Audi A7

Unlike the A6, the A7 has no base four-cylinder — the standard is serious: the '55 TFSI' (3.0 TFSI V6, 335 hp) with a 7-speed S-Tronic and Quattro Ultra, which drops the rear axle when cruising. A fast engine, but it wants uncompromising oil. In the stock the A7 is all quattro.

That V6 runs a 48-volt mild-hybrid system with a lithium-ion battery in the boot. The big factory defect is the Continental starter-generator (BAS) — it fails suddenly, the car cuts out while driving, and the fix here needs a latest- generation revised part.

If a front-end hit is missed in the auction photos, the A7 is markedly more expensive to restore than the A6: hood, fenders, frameless doors and the specific rear glass are unique and hard to find in the yards. The HD Matrix LED headlamps (with laser sections in Prestige) run into the thousands each, and the boot's active spoiler is often deformed in a heavy rear hit.

The dual-screen interior arrives locked to the US — a mandatory MMI-conversion budget.