RE: Audi RS6 (C6): PH Buying Guide
Saturday 4th February 2017
Audi took its time replacing the much-loved C5 RS6, so it was almost four years before the C6 arrived as an Avant model in early 2008. It was worth the wait to find out what a V10-powered family car would feel like with two turbos and 580hp. This also made it the most powerful production Audi ever made at that point.
Saloon available, but much less popularThe saloon followed on at the end of that year and both versions cracked 0-62mph in 4.6 seconds, with a top speed held at 155mph. Given the estate could carry 1,660 litres of luggage, it was every inch the supercar in family clothing.
Both models had the ferocious twin-turbo 580hp V10Now the C6 RS6 is available from £20,000 for high mileage examples, while the very best comes in at £40,000. Most on sale sit in the mid to late 20s, which is a lot of car for the money. It has to be remembered, though, that running costs for this car are steep, so buyers are advised to get a pre-sale inspection by a specialist. It's also wise to invest in a comprehensive warranty as big bills are a certainty.
Audi RS6 (C6): PH Buying Guide
The archetypal fast Audi estate, the V10 RS6 is now available from £20K - here's how to get the best one
Saloon available, but much less popular
However, the C6 generation launched into the middle of a global recession and not all early press reports were kind. The numb steering and 20.1mpg official combined economy figure drew particular criticism. Even so, the first batch of 380 sold out before the first had touched down in the UK.
Search Audi RS6s for sale in PH classifieds
On the upside, the Quattro all-wheel drive system was praised for being able to transmit the power to the road without drama. The £77,625 Avant was by far the more popular model, outselling the saloon by around four to one in the UK.
The RS6 was updated in 2009 with better on-board Wi-Fi technology and the wagon had a mild facelift in line with the rest of the range. There were also 500 Plus models, though they came with only 10hp more.
Both models had the ferocious twin-turbo 580hp V10
Don't be surprised if any car you look at has had several owners as this is a car that many seem to dip into and then move on quickly when the reality of sub-20mpg economy and running costs set in. Several former owners have also told us they sold their RS6 because it was just too easy to reach licence-losing speeds without any effort. You have been warned!
PHer's view:
"If anyone was to ask me about having one, I'd say yes definitely go for it, but ideally to adopt my approach: 1. Get it from a main dealer; 2. Get a solid warranty; 3. Fill it with fuel; 4. Enjoy; 5. Repeat."
David Lloyd Owen
Buying Guide contents:
Introduction
Powertrain
Rolling chassis
Body
Interior
At a glance
Search For Audi RS6s here
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Discussion
Lovely cars. I wanted into this type of vehicle and bought a 2005 S4 avant in 2014 as the running costs for the RS model was going to be huge. Biggest mistake of my life! Bought from a reputable second hand dealer and I think i spent about £10,000 on this thing in 18 months.
The cost of fixing anything on these cars is a minimum of £300. By the end of my ownership I sold it for buttons with everything fixed. The buyer got an absolute bargain.
I loved it, but it put me right off anything like that ever again.
The cost of fixing anything on these cars is a minimum of £300. By the end of my ownership I sold it for buttons with everything fixed. The buyer got an absolute bargain.
I loved it, but it put me right off anything like that ever again.
SevenR said:
Lovely cars. I wanted into this type of vehicle and bought a 2005 S4 avant in 2014 as the running costs for the RS model was going to be huge. Biggest mistake of my life! Bought from a reputable second hand dealer and I think i spent about £10,000 on this thing in 18 months.
The cost of fixing anything on these cars is a minimum of £300. By the end of my ownership I sold it for buttons with everything fixed. The buyer got an absolute bargain.
I loved it, but it put me right off anything like that ever again.
Well, you were warned..... The cost of fixing anything on these cars is a minimum of £300. By the end of my ownership I sold it for buttons with everything fixed. The buyer got an absolute bargain.
I loved it, but it put me right off anything like that ever again.
Wadeski said:
Wasn't it said the smart thing with these was to buy the S6 - you get the V10 and really all the power you need, but without some of the more unbelieavable "RS" costs?
But doesn't the 3.0 TDi realistically have all the power you'd really need day to day?I always thought the S6 was 'the ginger step child' of the bunch.
Thats a pretty good write-up with some very good points but one thing I'd like to make potential owners a bit more aware of is that, while you may be able to buy one for £20k you'd best have a sizeable war chest to pay for everyday maintenance/faults just incase as, despite looking like an A6, they don't have A6 daily costs!
) until it was remapped to 740hp & 750lbs/ft when it really came alive for me.
s0me0ne44 said:
The best thing about this car was, for around 500/600 pounds you could get a Stage 1 remap to get the car to around 700bhp!!!!!
