance of damage.

Most spec is down to personal choice or if you're thinking ahead, resale value. Soft close doors I love just need to convince the family they don't need to slam the doors. It's taken 3yrs and still not managed it

[MikeFish]

No-one mentioned the sweeping indicators yet on facelift. The DRL shape changed too. The grille is much more angular on the facelift.

Alcantara door cards and thigh pads were added I think from MY2015 (maybe 2016) onwards.
MMI upgrades were added but I can't recall if FLAC support was always part of the spec; I have a feeling it was either facelift or MY2016.

Just little note; if you intend on upgrading amps and speakers then the facelift is at a massive disadvantage as it uses the later MOST150. This means that you can't take a digital output from the OEM amp and feed it to an aftermarket processor / amps like you can with the pre facelift cars as no-one makes a MOST150 to SPDIF / TOSLINK converter yet.

[Markp]

My favourite options are pano roof, carbon pack (v expensive), DRC and sports exhaust.
I would go FL car if you can afford to.
As for wheels - I prefer 20s and they are a much better wheel longevity wise. Buckling would really piss me off and seems to be common. If you want 21s consider going aftermarket for stronger forged wheels (the OE Audi 20s are forged, the 21s are not - odd but true).

[Ian_C]

There's no sports exhaust which is a bummer, I have the Milltek on mine and it really makes a difference

If you are intending on fitting the Milltek anyway, you could look at cars with either exhaust. Sport mode on the stock exhaust gives you the burble in the meantime. Depending how anal you are about details, if buying a car with the stock exhaust, knowing you are going to fit a Milltek, you could always negotiate a paid of black exhaust tips to the thrown in as part of the deal....

On the B8 RS4, the Dynamic pack gave you the sport exhaust bundled with the dynamic steering? Is this the same on the C7?

If I were buying used, I would work hard to get an early facelift over a late pre-FL.

I was in this very position only 6 weeks ago, I would strongly recommend scraping another £5k together and get a 2015 FL.

I would go FL car if you can afford to.

This. There are several on Audi Approved around 60k if you are not too fussy on spec

[stevo55]

Will have another look as £60k is my absolute maximum and I couldn't find a FL for less than that. There is one which is a Cat D in the early 50's from an indie but I'm always massively wary of those.

[MikeFish]

Ian the Dynamic Package on the C7 gives you dynamic steering, DRC and top speed increase to 170 something.
Sports exhaust was a separate option and standard on the Performance.

[LukasPukas]

Will have another look as £60k is my absolute maximum and I couldn't find a FL for less than that. There is one which is a Cat D in the early 50's from an indie but I'm always massively wary of those.

I stepped up from a C6 to a C7 and haven't regretted it.

I managed to pick up a FL for a smudge over £60k a few months back and it only had 5k on the clock. Another advantage is that you will have initial warranty for longer as it is newer and if you are the sort to renew it once it expires, it will save you £1k down the road ( <= man maths). That and that the car tax is half each year (<= real maths), so over a 3 year period you will make up some of the difference. Given they are under original warranty, I wouldn't be scared to look around non-Audi dealers too.

Other advantages of the FL is that the MMI can output a full map into the centre console for the navigation, a nice feature which means you can leave the main screen on the "car" mode and drop it into dynamic quicker when you want to give someone a fright. Also makes the HUD a little less necessary IMO (but still nice to have)

For me the must have options are: Dynamic pack (so you have the DRC, a big car on air after a C6 seemed like a step down to me), Gloss Black/Alu/Carbon pack simply to get the Quattro grille (which looks miles better), privacy glass and Parking Advanced (incredibly a rear camera wasn't standard on these cars). I also have the Surround cam, which I am a big fan of, really helps navigate such a big car (which is bigger then a C6). Heated rear seats although not standard, seem to be on all cars (bit like the TV on the C6). I don't have the Pano-Roof, but wish I did (it was the concession I had to make for a well priced car).

The fact that keyless start is standard makes the Advanced Key less necessary then a C6.

From my experience buying, well priced cars move quickly, but they do come up fairly regularly, so I would wait for the right car. C6 prices are fairly stable, so you shouldn't lose out if you wait a little!

[doodlebug]

There's a nice Sepang car at Bradford.....

[MikeFish]

I didn't know pre facelift cars didn't have the map on the DIS (maybe I did and forget!?!).

But if you want to quickly get into dynamic mode then just pull the gear lever into sport as this has the same effect in terms of engine/ throttle response, gearbox and exhaust. Much quicker than fiddling with the menu even if you have the right screen up on the MMI. The suspension / diff won't change to dynamic by just pulling the gear stick but if it's for a quick overtake etc then it works for me. I generally stay in dynamic all the time and just change between D and S using the gear lever for sedate or angry modes.

[stevo55]

Thanks for all the advice as always guys, hopefully I can work a deal and get into a C7. The C6 is an amazing car and I love it to bits but really starting to feel it's age now.