Guys I need some assistance as I am in negotiations in buying a 2004 RS6 it has 58000 miles on it.
Runs good, small odor of antifreeze so I’m getting that checked out, other than that what do I need to look for? Stay on top off?


Black on Black - clean.


All help is very much appreciated as this is going for 25 grand so I don’t want to be buying a Lemon

 

Check the tranmision and see if the timing belt has been done. I know these cars can be pricey to maintain out of warantee so well maintained cars are worth a premium. If the car has been modded with a chip make sure it shifts well as chipped cars have shown to have some quirky trans issues.

Phil@ detailers domain had a fairly modified car so you may want to PM him to see what he thinks....

 

thanks Alan, its bone stock, trans feels a bit slugish but that may be just me,
no belt done.

 

Transmision is one of the weak links on this car. If it has been abused or driven hard you might want to have the trans checked out as replacing fixing these is very expensive. I know of one owner who sold his car due to a faulty transmision.

Timing belt job will add quite a bit to the cost of ownership depending on the shop that does it for you. The dealership is going to charge you a arm and a leg obviously so if you have a good local indy that would be the way to go with that.....

Good luck! And I can't believe your car hasn't sold yet damn...

 

2004? I know the US only ever got 2003 model - didnt know the 04's ended up in Canada.

Check to see if the DRC suspension recall was done. Its not an easy fix and many dealers struggled to get it right. Some of the early fixes altered the ride height quite a bit (higher) which is what happened to mine when it was done.

Other than that, I had a 03 RS6 for several years without any real troubles.

 

TO be honest i dont care if it sells or not i just in and get a great rush! my wife would kill me anywyas if i sold it. she loves it and says i would go nuts if i didnt have it.


Thanks I will look into that recall.

Yes only 90 were brought into Canada and this is 1 of them it is a Fantastic car just to hammer around with, I had a kid in a Mustang in aww when i pulled up to him and hammered it .

 

The DRC suspension can be swapped out w/ either a Stasis system or KWs

 

the DRC was just done in January of this year! yippy!

 

Easy upgrade of headunit to the "RNS-E" nav system. Also easy to add the OEM bluetooth if the car has the old (and now useless) OnStar. All factory wiring and use of factory microphone and GPS antennas. I'm not too mechanically inclined, but I did both myself in a weekend.

RS6 is still near the top of most favorite cars ever owned. For the money you are talking, its hard to find anything that beats it.

 

Thanks i will keep it in mind if the deal goes through

 

Try to get the transmission and ECU scanned by an independent shop or party if possible. If there are faults, they will be stored and do not necessarily become apparent until its too late. Find out when and if the O2 sensors have been replaced or the EGT's. These unfortunately need the engine to be removed to do so. Also, make sure the intercoolers don't leak at the end tanks.

What's the life of the rotors? These are another big ticket item. As was mentioned, make sure that the timing belt service has been done recently, regardless of miles...it's now a 6 year old car.

Highly recommend doing a search/ask questions here:

http://www.rs6.com/forumdisplay.php/2-RS6-S6-S8

They have a much more knowledgeable group when it comes to this beast! Best of luck!

 

I think everyone one has mentioned everything that you should check for:

Tranny- the weak link in the rs6
Timing belt- Off the top of my head I think the factory suggests changing it every 40k miles
o2 sensors
Egt's
Rotors- these things have huge brakes, fairly pricey.
Turbos- See if they were ever replaced. I'd dont think that these cars had a problem with the turbos blowing like the ko3s in the s4, but just something to check.

 

Had it scanned yesterday, The O2 left bank keeps coming up, he did mention to me that it was just reset and comes up every two weeks, other then that, everything else was tight and clean, Timing belt was never changed.

I will have a look at the RS6 forum


thanks!

Brakes looked really good so that it a saving point, End taks showed some dried oil but that is common iwth these i was told

As for Trans Hard to tell it shifts good, holds the power

 

Dried oil is mostly indicative of them leaking.... The O2 sensors are coming up for a reason. Sure anyone can reset them with a Vag-Com, drive 40 miles, then they will trigger a CEL again. Indicative of them needing to be replaced. Not sure how things are in Canada, but this wouldn't pass emissions in the US.

I would negotiate a price based on these points and the fact that it needs a timing belt done.

 

Very true, I already had him drop another 1500.00 because of it.

Looks like i am buying a RS6

thanks for the imput