How to Choose a Used Audi A7

The strange format of a large hatchback with frameless doors, which marketers began calling a “four-door coupe,” became very fashionable at some point. And in the Audi lineup, the A7 model appeared, which is essentially a slightly more expensive version of the A6 sedan, but positioned half a step higher, closer to the A8. The car turned out not to be the most complex (by Audi standards, of course), but it was attractive, so first-generation cars in the C7 body still generate interest today. But is it worth getting involved with them on the secondary market? Today we’ll tell you what to expect from the body, interior, and electrical systems of this car, and in the second part, we’ll talk about its suspensions, engines, and transmissions.

Technology

The first-generation Audi A7 is another car on the MLB platform, and the only serious differences from the A6 and A5 are the frameless doors and the liftback body. The car’s body is steel, including the front longitudinal members and the passenger compartment cage, but the front suspension strut mounts are aluminum. Almost all external body panels are also made of this metal, including the hood and trunk lid, but the roof and rear fenders are steel here.

The technology is also far from unique. The model’s main engines are the EA837 family V6 gasoline engines and the EA896Gen2, EA897, and EA897Evo diesel engines with power outputs of 204-333 hp. However, in a number of markets, the car was also offered with traditional inline “fours” from the EA888Gen3 family with displacements of 1.8 and 2.0 liters and power outputs of 190 and 252 hp. And the S7 and RS7 versions were equipped with supercharged V8s from the EA824 family with power outputs of 420-605 hp. Front-wheel-drive versions with 2.0 TSI, 2.8 FSI, and 3.0 TDI engines could be equipped with CVTs or 7-speed preselective gearboxes, while all-wheel-drive versions could be equipped with either 7-speed preselective gearboxes or 8-speed classic ZF automatic transmissions in the most powerful versions.

Formally, everything sounds quite boring: the Audi A7 is a five-door liftback with a steel body in which aluminum is used mainly for external panels. The engine is longitudinally mounted, ahead of the front axle. The base drive is front-wheel drive, but most cars on the market are all-wheel drive. The suspensions are multi-link on both the front and rear axles.

Positioning in the flagship segment is most clearly reflected in the A7’s equipment: there are no poor trim levels for the car, and the options list includes everything that was available for the Audi A8. There’s air suspension, “night vision,” and matrix headlights. But the interior quality is still lower than that of the flagship, and the practicality of the liftback body doesn’t quite reach that of a station wagon. Moreover, frameless doors prove to be not a very successful solution in our conditions.

Timeline

January 2009. The Audi Sportback Concept, which was the precursor to the A7 model, was presented at the Detroit Auto Show.

July 27, 2010. The model was officially presented in Munich at the Gallery of Modern Art.

October 2010. The model was officially presented at the Paris Motor Show. One body style, only automatic transmissions. Engines – six-cylinder: gasoline 2.8 FSI (204 hp) and 3.0 TFSI (300 hp) from the EA837 family. Diesel – 3.0 TDI with 204 and 245 hp from the EA896Gen2 family.

The younger engine versions could be combined with front-wheel drive and a CVT, while all-wheel-drive cars were equipped with the 7-speed preselective robot DL501.

December 2011. The appearance of a new version of the 3.0 TDI engine with twin turbocharging from the same EA896Gen2 family, but with 313 hp. Available only with all-wheel drive and an 8-speed ZF automatic transmission.

March 2012. The S7 version was released with a 4.0 TFSI engine from the EA824 family producing 420 hp. It is equipped only with all-wheel drive and a 7-speed robot. A new 3.0 TFSI engine model with 310 hp.

August 2013. The top version of the model, the RS7, is released. The 4.0 TFSI engine on it develops 560 hp and is equipped with an 8-speed automatic transmission.

May 2014. Model facelift. The car received bumpers from the S7 version, a new MMI multimedia user interface system, and many minor changes. Four-cylinder engines were announced for Europe. Update of the S7 version: it became more powerful – 450 hp, three-liter diesel engines for versions with 218 and 272 hp were updated to the EA897Evo generation.

August 2014. The most powerful diesel version of the A7 was released with a 326 hp engine and an 8-speed automatic transmission.

