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View Full Version : Potential new RS6 owner; Questions



Phoenix20
February 26th, 2013, 17:43
Greetings all,

As the title of this thread states: I am a potential new RS6 owner but have some (specific) questions I could not otherwise find any (sufficient and / or precise) answer(s) to. I've previously owned a Stage 3 AWE RSK04 B5 S4 that made over 375awhp on pump gas and owned a 400rwhp (turbocharged) E36 M3 so I'm not a stranger to speed or high maintenance cars.


The RS6s I am looking at are all / mostly within the 70,000 to 86,000 mile "area", as it were. My main concerns with purchasing an RS6 with said amount of miles are:


- I would be purchasing a car with almost 90,000 miles on it for very near $20,000.00 (I will negotiate as well as I can). After 6 months the car would certainly have over 100,000 miles on it as I don't purchase cars and do the "weekend car" thing; I drive any car I purchase. My worry with mileage is years from now (or even after it would tick over 100,000 miles no one would want it regardless of price purely because it would seem historic in it's mileage compared to purchasing a B7 A4 for around $18,000.00 with less than 50,000 miles on it. Would an enthusiast be interested in a well maintained and possibly modified RS6 with over 100,000 miles on the odometer?


- I've read up on the problems with C5 RS6s and my main concern(s) lay in the transmission problem(s) with the cars as there does not seem to be any real specific point of mileage where at the transmission is known to fail and failures (seem) to occur in both modified and non modified (completely factory) C5 RS6s (although more so / most occurrences of failure appear to be modified examples with "aggressive driving" causing the failure of the transmission). Is the main cause the torque converter and if one were to keep a C5 RS6 stock or non chipped but modified (Exhaust only) and drove the car reasonably like not racing it would the transmission on a C5 RS6 last another 5,000 miles until someone were able to replace the transmission altogether prior to failure? Which transmission is best to go with as a replacement as I've seen a bunch of different builder brands on here?


- How much, typically, is labor on engine removal, removal of turbos, installation of new turbos and reinstallation of the engine with new turbos? Where is the best place to purchase new OEM Borg Warner turbos? JHMS new RS6 turbos for the B5 S4 platform are less than $3,000.00 but are made to suit the 2.7t engine with no modifications so they would not fit in a C5 RS6, unfortunately.


- I plan on purchasing a Fidelity warranty (perhaps the best "modification for a C5 RS6 in existence). At what mileage does Fidelity / Audi still offer any extended warranty as I spoke with an Audi salesman regarding a Fidelity warranty and he explained the only two warrants available through Fidelity would be a 24 month and a 30 month as the warrants are allowed as an "exception" due to low (enough) mileage (less than 90,000 miles). What I'm asking is (If anyone knows the answer to this question): How long after purchasing the vehicle (in terms of mileage) will I have to call or approach an Audi dealer and purchase an extended warranty through Fidelity as I will not have the money at the said time of purchasing the vehicle to purchase an extended Fidelity warranty on the vehicle, register it, pay all the fees and etc....? I plan on doing the water pump, timing belt and spark plugs immediately after purchase (or as close to as possible) and have my mechanic look it over thuroughly. I really want the warranty for if and when the turbos "let go" and for when the transmission and / or torque converter go. For anyone with a Fidelity extended warranty: Do you know if Fidelity would / does cover the cost of replacing the turbos if they fail? Do you know if Fidelity covers any transmission failure (The vehicle would be remaining stock until all the suspected parts are replaced)? How "picky" is Fidelity with where you take your car for any repairs as I am pretty loyal to a mechanic in my area who has worked on / built everything from Factory Five replicas to a Salt Flat 200+ mph Mustang Cobra SVT making over 1200 horsepower?


- The turbos would have the same mileage as the car (unless otherwise noted as being replaced by the seller prior to selling) and I would be wondering how many miles until they need replaced. When do the stock RS6 K04s "let go" if the car is completely factory Iam purchasing and from a visual perspective is insanely clean (well maintained, i.e not abused on a daily basis) for the lack of any better terminology?


I will speak more in depth with a Fidelity representative regarding details of which warranty I would purchase but would REALLY appreciate any "real world" feedback you guys could share with me.


