[V8] 4.2A6 Pros and Cons

[Dave]

hi john,

i wouldn't buy a hi-po audi without a warranty - all mine have had one.
that said, i've had very little reason to use one in the 15 years of
ownership from 20v ur-q (no warranty) to s2, rs2, a3, s8, allroad and now
rs6.  i used it to chase an oil leak on the rs6 - lhs rocker cover - the
poor b$stards tried everything they could because they (and i) knew the lhs
rocker cover is an engine out job.  other than that very little has gone
wrong - but i do try to know as much about the vehicle as the shop does - i
have all the usual audi diagnostic tools.  here down-under you can still get
a dealer-certified mechanical warranty for a 2002-3 car - the rs6 has just
come off the (5 year) audi warranty and i've rolled it into a 2-year dealer
warranty for $700usd - but i pay for normal services.  oh and insurance for
my s8 was <$800usd p.a. - the rs6 is $100usd less.

must be because we are a law-abiding country where nothing goes wrong.  yeah
right...

dave
'03 rs6
'04 allroad tdi


On 7/01/09 1:29 PM, "John Cassidy" <jcassidy at diamondconstruction.com> wrote:

> Dave,
> 
> You obviously have great taste in cars!  The '02 S8 (is that a D2?)I was
> considering sold new for $76k, had 49,000 miles, and looked showroom
> fresh and had records.  Guy was asking $22k.  It was the most beautiful
> car I'd ever driven, and the quality was out standing.  Then I started
> looking through the records and saw just how expensive the maintenance
> was.  $1200 to replace an exhaust temperature sender, 1 of 2?  That's
> just one example.  I could have dealt with that, until I got an
> insurance quote.  It was going to be something like $1800 for 6 months!
> And I have a perfect driving record, and was 45 years old, no kids.  For
> comparison, the insurance on my '01 S4 is $178.  An S4 is a far cry from
> an S8, but when you are constrained by a budget, value comes into play.
> I figured I'd need to set aside $500-$600 per month for insurance and
> maintenance.  All the sudden the car didn't look so shiny.
> 
> From what I hear about labor rates on an RS6, an S8 is peanuts.  Is that
> your experience?
> 
> JC