Autumn 2014. For the European and Chinese markets, a version with 2.0 TSI and 1.8 TSI engines of the EA888Gen3 generation was offered. Drive – front-wheel drive only, transmission – new 7-speed DSG robot DL382.

October 2015. The appearance of the 605-horsepower limited series RS7.

Summer 2017. Production of the model was discontinued.

Body

External panels

When inspecting an Audi A7 on the secondary market, you should especially carefully look for traces of damage to aluminum panels due to accidents: perfectly straightening even small dents on them is too expensive and troublesome. Another problem is the hood, the front part of which is very heavily sandblasted. Unfortunately, even now many painters do not know how to properly prime and paint aluminum metal. And there is always a chance of seeing its coating peel off the surface after repair.

On the rear wheel arches, fenders, and the front edge of the roof, you can also look for banal corrosion. And there is a chance of finding it, because Audis produced in 2010-2016 were already painted “like everyone else” – with a thin layer, without excessive sealant on the seams, and the galvanization of the steel turned out thin and delicate. Of course, with a minimum price of over a million, the chances of the car being frankly rotten are small. It’s more profitable to repaint the car than to lower the price when selling. But owners come in all kinds, as do the fates of cars.

The rear wheel arches are usually already repainted, because peeling paintwork at their junction with the bumper is a generic “sore spot.” Alas, sometimes the quality of painting leaves much to be desired: you can find peeling lacquer and corrosion hidden under the plastic sill trim, because they were too lazy to remove it during the work. Also, carefully inspect the junction with the rear bumper: despite the fact that it is glued with double-sided tape from the factory, the paintwork at the junction with the plastic still suffers. Moreover, the seam of the fender and the inner panel is located very close here, which is dangerous and expensive to repair. Carefully inspect the windshield frame as well, where streaks are often visible in the corners of the roof, and rust cannot be eliminated there without cutting out the glass. Working with glass is also expensive, and there is a risk of damaging it.

From below

Light corrosion on the underbody is not so scary. Every Audi A7 owner should know this, because the brand, which traditionally pleases with the quality of its anti-corrosion treatment, this time did something stranger and even scarier. For example, the seam of the front longitudinal member rots under the sealant, and the aluminum suspension strut mount suffers from corrosion. The fact is that they were fastened not with glue but with rivets, and something was clearly miscalculated, because the lower thin part of the aluminum structure simply dissolves to the point of forming cracks. Welding won’t help – it’s aluminum, and the weld will be no stronger than glue. Try not to buy a car with this kind of problem. This is not the result of an accident, and such a very unpleasant thing is also found on cars that have been in single ownership since purchase. The internet is full of stories about corrosion of the strut mounts on the Audi A7 C7 and A6 C7, and it’s the A7, which has slightly less ground clearance, that suffers noticeably more. In general, inspecting the front wheel arches under the fender liners and from inside the engine compartment on this car is mandatory.

Corrosion of the underbody under the plastic is usually present on cars from Moscow or St. Petersburg. It poses no serious threats, but sometimes you come across examples with quite deep damage. Apparently, from owners with damp garages or those who like to drive through puddles. Everything is also complicated in the rear arches: under the fender liners, small pockets of corrosion are almost always present, and if you’re unlucky, the arch from the inside can be almost completely rusty.

Surprisingly, the sills under the plastic feel quite well. They mainly suffer at the junction of the plastic trim and the rear arch, sometimes at the very edge of the upper part in the door opening.

Despite the frameless door design, the interior is usually dry. But if the car has been in the shop for a long time, various scenarios are possible. When the battery is discharged, the glass bends the seal, and the opening is not fully sealed. And since the car is quite complex and expensive to repair in terms of its technical parts, it can sit in the service center for six months.

Body equipment

From a mechanical standpoint, the body equipment is usually in order: hinges don’t sag, wipers work, and window regulators are also behaving well so far. Except that the fuel filler flap motor fails, but that’s a problem with all cars built on the MQB and MLB platforms. Headlight problems are usually limited to either banal hazing or electronic malfunctions. I’d say that in many ways the car behaves like a model “Japanese car,” but again – the electronics. It’s everywhere here, and errors with mirrors, window regulators, surround-view cameras, headlights, parking sensors, light sensors, and so on happen, maybe not often, but constantly. And they are sometimes not cheap to fix.

