New RS6 Owner - Denver Mechanic Reccs?

['Rado_RS6]

Hello there RS6.com,

I've been lurking for a few weeks, and am now an official member of the forum and a very new owner of an RS6. I picked up an 03, volcano black / gray (think that's the proper name), with 45K miles on the clock. So far, I'm IN LOVE, which pretty much started when I went and first saw the car. Needless to say, I waved goodbye to my trusty '05 EVO MR and drove home in this a short time after I saw the car. What a step up! The car seems to fit the bill perfectly in terms of being bigger than the EVO, at least as fast, AWD, turbo, fantastic interior, and no picnic bench wing. It's my daily driver and will be the main means of transpo for driving straight into monster winter storms.

I'm a long-time german car fan, thanks to my dad's love of 911's. I used to do quite a bit of track driving with him, but have been trading track days for days in the mountains instead the last few years.

Thanks for the help with a number of questions I've had. The search function works great, and I've already figured out a lot.

That being said, does anyone who lives in the Denver area have an RS6 mechanic they like and trust? Sounds like Prestige is the preferred dealer in the area, but I'd like to find an independent guy. Also, will Prestige be able to key me into what maintenance/repairs have been done to the car? Also, does the dealerships sell the factory maintenance booklet? My car didn't come with one.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[p3u]

Welcome to the board!

I'm right down the road from you, in Colorado Springs.

As far as shops, Avalon, 303 motorsports are good places to start. I've also heard lots of good stuff about Prestige.

BTW, your car is much faster then an EVO, I've proven that many times here, not even close!

Post some pics!

['Rado_RS6]

Thanks for the tip! I've read good things about those shops on other forums for different Audis, so sounds like a match. I'll work on getting some pictures up, but every time I wash the car, it rains! Driving in the rain is better than mowing the lawn, anyhow.

[MaxRS6]

Congrats on the ride and welcome aboard the crazy train

[p3u]

Thanks for the tip! I've read good things about those shops on other forums for different Audis, so sounds like a match. I'll work on getting some pictures up, but every time I wash the car, it rains! Driving in the rain is better than mowing the lawn, anyhow.

The rain has been driving me nuts, been washing my car every other day! I just waxed it, really helps it stay cleaner with the rain, and just a rinse and pretty much perfect to go.

What do you have planned for your beast?

['Rado_RS6]

Yeah, mine came just waxed, so that helped, although my brake pads are pumping out dust just like Audi OEM pads do!

Right now, I am planning on keeping it bone stock and driving the p!ss out of it. I learned with my A4 that I'm nowhere as good at engineering as Audi is. We'll see how long that lasts. Snow tires and a roof rack (anyone have audi crossbars for sale??) are on the immediate list, as well whatever maintenance hasn't been done so far. I might pick up some new wheels and keep the snows on the stock wheels. The roads around here have me afraid to go bigger than 18", though.

[RS6-4dr911]

Welcome.

It is called Ebony Pearl Effect, (like your sig says) not volcano black. No less washing required however.

[mmaturo]

welcome! extended warranty i hope. RNSE really helps the interior. Mine's my daily and been loving it for years.

['Rado_RS6]

After having my extended warranty pay for itself several times over on my A4, I wouldn't have dared not getting one for this. I just don't have that kind of luck. Maybe this time will be different, however.

I have the carbon fiber inserts, and the previous owner swapped a pioneer AVIC Z-1 nav system into the car. It's fine, as far as nav's go and looks decent in the dash. I'm still pretty old school and use the Raven Benchmark Road atlases most of the time for that sort of thing, but it's nice to have, I guess.

Speaking of, does anyone know what the port/jack is in the "storage slot" under my armrest? Can't find anything in the manual about it, though it looks like it could be OEM,and I know it's not the pioneer ipod port or a USB. It's built into a piece of black plastic and is facing toward the rear of the car. Perhaps for an old car phone?

Also, is there a pdf of the maintenance booklet online somewhere? My car was missing one. Relatedly, can any audi dealership give me the maintenance / repair history for the car which would have been done at another dealership? It'd be nice to know exactly where the car's at without having to change every fluid in the car first.

