Used C6 RS6 as a daily driver?

[TS811]

I'm getting the urge to buy a C6 RS6 as a daily driver. Good or bad idea? Will a 4k (CHF) annual service/maintenance budget be sufficient? How is parts availability for repairs? My B7 RS4 spent quite a bit of time in the Shop for some simple parts, but that's not my daily driver so it didn't bother me.

Thanks in advance!

[Jim Haseltine]

I used mine as a daily for most of my last four years before retirement - something between 50 and 70 miles daily depending on which route I felt like taking. That and the other miles I did used a tank of fuel about every 6 days. I took it off the road to deal with smoking turbos and 'the' oil leak about 6 months before my last day at work, luckily by then my daughter was living in Japan so I had unrestricted use of her car. I don't remember having to wait for more than a week for any parts prior to that point.

[IanH755]

In my 9 years of ownership, it was a daily driver on a 50 mile commute for about 3 years, then I moved abroad for 4 years and drove it once/twice a year, and now I've been back now for 2 years its a "once a week" car, as my commute is <3 miles each way (waste of an RS6 for that).

In those 3 years of daily driving, other than a few months for the 900hp+ conversion, it was on the road everyday inc weekends and it was reliable, never being broken down etc.

Outside of "the usual" things to check on any C6 RS6, no-one can predict exactly how much a car will cost as a yearly sum for maint but 4k CHF (£3.5k after conversion) seems reasonable. However, be aware that due to the advancing age of these cars, some parts are becoming much harder to get and therefore more expensive vs pre-COVID times.

[RSrich81]

I daily mine and love it, 4k should be ok but make sure you get one which has had all the common and age related issues done. I have just had the engine out of mine and done everything so hopefully be good to me.
As others have said some bits are getting hard to source now for example DRC parts

Rich

[TS811]

Thanks! How much did the engine out job cost? I assume that would be on the higher end of the potential repair bills?

I'm looking at one which is on 180k kms / 111k miles and has just been serviced at an Audi dealer. Not sure if it's had the oil pump seal or coolant pipes replaced.

[IanH755]

From my experience (3x engine in/out) In the UK at a specialist like Unit20, MRC etc etc it'd be near £3k for the engine and GB to be removed/refitted - then there those sneaky extras costs involved of "well the engines now out and we found XYZ needs doing" or "Whilst the engine is out, at this mileage you'd be wise to also change XYZ just in case" etc.

[Jim Haseltine]

Having pulled my engine a number of times I feel confident in asserting that you have to go some to do it in less than two days and you're looking at even longer for refitting - call it at least 30 hours labour. Then there's new oil and coolant, power steering refill and an air-con recharge to name a few bits & bobs.

[RSrich81]

Thanks! How much did the engine out job cost? I assume that would be on the higher end of the potential repair bills?

I'm looking at one which is on 180k kms / 111k miles and has just been serviced at an Audi dealer. Not sure if it's had the oil pump seal or coolant pipes replaced.

I did the engine myself so only cost me parts, I brought mine knowing it needed to have the engine out so got a very good discount on the car.
When looking at others which had had the oil leaks etc done they cost 3-6k depending on what they find. If it needs doing on a car then get that knocked off the price.

There are lots of other seals/o-rings that might need doing, mines only done 72k but pretty much all the o-rings/seals wanted doing. The cars are getting old now. You only know once the engine is out.

Rich

[NICKH]

My car is still low miles at 57k but I have just spent over £1k on full service with new plugs and coil packs (1 had started to fail so i replaced them all), £2.5k on 4 new DRC suspension flexi pipes (started weeping) and 2 new rear coil springs (1 had snapped), then another £1k+ on a fresh set of MPS4S's (mine were over 5 years old now so I replaced them) plus over £2.5k on fresh front & rear discs and pads (I upgraded to RB Racing Rotors BBK). So that's £7k on maintenance and refreshing parts without having to spend on unforeseen repairs as they are very reliable cars IF YOU DO THE PREVENTITIVE MAINTENANCE.

I had already done the dreaded engine/gearbox oil seal, coolant pipes (fitted new set of FULL pipes not just a repair of the old ones), suspension arms, engine oil tank (they corrode) and replacement intercoolers (1 was leaking so I upgraded to full Wagner setup) during my ownership.

Overall, I would say that I have spent maybe £25k over my 9 years of ownership but the car only does around 3K miles a year.

[TS811]

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated!