looking for rs6, bad first time experience

[alexe38]

Hi all, great forum, I'm new to the site. I am looking to upgrade to a 2003-04 RS6. Went to look at the first one in Minneapolis, MN at Carousel Audi. 2003 carbon fibre trim, sound enhancing exhaust, warm weather package, after market radio. This vehicle is on autotrader.com. Salesman indicated 1 owner purchased from this dealership and when I sat down with him, the car has had multiple owners from multiple states. He indicated that the vehicle was ran through shop and inspected. Upon road test and my inspection, I found the trans slipping, brakes having only 10% remaining life, vehicle condition 6/10. Salesman was completely misleading about the car's history and also said there was nothing wrong with the trans. Did not bring my vagcom to check codes but found it was odd that the check engine didn't come on when the vehicle was being road tested and the slipping was occurring under load. He insisted that the car was ran through the shop and the tech said there was nothing wrong with the trans. Is it common for the trans to slip without turning the check engine light on?

[audiprotn]

Hi all, great forum, I'm new to the site. I am looking to upgrade to a 2003-04 RS6. Went to look at the first one in Minneapolis, MN at Carousel Audi. 2003 carbon fibre trim, sound enhancing exhaust, warm weather package, after market radio. This vehicle is on autotrader.com. Salesman indicated 1 owner purchased from this dealership and when I sat down with him, the car has had multiple owners from multiple states. He indicated that the vehicle was ran through shop and inspected. Upon road test and my inspection, I found the trans slipping, brakes having only 10% remaining life, vehicle condition 6/10. Salesman was completely misleading about the car's history and also said there was nothing wrong with the trans. Did not bring my vagcom to check codes but found it was odd that the check engine didn't come on when the vehicle was being road tested and the slipping was occurring under load. He insisted that the car was ran through the shop and the tech said there was nothing wrong with the trans. Is it common for the trans to slip without turning the check engine light on?

Welcome to the forum!!!


RS6s were imported to NA only in 2003.
Im not surprised that salesman doesn't know anything about this car.

Slipping tranny- bad TC. If it's been like this for a while, transmission itself might need a rebuild. That's about 5K (more at the dealer). We've got users here that could do that for you. In rare cases it could be caused by bad/low transmission fluid. Probably all transmissions go bad on this car by 70-90k miles.

Usually, you get a CEL when your TC is already gone, but you might still have codes without the CEL.

Brakes- About $350-$400 per rotor (front) + pads

There are a couple of users selling their cars with MORE information/receipts, look through them.
Good luck

[bobbyrs6]

Hey man welcome to the forum and your right, this is a GREAT forum. I just bought my first RS6, this past Monday from a Autohaus BMW in St. Louis. So far everything checks out with the car although I wish I had a vagcom to check for codes before I bought it. I think I had a pretty good salesman who seemed to be pretty honest about everything that he knew about the car, but you never know. This was an Audi dealership!?? Damn, if you can't trust them who can you trust. Lol. Don't worry, take your time and you'll find the right one. I looked for almost a year myself before I bought mine.

[4everRS]

Yes the trans can slip without a CEL. In my opinion, carousel is a bad dealership. I dislike the service department even more than I dislike the parts department, which I dislike even more than the sales staff.

[905084]

Was this RS Mugello Blue...about 134k on it per chance? Trans slipping is not a TC problem (17135?) and TC is not necessarily a trans slipping problem.

[4everRS]

Was this RS Mugello Blue...about 134k on it per chance? Trans slipping is not a TC problem (17135?) and TC is not necessarily a trans slipping problem.

Nope. Ebony. About 90k

[905084]

90 k...yea, about the time the first trans goes...

[TOAvusRS6]

RS6s were imported to NA only in 2003.

Sorry, but you are incorrect there. 90 were imported into Canada in early 2004.

[Bigglezworth]

Sorry, but you are incorrect there. 90 were imported into Canada in early 2004.

