advice for rs6 v10

[Skiwi44]

Interesting to review this conversation. I currently have a C6 RS6 and a B9 RS5 Coupe. I used to own a 20v Ur-q. I concur with Jim H's views - you don't buy and own these vehicles for their resale value. I sold my pristine 20v back in 2004 for about 30% "profit" from what I paid for it after owning it for 6 or so years.The guy I sold to I believe still has the car and it is now "worth" over twice what he paid for it. I had got Walter Rohl’s signature on the sun visor, he also got Stiq Blomquist’s on the other one!

I still miss the 20v but....

1) I had an RS2 and a 20v Ur-Q at the same time (I used to have a 10v Ur-Q) and it was not a practical ownership experience. That they are both now in the fast ascending value stakes is actually pretty immaterial. With the time, money and effort it would have taken to have 2 "garage queens", the opportunity cost to me was too great. I chose instead to invest in property so the I could put my kids through their education. Given how that turned out, I have no regrets whatsoever.

2) Owning a "garage queen" means that you are very limited in what you can do to the car. Whilst I put AP-Racing brakes on the 20v, I keep the old callipers so that the new owner could bring the car back to "original". I refused to "mod" the engine in any way whatsoever. On the other hand, I have no such thoughts with my C6 RS6. Last year I upgraded the MMI and an CarPlay which makes the car feel so much more modern and enhances it's value as a great motorway cruiser (albeit an expensive one).

3) I had the opportunity a few months back to sit in a 20v in a dealer. Not for sale, mind you. It was clear that the car wasn't original (it had the Dialynx bonnet, non-original wheels) - although it was one of only 3 sold new in NZ. Also, the youngish men in the dealership had no idea about the car (disconcerting). The doors clanged, and felt paperweight, the interior, despite the leather, was full of hard plastics, electronics non-existant, the seats were basic etc. etc. I realised pretty quickly that my old car was very very happy sitting in my memory where it will never be displaced as a car which I thoroughly loved (it was my wedding car). It was a car that the great journalist Roger Bell described in CAR as "The definitive version of the decade-old Quattro is dynamically one of the great cars of our age, a powerhouse paragon of staggering ability. More than that, its great tactility makes it a wonderfully involving driving tool."

4) For me, it is almost impossible to discern any familial relationship between the 20v Quattro and any of the other fast Audi’s I’ve owned - not the C5 and C6 RS6's, not the RS2, nor the S8 or S2. It is only the B9 RS Coupe that I'm driving that reminds me of the 20v. Looks are at least familial (C-pillar treatment, box arches), but the combination of the low-down torque, turn-in and punch out of corners (my B9 has the sport diff), has brought a smile to my face in a way that none of the other Audi's save the 20v have done. the RS5 Coupe won’t appreciate in value, but it is a great ownership experience, as long as I can keep the bills at bay…

All this is by way of asking a question. A friend of mine suggested that I garage the C6 RS6 in a warehouse and get it periodically fettled and “wait for it to appreciate”. I think that’s crazy, but what do people on this forum think?

[TS811]

The C6 RS6 is just a great engine. And not even all that great actually, not like the N/A 4.2 for example, it's rather the fact that it has some Lamborghini heritage and no business being in an A6 body. But as a car it's not all that amazing.

Consider the following:
- the Lancia Thema 8.32 has an amazing Ferrari V8 engine but isn't an amazing car otherwise. Worth 20-40k EUR today.
- Similar era M3s don't have a particularly amazing engine but were excellent cars overall. Start at 60k EUR with high miles and go easily past 100-200k.

RS6s (C5 and C6 only) may maintain their value if well kept but I wouldn't expect any appreciation. From the "modern classic" Audi range I can only see manual cars going up in value: B5 and B7 RS4, manual TT 3.2, manual R8.