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Thread: Help Me w/Maintenance Budgeting

  1. #1
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    Help Me w/Maintenance Budgeting

    Since Certified Warranties don’t cover wear or regular maintenance, I need your help making a budget to keep my RS6 tip-top. My plan is to create a spreadsheet (that I will share with anyone interested) that will divide every job cost by the miles it lasts. Thus, I can get to a bottom line total cost per mile to budget for quality RS6 maintenance.
    >>
    So, what in your opinions would the following jobs cost on average? And how many street miles (as opposed to track miles) would it be before needing to do it again? Finally, what have I forgotten other than unexpected repairs and/or upgrades?
    >>
    Tires: every ____miles, _____US$
    Front Brakes: every ____mi, _____US$
    Rear Brakes: every _____mi, _____US$
    Timing Chain: every 35,000mi, ____US$
    Spark Plugs, Wires, Cap & Rotor: every _____mi, ____US$
    Oil Change: every 10,000mi, $250 US
    Transmission service: every ____mi, $____US$
    >>
    THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!

  2. #2
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    I would say tires 25,000 Miles at 500USD
    Front Brakes 10000 Miles at 175USD
    Rear Brakes 14000 Miles at 150USD
    Timing chain i would say every 60000 Miles and dont know a price
    Spark Plugs i would do every 45k Miles at about 200USD
    Oil Change every 3000 miles at 125USD
    Transmission at 75k miles at i dno
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  3. #3
    Registered User gjg's Avatar
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    that's too low - 19" tires are about $300 a piece, mount and balance ....

    Front brakes, unless you are agressive driver, should be approx. 25k - 30k miles per set of pads (F&R), every second time the rotors. Agressive driving/tracking, easily half or less. You may use 3 sets of front pads and 2 rear pads at the same time period, rear rotor will outlast front one a bit...

    Check the prices for material, not sure cost for pads in US. In EU these are so exoensive that you think youyt

    sparkplugs and air filters are every second oil change (per manual), timing avery 4th, oil about every 8k miles. $125 for oil change seems bit low - factory spec oil is about $18-25/quart, need 8 quarts + oil filter + labor (or beer)

    timing chain ??? Belt should be done every 4th oil change, that is 37.5k miles/60k km - also speciffied in the manual.

    Best way to find cost is to get dealer quote - for sure they will charge arm and leg ...

    Transmission oil should be changed every time you do the timing belt - as advised some more experienced members here.

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    Thanks for the replies so far. gjg, your mileage figures are pretty on-track with what I've heard and read so far. Now I need more information on what you guys have spent to have any of these jobs done?

  5. #5
    Registered User mmaturo's Avatar
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    well brakes are way more...pads are $350 alone so mine have cost over $500 with the labor at dealership. I seem to be replacing them at 7K intervals though. Rotors with the fronts costs about $1400 all in and seems to need it every other pad change in my experience. Yes I drive the car hard. Rears last 20K plus, no idea on cost as mine were last done under warranty.

    Oil change is $250 from dealer although mine has agreed to do it for $180 as he knows no one will come back for it at $250 and will go to non Audi shop. Expense is in labor to drop the stabilizer bar. 5 to 8K interval is fine.

    My 19" Michelin PS2s are $320+ ea and holding on well, interval though is more like 12 to 15K. My winter tires Dunlop M3s I think were in the low $200s ea. on my OEM 18s. Two seasons and plenty of tread left.

    Timing belt is every 37.5...no idea on cost but must be high ($2500) since requires a pretty good dismantling of the front of the car.
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    Mech Follow Up

    I've seen this thread mentioned a couple times when new-b's have asked what problems RS's have. So, I wanted to post a follow up to what I tried to accomplish with this thread.

    My original goal was to think of every wear & tear item on the car (stuff not covered by extended warranties) and then divide the cost of replacement by the expected life in miles. When unknown or driver dependent, I tried to error on the side of caution. Here's the spreadsheet I created (in US$):
    JOBParts+LaborMileageCost/mi
    Tires$1,350 250000.0540
    Front Brake Pads$500 150000.0333
    Front Rotors$900 300000.0300
    Rear Brake Pads$500 300000.0167
    Rear Rotors$900 600000.0150
    Oil Change$250 100000.0250
    Timing Belt -35k service$2,500 350000.0714
    Plugs/Wires/Cap/Rotor??35000-
    Transmission Service??35000-
    $0.2454/mi.

