Valuation of stock vs modified RS6

[Compass Error]

My RS6 is completely stock with 83k miles and late vin 905678. Misano red/ebony black, SE exhaust, rear side airbags. Retrofitted with RNS-E. All service receipts from every owner since new (DRC replaced at 30k, transmission output shaft seal replaced at 40k; belt/water pump service every 20-25k; oil changes every 5k) Clean title, no accidents, no lien.

I've only owned it for a year but planning to replace with a C7 S6 in the next year or so.

First, how do you come up with a price range for a stock RS6? There are so few cars for sale at any time and the mileages are all over the place. Does stock deserve a premium? And if so, which mods are lowering the price or scaring away buyers? Replacing DRC with coils, swaybars, stage 1 tune, TCU are all things I've considered.

[DHall1]

Condition is more of a needle mover. All the items you listed add value as they are the accepted base modifications. If you're selling.....it's a crap shoot on should you mod.

Any trans work? Another data point for late vin cars.







My RS6 is completely stock with 83k miles and late vin 905678. Misano red/ebony black, SE exhaust, read side airbags. Retrofitted with RNS-E. All service receipts from every owner since new (DRC replaced at 30k, transmission output shaft replaced at 40k; belt/water pump service every 20-25k; oil changes every 5k) Clean title, no accidents, no lien.

I've only owned it for a year but planning to replace with a C7 S6 in the next year or so.

First, how do you come up with a price range for a stock RS6? There are so few cars for sale at any time and the mileages are all over the place. Does stock deserve a premium? And if so, which mods are lowering the price or scaring away buyers? Replacing DRC with coils, swaybars, stage 1 tune, TCU are all things I've considered.

[Compass Error]

No transmission repairs aside from output shaft seal under warranty. Should there be?

[G2]

For us Left Coaster dwellers we can get a bit picky on where a car resides from. For example have looked at enough newer cars over the 15yrs, that if I see it's from an undesireable region, may simply pass it by. Typically seems prices tend to drop going from Left to Right. End of the day, condition counts, including the undercarriage.

I shopped nationally and ended up buying from southern California. No rust and nary a rock chip.

[DHall1]

Here here!!

Both my keeper RS6s came from SoCal in nearly the same location

Santa Monica car purchased ages ago w 22k miles. You all have seen that undercarriage

Pasadena car purchased w 30k miles. Pretty much identical

These two RS6s are only going down with the fort. Not leaving my sticky fingers.




For us Left Coaster dwellers we can get a bit picky on where a car resides from. For example have looked at enough newer cars over the 15yrs, that if I see it's from an undesireable region, may simply pass it by. Typically seems prices tend to drop going from Left to Right. End of the day, condition counts, including the undercarriage.

I shopped nationally and ended up buying from southern California. No rust and nary a rock chip.

[Cmnair]

I am with Dave and Gary. Mine was a Florida car, now in NY. Had to fix a few cosmetic issues in the interior so now it is as good as new. As Dave said it is a keeper for me. I would just hold on to it since it sounds like it is a well sorted car. Market is not great for these cars.

[DHall1]

Well I guess each situation differs but a couple things are happening

clean cars are holding steady if not on the uptick. Look at Cosmo motors

we will see clean cars tick up. Period

but, the days of daily driving a RS6 are past. They need to be extra cars that sit in the garage for limited use. In that capacity these can live on for years. Imho

if you have to drive it every day....there are better choices out there.

[Compass Error]

Yeah I bought this as an extra car having owned a BMW Z4M coupe for 10 years, but decided I didn't have enough space to own 2 cars (along with the wife's car.) Honestly it's a great car but I just preferred the more nimble handling of the C7 S6, along with the lightning-quick gearbox.

[DHall1]

Good choice. Time to sell

z4m is definitely on the price rise at the moment. All M cars

[Cmnair]

Usually a 3rd car for me... it is averaging less than 5K a year, however my wife is daily driving it for a month or so now. :)

[Wide-66]

I daily my swapped car 120 miles a day no issue but yet in the eyes of potential buyers its worth a high mile auto. I have a buddy that just sold a bone stock car after months for around 13.5k it had 140k miles on the clock

[Aronis]

I have 146000 miles driven in the horrible snow/salt/sand belt and my undercarriage is just fine! Dam it!


