Need Help - Looking at C5 RS6

[MrClean]

Long time fan and it's been a couple years since I last been in the market for an RS6.

So, I found one locally, drove it today and couldn't find much wrong outside a driver seat adjustment switch malfunctioning and a resprayed front bumper with peeling clear coat.

Asking: $26.5k
61k miles
Tires nearly new.
Brand new battery.
No curb rash on wheels.
Normal wear and tear inside and out.
Drives great, strong motor, smooth transmission and all modes work well.
CARFAX shows 2 owners over about 8 years (not bad) and couple dealership buy/sells over last couple years of dealer ownership but regular maintenance done.

Before I go to the trouble of getting a PPI done...

What would be a fair price?

What else would you warn me about before buying?

[Other_Erik]

Get the PPI done. Not sure what shop rate is there in Columbus, but ~$125-150 for an hour of labor for them to point out anything and everything that might be wrong - well worth it. I caught a couple nasty ones before I ended up buying mine off of a member here. And trust me when I say, $150 is CHEAP compared to maintenance on the beast. There were a couple I looked at that looked spectacular, low miles, perfect carfax, but needed $10-12k worth of maintenance to get back to tip-top.

More details on the car and condition would be needed to give a fair asking price, but it seems generally in the range, provided they're going to replace that malfunctioning seat adjustment switch and you don't care that the clear coat is peeling from the front bumper.

Welcome, and FON!

[MrClean]

Get the PPI done. Not sure what shop rate is there in Columbus, but ~$125-150 for an hour of labor for them to point out anything and everything that might be wrong - well worth it. I caught a couple nasty ones before I ended up buying mine off of a member here. And trust me when I say, $150 is CHEAP compared to maintenance on the beast. There were a couple I looked at that looked spectacular, low miles, perfect carfax, but needed $10-12k worth of maintenance to get back to tip-top.

More details on the car and condition would be needed to give a fair asking price, but it seems generally in the range, provided they're going to replace that malfunctioning seat adjustment switch and you don't care that the clear coat is peeling from the front bumper.

Welcome, and FON!

Hey Erik, thanks for replying.

Yep, I hear you and you've confirmed what I thought (get PPI is done). It is pretty clear to me that any needed repairs would be on me (car been there for ~3 months and they want to move it).

For about the same price, I found this one-owner RS6 on eBay. It's got a few more miles on it (84k vs 61k) but appears to be in better shape and has all maintenance up to date. The one concern that stands out to me is the ECU flash (500+ HP) mentioned in the ad. Should that be concerning? (add'l power --> add'l heat --> add'l stress on components, e.g. expensive transmission repairs?)

Here's the link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...75841848#v4-43

I'd appreciate your input.

TIA.

Gary

[Jimmy]

Hmmm, to me a flash to 500+ HP means add'l happiness !! I wouldn't be too worried about it....unless you like to punch it each and every time from a dead stop. Just my 2 cents....and a pre-welcome to the club to ya'.

[10SecS4]

I'll sell you my extremely clean Daytona Grey RS6 with 101K on the odo for $19,500. Has had both the DRC recall done as well as a brand new tranny installed just 7K miles ago. Have receipts. These are two of the most expensive RS6 jobs which you wouldn't have to worry about.

[ben916]

PPI for sure.

Check timing frequency.
Check rotors.
Check DRC and DRC recall.
Check all recalls - gas tank rollover valve, etc.
Check shifting of trans. (guess you already did this)

[MrClean]

PPI for sure.

Check timing frequency.
Check rotors.
Check DRC and DRC recall.
Check all recalls - gas tank rollover valve, etc.
Check shifting of trans. (guess you already did this)

Great list, Ben.

Thanks!

[MrClean]

Hmmm (DG RS6).

Good point about the DRC and tranny.

Let me think about it.

PM me detail and contact info if you would.

Thanks.

[MrClean]

Hmmm, to me a flash to 500+ HP means add'l happiness !! I wouldn't be too worried about it....unless you like to punch it each and every time from a dead stop. Just my 2 cents....and a pre-welcome to the club to ya'.

Jimmy, I hear ya.

It could go either way; it all depends.

On the one hand, it's a bonus to have (as long as the PM has been kept up). On the other hand, it could be a real liability if the car wasn't properly cared for.

That's where dialog with the owner and a PPI come into play.

Thanks for the pre-welcome.

[bmwade]

Long time fan and it's been a couple years since I last been in the market for an RS6.

So, I found one locally, drove it today and couldn't find much wrong outside a driver seat adjustment switch malfunctioning and a resprayed front bumper with peeling clear coat.

Asking: $26.5k
61k miles
Tires nearly new.
Brand new battery.
No curb rash on wheels.
Normal wear and tear inside and out.
Drives great, strong motor, smooth transmission and all modes work well.
CARFAX shows 2 owners over about 8 years (not bad) and couple dealership buy/sells over last couple years of dealer ownership but regular maintenance done.

Before I go to the trouble of getting a PPI done...

What would be a fair price?

What else would you warn me about before buying?

Kinda makes me feel like I'm giving mine away...3.5k isn't much difference....

[twinsteve]

Long time fan and it's been a couple years since I last been in the market for an RS6.

So, I found one locally, drove it today and couldn't find much wrong outside a driver seat adjustment switch malfunctioning and a resprayed front bumper with peeling clear coat.

Asking: $26.5k
61k miles
Tires nearly new.
Brand new battery.
No curb rash on wheels.
Normal wear and tear inside and out.
Drives great, strong motor, smooth transmission and all modes work well.
CARFAX shows 2 owners over about 8 years (not bad) and couple dealership buy/sells over last couple years of dealer ownership but regular maintenance done.

Before I go to the trouble of getting a PPI done...

What would be a fair price?

What else would you warn me about before buying?

Feel free to buy mine ....52k miles...$25,000..check out the thread I just put on with the details

[1uglymug]

Glad to have your interest. I have only seen two other RS6's in the Columbus area. It would be great to have another here in central OHIO.

I am in Powell. There is a shop here in Powell, Auto Assets, that does a decent job with these vehicles. They are very reasonably priced and they are committed to customer service. I have had all work done on my RS6 by Auto Assets.

After being on this message board for the last 18 months, I would personally buy from an RS6 enthusiast on this board, rather than buy from a dealership. I paid entirely too much for mine at "The Toy Barn" in Dublin. Don't get me wrong, I love the car and I love the Toy Barn. But I could have gotten a far better price... especially when you consider modifications. Trust me, if you are on here already, you are likely going to mod this car a bit. Its not cheap. You can buy an RS6 from someone on here that has already put the time, energy, and most importantly, the money into these changes for about the same price you are paying for a pre-modded vehicle at the dealership.

If you want to contact me to talk further, PM me, I would be happy to chat with you by phone or in person. I can even meet you somewhere so you can see another example in person. There are so few of these around.

Best of luck whatever you decide!

[kismetcapitan]

when I was shopping for my car, I decided to find a car that had just had the 75K service done. That service is a pricey one.

if you have a solid service history and talk to the owner, you should get an idea if the car was flogged or not. Having a flash with a well-maintained car simply means that you don't have to go buy one