303 motorsports looks like a good place for maintenance/repair. I think I'll give them a shot. Hopefully I'm not the first RS6 they see, but it sounds like not. Also, does anyone have a tint / clearbra shop they like in the Denver area? Had one in longmont that was awesome, but it's kind of far now.

Cheers!

[DuckWingDuck]

ya, it's for the nokia phone that you could purchase as an oem option.

['Rado_RS6]

I was afraid of that. Maybe I can mod an ipod connection into it.

['Rado_RS6]

I thought I would update on my ride and experiences so far.

My car is now tinted and clearbra-ed (see other thread for that saga), I just installed the hotchkis sways, had an iPod connection installed on the Pioneer nav system it came with, and went with the centric posi quiet pads someone on here reccomended.

The H1's, as previously reported are a very nice upgrade from the stock ride. I would call the stock ride pretty floaty, and it has tightened up nicely, but still plenty compliant for everyday driving. I went with the softer setting on the rear bar, which seems good. I think I could have gotten away with the stiffer setting, but I was worried about how that would affect winter driving. This is by far one of the best mods I've done on any car, for the price. The RS6 really should have come from the factory like this.

The posi-quiets are great, too. I had to do new rotors up front and went with Centrics. WAY less dust and perhaps a bit better stopping power than stock. They are quiet, just as advertised.

No shocked on either of these purchases, as there are many positive reviews on here of both, but thought I would add another confirmation.

I think next is the TCU chip from MTM. I'm holding off on chipping the ECU for now. I think I'll save the cash for new wheels some skis or maybe a S&W M&P 45.

Does anyone have experience with Hartmann wheels? The price seems right and it looks like they recently added a bunch of wheel options for the RS6. I'm not expecting forged BBS quality, but hopefully they aren't junk. My stockers are getting beat and have a bit of a bend on one or two. Time for them to be

On the shop front, I've been going to Platinum Auto Works off of Santa Fe and C-470 in Littleton. Sean has been great to work with, very straight forward, honest, and economical. He's gone the extra mile for me a few times, and I'm sticking with these guys for my RS6. I guess Sean came from Prestige and was their only Master Tech certified on the RS6. Thanks to the Finance guy at Prestige who gave me that tip. I guess there are a few good apples there.

And two more huge thumbs DOWN for Extreme Auto on Colfax and Kipling. Catch my clearbra nightmare thread on that, but suffice it say that one should be very careful when a company has 0 negative reviews. It just might the owner writing a bunch of fake reviews!

[skribe]

I've had my Hartmann wheels for nearly a year, the S5 replicas in 19 x 8.5 et +25. Some here have said hartmanns are "soft" but not in my experience. I've hammered many potholes and no bends so far. They are made in Germany, not china like many replicas.

Have to say I couldn't be happier with them. I get compliments all the time on the wheels... Just today a cop at Starbucks commented on them... Of course he's the last guy I want to notice them!

And they're albsighter than stock.

Good luck with the beast. For the record, I've crushed two evo MRs in mine

[ben916]

And they're albsighter than stock.

O/T : is that a new word? Kinda like "Hold Crap"?
I am the last person that spells correctly so I can toss it around abit...

[V8weight]

a lb. lighter than stock? That's substantial!

[Beastly]

I have owned two sets of Hartmann's - they are great wheels, no complaints. Good luck with your new ride - enjoy!

[skribe]

a lb. lighter than stock? That's substantial!

O/T : is that a new word? Kinda like "Hold Crap"?
I am the last person that spells correctly so I can toss it around abit...

knobs. can you use it int a sentence? pat and ben are knobs. hmmm. ok. knobs, k-n-o-b-s. knobs.

i was a-typing with my iphone. i have giant hands. shit happens.

OH, and I meant to say 5lb lighter than stock. not bad for an inch greater diameter.

[4everRS]

Hey now. I see you are quoting me without giving proper attribution. My attorney's will be in contact with you.

O/T : is that a new word? Kinda like "Hold Crap"?
I am the last person that spells correctly so I can toss it around abit...

Hilarious. LOL

knobs. can you use it int a sentence? pat and ben are knobs. hmmm. ok. knobs, k-n-o-b-s. knobs.

i was a-typing with my iphone. i have giant hands. shit happens.

OH, and I meant to say 5lb lighter than stock. not bad for an inch greater diameter.