so, here’s the short story;
Decided an S6 ticked all the boxes on my shopping list; luxobarge-like to replace the becomming impractical 2 door sportscoupe (2018 Cayman GT4), after looking at M5’s, M6’s, 750’s, Merc S-Class, a few AMG’s - nothing had the combination of traits the C6S6 offers. It didn’t hurt that the first S6 I test drove had a tune and exhaust. That V10 is intoxicating. After living through the pain of ownership of not one, but two BMW V10s, I was pleasantly surprised to find out the S6 is practically bombproof with regards to longblock and drivetrain. Sadly, many appeared to succumb to maintenance issues anywhere from 55k to 100k miles… More research, more googlez lead me to the infodump; F me you guys are rockstars for documenting this platform! Shout out’s to v8a6, CV, Justin, c.scott and all the other owners contributing in that thread!
Realized I didn’t necessarily want a low(er) mileage S6, since anything below 50k miles would be ridiculously rare, and my budget (mainly the profit from the Cayman sale) of $20k would be better spent finding a lower priced and higher mileage S6 than trying to chase after a cream puff since any S6 purchased would need essentially the same work items. Found a 123k mile vehicle out of state (eek!), that had a laundry list of recent receipts, mostly undocumented provenance and iffy chances that the problems being chased by said recent receipts were resolved.
Items declared to be replaced/work recently performed; both head gaskets replaced, now/current SKU intake installed, full set of plugs, coils AND injectors. No mention of carbon cleaning. No mention of leaks. Car passes “ready” check. No CELs.
So. Here’s the “master list” of issues as delivered 2 weeks ago;
4 tires on the car, no two alike.
passenger fender gouged down to bare metal at the crown of the wheel arch, passenger side
water damage driver’s side rear passenger seat
multiple carbon trim pieces cracked/broken
multiple switches worn/broken/black worn off at edges.
18 codes in ECU
TPMS light on, returns to on even after reset
Oil leak from unknown location
AMI & 6disk changer in glovebox, however neither one recognized by MMI
Shopping list;
Wheels
Tires
TPMS
alignment
Exhaust
Tune
LW Brakes
Upgraded SS brake lines
pads
MMI update
Nav update
interior lights converted to LED
suspension arm/bushing refresh
fix shipping/body damage/missing badges
deglaze headlights.
intake phenolic spacers
LW crank pulley
catless headers
Quite the list! NFI how deep into the $20k pile I am at this point honestly, but here’s the status of the list;
Wheels - ordered, installed thurs
Tires - as above
TPMS - as above
alignment - ayup…
Exhaust - ordered from JHM - however long it takes to build 'em (January/fabruary 2017?! cry)
Tune - ordered; possible flash this weekend
LW Brakes - not yet
Upgraded SS brake lines - not until rotors and pads
pads - not until rotors
MMI update - ordered off eBay, also have ISOs of questionable origin
Nav update - ordered off ebay, 2016 update in transit
interior lights converted to LED - deAutoKey kit installed - footwells, puddles, domes, gloveboxk, trunk, reverse lights. HUGE difference.
suspension arm/bushing refresh - Whole front suspension for $600?? OK. On the way
fix shipping/body damage/missing badges - still haggling with shippers to cover one of the three quotes for repair
deglaze headlights. - took all of 10min with water and a plastic scraper.
intake phenolic spacers - ordered - installed this weekend
LW crank pulley - on hold
catless headers - on hold
Silver lining; NO engine or drivetrain related codes at all! All codes that are current are related to stuff like battery not being properly coded (7 different codes for just the battery!), faulty driver’s seat airbag sensor, MMI can’t find media player, etc.
First impressions; there is no engine not at all with a stock exhaust. Some burly induction noise, but for the most part, the trans is louder than the exhaust 
Handling is - OK. Suspension as a whole just feels tired. Understandable for the miles. Was trying to reserve judgement until there were at least 4 matching tires on the car, but the full set of arms and bushings for the front wasn’t too pricey. Power; man is this thing ridiculously smooth. Man is this mileage bad! Trip computer says 17.9mpg on my 11mile commute. Almost exactly 10mpg less than I’m used to. Car doesn’t feel quick at all, but once it’s in 3rd man it feels like warp speed! Hopefully the tune will wake it up and the catback will produce more Grins Per Mile.
Pics coming of the before & afters.
retry…