One of my favorite engines of all time is the Lamborghini V10. It is easily one of the best sounding engines I've ever heard. Consequently, I've been playing with the idea of giving the Tiguan to my wife and picking up a 2007-2011 Audi S6 as a DD to satisfy this itch I've had for a while now.

So far, here's the pros/cons list I have made:

Pros
- That glorious V10
- Practical 4-door sedan
- Quattro means it can be driven year-round in the Northeast
- Subtle exterior (I prefer a DD to stay under the radar)
- Solid fit/finish
- Fantastic sport seats
- Used prices are fair
- Did I mention that orgasmic V10???

Cons
- Reliability + cost of ownership are unknown

To that last point, I know no matter which model year I'd buy, it would require a full carbon de-cleaning. The service isn't cheap (~$1,500) but I'd be OK with it...so long as that would be all I'd have to do for at least the next 25-30k miles.

Does anyone have any experience (or know someone with experience) with these cars? Am I most likely going to have to clean out my bank account if I pick one up?

 

Great car. Reliability is about what you'd expect a V10 Audi to be. ie: Poor.

 

Someone here just bought one. I can't remember who but I bet they'll give you all you need to know on gotchas, ownership experience, and what it's like to put 12 quarts of synthetic oil in for an oil change

 

Reliability should be fine as long as it's maintained. I don't have any experience with the S6, but we've owned an A4 (2006) and an A6 (think it was a 2008... can't remember, LOL) and both were awesome. Just as good as any Acura I've owned. We currently have a '10 E350 and it too has been a tank. Have an '02 911 and it too has been fantastic. Again, just need to keep up on maintenance. And yes, it will be more expensive than a Honda... but you've gotta pay to play.

The German's have come a very long way. My tip would be to stay 2005 and newer for Audi. Also, the newer the better... so if your budget can swing it... keep that in mind...

 

Shit, it was Pure Adrenaline ... https://acurazine.com/forums/car-tal...ed-awd-916618/

Totally forgot he traded out of his Hyundai for it. I wonder how it's doing?

 

^ That's an S8 though. An S8 would scare me. As much as I love the A8, they can still have their issues. An A/S4 or A/S6 is fine, but it would take a lot to get me into an A/S8.. even if the engine is similar.

 

Ahh, well I figured same engine and transmission so might be worth some advice but good point

 

I would seek out a Audi forum and ask there. That's a Lambo designed and developed (2003 era) motor so I would not assume anything for German reliability. IIRC that motor had individual ECU's per cylinder bank, and was pretty exotic to boot.

 

Before I purchased my M5, I came very close to purchasing a S6 with the V10. IIRC, that engine requires a pull to do much of anything on it; very tight space under that hood with a V10. That kind of packaging certainly adds to the maintenance expense.

 

Check out Audizine. That's site is very helpful and resourceful.

 

They are some serious sleepers! The styling is so subtle, it's hard to tell most of the time.

Would you consider purchasing a warranty to go with it?

 

BTW, damn you DAYTA. My wife loved her A6 and I know she wants another one... so I started looking around and found a nice sub-40k mile S6 not too far away for under $40k. It's also certified so comes with a 6yr/100k warranty.

Dammit....

 

I say stay away. There are major horror stories of the Q SUV series. Like the entire dash will shut down if there is a hint of moisture.

 

^ Interesting. I know one of the head service techs at a local Audi dealer and talked to him about the Q (b/c it's also on our short list). He's someone I trust b/c he really knows his stuff and has never steered us wrong yet. He had nothing but good things to say about it with very little issues... and they sell a TON of them around here.

 

Do.It.

 

Thanks for everyone's responses.

I have searched Audi forums and Audizine does have a few threads about S6 ownership, but hands on info seems to be tough to get a hold of so I figured I'd ask the well-informed folks here as well .

My friend had a D3 S8 which is where I fell in love with that engine for the first time. Honestly, I much prefer the look of the S8 to the S6 but between more complex electronics and just the sheer size of the car (my 5'0" wife would also have to drive it) means the S6 suits my needs better.

I've read that about the engine bay as well. They really had to wedge the engine into the C6 chassis to make it fit. That would all but eliminate me for even trying to attempt any of the maintenance myself.

