RS246.com Forum :: The World's #1 Audi R, S and RS Enthusiast Community

I don’t want this to sound like an assignation of the car, it isn’t. I seriously considered buying one and was about to, but really in these times I’m not surprised there are so many for sale at the moment.

The DRC is a major issue but can be permanently fixed for not too much money, even though Audi should be ashamed of this blanket issue with what seems to be every DRC equipped car they have ever made. They seem to have some other common issues that aren’t great (no worse than my S4) and crazy expensive (but good) brakes.

The main thing that put me off buying an RS6 was the gearbox, they seem to be made of brittle chocolate. Random failures at any apparent mileage and a bill of £5000 to replace, it’s just bonkers. I know it’s a bit of a sweeping generalization but most people in the market for a 12-20ish grand car with otherwise very high running costs just can’t afford to pay what would constitute the budget for the family summer holiday on a gearbox on a random basis. Seriously you can get gearboxes for most Ferraris of the same generation for less (not from a main dealer!).

Again I LOVE the car and have the utmost respect for their owners, and I would love to be able to say I could afford to run one, but I’d rather pay a few grand more and get an RS4 and get some more reliability. I however needed an auto as I’m constantly sitting in traffic so a B7 S4 seemed the right choice.

I know this might seem like a bit of a strange post but I think it explains why there are so many for sale and why they seem to be so hard to shift. If you can afford £13k on a car chances are if you have a better half they probably wouldn’t be thrilled with £5K going on a gearbox at any moment.

Anyway, comments welcome

Warrenty is the main answer . I brought mine in august and it didn't have drc but being aware of all the rs6 problems i have invested in an extended warenty

Sure but how much did that cost, it must be over a grand. Whilst I agree it's essential don't nearly all warrenty companies not warrenty RS6's now? Again love the car, but ouch to the costs

I pay £70 p/month for my Luxury Care policy (All in) with Warranty Direct, all mods declared. Successful claims made too worth well in excess of the policy!

Not bad actually, perhaps I should have bought one Would they not claim wear and tear if a gearbox went at say 60k miles?

I pay £57.50 per month for extra care policy with warranty direct which covers everything to the value of the car and is 100% parts and 100% labour.Luckily for me everything that can go wrong has already been sorted prior to me buying the car so when i come to sell the warranty is fully transferrable which adds a few quid to the selling price

RS6_Dave wrote:I pay £70 p/month for my Luxury Care policy (All in) with Warranty Direct, all mods declared. Successful claims made too worth well in excess of the policy!

I know several people that have had sucessful claims for boxes. Ask Grizz, I know he's sorted a few on warranty for members here?

Yep Warranty is the sensible thing.

I would say though that the main reason there are so many for sale at seemingly stupid prices is because these cars are now within the reach of people who may have previously bought Scoobys and Evos or Skylines (no disrespect intended I appreciate these vehicles too although they have their share of mechanical problems too I hear as do Lambos and Astons).

They buy the cheapest car they can find (which probably means its got problems anyway or is a high miler, do little or no research and then as soon as it needs anything apart from fuel they realise they cannot afford to keep it.

This floods the market with cars which have probably been thrashed, had the minimum of maintenance and are offered for sale at a substantial loss.

Anyone who thinks that this is a cheap car to run or maintain is fooling themselves.

I don't want to sound like a Tw@t but .........................

If You aren't sure if You can afford it then You can't.

I took a long time figuring out the financial implications of buying my 6 and still don't regret it, although it's not my daily driver (mostly because I only have a couple of miles to travel to work).

Originally the Gearbox was considered a sealed unit but the high failure rate has meant more owners checking and changing the transmission fluid which seems to help the lifespan.

Also worth mentioning is that this is not meant to be a dragster it was intended to be an executive cruiser, if You up the BHP and treat it like a bitch then eventually something is going to give.

I can't say I've heard too many tales on here of engine failures and the Turbos seem to have a long life if the maintenance is taken care of.

Just my personal opinion of course, hope it helps......

^^ Him above there, that RichRS6 bloke. What he said +1.

Cheers, Bam Bam....

loltastic. FAF.

Cheque arrived this morning from Warrantywise for £3500. Recon gearbox due to failure of forward clutches. Car on 55K. Thanks to TTS Roadsport in Bedford for getting the car sorted.

That's a diddy of a first post RSMOJ!!! You've been lurking on here for a bit too, do you only post when all the conditions are perfect or are ye drunk?

Anyways, welcome RSMOJ. Did you have to contribute or did WW cover it all?

Don't forget to post pics mate, we love pics on here.

It's the breaker of boy racers and dreamers, and without a warranty it can make grown men cry.

It's therefore a car for enthusiasts and carefree risk takers who think 'bollocks, you only live once!'. For those of us with Avants, we have kids and prams and family crap which can get to 60 faster than almost anything else in the world. Sometimes you have to pay for compromise.

Beery words of wisdom? F..k knows...Over and out.

I learnt the hard way, bought a car that drove well on 2 hard tests, checked on VAG.com after both drives and only threw up lambda sensors. Had kW3's fitted and 6k old gearbox so seemed like a winner. 3 months and £4k later and it's booked in next week for new torque converter, hopefully warranty pays out.
Rookie error and hard lesson to learn but have had numerous "quick" jap cars and nothing stacks up in respect if raw power or quality ( with exception of TC).
The way I think about it is that the only difference between the rs6 and a bottom of the range 1.8 a6 is that the rs6 has £60k odd of parts strapped on to it and that's £60k of things that could go wrong and £60k of things that may need to be repaired/replaced.
As a relatively new owner I would advise anyone who is thinking of buying an rs6 to have a "just in case" budget put to one side....... Then double it.
Real Supercar for Mondeo money but repairs can be half of the purchase price if your unlucky (or like me don't get the car checked by someone who really knows them).
Would I do the same again - probably not. Would I still have bought one - hell yes!