Buying an Audi C5 RS6 in 2019

[survivalist]

An unexpected conversation recently made me realise how cheap these have become (to buy anyway), which got me thinking about whether they are generally seen as past their prime, or are actually a bargain and about to shoot up in price.

To be clear, I’m no speculator trying to get rich. I’m a petrolhead looking for the ideal car. I’ve owned plenty of cars (currently we have 4 cars, even though my wife and I both commute by train), but I’ve never owned a V8. Also, although I’ve had a couple of VAG company cars, I’ve never owned an RS Audi.

So, been looking at V8 options and :

E90 M3 - great on paper, but never gelled on test drives. Engine is nice but doesn’t seem ideally suited to the road. Manual ratios are odd, DSG is better. Can’t get an estate version.

C63 AMG - felt numb, slow gearbox

Lexus IS-F - only has 2 rear seats which would be an issue occasionally.

BMW M5 (V10 Estate one) - crap looks and gearbox, all the power at the top end so like the M3 a bit of a challenge on the road.

F10 M5 - Good Gearbox, a bit big, massive value, lacks charm/occasion (IMHO)

E39 M5 - great engine, good gearbox, rust/rot issues

So, having recently been made aware of RS6 prices are they a massive bargain? Aware of suspension issues but apart from that they don’t seem to rust, have suspension issues or a lack of space.

What I’d love to know is how they drive, do they feel special and do they handle better than an average Audi?

On paper they seem to be like an E39 M3 without the rust issues with a little less edge.

Thanks

S

[Andy665]

I was close to buying one late last year, did a lot of research and spoke to a few specialists - the potential running costs put me off - transmission is frail, a lot of the engine jobs require engine removal, heavy on brakes that are crazy expensive - I'm not afraid to take a calculated risk ( owned Jag S Type R and Mercedes CL500) but the C43 RS6 was a risk too far for me

[e42]

As a counterpoint I’ve owned mine for nearly 5 years, two European holidays and it hasn’t missed a beat. The RS246 forum is a great resource, I bought mine from a forum member. One of the best cars I’ve owned

[mudnomad]

Bought an RS6 for 6k. Spent 6k on repairs. Sold for 4k never properly fixed. Never again.
Not fun to drive either.

[talksthetorque]

Can't help with the RS6, but with the IS-F only having four seats, you have other cars.
Try the forum and see if you can get one with one or more of the major issues just rectified - lessens the risk.

[SWoll]

If you've disregarded the C63 for being numb and auto and the F10 M5 for having no sense of occasion then I'm not sure why you would be looking at the C5 RS6?

What's your budget by the way as difficult to tell from the list?

[SWoll]

e42 said:

As a counterpoint I’ve owned mine for nearly 5 years, two European holidays and it hasn’t missed a beat. The RS246 forum is a great resource, I bought mine from a forum member. One of the best cars I’ve owned

mudnomad said:

Bought an RS6 for 6k. Spent 6k on repairs. Sold for 4k never properly fixed. Never again.
Not fun to drive either.

car ownership in a nutshell

[ZX10R NIN]

If you find the C63 of all things dull, I'm really not sure if the C5 os the car for you.

[w1bbles]

I had an 03 Avant bought in 2012 for 12,000 and sold in 2013 for about the same. No problems or issues and I absolutely loved it, but it was too quick for the devil on my shoulder and it also felt very fragile. It probably wasn't, but it was still on its original DRC suspension and gearbox, so I was expecting to be stung for about 3,000-5,000 at some random point.

I wasn't.

I sold it and bought two high mileage Disco 3s.

I was.

[Car-Matt]

w1bbles said:

I was expecting to be stung for about 3,000-5,000 at some random point.

I wasn't.

I sold it and bought two high mileage Disco 3s.

I was.

That made me giggle