My C5 RS6

[MalcolmSu]

I came back on here last night for the first time for a couple of years to re-kindle my interest in C5 RS6's.

Nearly 3 years ago I went over to the dark side and bought a new MB A45. The plan was to keep the RS6, make a few repairs to it and keep it as a weekend, fair-weather car - I loved it so much! Not to mention it had cost me so much that I wanted to recoup some of that spend in fun. For those new to the forum, I kept a spreadsheet of repairs and costs. To my surprise, it's still there - http://forum.rs246.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... 20#p502620. It's not been updated since early 2012 but the total cost of ownership must be now closer to £80k!

My plans to keep the RS6 on the road unfortunately, came to nothing when I took ill shortly after getting the MB and wasn't able. So the car has sat in my driveway SORN'd for over 2 years. I did turn the engine over regularly to start with but haven't done for some time - the battery is completely dead now and won't charge. Lockdown and the good weather of late have helped and I did start to give it some attention. To my surprise, it's not too bad. The interior is immaculate - I've just finished doing all the leather - and the exterior isn't that bad. The main bit that needs attention is the front - there are so many stone chips it probably would benefit from a respray. The headlights are quite cloudy too. The wheels are in pretty poor condition, but a complete refurb was always on the cards even a couple of years ago. I'm sure once I get power to it I'll find a few more things that need to be done.

I'm now in a dilemma. Do I spend the time and money getting it roadworthy again are do I pass it on?

I had no idea of the value of the car and did a quick WBAC quote last night and as it stands just now they value it at around £4k - without an MOT. No doubt they would deduct a fair bit for some of the visual things needing fixing. Claiming it had an MOT only added another £200 to the value!

If I do get it roadworthy again it will only ever be used as a second car.

Thoughts? Are C5 RS6's value increasing as collector's items or decreasing?

[Shoppinit]

A lot depends on how many miles it's done.

£4 seems extremely low. WBAC isn't really a good indicator of a cars real value. It's basically minimum book, especially once they actually see it and pull your pants down. I once took a car to them and refused their offer. They seemed genuinely shocked. Most people that turn up are already resigned to selling their car for peanuts and a few less peanuts doesn't matter.

I think the prices will rise. They already are for good ones and plusses. There is still plenty of tat out there suppressing the value, but, like with the RS2 and RS4, they will quickly disappear and good examples will fetch higher prices.

I guess the question is, how much do need a few grand?

There's not much around that will give you the satisfaction of an RS6 if that kind of car is your bag. And, bonus, you already own one. I think you can see which way I would go.

Glad you're in better health now.

[madi]

Hi I have messaged you please check you pM.

Thanks

[ChrisA]

Hi Malcolm

I’m new to the RS6, I brought my “05 85k RS6 two weeks ago for a steel. In my opinion the market must be as low as it can go (although a covid recession may knock a few more pounds of the value).

Personally I think you should keep her. It sounds like you previously put your heart and soul into it and I think you will love getting her back to the place you once had her.

If not it sound like it would make a great project for someone (I’d be interested in her if you do sell) however I dare say it would get broken for parts.

[sweegie]

I'm not 10 miles down the road from you, with exactly the same dilemma a few weeks ago! Mine's been off the road for about 3 years now, primarily due to gaining 2 kids and a Q7 as a family wagon. I've started piecing mine back together on the drive, but was refreshed to see MRC Scotland now operate out of Falkirk, so will be going there for the jobs I can't or don't want to tackle on axle stands.

I have a fair bit of metal corrosion to deal with, as well as a long list of mechanical woes to sort. Still, i'm super happy that i've made a start and would only encourage you to do the same. Happy to pop over for a motivational talk if needs be!

[MalcolmSu]

thanks for all the encouragement guys. I'll work to get her started again and then set a limit for the work that needs to be done.

It was mostly wet today so I didn't get much done so I updated the spreadsheet of what has been done to the car since I bought it in 2008. Pretty frightening really - also as I was typing I was struck by the regularity of certain parts being replaced. Tyres, brake discs, etc I expected, but 4 radiators! I wasn't far off when I said I'd spent £80k on it under my ownership.

I've uploaded the file here https://1drv.ms/x/s!ApZfUSvOallHgspgEJX ... A?e=ZsjC1y. It's in a Microsoft OneDrive - hopefully it is shareable? It has the complete history of the car back to April 2004.

