Potential New RS6 Owner....need some help/advice!

[VJD2]

Hello Gentlemen,

Very nice site you have here! I've been searching, reading and learning quite a lot in the past few days. I have the chance to purchase an 03 RS6 with 117k on the clock. Car looks perfect inside and out and runs/sounds great. Only problem is there are no maintenance records with the vehicle and no history at all. All I know is that was it was traded in to a dealer for a newer RS4 and for privacy reason they will not give the contact information for the previous customer which is understandable I guess.

How can I find out the history of this car? Can I call a local Audi dealer or Audi Corporate and provide the VIN number to find out if any recalls have been performed or find out the maintenance history of the vehicle if any on record? How can I find out if the car has a tune on it?

With the mileage on this car being a little high I'm nervous of the TC/Transmission issues I've been reading about on here and it would be nice to know if the they have been addressed/replaced. It runs, drives and shifts fine right now.

I know the car has been modified slightly. It has an MTM exhaust, Hotchkis sway bars and RS4 wheels. That is all I know right now, I will be digging in to it a little more.

I'm currently trying to track down any and all owners and information on this vehicle and any information or tips provided to help me with this would be greatly appreciated!! I'm super excited about this car and the potential to be an RS6 owner. If all works out, I look forward to joining your family.

Thank you in advance,
~Vinny

[lswing]

Sounds very nice. Tough if it's a trade in with no history. You should be able to get some basic Carfax info? Could very well need a timing belt, $1-2k. Do you have the VIN? The later from about 5550 and on have been known to last longer with TC and trans. Seems like it would be tuned with those mods, did the power blow you away?

You can test for a slipping TC by driving in Tip, 5th gear, 50 mph...give it some good gas (don't hit the kickdown switch by pressing pedal to the floor). Rpms should not rise much without spedo too.

And you should be cautious, new trans and TC is $6-9k depending, yea....

To find out if it's tuned either log boost, or have someone with a tuned car drive it.

[Bigglezworth]

With the mileage on this car being a little high I'm nervous of the TC/Transmission issues I've been reading about on here and it would be nice to know if the they have been addressed/replaced. It runs, drives and shifts fine right now.

Mileage is NOT high. It's average.... Vehicle is 10 years old and less than 1K/month is in fact lower than average.

That aside, it is at the mileage count where MANY owners have seen the end of life for a tranny. Doesn't mean it will happen to yours, but as with any well planned expedition, you need to be aware of this - which I sense you already are. Personally given the CHEAP price you can get a performance luxury sedan like these for now in days, a true enthusiast wouldn't even bat an eye knowing this. 20K plus another 10k in the bank to take care of things over the next while is what many have done.

Best of success with whatever you choose.

[Other_Erik]

Have the car brought to an Audi dealership for Pre-Purchase Inspection (PPI) at 1-1.5hrs of labor (whatever their local labor rate is, anywhere from $85-$155/hr), while it's there, ask that dealership for the vehicle history - they'll give you a scrubbed list of major maintenance and any recall/warranty work done.

I got very lucky, bought from a member here and they'd done their work. Trans was replaced under warranty at 97k miles, but I'm almost certain my TC is going to give up the ghost sometime when I can least afford it... :|

O_E

[Jimmy]

You could take the VIN to Hoffman Audi in East Hartford and speak to a service advisor. When I bought mine they were forthcoming with A VMI (didn't even buy it from them), but they didn't give me a copy of what they had for service records, he just chatted with me with what was on it.

BTW, I am thinking of selling my Blue/silver RS6 with 105K miles on it here in CT if you'd like to check out another local car. PM if any interest.

[ttboost]

You could take the VIN to Hoffman Audi in East Hartford and speak to a service advisor. When I bought mine they were forthcoming with A VMI (didn't even buy it from them), but they didn't give me a copy of what they had for service records, he just chatted with me with what was on it.

BTW, I am thinking of selling my Blue/silver RS6 with 105K miles on it here in CT if you'd like to check out another local car. PM if any interest.

I did the exact same thing, with the same results...he wouldn't give me anything, but told me anything I wanted to know...you just need the VIN..

[as350]

I did the exact same thing, with the same results...he wouldn't give me anything, but told me anything I wanted to know...you just need the VIN..

When I bought my RS6 I was able to talk the dealer doing the PPI into giving me a printout of the VMI. Either way its important that you get the information to plan your mx schedule.

[ttboost]

When I bought my RS6 I was able to talk the dealer doing the PPI into giving me a printout of the VMI. Either way its important that you get the information to plan your mx schedule.

I agree that if you are paying them for a service, they are more willing and forthcoming with information vs just walking in off the street with a VIN...

[10SecS4]

Just curious, what's the asking price?

Hello Gentlemen,

Very nice site you have here! I've been searching, reading and learning quite a lot in the past few days. I have the chance to purchase an 03 RS6 with 117k on the clock. Car looks perfect inside and out and runs/sounds great. Only problem is there are no maintenance records with the vehicle and no history at all. All I know is that was it was traded in to a dealer for a newer RS4 and for privacy reason they will not give the contact information for the previous customer which is understandable I guess.

