Any thoughts on this?

[tombs]

I'm now looking at RS6's as my next car, seen this and had a good chat with the guy, seems a reasonable purchase..any thoughts on this and what I should possibly look out for? Your opinions appreciated.

ebay: 180025849256 also on Autotrader.

Cheers Tom

[MarkB]

The bonnet looks like it's been painted to me, doesn't quite match. The front windows look very dark, are they the legal tint level?

[CliveH]

Good price for the age/mileage/spec Tom.

I think it's difficult to tell much from those pictures - Mark's observations may well be founded or may just be the quality/lighting of the photos.
I would certainly go and take a good look at her - good luck

[tombs]

Mmm, yes I think its a case of going to look at her, she has had 3 or 4 owners (Cant remember what he said), has had 4 services and the big one done by Fontain (the rest by Audi). Nice spec, what ive found though and I think is always a shame is that he only has the one key! Kinda makes me a little nervous...But having said that I only had the one key on my RS4.

[MarkB]

Go take a look, you know you want to...

[tombs]

I know....thats the problem, bloody cars....I'm almost hooked before Ive even jumped in the damn thing! (off subject but I have to ask, Mark did those centre caps fit?)

[CliveH]

he only has the one key! Kinda makes me a little nervous...But having said that I only had the one key on my RS4.

Tom, she'll run fine with just the one key, really - see, your RS4 had twin turbos and just the one key - any complaints...? (sorry, couldnt resist it)

If you're going up to Northumberland to see her, dont forgot to call in for a cuppa on the way - in fact, I might just come with you if there's room...

[tombs]

LOL, good one..like it...cheeky

[AntS4]

Tom,

The usuals to look for:

Brake wear - £1,100 discs (solid)and pads all round, drilled discs add £150 (Dealer prices fitted with VAT incl). Brakes last between 15K miles if your mad, 35K if your not. Pads are generally replaced once during the life of a disc. Pads are expensive at around £235 a pair.
Tyres - £220 a corner
Cam Belt service - sounds like its been done but you must must check.
Suspension - DRC. As all the shocks are oil filled and work in diagonals via electric pumps linked into the APS system. If there is any sign of oil or wetness on the shocks or around the accumulators walk away. The backs generally go if they go. V. Expensive to fix.

What warranty will the dealer give you, assuming it is a dealer? Essentially year 4 warranties, lasting 1 year, are around £1200 to buy privately at the moment if that gives you an indication of the gamble of warranties?

A new key will be around £100

The only other thing I can think of is the gearbox... check for smooth changing and no clunkiness when coming off the gas and then going back on again. Mine does it a bit in 3rd but is not considered an issue. I am not too worried as I have another 14 months of warranty, however its worth a look at.

Otherwise, I would say that it's sensible money and depending on what the quality tyres and brakes are like you may be able to get the guy down further. Ask him how long he has had it as these cars tend to sit around for a while in independent dealers.

Best colour though ... Daytona Grey!

[tombs]

Hi AntS4,

Thanks for the info, he says the Cambelt has been done but your right i will check this out with Fontain. He says he has all the stamps, he has had this car for around 2-3month's now, and he bought not really to trade but for his wife, but she cant get on with it. He sounds a genuine guy and the car looks ok.

Ive read about the DRC's being the "weak" link in these cars, does anyone have any pictures of what I should be looking?

Cheers

Tom

[Rupert]

does anyone have any pictures of what I should be looking?

There are some diagrams and pics of leaks here:

http://www.rs246.com/index.php?name=PNp ... c&start=15

If the car still has any warrantee on it the DRC can/will be fixed under that.

[SteveH]

Yes ~ can't find where I posted it though, I wrote a thread with a mini-guide of what to look out for with pictures included. Sorry, not great help there!

[Rich_C]

Hi Tombs,

If your thinking seriously about coming up to have a look at the car then drop me a line and I'll meet up with you as it's in my neck of the woods - that way you can compare 2 daytona saloons side by side. If you don't fancy the drive you'll be able to get a BMI flight from Heathrow to Teesside Airport (Bedlington is about an hour away) or BA up to Newcastle (Bedlington is about 15 minutes away) - wouldn't be a problem to pick you up if it's an evening or weekend.

Do you know if the car has been regularly serviced at Newcastle Audi? - if so I can try and find out a bit about the car from my dealership as they're part of the same group. I would also advocate getting it checked out at an Audi dealership before finalising the deal ... if you get that far. If memory serves me correctly it costs about £150 for them to assess the car for you - you get a report back which should highlight any issues (e.g. tyres, discs, DRC, etc). My dealership is well used to dealing with RS6's (mine in particular) so I'm sure you'd get an honest report back - never dealt with Newcastle Audi so can't vouch one way or the other.

Regarding the car itself - it's very difficult to judge based on the photo's but here are my thoughts based on what I can see ... from the pictures the car looks clean (e.g. paintwork seems good & panels line up). The screens in the head rest are a nice touch. The window tints on mine always seem much darker on photo's than they are in reality so as far as the ad goes they might not be quite as dark as they first appear. As for things to look for I think AntS4 has pretty much got it covered.

In all honesty the car does seem quite familiar probably because of the screens in the headrests. It looks very similar to one that was floating around in the ads just after Christmas where it was being sold in the Bradford area. Personally, I'd be wanting to know more about it's past life and if the current owner hasn't had it too long why is he shifting it on so soon.

As a bit of personal advice - you might want to have a think how much these cost to keep running (... I'm certainly not implying you can't afford it) but even now I wince at how much fuel I have to put in it on a weekly basis plus all the servicing & consumable costs ... now that's enough thinking with your head and lets get back to your heart ... some things you might want to factor in for future improvements are ... remaps, exhaust, springs, Phatbox (a must have in my opinion) ... it won't take long for temptation to set in I can assure you!!!

Rich.

[tombs]

Rich C,

Thankyou for the offer to meet and help out, I'm thinking hard on this particular car and have spoken to the guy a few times about its history. It and he sounds right, he bought it for the wife to run the kids round in, ut she cant get on with it. He has read back to me the service details and its had 4 including the big one (belts etc) all done at Audi bar Fontain.

I'm havng a think on it this weekend, but I must admit I am very very keen.

As for running costs, well my RS4 was no "budget" run around, so I'm used to high expensive fuel bills etc...

Who's your dealership Rich? And I think I may suggest to guy selling that I'd like it checked over by Audi before I commit to coming all that way.

Thanks for the advice all, I think I now know what it is to look out for, and Rich I'll be in touch if I do come to see the car, cheers

Tom

[Rich_C]

No probs Tombs ... just drop me a line if you plan to come up.

My local dealership is Teesside Audi who are part of the Lookers group - the same as Newcastle Audi - I can pm you contact numbers etc if you require them.

If your going to get the check done make sure you pay for it so you get the report back - the seller won't see it unless you authorise it. That way you get the full facts about the condition of the car rather than what the seller wants you to see. When I had my check done I asked them to specifically check out the suspension, brakes, tyre life, etc. They reported back that the front discs were marginally warped and would require replacing and there wasn't much life left in the front tyres which I was able to use as a bargaining chip. For the amount of money it costs I think it's essential if buying privately or from a non-Audi franchise.

Hope the deliberating isn't causing you too much heart-ache/head-ache.

Rich.