Bingo. Here's a trio of 2004's that are currently for sale too.
http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Audi/RS6/...howcpo=ShowCPO
http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Audi/RS6/...howcpo=ShowCPO
http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Audi/RS6/...howcpo=ShowCPO

[hahnmgh63]

That is correct, U.S. under strange conditions only received 2003 models but Canada received some 2004's even though some of the U.S. 2003's were built after some of the 2004's. Part of the EPA/NHTSA issues.

[JSRS6]

That is correct, U.S. under strange conditions only received 2003 models but Canada received some 2004's even though some of the U.S. 2003's were built after some of the 2004's. Part of the EPA/NHTSA issues.

Which I still think is odd, since my vin comes up as a 2004 AT the Audi Dealership!

[Primo]

Welcome to the forums!

[4.2Crew]

Welcome Alex38...

As others have stated, do NOT rely on dealership sales staff for accurate information on these cars. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

Advice:

1) Do your own due diligence---you really need to with these cars. There are several resources (especially this site) that are loaded with valuable current and historical information---most RS6's have some sort of ownership history that can be traced back to this board.

2) Go into RS6 ownership with your eyes wide open: Meaning, be honest and aware of maint costs, EVEN if you are an experienced VAG DIY'r. Some items which take 15 minutes on other cars may require an engine drop on the RS6.

3) If you are local to the Mpls area, feel free to tap myself (4.2Crew), Pat (V8Wieght), Kyle (4everRS) and a few others in the area for ANY help, ANYTIME. (Although, my name really doesn't deserve to be in the same sentence as Pat's!)

4) You only live once---enjoy the damn ride!

[alexe38]

Thank you very for much for your info. Actually, 90 cars are were imported to canada only in 2004.

[lswing]

Hi all, great forum, I'm new to the site. I am looking to upgrade to a 2003-04 RS6. Went to look at the first one in Minneapolis, MN at Carousel Audi. 2003 carbon fibre trim, sound enhancing exhaust, warm weather package, after market radio. This vehicle is on autotrader.com. Salesman indicated 1 owner purchased from this dealership and when I sat down with him, the car has had multiple owners from multiple states. He indicated that the vehicle was ran through shop and inspected. Upon road test and my inspection, I found the trans slipping, brakes having only 10% remaining life, vehicle condition 6/10. Salesman was completely misleading about the car's history and also said there was nothing wrong with the trans. Did not bring my vagcom to check codes but found it was odd that the check engine didn't come on when the vehicle was being road tested and the slipping was occurring under load. He insisted that the car was ran through the shop and the tech said there was nothing wrong with the trans. Is it common for the trans to slip without turning the check engine light on?

Yes, my trans slipped so much the car would barely drive, no cel. All's good $7k later. Find another one, there are some great ones for sale from $20-30k on here. Good luck, the car is amazing when properly sorted!

[audiprotn]

Sorry, but you are incorrect there. 90 were imported into Canada in early 2004.

Good to know

[Curt]

Hi alexe38. Too bad about your experience in Minneapolis, but I may have the answer to your problem. I recently decided to sell my RS6. It is completely stock and has 64,500 miles. I am the third owner and have a Carfax to support that. I also have service records back to October 2007. I will send you all the pictures you want and all the documents I have and answer all your questions. And I’m asking less for my car than the one in Minneapolis. If you are interested, please e-mail me at curtis944 (at) yahoo (dot) com.

IMHO, special, rare cars like an RS6 are best acquired from aficionados who carefully selected and lovingly cared for their cars and can provide history. Before I bought mine (from such a gentlemen) I looked at 2 on lots. Both had obvious problems and sketchy histories.

[vitalian]

^^I would generally agree with what Curt said, but there are exceptions. I found my car at an Audi dealership. It was a local one-owner car, and had always been serviced by that same dealership (the owner had bought the car there when it was new). Therefore, I had a complete service history on the car and could review all the records myself to ensure that the car was well-sorted and not a "problem child." I realize that my situation is probably rare, but it does happen.