I've heard limited space is also the reason why the modification scene is pretty much non-existent for the platform. Pretty much all you can do are bolt-ons + NA tune.

Interesting, but I don't know if I could correlate horror stories across models - especially ones that I wouldn't think share any parts in common.

I know plenty of people with Q5s that have had zero problems with their cars (don't know anyone with a Q7).

Haha, that sounds like a pretty solid deal for a CPO. And damn you back for adding more demand to a market that's already comparatively short on supply.

I would love to add a warranty to it, but I'm not sure which 3rd party policies are good. I guess a CPO is the best way to go, but that would put the 2010-2011s out of my price range (need to keep it closer to $30-32.5k).

I have an extended warranty on my VW Tiguan through the VW Drive Easy program and it's been great so far. Definitely paid for most of itself in the past year.

 

LOL... not to worry... I think the wife squashed it for now... so you may be good.

 

I wonder if Shoofin' can sell extended warranties or knows folks that do. I think Audi dealers sell Fidelity extended warranties.

 

I forgot that I guy I know has one. Or had. He traded it in ... Said he was having issues with injectors and the price tag scared him off.

Probably a worthless anecdote but he did say the extended warranty company spent $20K on repairs in the last year

Edit: Was a 2009.

 

+1 to this. Bought a 3 year extended warranty for our E350 and after 2 years haven't used it once. To be fair, my old TL-S is up to 260k miles and all the functions minus driver's seat heater work. Reliability has definitely come a long way, but don't expect an oil change for the V10 to be on par with the 2.0T either.

 

Doesn't Carmax offer warranties on everything they sell? Including notoriously unreliable and expensive to repair cars.

 

They do and some of them go for more miles than you'd get from a dealer.

 

Good call, guys. Completely forgot about CarMax!

Looks like they actually have three S6s available, two of which are 2010s and are fairly priced especially for their mileage.

Does anyone have experience purchasing from CarMax and their extended warranties? The nearest CarMax to me is over an hour away so it'd be a massive pain for me to have to go them every time I need a service.

 

It's doing okay. It has been to the dealership a couple of times for issues. The first time was an oxygen sensor-related issue that cost over $1,000 to fix at the Audi dealership. Luckily the previous owner's extended warranty was transferred over and covered it.

I'm currently in the process of buying another extended warranty for about $4,600 for 3/36k... from Ford. Audi dealership, through Fidelity, wanted $9,600 for the same package.

It is just difficult to own and maintain. For example, I slipped on black ice 2.5 weeks ago (welcome to Wisconsin?) and the damage wasn't really bad. But it's still in the shop. The wheel had to come from Florida. The knuckle... there are only two in the country. The seals, hard to find.

But none of this matters when I'm driving the car. Audi has mastered the art of brainwashing and blindfolding. The V10 is simply spectacular, no matter how twitchy and high maintenance it can be. It is music to the ears and actually puts a smile on my face every time I give it a go.

I would tell the OP to pull the trigger and enjoy everything the car has to offer. But be ready for the frustrations and nervousness of anticipating what else will go wrong with the car. This is the probably the worst part of owning cars like these. Buy only with an extended warranty and patience.

 

mine has been more reliable than my accord, but then again i don't drive it as much.

 

I think you can take it to your local Audi dealer. They then call CarMax's Warranty center to coordinate reimbursement and deductible.

Give them a call and keep us posted on what they say.

 

Yup, but be advised that they are wising up to this policy. The warranty cost for some of the more...umm...interesting to maintain cars are going through the roof. The warranty on a RR is now $7500. Though warranties for some of the more "common" performance cars is still decent (ie Porsche 911, BMW M3, etc). I'm pretty sure they don't even warranty the E60 M5 and if they do it's insanely expensive.

werd.

You can, and should, take the car anywhere you want including your local Audi dealer. The warranty does not exclude certain places to have the work done. The deductible is usually $50-$100. You can get a quote for the warranty over the phone so just give them a call and ask. I've heard Carmax is pretty much the best car buying experience out there.

They are opening the first CarMax in MN in a few months. I'm kind of excited to see if I can find an unreliable car with warranty there.