[MalcolmSu]

Hi I have messaged you please check you pM.

Just replied

[MalcolmSu]

A lot depends on how many miles it's done.

£4 seems extremely low. WBAC isn't really a good indicator of a cars real value. It's basically minimum book, especially once they actually see it and pull your pants down. I once took a car to them and refused their offer. They seemed genuinely shocked. Most people that turn up are already resigned to selling their car for peanuts and a few less peanuts doesn't matter.

I guess the question is, how much do need a few grand?

There's not much around that will give you the satisfaction of an RS6 if that kind of car is your bag. And, bonus, you already own one. I think you can see which way I would go.

I'm waiting on a new battery to get some power to it but from memory, it had 185k+ on the clock. I declared that when I got the WBAC quote. To be honest £4k right now would come in handy but a lot of the things needing done like wheel refurb and touching up the front bumper and rear arches are very visible so I'm sure WBAC would knock off a few hundred on each of these. We're still in partial lockdown here in Scotland so their branches are still not open. Not that I'm keen to let it go that route anyway.

I'll price what needs done and balance it against say a £3k WBAC figure and maybe a £5-6k (?) figure if driveable.

I've had a bit of a love-hate relationship with the A45 so certainly agree that there's more satisfaction to be had in a good performing RS6.

[MalcolmSu]

I’m new to the RS6, I brought my “05 85k RS6 two weeks ago for a steel. In my opinion the market must be as low as it can go (although a covid recession may knock a few more pounds of the value).

If not it sound like it would make a great project for someone (I’d be interested in her if you do sell) however I dare say it would get broken for parts.

I got a WBAC quote just under a year ago and when I did the new one at the weekend there I was expecting the worst but to be honest, it only came down by around £200 so they are still holding their price a bit. I'd hate to see her broken for parts - I think there's at least another 40-50k miles in her yet. When you see some of the parts that were done in the last few months before stopped driving it I would hope there wouldn't be any major bills for some time... But then it is an RS6!

[MalcolmSu]

I'm not 10 miles down the road from you, with exactly the same dilemma a few weeks ago! Mine's been off the road for about 3 years now, primarily due to gaining 2 kids and a Q7 as a family wagon. I've started piecing mine back together on the drive, but was refreshed to see MRC Scotland now operate out of Falkirk, so will be going there for the jobs I can't or don't want to tackle on axle stands.

I have a fair bit of metal corrosion to deal with, as well as a long list of mechanical woes to sort. Still, i'm super happy that i've made a start and would only encourage you to do the same. Happy to pop over for a motivational talk if needs be!

Great to hear that. I don't seem to have much in the way of metal corrosion - at least nothing too visible yet. I've had her up on stands and the wheels off and didn't see anything untoward. She's back on wheels and on the ground again. I've an idea of what needs to be done but I'm currently waiting on a new battery getting delivered and I think after that I'll have better idea of the complete list.

Happy to catch up and exchange tales of woe. I'm not working just now so free whenever...

[Astrosquirrel]

Echo the sentiment from Shop - Glad you're back in good health. Now it's time that your RS does the same .

[steve2003rs6]

Echo the above. With the money time and effort you have poured into the car. I would definitely keep and enjoy her.
WBAC way undervalue.
Hope you stay well and safe.

[Mɐʇʇ]

I bought mine in 2014 explicitly because we were gaining 2 kids.

...primarily due to gaining 2 kids...

Anyway - to the original post. IMVHO, I think the C5 RS6 is the last of a generation. The newer platforms are not the same, I think the C5 harks back to a time of greatness. So I think well worth holding on it as long as you don't mind putting the time and effort in to look after it. Maybe they're at the bottom of the market now - who knows. People were saying that 5 years ago, for sure. But certainly, a car that can fit the whole family in, but still make a buddy mutter expletives when we "have a go". Yes please.

[Mark-RS]

So what are we doing ? Keeping it ?

[MalcolmSu]

For the moment I'm progressing with getting it road worthy. I'm waiting in a new battery which will then help show what else is needing done. I'll then make a decision on keep or sell.

A Parker's valuation suggests that the car is worth between £4k (poor) and £6k (good) so that will determine how much I'm willing to spend...