Cmnair, how is the 550i?

Mike

[Cmnair]

I have 146000 miles driven in the horrible snow/salt/sand belt and my undercarriage is just fine! Dam it!


Cmnair, how is the 550i?

Mike

Its ok ... fast but not very involving. The F10 is pretty much a luxo barge

[DHall1]

Mike

its just about time to decide.

The red pill or the blue.




I have 146000 miles driven in the horrible snow/salt/sand belt and my undercarriage is just fine! Dam it!


Cmnair, how is the 550i?

Mike

[Bigglezworth]

I daily my swapped car 120 miles a day no issue but yet in the eyes of potential buyers its worth a high mile auto. I have a buddy that just sold a bone stock car after months for around 13.5k it had 140k miles on the clockBone stock will always be worth the least amount for this car. By that I don't mean that a modified car is worth more....

My logic to this comment is specific to there being a couple of 'stock' Achilles heel items. Specifically the DRC and the transmission. These are two big $ items that unless than have been replaced will guaranteed become a cost impact item. If the DRC has been replaced for the Gen II version you're better off than stock, but still at a potential risk depending on you 'luck'. Coil overs have been noted by many as being the only suitable replacement and there is lots of opinion about whether or not they are better or worse as a result. Transmission replacement will ensure you get suitable resale value as the person buying has plenty of visibility to the woes owners with this car have with stock transmissions. A replaced transmission doesn't mean it's modified/hopped up, it merely means it's dealt with the flaw in the original design - just like that of the Gen II DRC.

Now, if you go one level more and get in to after market modifications then you could certainly look to argue some make the car worth more - although many here would be quick to debate whether that is in fact accurate.

To consider:
Tune - no added value
Rims/tires - limited added value if any
RSNE - Some minor added value
Preventative maintenance items with recent work - i.e. rotors/pads, axles, waterpump, timing belt, T-stat, etc - Added value since they will be a cost anyway
Exhaust - added value
Piggies - added value
Turbos - added value

[Compass Error]

What do you mean by transmission replacement? Is this above and beyond just servicing the internals/clutchpacks?

Also a little surprised that you think any aftermarket stuff adds value (beyond fixing the known faults)

[Aronis]

Mike

its just about time to decide.

The red pill or the blue.

LOL. now i have some friggen short in the instrument cluster...blew a fuse to the volt meter....

Trying to wait another year before buying a new car....M5 AWD vs S8plus.....

Mike

[Bigglezworth]

What do you mean by transmission replacement? Is this above and beyond just servicing the internals/clutchpacks?

Also a little surprised that you think any aftermarket stuff adds value (beyond fixing the known faults)Good question. By that I mean change out of the torque convertor to correct the problematic seal problem that degrades the transmission internals over time and leads to failure. Replacing the torque convertor hasn't been documented as being all that is required to ensure improved transmission life that I can recall anyway. That is usually because this expensive item is reactive vs. proactive and by that time you're overhauling the entire tranny.

As a point of reference on the three cars I had here, I have the following experience:
#1 - replaced tranny and convertor at 115K with factory rebuilt units and have had 40K of mileage on it since with no problems whatsoever
#2 - never replaced tranny which was confirmed as being 100% stock @ 225000 miles.... Yes an oddity and then some
#3 - replaced torque convertor at 50K and have had no issues since. Car now has 120K on it.

For the after market stuff, I take a personal stance on things that are improvements over failure ridden items as being save value, while other nice to haves that improve performance or will at a minimum eliminate you having to undertake labour expensive repair at a near future date as a value add item yes. I've long stated that I have never believed mileage is the sole indicator of a cars value and that a car that is well documented as having been well maintained will be worth more than a car that has limited knowledge of care.

[atikovi]

What do you mean by transmission replacement? Is this above and beyond just servicing the internals/clutchpacks?

Anyone buying one of these with mileage approaching 100K will expect to budget for a transmission rebuild in the near future if not already been done, and will expect a below average price because of that.