For £1500-£2k MRC will give you a 730hp+ 750lbs/ft+ rocket ship which will still be able to take the kids to school, do tip runs yet crack 200mph in under 40 seconds from a standing start. The engine is phenomenal but the very "numb" handling is a downside for twisty road enthusiasts so, while it's still stupidly quick around a bend, you just can't feel anything as it does it.Wadeski said:
Wasn't it said the smart thing with these was to buy the S6 - you get the V10 and really all the power you need, but without some of the more unbelieavable "RS" costs?
The S6 has a much more understated Q-car look which, to my ears, sounds much "better" than the RS6 but it still suffers from the usual "S/RS tax" Audi like to apply to everything with that badge. The power seems like a nice high number but it really needs constant high revs to actually feel "fast", even though it is undoubtably quick. I had the same issue with the stock RS6 which I didn't think felt as quick as it's 580hp figure would suggest (depsite watching the speedo fly around ) until it was remapped to 740hp & 750lbs/ft when it really came alive for me.SevenR said:
Lovely cars. I wanted into this type of vehicle and bought a 2005 S4 avant in 2014 as the running costs for the RS model was going to be huge. Biggest mistake of my life! Bought from a reputable second hand dealer and I think i spent about £10,000 on this thing in 18 months.
The cost of fixing anything on these cars is a minimum of £300. By the end of my ownership I sold it for buttons with everything fixed. The buyer got an absolute bargain.
I loved it, but it put me right off anything like that ever again.
if i recall in an article from evo the P1 international ran one of these and the only cars in their 'members' fleet that cost more to run where the lambos The cost of fixing anything on these cars is a minimum of £300. By the end of my ownership I sold it for buttons with everything fixed. The buyer got an absolute bargain.
I loved it, but it put me right off anything like that ever again.
SevenR said:
Lovely cars. I wanted into this type of vehicle and bought a 2005 S4 avant in 2014 as the running costs for the RS model was going to be huge. Biggest mistake of my life! Bought from a reputable second hand dealer and I think i spent about £10,000 on this thing in 18 months.
The cost of fixing anything on these cars is a minimum of £300. By the end of my ownership I sold it for buttons with everything fixed. The buyer got an absolute bargain.
I loved it, but it put me right off anything like that ever again.
With respect ... buying a 10 year old V8 Audi with intergalactic mileage was never going to be "bangernomics" The cost of fixing anything on these cars is a minimum of £300. By the end of my ownership I sold it for buttons with everything fixed. The buyer got an absolute bargain.
I loved it, but it put me right off anything like that ever again.
http://jalopnik.com/here-s-why-the-v8-audi-s4-is-a...
GranCab said:
SevenR said:
Lovely cars. I wanted into this type of vehicle and bought a 2005 S4 avant in 2014 as the running costs for the RS model was going to be huge. Biggest mistake of my life! Bought from a reputable second hand dealer and I think i spent about £10,000 on this thing in 18 months.
The cost of fixing anything on these cars is a minimum of £300. By the end of my ownership I sold it for buttons with everything fixed. The buyer got an absolute bargain.
I loved it, but it put me right off anything like that ever again.
With respect ... buying a 10 year old V8 Audi with intergalactic mileage was never going to be "bangernomics" The cost of fixing anything on these cars is a minimum of £300. By the end of my ownership I sold it for buttons with everything fixed. The buyer got an absolute bargain.
I loved it, but it put me right off anything like that ever again.
http://jalopnik.com/here-s-why-the-v8-audi-s4-is-a...
Yes, it uses some petrol but what do you expect?
Wouldn't now what to replace it with! Will probably drive this until it dies. Should it die tomorrow (touch wood) it would have cost me 22p/mile (4k£/18k). So really not too bad allready...
Great, great cars IMO! Better than the E46 M3 (yes you heard right!)
I love the C6 RS6. But I much prefer the smaller B6/7 platform.
I am enjoying mine now, after the initial big bill for the oil seal and pipes, I was always wondering what the next big bill would be.
As Ian says, all well and good buying them on the cheaper end of the scale, but the running costs and maintaining it are frightening. I genuinely think some absolute dogs will appear for sale as owners won't be wanting to spend money on them, and that's where the real issues start!
As Ian says, all well and good buying them on the cheaper end of the scale, but the running costs and maintaining it are frightening. I genuinely think some absolute dogs will appear for sale as owners won't be wanting to spend money on them, and that's where the real issues start!
Great cars, for some reason always prefer the C6 saloon to the Avant, yet the C5 and C7 prefer Avant. I'd love a C6 in the future once it has got to £10K territory, and if you are handy with the spanners it's just the cost of parts to worry about.