How can I find out the history of this car? Can I call a local Audi dealer or Audi Corporate and provide the VIN number to find out if any recalls have been performed or find out the maintenance history of the vehicle if any on record? How can I find out if the car has a tune on it?

With the mileage on this car being a little high I'm nervous of the TC/Transmission issues I've been reading about on here and it would be nice to know if the they have been addressed/replaced. It runs, drives and shifts fine right now.

I know the car has been modified slightly. It has an MTM exhaust, Hotchkis sway bars and RS4 wheels. That is all I know right now, I will be digging in to it a little more.

I'm currently trying to track down any and all owners and information on this vehicle and any information or tips provided to help me with this would be greatly appreciated!! I'm super excited about this car and the potential to be an RS6 owner. If all works out, I look forward to joining your family.

Thank you in advance,
~Vinny

[kday]

Any Audi dealer can pull the records on the car. Whether they actually will is another story.
You really want to know the history on these cars. I'd go so far as to say it's a dealbreaker if the history isn't available.

[Styhl]

Audi of Santa Monica Quoted me last month a PPI on an rs6 is $360 dollars and takes 6 hours.

[905084]

I've got a nice Misano Red one available.....with $23000 worth of receipts over the last 3 years including timing belt, transmission, and quite a few other mods I'll let go cheap

Audi of St. Paul, MN had all of the records for the past 4 years and I had all of the records emailed to me.

[lswing]

Audi of Santa Monica Quoted me last month a PPI on an rs6 is $360 dollars and takes 6 hours.

Two words.....Santa Monica. Maybe they are extra thorough.

[VJD2]

Everyone, thank you for the responses and the help! I'm having a heck of time trying to reply with multi quote so I'm doing it this way instead.

lswing - I was able to get an Autocheck and Carfax both of which came out clean so that part is taken care of. One less worry! Thank you for the tip on how to test the trans. I will give it a try on the next test drive this week. The VIN ends in 903988. Early productions it seems. I also think I may have found one of the previous owners here on the site!

Bigglezworth - That is true, I never looked at it that way. I just think its an awesome car, not an 11 year old car. Mileage is def less than average but I see so many low miles ones running around. Thanks.

Other_Erik - That is an awesome idea. I will probably go that route for piece of mind. There is also a garage around here that specializes in Audi's that I contacted today that will also do the same thing for a flat rate of $100. They claim they can access Audi's system and obtain recall and maintenance history for me. Not too sure about that. I'll call a local Audi dealer tomorrow. I hope your TC holds out for you. It always works out that way.

Jimmy - That is a great to hear, thank you for the tip. I will make my way up to Hoffman's tomorrow if I have the time with the VIN. I'm closer to Audi of Wallingford but I've never had a good experience with them in the past with my other Audi's. I'd rather make the trip up to Hoffman's. I hear good things about them. If this car does not work out I will def give you a call. Thanks for the offer!

ttboost - Glad to hear that they do it on a consistent basis. Hopefully I won't have any issues when I go up to speak with them. I don't need a print out, just the peace of mind knowing it was taken care of and maintained correctly.

as350 - I'll probably end up doing the PPI with Hoffman's so I'm hoping they'll actually print the VMI but just to continue looking at the car I just want word of mouth info on it.

10secS4 - No problem. They are asking 19k but I'm working on them.

kday - I'm on the fence about it right now. I love the car, it looks great, runs great but not knowing its history scares the crap out of me. Especially with the issues these cars are prone too. I'm doing all the possible research on it before I pull the trigger. I'm also working on a deal that if I find something negative on it or it acts up a few days after the purchase, the deal can be reversed.

Again thank you everyone! If all goes well I'll be in the car next week sometime. As for now the research continues.

[VJD2]

I've got a nice Misano Red one available.....with $23000 worth of receipts over the last 3 years including timing belt, transmission, and quite a few other mods I'll let go cheap

Audi of St. Paul, MN had all of the records for the past 4 years and I had all of the records emailed to me.

Another tempting offer and an awesome color! Thank you and I'll let you know. As much as I'd love to go on a road trip, I'm going to try to stay local for now.

[10SecS4]

I have a Daytona Grey RS6 in immaculate condition with 109K miles for $16.5K. The three major problem areas on this car have all been addressed within the past 10K miles: brand new DRC suspension installed by Audi under the recall, freshly rebuilt trans, and new timing belt. I have receipts for all this work. I'm located right on the NY/CT border near Greenwich.

Another tempting offer and an awesome color! Thank you and I'll let you know. As much as I'd love to go on a road trip, I'm going to try to stay local for now.

[mik15]

that's a really good price considering all the maintenance done...i'm sure it will get sold in a heartbeat.

[10SecS4]

Thanks, I haven't actively tried selling it yet but it's gonna have to go soon to make room for my new RS7.

that's a really good price considering all the maintenance done...i'm sure it will get sold in a heartbeat.