On the hunt...
 

Well after months of long deliberation iv narrowed it down to 2 cars.

2003, 106k miles, gearbox rebuild (still to confirm), bilstein suspension, milltek and possibly 480bhp (awaiting confirmation of who tuned it).
Its silver with platinum leather.

option 2

2003, 127k, gearbox rebuild 30k ago, original DRC, milltek, and confirmed 515BHP MTM ecu/tcu upgrade.
Its grey with black leather.

Both are former rs246 members club cars so iv managed to confirm history and that both have been looked after -

what the hell do I do? I really prefer grey/black combo but im certain the other one is gonna be a beaut as well.
The silver one is local and if I don't go for it, im pretty sure it will be sold by the time I see the grey one - I suspect the silver will be in slightly better condition though.

From your description Dave, the grey sounds a better option. Colour combo (although personal taste) is far better +++. Shame it's not had the DRC ditched, but with the MTM upgrade it sounds like a hoot! :cool:

Not much help I know..but how about one each for you and the Mrs?


:):)

Black leather for me over platinum, also with the grey it sounds a good combo.

MTM from what I have read do a good job and it sounds like a perfect runabout to me +++

I was tempted by a couple of close to home S8s but in the end went North of Edinburgh for mine and it was worth the trip. Get the right car which is not necessarily the easiest car to buy.

Thanks for the input guys.

I prefer the grey/black colour combo myself - although each is a beautiful car.

The silver one has led a pampered life, iv been in contact with its previous owners and its definitely running MRC stage 1 at the very least - so that 480 bhp and a Milltek exhaust (that's 850 quid remap and 1200 quid exhaust, as well as 1k bilstein coilovers) 2 of the 3 previous owners have said its mint & the best RS6 they've owned.
Im not sure of the calibre of said gearbox rebuild or the extent of it.
My head says the silver one- if it had black leather and 100% quality gearbox rebuild I wouldn't think twice about it.
The other issue is that i dont think the owner of the silver car knows about the stage one tune and exhaust as he never mentioned them in thee advert.

On the other hand, the Grey one is also a beaut. Iv been in contact with one of the previous owner who conforms a gearbox rebuild which he got done, he spent a fortune on it, its got MTM ecu, MTM tcu - detuned to 515bhp from the possible 525 as to not blow up the gearbox(probably the best part of 2-3k) again, milltek exhaust - running the original DRC (not a massive issue), another owners club car but has been driven harder and maybe not pampered as much.
My heart says this one...

Im looking at the silver one on Saturday, and if I don't buy it I suspect it will be gone in a flash if I don't buy it - and its quite nearby.

The grey one is 200 miles away and will require a day off work and a loooong journey to go look at it and bring it back IF its to my taste - at which point the silver one will more than likely be gone.

Both cars are about the same price - so im kinda stumped on what to do....do I go for the silver one in the expectation that the grey one wont be as good or do I gamble & hold off til I see the grey one??....

@brian - I can barely afford one never mind 2!!

So - im stuck between a rock and a hard place!!

It's nice to have the choice: it sounds as if you'd be happy with either if you didn't have that.

Tricky....

Grey / Black combo sounds nicer, and MTM are well respected but I'd be budgeting to replace the DRC with coilovers as its about as reliable as the 5 speed box. My RS6 had coilovers and god it was a good ride.

The Silver/Platinum is good to have lower miles but an unknown remap isn't ideal, but its compensated by some quality coilovers.

There were quite a number of options available on the C5, and to me that along with recent service history, tyres/brakes condition and any other immediate bills coming up would be contributing heavily to my decision.

And finally, if its a car you're going to keep a while, and possible invest time/money in, then start with the colour combo you really want as that's hard to change later - Most other things can be fixed n tweaked. +++

Well.......here's what happened.......

Silver one was advertised as 'mint'. Was just starting to get a bit rough round the edges IMO. Averaged 1 owner per year. Didn't have the gearbox rebuild as said it had been.
MRC tuned to 480bhp.
Alright - but after advertising as mint i expected more.

So.......
On to car #2. The seller was extremely helpful, decent guy, I was hearing what I wanted with every question, sounding better by the day. got home tonight and was just about to book a train and then.......
He decided to keep the damn thing :ROFL:

Result - still looking

Well, they both had their downside so perhaps there's a blessing to be had. That said, it took me over 8 weeks to persuade the previous owner of my current RS6 to part with it. There's no better car than one someone doesn't want to let go of lol....

Curiously enough, the guy changed his mind yet again and has decided to sell it on Autotrader.

Personally i was a bit miffed. I couldnt understand why people wouldnt want to sell me a car.

Anyway - 3rd option bought. Its a trade in from a dealer, Its been to the moon, its had a few scuffs - but it was honest and not pretending to be a high value car, meaning i wont mind as much when i break it. Which i expect i will, going by the general consensus on RS246.

Being transported up on a wagon for a full going over, a proper service, maybe timing belt and definitely paint (once its mechanically sound)

Its also in the best colour - Ninja Black :ROFL:

Updates to follow

Excellent - I look forward to some piccies and more details......+++

Well - it arrived.

Ninja black, black windows, black leather and carbon trim. Almost as perfect as you can get.

Turns out its been looked after for its high mileage life, and has a stainless exhaust as well as KW coilovers.
The service book is full, but im trying to find out more about it from a well respected tuning company in Sheffield who looked after it.
Surprisingly, it holds together rather well and theres evidence of reasonably fresh suspension arms at the front, discs are quite fresh both front and rear, and rear pads look quite new.
It needed a set of front pads and a track rod end to make it roadworthy, its got a couple of electrical gremlins going on, but its booked in at my good friends auto electrician for that.
I took an absolute gamble on what was a trade in - the guy actually said 'we buy job lots from a dealer and we HAD to take that one'

Pics i'll maybe leave for a bit in the hope that the electrical gremlins are cured. If not its getting shifted on (probably make a profit on it if i do)
If they are cureable then they will be fixed & then on to the paint shop.

Sounds interesting... What sort of gremlins are we talking - The C5 is relatively simple beast, and most of anything that goes wrong is the convenience model from what I understand....

The ABS warning light is on - showing o/s/f speed sensor intermittent.
I suspect its a sign of ABS pump/ecu failure

The wipers and indicators don't work when the cars first switched on - They start working after about 2mins and are fine after that.

The convenience module is usually waterlogged - this one is bone dry.

Currently at the auto electricians for full diagnosis