New whip!

B8 S4
#41

I think I’ve been even more of a ghost than clochner! :wink:

The S6 is an amazing car, just about perfect for my needs at this point in my life. A recent review described it as “cohesive”, and that seems an apt description to me. Everything about the car feels consistent - power, handling, comfort, looks - it’s simply designed and built to an extremely high standard.

What I appreciate the most are its stealth factor and relative rarity. Most observers don’t really know what it’s capable of, and there aren’t very many of them around - only 1200 or so of the 2013 model, and even fewer of the later model years.

Really my only gripe is the same one I mentioned just after I bought it - the throttle response isn’t as crisp as I’d like it to be, particularly compared to the 3.0T.

They’re getting pretty affordable by now, too, making them an outstanding value, IMO.

Go drive one - you’ll know pretty quickly whether its combination of virtues suits you. It doesn’t have the raw edge of the RS models (or AMGs or Ms, for that matter), but that’s not what “S” models are about.

And if you want “more”, a simple ECU flash will net you mid-11s… ;D

As for the Panamanabananamera(™), I don’t see the value relative to the S6/S7, and I personally still don’t care for the looks.

Regarding the V10 Audi sedans, the 4.0T motor is better in pretty much every way, so those would be non-starters for me…

Good luck!

#42

Exactly what I was looking for zcd! Drove a 2013 m5 yesterday and man it was super capable but felt like a 7 series on steroids. Mint one owner with 28k miles and factorty warranty for 63k, msrp was 110kish. Not visceral at all, I think an exhaust would cure it. But I had such a bad experience with my last m5 and those chimes. Made my s6 look like a Toyota in comparison. I haven’t driven an s6 since they came out sounds like I need to give it a second run.

A completely different car but I am considering a 2012/2013 carerra s as well. They are starting to level out and decrease w out how the 991.2 release, although the purist still like the NA , and I am generally a fan. It actually is a decent deal as well when you look at the technology and they are only like 10k more than a well maintenance 996 turbo and about 10k-15k less than a 997 turbo. If you look up specs it’s like 11.8-12.1 and capable on the track, yet with settings in comfort it rides like a taut sport sedan.

Anyhow, I cannot think of better values right now. Just trying to decide should I go to one car, or add a true sports car and keep my cayenne gts… thanks for your insight. Let me know If you have any alternative cars scenarios I should consider

#43

Quick note on your throttle response comment. That was the big jarring issue I had with the c7, when I drove it, and then hopped back in my c6. C6 felt raw, visceral with throttle reponse, but once turbos spooled up the c7 obviously blew it away, but at slower speeds it kinda felt less fun. I imagine a mild exhaust and tune would be nice, not that I would want to void the warranty tho :slight_smile:

#44

While not completely related, the owner of a local Audi shop is selling his 2013 S6 for around $46k if anyone is looking. It’s Havana Black (I think that’s what it’s called) with 39k miles, and warranty through the end of the year. It’s fully loaded except the BO sound system. Black sport interior, and one of the wood trims. It currently has a full AWE touring exhaust, AWE intake, bronze 20" HRE FF01 wheels, and some type of drop links for lowering.

He’d go lower on the price without the mods. He’s also an AWE, APR, Eurocode, and 034 dealer if you wanted a deal on additional parts or tuning. He just picked up one of the 5 Viper Green exclusive S3’s, and he’s looking to sell the S6.

#45

are you sure it has a warranty? With those mods that would be an automatic TD1 for powertrain.

#46

Yes. It has never been tuned, and has not been flagged with those mods. Obviously, he does most the work himself, but he had some engine related warranty work done a few weeks ago with no problems. He was an Audi master tech at the dealership where it was serviced for a long time, so I’m sure he has a pretty good relationship with them.

My experience has been that an intake and exhaust does not always cause automatic TD1 flagging. A lot will depend on the dealership, and who you deal with. My car had those mods and more, and was never flagged. At least here, engine tuning is the only sure fire way to get flagged, and I didn’t try to hide it once I did.

#47

Strongly agree with the bolded part. When I still worked at the dealership a lot of modded cars came in and I never had an issue with them. Unless a modification made a certain repair more of a PITA because I had to do more work that I didn’t get paid for. For example, there was a slammed 2010 B8 S4 that kept having leaking rear inner CVs and I had to do more work because of how low it was. So we charged him a hour of labor in addition to the warranty time that Audi payed us for the repair instead of reporting to Audi that he had aftermarket suspension and telling him that it wouldn’t be covered at all along with tagging his vehicle with whatever code that it would be for a modified suspension.