 

Their website indicates the availability of the MaxCare plan on the E60 M5s I just looked up; doesn't say the price on that plan, though.

 

Stand corrected. Did some google searching, seems that the E60 M5 warranty is ~$3k-$4k depending on length of warranty.

 

That's about what I paid for the extended warranty on my E60 M5 when I had it. The company that wrote my warranty figured out they were losing their backsides in short order and and jacked up the price on new warranties by a factor of three. Seems they ended up having to replace a couple of engines. At $30k a pop it pretty much destroyed any semblance of profitability on those things.

 

We bought my wife's 2011 Range Rover Sport from CarMax.

They are incompetent. They tout themselves to be better and different from dealerships, but it's all the same. If anything, the service is worse because they are not expert on any of the brands.

For example, they couldn't find the other key. Dropped the car off to get that done and a couple of other things. They forgot about the key. The second visit, they insisted on using their regular locksmith. They damaged the entire unit and the car had to be towed to Land Rover. When we got the car back, the body panel that covers the front tow hook was missing. The reviews on MaxCare is terrible, too. I probably will not buy from CarMax again.

 

^ I have not heard great things about them either.

20/20 or Dateline or one of those shows did a hidden camera thing with them a few weeks ago and it was just cringe-worthy. I felt so bad for the salesmen on camera... they acted like they knew so much but were just spouting BS... and it was caught on camera for the whole nation to see...

 

that was an eye-opening episode. Won't be shopping at CarMax anytime soon. But it's probably no different than any other used car dealer.

 

hory shet!

I love those V10s but damn.

 

Called up CarMax last night and all of the above is correct. For a 5yr / up to 100k mile warranty (car has 48k miles) on a 2010 Audi S6, the cost is $3,350 with a $100 deductible per incident. That's not too bad and not that far off from the extended warranty price I have for my Tiguan (Drive Easy through Fidelity).

Interesting points, can you elaborate on what the 20/20 episode revealed?

Ultimately, I wouldn't care if they didn't know anything about the cars. I've done my research, know what to look for, and when to walk away. As long as the car is in good order, that's the most important thing.

Coincidentally, the closest CarMax to me is also 5-10 miles away from Excelerate Performance (site vendor). I have been working with them for almost a decade now and trust them implicitly. I would have the car shipped to CarMax and have Excelerate's techs look it over before I purchased which would give me peace of mind.

About the warranty, I've read both good things and bad things about it. Mostly, the negatives are coming from either mechanics who have had trouble dealing with them (but in the end get remibursed) or people who are shocked to find that wearable items (brake pads, oil changes, etc) is not covered by the warranty. I am completely fine with paying out of pocket for regular maintenance costs (though oil changes on a 5.2L engine will sting). I just want to make sure that I am protected in the event of a (financially) catastrophic failure.

 

My sister bought her 2012 TSX recently from them and it was a really painless experience for her. I was there for the entire process and for cars like that and customers like my sister, I think CarMax makes a lot of sense.

We're far beyond the average customer and I think we demand a lot more from dealers.

 

Unfortunately I didn't catch the whole segment since we really don't watch that stuff... but when flipping channels it caught my eye.

From what I saw they had cameras in different CarMax dealerships and these guys were basically your typical used car salesmen (something CarMax advertises it is not). In one case the sales guy told them it goes through an inspection and background check and all cars on the lot are clean, no recalls, CarFax clean, etc. as per CarMax policy. Then 20/20 ran their own check and found open recalls, accident reports (one with a bent frame), etc. Like NSXNEXT said, likely no different then a generic used car lot... but again, that is something CarMax fights to be associated with, yet a lot of their tactics were the same.

You can watch the episode in the link below (if your provider is not listed for verification it should be available w/o verification tomorrow or Saturday). Pretty sure the CarMax bit was the first segment...

20/20 : 2020 12/12: The Sell Game Watch Full Episode | 12/12/2014 - ABC.com

 

Btw, can't stop listening to how incredible this car sounds with just an exhaust:


No joke - have this vid on repeat .

 

Just came to post that exact video. 0:40 is memorizing

 

But how is he driving without a KEY??!