C6 feeler....

[bmwade]

Anyone friends with a C6 who is planing to upgrade?

My tentative plan is to buy an A6 Avant here in the states. Then buy a C6 RS6 in Europe as some of my friends and I are kicking around the idea of a month vacation touring Europe. I would plan to come pick it up, take it to the ring, run it to stelvio pass and around Europe, then when I'm ready to head home have it disassembled and shipped over in boxes to essentially be reassembled around the A6 vin...I would definitely be open to a Mexican RS6 as well. Or a Canadian(if there are any?)

this is only a feeler and in no way a definite plan. I'm +6 months out from possibly doing anything, but I'm basically doing a feasibility study now. When I make a definite decision I will need to sell my C5. I don't care about miles, and I don't have a good idea of what kind of prices these are going for. A wrecked but mechanically solid car might be a good option too if anyone runs onto one.

This is all prompted by the continued abandonment of the US market. I'm not sold on the looks of the E63 wagon though I do like it more than the RS7. I feel like I could build my dream car with one of my favorite engines of all time for around the same price a new car...maybe I'm way off base. I welcome input from anyone on this topic.

[4everRS]

I assume you'll insure it as an a6? Just hope you don't ever have a claim.

A tuned c7 s6 will still be faster.

[905084]

Since I don't understand the rules....why is it so hard to import an RS from the UK....or Germany? I'd love an Avant...and why disassemble and assemble? Why not just swap the VIN on the dash? Just curious.

[Brav]

I can probably help you with the export and conversion.. long story short, starting a new company essentially doing what you are seeking to accomplish. PM me for details, if you want.

[UrS6]

Since I don't understand the rules....why is it so hard to import an RS from the UK....or Germany? I'd love an Avant...and why disassemble and assemble? Why not just swap the VIN on the dash? Just curious.
Because that is a felony and if you ever got in an accident and you vin was not real and didn't match your FMVSS sticker your insurance company wouldn't pay a dime. Also if you injured or killed someone you would get your ass sued off.

[DHall1]

The felony part is real.

You could lose 100k in one sweep of the pen.

The headache is not really worth it. The conversion would cost 25k and you could have a botched job.

Enjoy what we have and call it good. When I burn up my two C5 RS6s it will be time for a C7 S8. Granted I got lots of burning to do....Crazy 1 has 40k and Crazy 2 has 34k.

Uh, we could all be sued if we injure or kill someone with a vehicle. Best try not to unless the idjuit has it coming. doh


Because that is a felony and if you ever got in an accident and you vin was not real and didn't match your FMVSS sticker your insurance company wouldn't pay a dime. Also if you injured or killed someone you would get your ass sued off.

[Brav]

^^^ all of that. You would have to convert an A6 avant to the new RS6 powertrain and fenders. My partner used to work for GMG and has done many conversions like this. We should have a website and info up shortly, and examples of various swaps and conversions.

[DHall1]

It would be cool to see some projects.

Used C6 RS6 70k
Used C6 avant 40k
Tear down and ship C6 RS6 20k
Build the C6 RS6 on the used US spec A6 30k and up.

160k for a used potentially botched project car. I would buy 6 mint used low mileage C5 RS6s and call it good.

Heck, Im too lazy to convert my C5 S6 avant into a RS6 and decided to just buy another RS6 daily driver instead.

Anyone want a 02 S6 avant/atlas gray


^^^ all of that. You would have to convert an A6 avant to the new RS6 powertrain and fenders. My partner used to work for GMG and has done many conversions like this. We should have a website and info up shortly, and examples of various swaps and conversions.

[SteveKen]

You wouldn't even have to dismantle it outside of the US. You could receive the whole car via container, etc. and everything could be switched over to a US legal C6 avant. Just be sure that you talk to your insurance company and get the necessary riders or special policy to reflect that the car is modified to CYA to avoid any legal issues if there's an accident and to get you an appropriate replacement value if it were to ever get totaled.

[905084]

Because that is a felony and if you ever got in an accident and you vin was not real and didn't match your FMVSS sticker your insurance company wouldn't pay a dime. Also if you injured or killed someone you would get your ass sued off.

I understand the felony part. By the time I made such a mess that the insurance company was digging that deep, the fact that the car was illegal would probably the least of my problems.

So import it without an engine like Superformance does with their Cobra and call it a "homebuilt" or "kit car"??

Still don't understand why the rules forbid an import. I guess "just because" was never a good answer for me.

[UrS6]

I understand the felony part. By the time I made such a mess that the insurance company was digging that deep, the fact that the car was illegal would probably the least of my problems.

So import it without an engine like Superformance does with their Cobra and call it a "homebuilt" or "kit car"??

Still don't understand why the rules forbid an import. I guess "just because" was never a good answer for me.

