RS6 resale better than E55 at edmunds.com

[JAXRS6]

Nice surprise! I just clicked on edmunds.com to research used car values & they say the RS6 is holding up better than its Benz competition!

I based the comparison on a new car starting price (MSRP) of $76,000 for a 2003 E55 and $82,700 for a 2003 RS6 (in the US). Edmunds shows that for dealer trade-in, the Benz is down to $58,369 and the RS6, to $65,637.

The dollar amount of depreciation is about the same -- about $17K for each. But since the Benz cost less to begin with, its percentage of loss is greater -- 23%, vs. 21% for the RS6. Even in raw dollars, the Audi declined by $293 less.

After reading about dealers having unsold RS6s on their lots (altho that is less common now) & some also saying the E55 is harder to find, this was very encougaging. And since the E55 continues to be available by order while the RS6 is not, the gap might even widen.

Not that I wish anything bad on Benz owners, but it's nice that the brand always playing catch-up in the past has taken the lead in resale value ... at least in this case

[2046]

i think everyone who read the title would be surprised.
doesn't supply and demand apply to this segment of used car market? i would have thought the value of the RS6 would not hold as much because you can buy new ones discounted.

if edmund is correct, and given that some owners could have bought the RS6 at a discount vs a surcharge on the E55, the actual cost of ownership is even less for the RS6... x

[JAXRS6]

I just dug a little deeper & found more surprises.

My RS6 is approaching 19,500 US miles, so I entered that as a factor for both cars on the easy-to-use edmunds.com website. Despite the mileage, tho, my car is in truly outstanding condition: Leather has been cleaned & treated three times since I got it last August; always hand washed or pressure water washed, NEVER any brushes or car wash sponges touching the finish; waxed as needed; no nicks due to 3M PaintShield protecting entire front facia and forward part of the hood as well as flared fenders, spoiler and top of rear bumber; thorough interior cleanings as needed...etc., etc., etc. It even still smells new! So, I entered "outstanding condition" for both cars.

I also entered the ZIP code for my SE Michigan home -- for both cars.

I thought the Benz might pull ahead once mileage was entered. After all, the "oldest" RS6 probably arrived in the states in June or July, and the E55 was around before that...probably making the "average" E55 a little older & therefore hurting its resale value. That's why I entered the identical mileage and condition factors -- to equalize things. But guess what? The RS6 still comes out ahead -- losing 20% of its value compared to 22% for the Benz. Or in dollar terms, the RS6 lost $16,444 -- compared to $16,904 for the E55. Audi wins again, both in percentages and dollars!

Another surprise was the low impact of high miles vis-a-vis conition of the vehicle. For example, while the 19,500 miles I've driven cost around $900 in resale value, the "outstanding condition" added $1500 -- more than making up for the high miles!

Assuming Edmunds knows what it is doing, the lesson here seems to be that it is more important to take care of these cars than it is to keep mileage down.

[CarbonFibre]

My brother (works at a partially Audi dealership) told me that Audi reimbursed the dealership for the RS6s sitting on the lots for so long. This would allow them to sell for lower under the sticker w/o having as big of a profit loss.

[W211]

I wonder how accurate Edmonds is for these niche cars. I traded in a new style SL500 after 17 months of ownership and only lost $2,000.

[GmbHouse]

CarbonFibre - I heard the same thing. Audi is subsidizing dealers (up to $10k/car) to allow them to sell cars below sticker.