RS6 Avant Vs. B6S4 Avant

[chrisoffer]

Hi RS'ers - I just posted this one last night in the RS6 forum, but thought I should probably also post it in here, so I can weigh the opinions from fans of the two cars

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Hi RS'ers

An entire family (from Denmark) loving Audis and driving A4 cab and A8 at the moment being on the 6'th Audi in the family, me having had an B5 RS4 a little while ago- loved it to bits.

When the three of us started looking for a car we could all enjoy for the summerhouse we contemplated the E60 530DA Touring. But having found out we only drive about 4.000 miles a year during vacation and finding RS6's being close in price, we actually decided on an RS6 for the summerhouse because it's such a fun car.

Then I stumpled upon this forum and got pretty dismayed reading about the costs of having an RS6 on the road.
Now we are contemplating an B6 S4 Tip. instead as there seems to be less (almost zero) problems associated with running these.

I gather these are the main issues with the RS6: DRC, Gearbox, Chainbelt.
How expensive are the Bilstein, a new gearbox (if it goes wrong), and chainbelt service (how often)?

From what I can read there isn't any worries associated with the S4, correct me if I am wrong.

We all love the looks of the RS6, the noise and the immense power. But it looks to be 4.000 very expensive miles a year if going the RS6 route when factoring in the costs?

Anyone had both that can give a comparison?

Thanks a lot everyone, I enjoy having found this forum there are lots of incredibly knowledgable people inhere!

Best regards

[nidfix]

Hello,

These are two quite different beasts.
The RS6 even if it is an RS is still a big car and feels like a big car. The pro is that you have far more room than in the S4, the con is that on twisty road...
I guess you know already that well.

Extra service to consider:
- Nothing on the chainbelt. However there is the accessories rubber belt that requires to remove the front to get access and to change it. Audi recommends every 120000Km but I doubt it will actually last more than 90000Kms.
- Tiptronic gearbox: no price to give you but it is a good idea to consider an oil service after 100-120000Kms
- Coolant in the air co to refill every 4 years
- Battery: It is a big and large one which is not very cheap (you need power to start the V8 ).

To finish, you will hear a little rattle every time you start the engine. It is the only whistle I found for the time being in that car. Don't waste your time trying to fix it. It is normal and as far as I know, there is no way to cure it.

Beyond that it is a very good car, very discreet

[chrisoffer]

Hi Nidfix

Thank you very much for the reply. I am leaning more towards the S4 now, I just can't see that much to go wrong with it. It actually seems to be "bulletproof".
We wont be going much more than 100Mph anyway since the ticket are just too steep so I wonder if the more powerful is actually needed to be fun.
The looks and the noise of the RS6 is just so addictive.

Still haven't decided yet but am very grateful for the good replies I have already, very informative and something to build a decission on- Thanks!

Best regards