In general, the abundance of mechatronic systems forces most of the car’s problems to be moved to the “electrical” section. It’s worth noting that the components themselves are very expensive: even “used” sets of sensors, headlights, and other elements can cost as much as a quarter of the car, and there’s no surplus of supply. If the car is disassembled or damaged in an accident, restoration can be very expensive.

Interior

The interior of the Audi A7 is beautiful, as befits a car of this level. The ergonomics are still very good, and the quality of the interior is perhaps even better than that of the latest generation A7. That’s understandable: the interior materials of pre-facelift cars were at a magnificent level, and even in inexpensive trim levels, drivers were delighted by genuine leather and very high-quality interior fittings, perfectly calibrated and excellently positioned buttons.

What’s pleasing is that the interior, with good care, retains its appearance up to a mileage of over 300 thousand kilometers. At least, steering wheels are reupholstered due to complete loss of texture at approximately this milestone. The driver’s seat also holds up well, but here more depends on the driver’s build, habits, and the car’s trim level. The slightly wide front seats keep their side bolsters intact even with considerable mileage, but burnt-out heating mats, burned seat covers, and other unpleasantries do occur, and light-colored leather yellows quite noticeably.

There are usually no problems with the climate control, but one might wish for a more durable heater motor, which at mileages over 200 thousand kilometers sometimes begins to whine. The air conditioner hasn’t been bothering owners much so far, except that its radiator is gradually losing its fins: in these generations, Audi switched to lightweight designs.

Electrical system

If you’re a perfectionist, this car can easily drive you crazy and empty your wallet. Because various glitches and errors appear frequently and multiply if they aren’t fixed immediately. Owner forums resemble gatherings of mourners, and that’s no coincidence. Someone’s MMI screen doesn’t work after an update or even just out of the blue. Often there’s no connection to Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Someone has headlight failures: the level may stop adjusting, the “eyelash” DRL either lights up, doesn’t light up, then lights up again, but not fully, or one of the lenses turns on at the wrong time. These problems are usually caused by a flooded headlight control unit that is poorly positioned. But sometimes the firmware “crashes” or the headlight itself fails. Some of them, like the top-tier matrix ones, cost over 200 thousand rubles per set, and there’s plenty to break in them.

Memory and seat control units fail: they don’t remember settings, don’t activate massage, don’t adjust. Parking sensor sensors, trunk opening sensors (there is such a thing here too), vehicle presence sensors, door handles, and ride-height sensors die. It’s worse when starter-generators on RS7s fail due to weak control boards. And sometimes ABS sensors, the start-stop system, radars, or the surround-view system stop working, which require dealer equipment and access to control units for proper calibration. And when replacing them, problems arise with component protection, which hasn’t been fully removed, so for the most part, any control unit replacement also involves paying for the labor of those who will bind that unit to the car. And that doesn’t always work out either.

In general, the car’s electronics can throw up a lot of surprises, and it does. Depending on the owner’s luck and the car’s operating style, the surprises can be inexpensive and rare, or they can drive you to tears and bankruptcy.

But there’s good news too: the main systems responsible for the car’s movement are quite reliable. Diagnostics with a VCDS or a clone of such software are quite accessible, adapters are available, and the software is distributed and updated. If you’ve been familiar with VAG products for a long time, there will be no unsolvable difficulties with diagnostics or even minimal repairs. But if you just want to drive, the first-generation A7 is now at exactly that age when problems, still expensive to fix, are not appearing en masse but more and more often. And there are few simple “stripped-down” configurations of these cars. The lottery may well not be in your favor.

Interim summary

At first glance, the first Audi A7 ages quite gracefully. And in many ways it truly is beautiful, but there are still pitfalls. These include the not-so-successful aluminum suspension strut mounts and the ubiquitous but inevitably aging mechatronic filling in all elements – from the engine to the body. However, we’ll talk about the engines, as well as the transmission and chassis, in the second part of this car’s review.