That's all just NHTSA BS. You can import an 03 RS6 but not an 04. Because DOT/EPA never tested it. But we can all agree it is essentially the same car. You could have a Registered Importer petition to import a C6 Rs6 but it probably would get denied. The RI that I spoke with said most petitions are denied and that Audi NA is not helpful at all in providing the info that you need to provide to NHTSA for conversion. So it's a real uphill battle. Go to NHTSAs website and read about the process. It is pretty clear with about 15 minutes of reading.

The parts swap seems like a good--albeit expensive--alternative. Who here has Euro recaros seats in their cars? Or C6 brakes on their US C5. People have put M5 motors into 3 series BMWs. It's really not that much different and not that big of a deal to swap some parts out in a fully legal US model. I am cautious so I would make sure my insurance company knew about it. But i knew a guy that had an illegally imported euro super sedan that was not only in the country illegally but he drove it around with no insurance or registration. Just slapped some old plates on it. That would scare me.

[na1mt]

There is a company here that I know of that does this with Sylvia's and Skylines. You have to have a US 240sx donor car and they import front/rear clips and a complete drivetrain. You really have to hate your money to do these kind of conversions though. Why not just buy an S6 here and then a complete drivetrain overseas and have that installed? That should bolt in I would think.

[ben916]

That's all just NHTSA BS. You can import an 03 RS6 but not an 04. Because DOT/EPA never tested it. But we can all agree it is essentially the same car. You could have a Registered Importer petition to import a C6 Rs6 but it probably would get denied. The RI that I spoke with said most petitions are denied and that Audi NA is not helpful at all in providing the info that you need to provide to NHTSA for conversion. So it's a real uphill battle. Go to NHTSAs website and read about the process. It is pretty clear with about 15 minutes of reading.

The parts swap seems like a good--albeit expensive--alternative. Who here has Euro recaros seats in their cars? Or C6 brakes on their US C5. People have put M5 motors into 3 series BMWs. It's really not that much different and not that big of a deal to swap some parts out in a fully legal US model. I am cautious so I would make sure my insurance company knew about it. But i knew a guy that had an illegally imported euro super sedan that was not only in the country illegally but he drove it around with no insurance or registration. Just slapped some old plates on it. That would scare me.

Several of the US RS6 are VIN-ed as 2004 as are some of the Canadian ones.

Do you mean the legendary RS600? :)

[bmwade]

It would be cool to see some projects.


Used C6 RS6 70k
Used C6 avant 40k
Tear down and ship C6 RS6 20k
Build the C6 RS6 on the used US spec A6 30k and up.


160k for a used potentially botched project car. I would buy 6 mint used low mileage C5 RS6s and call it good.


IDK what I can ge the RS6 for but this is the top end of A6 I would want to start with:
http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?zip=93101&endYear=2012&modelCode1=A6&sortBy=derivedpriceASC&showcaseOwnerId=0&startYear=2005&makeCode1=AUDI&sellerTypes=b&searchRadius=0&maxPrice=30000&bodyStyleCodes=WAGON&mmt=%5BAUDI%5BA6%5B%5D%5D%5B%5D%5D&listingId=336229919&listingIndex=1&Log=0


Not going to waste money on a donor chassis when so much will need to be done anyways. And as long as the car has a clean title then I don't care about wrecks etc. Then hopefully it wouldn't require quite as much labor, in my head I would love just to tack the A6 vin on the RS6 and say I did everything, but it probably isn't that simple....


You wouldn't even have to dismantle it outside of the US. You could receive the whole car via container, etc. and everything could be switched over to a US legal C6 avant. Just be sure that you talk to your insurance company and get the necessary riders or special policy to reflect that the car is modified to CYA to avoid any legal issues if there's an accident and to get you an appropriate replacement value if it were to ever get totaled.

That would seem to be preferable if that would work! That way none of the parts get lost in transit!

[UrS6]

Several of the US RS6 are VIN-ed as 2004 as are some of the Canadian ones.

They must have been sold as MY2003 cars here by Audi NA. I think the RS6 was sold in 2004 in Canada wasn't it?

[UrS6]

IDK what I can ge the RS6 for but this is the top end of A6 I would want to start with:
http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?zip=93101&endYear=2012&modelCode1=A6&sortBy=derivedpriceASC&showcaseOwnerId=0&startYear=2005&makeCode1=AUDI&sellerTypes=b&searchRadius=0&maxPrice=30000&bodyStyleCodes=WAGON&mmt=%5BAUDI%5BA6%5B%5D%5D%5B%5D%5D&listingId=336229919&listingIndex=1&Log=0


Not going to waste money on a donor chassis when so much will need to be done anyways. And as long as the car has a clean title then I don't care about wrecks etc. Then hopefully it wouldn't require quite as much labor, in my head I would love just to tack the A6 vin on the RS6 and say I did everything, but it probably isn't that simple....



That would seem to be preferable if that would work! That way none of the parts get lost in transit!
Allright. Whose going to start the list of RS6 specific parts that need to get swapped? It seems it would also be a lot cheaper to wait and find a wrecked RS6 for sale in europe. I would imagine it would save you tens of thousands.