Not always the case but sequence of events for an RS6 ownership experience can sometimes go like this:
Not always the case but sequence of events for an RS6 ownership experience can sometimes go like this:
future RS6 victim said:
Wow look at how much performance you can get for the money!" 
RS6 owner said:
Hey everybody just bought an RS6
RS6 owner after a few weeks said:
Everything is great, just going to the specialist for a little TLC and checkup 
RS6 owner with car in garage said:
Still waiting on a few issues getting sorted that cropped up in the course of other work, watch this space
Somewhat worried RS6 owner said:
Found some more issues, getting it back soon 
Somewhat suprised RS6 owner said:
JEEESUS went in for a service and I've got a bill for half the value of the car!! 
Reflective RS6 owner said:
At least everything is 100% sorted so I have worry free driving for some time 
Skint RS6 owner said:
Think I might sell it, nothing wrong with the car just want something with a bit more feel 
Uggers said:
Great cars, for some reason always prefer the C6 saloon to the Avant, yet the C5 and C7 prefer Avant. I'd love a C6 in the future once it has got to £10K territory, and if you are handy with the spanners it's just the cost of parts to worry about.
Not always the case but sequence of events for an RS6 ownership experience can sometimes go like this:
Not always the case but sequence of events for an RS6 ownership experience can sometimes go like this:
future RS6 victim said:
Wow look at how much performance you can get for the money!"
RS6 owner said:
Hey everybody just bought an RS6
RS6 owner after a few weeks said:
Everything is great, just going to the specialist for a little TLC and checkup
RS6 owner with car in garage said:
Still waiting on a few issues getting sorted that cropped up in the course of other work, watch this space
Somewhat worried RS6 owner said:
Found some more issues, getting it back soon
Somewhat suprised RS6 owner said:
JEEESUS went in for a service and I've got a bill for half the value of the car!!
Reflective RS6 owner said:
At least everything is 100% sorted so I have worry free driving for some time
Skint RS6 owner said:
Think I might sell it, nothing wrong with the car just want something with a bit more feel
Lovely cars but without a warranty I wouldn't personally go near one. IanH755 said:
The S6 has a much more understated Q-car look which, to my ears, sounds much "better" than the RS6 but it still suffers from the usual "S/RS tax" Audi like to apply to everything with that badge. The power seems like a nice high number but it really needs constant high revs to actually feel "fast", even though it is undoubtably quick. I had the same issue with the stock RS6 which I didn't think felt as quick as it's 580hp figure would suggest (depsite watching the speedo fly around ) until it was remapped to 740hp & 750lbs/ft when it really came alive for me.
Is parts supply still OK on these Ian? I've hit a couple of issues with my B5, and had to replace some parts with used due to to them being NLA through Audi now. I know the C6 is a much younger model, but it'll be hitting the 10-year mark soon enough. It's one thing Audi could do with learning from BMW!) until it was remapped to 740hp & 750lbs/ft when it really came alive for me.Uggers said:
Nice summary of second hand RS6 ownership
You are my friend who owned an S6, aicmfp.That said, would an RS6 be worse than a similar vintage E63 or M5 in terms of running costs?
Leins said:
Is parts supply still OK on these Ian? I've hit a couple of issues with my B5, and had to replace some parts with used due to to them being NLA through Audi now. I know the C6 is a much younger model, but it'll be hitting the 10-year mark soon enough. It's one thing Audi could do with learning from BMW!
BMW? Try Mercedes!ZesPak said:
Uggers said:
Nice summary of second hand RS6 ownership
You are my friend who owned an S6, aicmfp.That said, would an RS6 be worse than a similar vintage E63 or M5 in terms of running costs?
I ran an E63 AMG estate and B7 RS4 estate at the same time. the E63 although under an extended MB warranty was faultless. the RS Audi on the other hand, not so much.
Every time I was up at MRC, I'd see their carpark littered with RS6's, gearbox post remap failures, coolant lines in odd places failing, oil leaks that were engine out jobs, lots of wheel bearings I seem to remember.
The W211 E63 is pretty much bullet proof in comparison. Albeit just as 'numb' to drive, despite the mega engine.
IanH755 said:
The S6 has a much more understated Q-car look which, to my ears, sounds much "better" than the RS6 but it still suffers from the usual "S/RS tax" Audi like to apply to everything with that badge. The power seems like a nice high number but it really needs constant high revs to actually feel "fast", even though it is undoubtably quick. I had the same issue with the stock RS6 which I didn't think felt as quick as it's 580hp figure would suggest (depsite watching the speedo fly around ) until it was remapped to 740hp & 750lbs/ft when it really came alive for me.
Looked at another way:) until it was remapped to 740hp & 750lbs/ft when it really came alive for me.The base car has so little feel, it needs 740/750 to come alive...
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