Second hand Audi RS6 (C5)

**Justlooking** · 22-09-2009,04:29 PM

Hello all

Interested in one of these, not in the market immediately for one but could be in time.

Just wanted to know a bit about them, how people find them as daily drivers, running costs etc. Are they well engineered, easy to live with, any oddities you have to live with etc?

What is servicing like and so forth?

Basically, I am interested in owning an RS6 or perhaps an S4 of a similar vintage. As well as being fast, It has to be classy, comfortable and secure in its road habit. Would prefer a car that requires minimal 'special treatment' as it is not in my nature to mollycoddle a bit of machinery or put up with temperamental examples either. I do less than 15,000 miles a year, some moderate distance journeys to/from work. Mixture of major and some minor roads, some motorway/A road miles, too.

Might have mentioned it before but I am one of these agricultural sorts so my RS6 would be a proper workhorse to and from the farm etc ,winter mud and filth. Is the RS6 up to it or am I best off looking elsewhere?

Any expensive faults or bits that could render the car an economic write off for me? And lastly, how much for a tidy, mid-life example?

Many thanks

Ollie.

**Crasher** · 22-09-2009,05:03 PM

RS6, sledge hammer of a car but the running costs are appalling. Main cooling fan failure, £500 for the part and nearly ¾ of a day to fit it. DRC damper failure, very expensive to put right, specilaised Audi tools only or an aftermarket suspension kit.

**Justlooking** · 23-09-2009,12:08 PM

Thank you very much. Are these failures that common then? I would keep the car for about 50,000 miles so it might not be a total non-starter. My main concern is how would the car cope with such a miserable existance. It is astonishing to see there are so many RS6s on the market for 20K or less, it is nearly immoral such a car is being sold with not a lot of milage on them for the price of an entry spec BMW benzin burner.

**fruitbat** · 23-09-2009,01:09 PM

ask corkycat how he got on with his 66k mileage example. see here

https://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/s...ight=rs6+costs

**Crasher** · 23-09-2009,09:56 PM

The reason they are so cheap is that the running costs are simply stupefying, especially at an Audi dealer which is unavoidable for some jobs as very few specialists have the expensive RS6 only tools such as damper re-installation equipment. I looked at the cost of the system and decided it would be stupid for the three that I look after at present. I have to say though that buying one is extremely tempting but the repair costs put me off even when I can do 95% of the work myself.

**a8 tech** · 23-09-2009,10:15 PM

Drc suspension failures are covered under goodwill policy from Audi uk and yes they can fail mostly the front struts leak over time and pressure drops below 12 bar.If the dealer has the correct tooling to recharge the accumulators the cost is reduced but as i said the drc system has its own extended warranty.Engine failure is uncommon but the zf box can be unreliable and its engine out to replace the box which is mega bucks and a very big job.Normal wear and tear to the anti roll bars and brakes plus cam belt change every 40,00 miles adds to the running cost plus time and distance service regime.Most Rs6 have been remapped but also most owners love there vehicles and its a real enthusiasts car.
A solution to drc is coil overs which i have fitted but also the dealer labour rate has dropped for segment 2 vehicles so after recently replacing a zf box the labour rate was calculated at £65 PER HOUR FOR 25 HOURS REMOVE AND INSTALL I ALSO FITTED THE CAMBELT WHILST THE ENGINE WAS OUT FOR 1 HOUR ADDITIONAL LABOUR PLUS OIL AND FILTER BECAUSE WE LOOK AFTER ARE RS CUSTOMERS.IF ITS R OR RS I LOVE EM

**Crasher** · 23-09-2009,10:20 PM

Originally Posted by a8 tech

Drc suspension failures are covered under goodwill policy from Audi uk

For how long in years/miles and on non dealer serviced cars?

**a8 tech** · 23-09-2009,10:28 PM

Hello Crasher,I think its lifetime but I will confirm this for you my good friend.Mr Hicks made the decision last year to cover B7 drc and RS6 as well as Audi redesigning the tooling because the networks including myself were suffering repeat failure after repair from poor charging or as I think air entering when charging the lines.