[ben916]

They must have been sold as MY2003 cars here by Audi NA. I think the RS6 was sold in 2004 in Canada wasn't it?

I don't have the production dates but JSRS6 indicated that his come up as a 2004 each time at the dealer.
yes, on the Canada @ 2004

[mrdave]

http://www.gtrusablog.com/2009/10/kaizo-drama-thus-far.html

13657

[lswing]

^^^ Two Skylines were seized a year or two back and set to be destroyed, any of you read about that? I think it was on jalopnik.com...

Cool idea to bring the cars together though.

[Brav]

^^^ Two Skylines were seized a year or two back and set to be destroyed, any of you read about that? I think it was on jalopnik.com...

Cool idea to bring the cars together though.

Yea I know a guy who brought in 30. all destoryed

[bmwade]

Yea I know a guy who brought in 30. all destoryed

That is the real crime! 30 amazing cars gone! They should have parted them out or sold them out of country!

[na1mt]

That is why they must be brought in as parts.....front clip, rear clip....etc. The vin is worthless, and as I stated you need a donor car to use to piece everything together with. As far as I know, this is the only way to accomplish this legally. Which goes back to my original post....if you have a V10 S6 I would imagine you could import an RS6 drivetrain/ ECU from Europe and it should bolt in without too much difficulty.

[DHall1]

ICE has nothing better to do right?

20 million illegals running around the country. No problem

Upwards of 30% of the cars running around on California and Arizona public roads have no car insurance. No problem

I would strip the car out and hand them the bare shell. Sorry officer, 20 million illegals drove up in a stolen car with no insurance and stripped my baby in 30 minutes.

:hey:


http://www.gtrusablog.com/2009/10/kaizo-drama-thus-far.html

13657

[ben916]

ICE has nothing better to do right?

20 million illegals running around the country. No problem

Upwards of 30% of the cars running around on California and Arizona public roads have no car insurance. No problem

I would strip the car out and hand them the bare shell. Sorry officer, 20 million illegals drove up in a stolen car with no insurance and stripped my baby in 30 minutes.

:hey:

Begin RANT!
You are preaching to the choir (as I lived 10 minutes from the busiest port of entry in the USA)
Now I am at the other end where the bleeding liberals feel sorry for the illegals and want to give them a free place to live, meanwhile they are getting fleeced to the max and complain about lack of police response, and other city/county/state resources are unavailable. But where are these resources we pay for? You guessed it!

End RANT

But alias...... Mexico DOES have the C6 RS6....

[humantic]

I've followed this thread with great interest. As UrS6 said a (2003) C5 avant can be shipped as it recognized by NHTSA as a complying vehicle, because NHTSA has a letter from AoA stating that that model vehicle complies with the FMVSS as of that year, Canadian vehicles have special considerations as the Canadian safety standards are very similar to the U.S. The key to NHTSA is the letter from the manufacturer regarding compliance, even though the Euro NCAP (New Car Assessment Program) is thought to be more stringent than the U.S. NCAP there are subtle differences in the testing methodologies. It is arguable that an RS6 produced after 2003 not only meets. but probably exceeds the US NCAP requirements, but without the support of the manufacturer, getting NHTSA to agree would be an uphill battle.

The real battle is EPA. The will not allow an engine that does not comply with EPA standards to enter the country without adding cats, and other complying devices. Read through this document (http://www.epa.gov/otaq/imports/documents/420b10027.pdf). Back in the day you could get a once in a life exemption but apparently they have done away with that.

The risks with doing these importations are mostly monetary. To get the vehicles out of the port as bond must be posted. These bonds are released when the vehicles are shown to comply with the standards. If the standards are not met then the bonds can be forfeited ($10,000.00 +). So you could probably get a body without a engine in and forfeit the bond, but getting the engine in would be challenging.

Could'nt one just buy the C6 in Mexico, register it there, and drive it here? Seems it would be cheaper to find a Mexican address to associate a C6 with than to go through the trouble of importing and complying.

[tjb616]

Thats an interesting idea... you could probably buy property in Mexico for pennies, sight unseen, buy a Mexican RS6 and just drive it here. Not sure on the legalities or the registration aspect, but it is an idea that would probably be cheaper than some of the other ideas posted.

[DHall1]

It takes years to buy property in Mexico if you are a US national.

You know they have to keep the borders safe and all.


Thats an interesting idea... you could probably buy property in Mexico for pennies, sight unseen, buy a Mexican RS6 and just drive it here. Not sure on the legalities or the registration aspect, but it is an idea that would probably be cheaper than some of the other ideas posted.

[bmlee007]

There is a shell for sale in Germany. You would have to contact the seller about delivery to port of departure.

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Karosse-Karosserie-Carbody-Brief-Audi-RS6-4B-V8-Biturbo-/160786904748?pt=DE_Autoteile&hash=item256fa576ac