Thanks for your time in reading this thread and I hope to hear some informative feedback from you guys.

na1mt
February 26th, 2013, 21:32
A fidelity warranty with that kind of mileage on the car is probably going to be in the $5k range. I would make sure the timing belt was done as well.

DHall1
February 26th, 2013, 22:52
Read Fidelity very closely.

It may cost you 10k for contract at this point

It is no longer a good idea.

Buy a car with warranty or one with everything fixed

Brav
February 27th, 2013, 00:24
I have almost 170k on my turbos, all seem to be fine, no oil consumption.. Turbos are pretty solid on this car. Just start your 6 speed swap fund when you buy the car, forget the warranty if it doesn't already have one. I would say 120k-156K+ mile car with more recent maintenance/major service and repairs already done, would be the better buy. 80-90k, a lot that there could still go wrong, and not addressed yet.

In the end, its always a gamble. But worth it!

lswing
February 27th, 2013, 02:00
Find one with a warranty or low miles if you can. Get the color combo you want and have it shipped if needed. Now seems to be a good time to buy. If no warranty, have 10k around just in case. Trans 7k, Steering rack 4k, many 2-3k repairs due to engine pull/difficulty/spendy parts...keep fingers crossed!

One hell of a car though, even with my 25k purchase, 10k repairs, 5k mods, not sure what other car could have been this fun! And 3k gas:)

4everRS
February 27th, 2013, 05:22
As brav said, turbos usually aren't problematic. Most of the time it is much more cost effective to have them rebuilt. Scroll in NJ does it for about 1300 bucks for the pair.

The trans is a different story. Different options here. More and more the 6speed swaps are going on, and the feedback seems to be pretty good. However, those who have done it, haven't put on a bunch of miles either. A board member, and great contributor, TozoM8 had a trans rebuild shop in Chicago and I think he can do it for about 3500? Can't remember. There at also shops like 517 trans, and Level 10 out east that can get you a stout auto for about 5k, plus r&r labor at the shop of your choice.

The only other thing to worry about is the head of an exhaust valve breaking off. (Sorta kidding on this one, but I happen to know of one the it recently happened to). Engine failure is very rare with this car.

Good luck with your search.

905084
February 27th, 2013, 05:52
Trans...every other problem is easy.

mik15
February 27th, 2013, 08:50
with a thread like this it's like opening Pandora's box....just buy the best one(up to you what this means) you can find, enjoy it and when something major is about to fail decide whether you want to invest in repairs so that you can keep for a longer time or ditch it...i would say too that the gearbox is the main issue as it is the most expensive repair so buying one with a newly refurbished GB would be a good choice! But then it also depends on how long it passed since those big issues have been addressed and how was it driven, so in the end it is gambling :) !

ttboost
February 27th, 2013, 12:05
Trans...every other problem is easy.

Yep....now that mine is manual...it's VERY possible that I may keep it...any other problem is just a nuisance...

JSRS6
February 27th, 2013, 12:21
As brav said, turbos usually aren't problematic. Most of the time it is much more cost effective to have them rebuilt. Scroll in NJ does it for about 1300 bucks for the pair.

The trans is a different story. Different options here. More and more the 6speed swaps are going on, and the feedback seems to be pretty good. However, those who have done it, haven't put on a bunch of miles either. A board member, and great contributor, TozoM8 had a trans rebuild shop in Chicago and I think he can do it for about 3500? Can't remember. There at also shops like 517 trans, and Level 10 out east that can get you a stout auto for about 5k, plus r&r labor at the shop of your choice.

The only other thing to worry about is the head of an exhaust valve breaking off. (Sorta kidding on this one, but I happen to know of one the it recently happened to). Engine failure is very rare with this car.

Good luck with your search.

Yeah, how about that:hihi:

BuffaloRS6
March 1st, 2013, 00:17
Where are you located? Mine may be for sale soon. 2003, carbon fiber interior trim, NAV, CD changer, just over 85k on the clock, new transmission (previous owner), GIAC tune, KW V3 coilovers, new front brakes, Milltek non-resonated exhaust, 19x9.5" VMR 701's, 275/30-19 Michelin PSS (will be replaced before sale). Timing belt & everything that goes with it done @ 72k miles. The car is currently sitting in my heated shop for the winter.