This car is a red 2003 Audi RS6 with an automatic transmission, with 450 horsepower V8 engine and Quattro AWD. All RS6’s in the United States were 2003 model year with an automatic transmission. The car is very powerful and luxurious. …and it’s not just powerful, sometimes I turn a corner and wonder if physics stopped working (the Dynamic Ride Control suspension is very neat). This is the pinnacle of Audi engineering imported into the United States.
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/audi-rs-6-first-drive-review
The car has ~83K miles on it. I bought it at ~75K miles in 2013. I drive it at least weekly, but I put on fewer than 4,000 miles on it each year, and I am not a super speed demon.
This car has the optional hot-weather package. The hot weather package may seem unnecessary in Seattle, but it’s actually been nice. The hot weather package consists mostly of darker tinted windows (factory), sun screens, and a vent fan that runs off a solar panel in the sunroof. The vent fan runs on hot days while the car is off, keeping the interior much cooler, even when parked in the sun — and it’s solar, so it doesn’t drain the battery.
If you are looking for an RS6, this is probably the one you want. If you are just looking for a car, you should think about it carefully. To quote the Audi mechanic that I talked to before buying it, “it might not be a $90,000 car any more, but it still has $90,000-car repair costs.” I have taken care of everything for this car, but you should be careful. These specialty-division creations (the real RS’s from Audi, the real M cars from BMW) are engineered for performance, not inexpensive upkeep.
If you are unfamiliar with RS6’s, you should be particularly careful of cars with ~70-80K miles (or any multiple of ~35K miles). At 75K miles, there is a very large scheduled maintenance, including changing the timing belt. This maintenance requires pulling the entire engine out of the car. It costs over $4,000 – I did the maintenance, others often are selling to avoid doing it.
In addition to regular maintenance, I replaced the transmission around 5,000 miles ago – this was a $12,000 piece of work. There are a couple of big/expensive things that can go wrong on this car – the transmission, the torque converter, and the Dynamic Ride Control suspension. I used the “opportunity” of having the engine out of the car to consult the RS6 community about what parts could/should be replaced while the engine was out. It added a couple thousand to the bill, but it meant avoiding problems later. This is the thread I started before the transmission work:
http://www.rs6.com/showthread.php/26034-Transmission-being-replaced…
Recent work (this year):
- Brakes (when the pads wear out, it’s expensive, but these brakes are still pretty new)
- Tires (my luck, I had a flat tire a couple weeks before putting the car up for sale – I got the same OEM tires that Audi put on originally). When I had the puncture, I discovered that the 100% necessary factory spare tire inflator wasn’t in the car when I bought it! I got a replacement that is in the car now.
- Refrigerant (UW Audi couldn’t find a leak, and they put dye in, in case there is one it’ll be obvious, but it’s seems fine)
- Normal maintenance (oil changes, etc.)
Possible mechanical issue:
- I had a cylinder that wasn’t firing properly. UW Audi moved the coils and injectors around, trying to diagnose the problem. It stopped happening and hasn’t recurred (~6 months), so it may be fixed. However, if it recurs, UW Audi should be able to immediately pin-point it, as they recorded which injectors and coils they moved and how.
Non-mechanical issues:
- The factory tinting (hot-weather package) on the back window has some bubbles. I don’t see it anymore, but it may bother some people.
- The left fog-light cover is cracked.
- The piston for holding up the hood needs to be replaced. Audi sent a replacement to my house, which I have in a box, but I haven’t gotten around to replacing it.
- The wheels have some curb-rash, there are a couple chips in the paint, and other things you’d expect to see on a 13 year old car
Otherwise, the car is really very clean for being 13 years old. This car is a beast, but you are also proud to take anyone around in the lap of luxury. If I drove more, I’d probably keep the car, but I just don’t drive enough to justify having the extra car.
feel free to email me with any questions: [email protected]