    So it makes me laugh when guys on this forum complain or compare notes on the price of gas and the MPG. Gas would have to increase another 50% from where it is now to even equal the cost of maintenance! Plus, repair and insurance are in addition.

    I don't mean to dissuade anyone from owning one. They'd probably face the same costs if buying a 911 Turbo or equivalent car in terms of performance. I just wanted to inform myself and others so they don't get disillusioned.

    Please though, help to provide feedback on my spreadsheet. Am I very far off anywhere? Or, are there potential cost savings that I am not aware of? Thanks!

    If you never exceed the limits, how do you know where they are?

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    Great thread. Subscribing. I was curious about the oil being so expensive. Will mobil1 suffice?

  8. #8
    Registered User gjg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by wm_sorg View Post
    Great thread. Subscribing. I was curious about the oil being so expensive. Will mobil1 suffice?
    use factory or better - diesel oil specs are there for some reason ...
    rs6+/mtm/movit
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    Registered User gjg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BLITZEN View Post
    So it makes me laugh when guys on this forum complain or compare notes on the price of gas and the MPG. Gas would have to increase another 50% from where it is now to even equal the cost of maintenance! Plus, repair and insurance are in addition.

    I don't mean to dissuade anyone from owning one. They'd probably face the same costs if buying a 911 Turbo or equivalent car in terms of performance. I just wanted to inform myself and others so they don't get disillusioned.

    Please though, help to provide feedback on my spreadsheet. Am I very far off anywhere? Or, are there potential cost savings that I am not aware of? Thanks!

    should get tranny flushed and oil replaced ever time you do timing belt - this will cost few 100's of $, no cap/rotor, just plug replacement ....

    insurance cost in EU are higher (or should I say significantly higher?) that US ...
    rs6+/mtm/movit
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  10. #10
    Registered User crispix's Avatar
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    Great post..

    Clearly what separates a man from a boy is the price of there toys..

    I would agree Blitzen is dead on for prices in the US at a dealer..

    I would prefer to change my oil every 5K.. Spec for RS6 is Castrol 50501 at about 20 per quart.. I've used it use it in my 04 B6 S4..

    crispix..

  11. #11
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  12. #12
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    Duck, That was a good article to link to this thread as he described the maintenance costs the magazine experienced with their 15-month extended test. "Supercar performance, with supercar running costs"!
    If you never exceed the limits, how do you know where they are?

  13. #13
    Registered User DuckWingDuck's Avatar
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    exactly. I think motor trend or car & driver had an rs6 on a long-term test and these car reviewers always document their spendings on service and the key is, they don't penny pinch like us normal owners

  14. #14
    Registered User ben916's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DuckWingDuck View Post
    exactly. I think motor trend or car & driver had an rs6 on a long-term test and these car reviewers always document their spendings on service and the key is, they don't penny pinch like us normal owners
    I agree BUT quite possibly they are instructed not to pinch pennies, or in this case pounds, as they are directed not to stray from Audi service or whatever mark they are testing. Otherwise when Audi gets the car back, they have to un-bubble-gum whatever C&D or R&T or EVO had done/performed to the car.

    It would not be an accurate test for the consumer or the mark.

    On a side note, having an Avant RS6 for a company car to "boost" morale!? I would be the delivery driver and it would take me HOURS to get across the street via Palomar mountain and scissors crossing out to Borego back up Montezuma and through Ranchita to Palomar again on the fast side....

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    I am looking at an RS6 with under 30k. I have been hearing different things in terms of what service should be preformed. Is the timing belt(per audi) a 30k or 60k item? Also what mileage is the DRC likely to fail? Does it give a warning indicator or does the suspension just misbehave? I appreciate any feedback you have to offer.

  16. #16
    Registered User MrBucket's Avatar
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    Don't forget to budget for DRC repair or replacement.

  17. #17
    Registered User LIRS6's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by wm_sorg View Post
    Is the timing belt(per audi) a 30k or 60k item? Also what mileage is the DRC likely to fail? Does it give a warning indicator or does the suspension just misbehave? I appreciate any feedback you have to offer.
    Timing belt is at 35k miles and and then 75k .. given the age of the car you are considering, find out if the timing belt was replaced (it should have been). As to DRC, there is no warning indicator. You may find oil under your car, which would be the only visual warning, or you will experience a harsh ride with a lot of sideways rear-end movement over bumps, which can be very disconcerting and dangerous.
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  18. #18
    Registered User MikeL01's Avatar
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    It seems upper control arm bushings are an issue in the 40k to 50k mile range depending on your geographic location (salt).

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