Audi S6 Avant V10 wanted

[gholloway81]

Hi

S6 V10 Avant wanted, not too high mileage and well looked after.

thanks.

[gholloway81]

Hi all,

new to this forum but I am hunting for a well looked after S6 Avant but not too many about!

i have seen this one that although is slightly older than I would like has low miles, i will be going to give it a test drive so does anyone have any tips on what to look out for and is buying a 11 year old S6 worth it in terms of maintenance - not worried about fuel economy as its only really a weekend car.

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/ ... dr/6850742


all help much appreciated

[S4WON]

The majority of activity here is on the RS models,
However my uneducated advice would be to look at the C6 rs6 threads for common issues and there are some, some of which are also very expensive (oil seal)

That said, im a 4 man, so take this advice with a pinch of salt

[travs]

S4WON is partly correct - the majority of activity everywhere is RS6; and who can argue - its an epic car. There are very little S6s on the road which is what makes it such a great purchase.

Do look at the thread for buying tips etc. On here and over on audisrs (sorry to mention the enemy but its helpful).

Also, take the Options list with a pinch of salt. For example, rear parking sensors were standard, the option is to have front and rear that gives you the display too. When I was looking I managed to find the original brochure and spent a load of time documenting what, per Audi, was standard and option on the S6. Drop me your email in PM and I'll send it to you.

Maintenance-wise - the main issues seem to be:
1) A waterleak that will mostly likely come from the header tank or a pipe near it or, failing that, the thermostat. The latter is not difficult to change and is accessible from below, drivers side, just behind the front bumper. Header tank is also easy and, thankfully, is a common part.
2) The inlet will coke-up at some point due to the FSI design. Similar but not as bad as 4.2 RS4 V8s (this engine is "broadly" based on that I believe) and there are ways to minimise it (run engine at 3000rpm for 15 minutes regularly to run hotter and help burn off some carbon) but it will be something that happens eventually at some point.
3) Gearbox service - change the gearbox oil if it hasn't been done; ZF unit that has a full refurb kit including the bottom tray. Needs to be done around the 65k mileage I think (someone can correct me). Also, there is a way you can change the oil using pipe that sucks about an extra litre out of the torque converter. Some "specialists" told me they'd never heard of it. Go to the ones that do.

Good luck and if you want me to help I'll be glad to. I'm based on London/Surrey borders.

[travs]

Typical trader- advertises 65k miles, then shoots self in foot showing dash clock at 68k.
Mine got under my skin by telling me he'd only had the car a couple of weeks when the dash picture showed the date as november when it was late January. Massive surprise.

[it_s8]

In the interests of disclosure, I'm a huge Audi enthusiast turned part time trader, but don't shoot me just yet.

I have an S6 avant at the moment with higher miles than you're looking for, same year. One advantage of the 2006/2007 S6's is that they tend to be higher spec. Back then, there was no RS, so if you wanted a big boot and lots of power, the S6 avant was the only real place folks could go. 2008 onwards and the same people could choose the RS instead....

2009+ models will see facelift bits and 3G MMI but tend to have a huge price premium.

I've personally run the S6, and the RS6 for client site visits, and they are oh so similar to sit in, and then completely different to own and drive. Mechanically, there is little overlap in the issues seen in my experience.

With the RS, worry about the oil seal, DRC, correct servicing, cowboy performance mods and history.

With the S, the only real common issue is the inlet manifold, which has been known to get noisy and fail > 120K, but seems to come in at about 2K worst case to replace, although refurb is often done cheaper. Suspension, gearbox, interiors are all straightforward C6 really, and just tend to last.

Given the uber-rarity of the S6, your best bet for mechanical insight is to sniff round the A8 forums and do your research on the D3 S8. - Its essentially exactly the same engine, squeezed under a smaller bonnet, making 420 bhp instead of the D3's 450bhp.

So in summary, I wouldn't really worry about the age, nor would I get too excited about the mileage. A lower mileage one won't necessarily drive that much better, and in fact is symptomatic of potentially non-motorway use, lots of stop/starts on cold oil.

If its a bit of a dream weekend car, I'd probably look more into the spec and colour you want, and then just ensure that whatever you buy is good value based on the age/year.

That particular car doesn't seem bad value, but has little spec. In fact, the only noteworthy thing on its spec sheet is S9T 'Special vehicle for market launch' which suggests that its was one of the very first S6's built, although why they built it 'specially' with no options on it is a bit of a wonder !

Hope you find yourself a nice one, they're a seriously underrated piece of kit