2003 Audi RS6 Smart buy or stupid?
Discussion
Hi all its time for me to buy a new car. I currently have a VW Corrado VR6 Storm which i think may well be the best car i will ever have owned but i made a pact to myself to keep refreshing and the worthy adversary is the RS6. Having just turned 21 insurance is now viable and i feel i might be getting too excited. I can afford the car, i can afford the insurance, i can afford to spend a bit on the car but not a HUGE amount. (Corrado got a 2k respray and 1k on a new gearbox and clutch amongst a few little things in the 2 years i have owned it). Question is, is spending 10k on an early RS6 going to be the best or worst decision i make? or somewhere inbetween...
Also i regularly get less than 20mpg so fuel costs isn't a major problem so long as i can get more than 15mpg on average.
Many thanks!
Michael
Also i regularly get less than 20mpg so fuel costs isn't a major problem so long as i can get more than 15mpg on average.
Many thanks!
Michael
If you can't run to a bork fund of about £5k I would steer clear. Although you can get a fairly reasonable looking C5 RS6 for £10k they are now really quite old and the basic model has intrinsic age related faults that can cause issues of their own, even if it's been looked after reasonably well. At that price it's likely to be leggy too. If you luck on a car that's been well looked after and preferably has had a gearbox already then you stand a chance of getting away with it for a year or two.
The biggest cost risk with one of these is a dead gearbox - Audi never specced a service interval, despite ZF recommending they should be serviced in most applications (it's the same story for all Audis with that era of ZF box) so you're looking at a box around 100k miles. I've heard of cars needing a 3rd gearbox in that sort of mileage if the driver is a loon. Second biggest risk probably turbos now, as the vast majority will have long since lost the DRC suspension in favour of coilovers. £5k wouldn't cover a new gearbox with fitting but would probably cover consumables you're likely to find on first inspection.
The biggest cost risk with one of these is a dead gearbox - Audi never specced a service interval, despite ZF recommending they should be serviced in most applications (it's the same story for all Audis with that era of ZF box) so you're looking at a box around 100k miles. I've heard of cars needing a 3rd gearbox in that sort of mileage if the driver is a loon. Second biggest risk probably turbos now, as the vast majority will have long since lost the DRC suspension in favour of coilovers. £5k wouldn't cover a new gearbox with fitting but would probably cover consumables you're likely to find on first inspection.
Fair enough - there's a few on here that look to have potential. Watch for cambelt change intervals as they are age or mileage related (from memory 40k/4 years but check yourself) and critical, as ignoring it is clearly catastrophic for the engine. Worth doing a thermostat, water pump and all the rollers/tensioners at the same time.
Spec isn't critical - the nav is antiquated CD based, unless you find a Plus with RNS-E which is slightly less horrid and will often have bluetooth too. Ignore TV reception as an option as it'll be analogue unless they've fitted a new TV tuner (even on RNS-E)
Brake discs and pads are pricey so check condition, as they take a hammering.
Milltek is a good thing on one of these.
Watch for water build up in the scuttle area from blocked drains - similarly the air-con drain can back up into the passenger footwell giving similar symptoms (there's a 'convenience' ECU under the carpet that dislikes getting wet!)
Get a good one and it shouldn't break the bank, and even if you have to spend a bit you probably won't lose much. Don't think these are picking up value just yet unless very low miles/owners, but numbers of good ones are definitely dipping so buying a desirable one should pay you back in resale.
Spec isn't critical - the nav is antiquated CD based, unless you find a Plus with RNS-E which is slightly less horrid and will often have bluetooth too. Ignore TV reception as an option as it'll be analogue unless they've fitted a new TV tuner (even on RNS-E)
Brake discs and pads are pricey so check condition, as they take a hammering.
Milltek is a good thing on one of these.
Watch for water build up in the scuttle area from blocked drains - similarly the air-con drain can back up into the passenger footwell giving similar symptoms (there's a 'convenience' ECU under the carpet that dislikes getting wet!)
Get a good one and it shouldn't break the bank, and even if you have to spend a bit you probably won't lose much. Don't think these are picking up value just yet unless very low miles/owners, but numbers of good ones are definitely dipping so buying a desirable one should pay you back in resale.
Michaelbailey said:
Hi all its time for me to buy a new car. I currently have a VW Corrado VR6 Storm which i think may well be the best car i will ever have owned but i made a pact to myself to keep refreshing and the worthy adversary is the RS6. Having just turned 21 insurance is now viable and i feel i might be getting too excited. I can afford the car, i can afford the insurance, i can afford to spend a bit on the car but not a HUGE amount. (Corrado got a 2k respray and 1k on a new gearbox and clutch amongst a few little things in the 2 years i have owned it). Question is, is spending 10k on an early RS6 going to be the best or worst decision i make? or somewhere inbetween...
Also i regularly get less than 20mpg so fuel costs isn't a major problem so long as i can get more than 15mpg on average.
Many thanks!
Michael
I am on my 2nd C5 RS6 and my current one I have had now for over 2 years. I bought the best I could with the lowest mileage I could get within my budget. Despite having a complete history the previous owner had skimped on some jobs or employed idiots who did not know what they are doing. Also i regularly get less than 20mpg so fuel costs isn't a major problem so long as i can get more than 15mpg on average.
Many thanks!
Michael
Since my ownership I have spent almost the full value of the car on putting things right and upkeep.
If you decide to go down this route go in with your eyes wide open on costs as almost every repair seems to cost £1k +. Find a car that has had the gearbox done and kept serviced. If it still has DRC plan on spending on repair or coilovers, brakes will cost £1k for complete front set, expect the F125 switch to go soon if not recently replaced. If gearbox or turbos need attention its a full engine out job with 24hours worth of labour + parts.
Having said all the above my car has been looked after and tuned by MRC and at stage 3 now is an absolute weapon when you want and drives like a granddads car when you want (well apart from the hard ride from coilovers).
Go in with your eyes WIDE open and you will have a great time and despite what I said above if you keep on top of things they are actually very reliable.
As stated Discs and Pads are expensive. £1500 if memory serves. (that's parts, not fitted!)
They tend to eat Gearboxes. Audi list them as being sealed for life, I think ZF recommend 40k or 60k service on that generation box. But as a result they don't always get serviced and due to the torque eat themselves.
They have active suspension as standard and it tends to fail, to replace the complete system is about £3k.
As stated, blocked water channels causing cabin ingress of water.
Due to the nature of the car, parts are either unique or expensive or both, service intervals are shorter etc etc.
As stated you need a large service budget per year.
They tend to eat Gearboxes. Audi list them as being sealed for life, I think ZF recommend 40k or 60k service on that generation box. But as a result they don't always get serviced and due to the torque eat themselves.
They have active suspension as standard and it tends to fail, to replace the complete system is about £3k.
As stated, blocked water channels causing cabin ingress of water.
Due to the nature of the car, parts are either unique or expensive or both, service intervals are shorter etc etc.
As stated you need a large service budget per year.
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