#48

There’s a TCU software update that supposedly helps with this, though so far the dealer I’ve been working with hasn’t been willing to update my car. (Effin’ dealers). I have given them the updated TCU version number, and they (and I) obviously know my car’s version number, but they’ve refused to apply it, which I find really frustrating. I’m going to try another dealer for my next service visit to see if they’ll work with me.

All that said, no turbo motor is going to be as responsive as an NA or supercharged motor…

#49

That’s awesome. I drive the f10 m5 a last week, and again was impressed but not blown away. When you dial it in it’s great, not raw like the e60 but pretty good. I will give the c7 another test drive in a few weeks. I live in SW Va and there are about zero s6 or s8 in the area. I have seen one s8 for sale 1000 miles for like 90k at a Mercedes dealer other than that nothing. This was the first f10 m5 I saw for sale, perhaps one ther driving around…

Will check out exhaust clips on the awe, That new tru sounds promising too.

#50

Also from a size perspective it was like a 7 series on sporty steroids. Funny I felt a little less lag in the m5 then I remember in the s6 will do a full back to back test soon.

Will also do a m4 or possibly m3 test as the dealer has two of those…hope I like the Audi the best :slight_smile: even tho I’m probably going 991.1 S, no reason to not have a four door luxobarge beside it once winter hits!

#51

Surprised he didn’t tune if he was an apr dealer. I generally hate the wood drink, unless it’s super dark or black looking. I will say that these cars value are exceptional if cpo or under factory warranty and below 50k. Not sure anything else can compares for a bang for buck. Too bad the equivalent s7 is still generally 8-10k more for less lheadroom but I guess larger hatch/trunk. I’m starting to like the c7 styling more with the right wheels and stance.

#52

Probably because M does not equal S. M=RS.

The M car pulls out all the stops. It’s wired. Go drive an RS7 and see if you feel the lag. I bet you don’t. That’s the appropriate Audi America competitor to the M5…not the S6. The S6 is the equivalent of a BMW 550.

#53

Yes and no, but yes depends what you are looking for. I’d say s6 equals m550d or 550 with m performance, but not the vanilla 550 :slight_smile: well aware of the differences, I’m hoping to find the s6 somewhere between the vanilla 550 and m5 :wink: will report back after the test.

Would love to drive a rs7 to compare as well.

#54

I agree on the wood trim. The carbon atlas trim is the way to go on those. At mid-$40’s they are a hell of a deal. It does seem like the S7 is a solid $10k higher in most cases (I prefer the S7 in terms of looks). I didn’t love the look of the S6 at first, but I agree, with the right wheels and stance, they can look good (the Black Optics package helps too).

#55

S7 list price is $10-12K more than S6, and that difference seems to hold in the used market as well. I really like the S7’s looks, but was not willing to pay that much extra for it.

#56

Right! What about the conflicting stuff I have read that says the s7 is more fun to drive then the s6 and vice versa? Seems like the s7 is an inch wider and has 265 inch tire standard, slightly tauter suspension in the s7.if that is indeed true if you added larger wheels and tires and recalibrated the suspension would the s6 then be comparable or perhaps better? Perhaps it’s just the 2016 vs 2013. Sounds like the 16 is more refined and sport dff etc is no longer std!

http://www.autoblog.com/2015/06/15/2016-audi-s6-s7-first-drive-review/

#57

It’s kind of hard to believe. I don’t know what that is based on. Do they get better equipment packages? They are really the same car, the only difference being the 7 is less practical and to many people’s eyes…uglier.

The Wood trim in the C7 isn’t your grandfather’s Wood trim all shiny and lacquered.

I was at the audi Canada launch party for the C7 four or five years ago and one of the cars had this nice matte Wood trim and the other had a kind of bauhaus looking Wood. They were both awesome.

#58

The trim in the car I mentioned is the matte finished wood, and on its own it looks good. There’s just a lot of it on the C7 6/7, and I think the CF works better with the diamond stitching on the seats.

#59

Might be a bad mix for a sporty model bit it looks great on a businessman’s cruiser that’s for sure. … Which Wood is it? The grainy one or the stacked one?

#60

I’m not sure what it’s called, but it looks like the trim in the below link.

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?zip=75093&endYear=2017&modelCode1=S6&showcaseOwnerId=0&makeCode1=AUDI&startYear=2013&firstRecord=0&searchRadius=0&maxPrice=65000&showcaseListingId=0&mmt=[AUDI[S6[]][]]&listingId=423691350&Log=0