Wanted RS4 (B5) or RS6 (C5) way down in New Zealand

[weta.worker]

hi guys, this is my first post to this forum

i've been reading now for a while (buying guides, mechanical issues and so forth) which has been great! loads of knowledge!

I still haven't made my mind up with what car I actually want (RS4 B5 or RS6 C5) which is my biggest problem!

Another problem I do have is that their are very limited numbers of these cars in New Zealand.

I'm hoping that some from NZ is on this forum, has a RS B5 or C5 and is wanting to sell it! What are the chances?

What cars I have seen have pricing range from around 45k NZD > 55k NZD for a B5 to 45K > 65K NZD for a C5.

And I haven't even test driven any cars yet! (as I've not really liked any of the ones I've seen on the Internet (mostly www.trademe.co.nz) or they are in an entirely different part of the country. So I really need to be certain of the vehicle and pricing before flying up the country to test.

I'm from a Subaru background (STI's and Legacys) so now it's time to step up into the big boys league. We've got a one year old son and hoping to add more to the family so space could be an issue. Although any station wagon will trump the sedan we have now.

I really miss the manual (I've got a auto Legacy at the mo) so wanted the RS4, but this will probably be my only chance to splash out for a car so not sure if I should get more of a refined RS6 or the more playful RS4...

The Legacy has an awful auto 'tiptronic' , slow as hell and unpredictable with revs changing down. How is the RS6 changes? If it's snappy and responsive then maybe the RS6 is the way to go?

That's the main decision for me. Manual or Auto...

Or are there other things that I really need to think about when choosing between these two cars?

Is the size difference between the cars really that noticeable?

Many thanks!

John

[Contigo]

Hi John, Welcome to the forums! Lovely country NZ, Love Auckland, Great City!

Anyway, good choice of cars! I have the B5 RS and it's a great car. I've also moved from Scoobys and Evo's in the past and the B5 is in a different league. Having 400bhp with a manual box is also a real novelty and obvisouly a big deciding factor for me between the 4 and the 6. The other thing is tha running costs, whilst there's not a massive amount between the two the 6 always put me off due to problems with the gearbox and DRC. That's not to say that the 4 doesn't have it's share of problems, read on here about Cam issues too before buying and check them too on the car you want as it could cost you 2.5K to correct in the future (that's GBP not NZD!!!)

In terms of space, we have a 2 yr old and the 4 is just big enough, I really could do with the extra legroom of the 6 to really make thing more comfortable and if she ever has a sibling then it's going to be a real squeeze in the back as I have my chair right back and there's no room behind my seat for another car seat!!!! The 6 does give you an extra few inches of legroom but boot space is not massively different.

Hope that helps a bit and let us know what you decide to do.

Thanks

Phil

[weta.worker]

Thanks so much Phil!

I'll have a dig around and see if I can find some info on the cam issues you mention.

I've seen loads of postings for the C5 mentioning the gear box and DRC issues.

Oh, I'm way down in Wellington as well. So far less people and far less RS's!

Thanks again



John