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Redefining “Beater” – 1995 Audi S6 – REVISIT

After lingering and reappearing for some time at a nearly $7,000 asking price, the seller of this “beater” S6 has finally compromised and the car is now offered at no reserve. Our readers previously suggested it was a $3,500 car – bidding is currently around $3,000 with two days to go. How much will this winter weapon end up at?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1995 Audi S6 on eBay

The below post originally appeared on our site September 15, 2014:

This 1995 Audi S6 has been through the email chain a few times over at GCFSB; our reader John first spotted it and sent it to me. The original ad had no pictures and a somewhat vague “needs paint work” line in the Craigslist ad. Since it was a low mile, all original S6 in claimed excellent shape, we both took note and agreed to keep our eyes on it. A few weeks later, pictures were posted in a new ad, and unfortunately it didn’t look good. I had guessed it was going to be a typical clearcoat failure case; typical with most of the Audi metallic colors that adorned these models. But I was wrong; hail damage had obviously taken its toll on the exterior – in many ways, it was a huge disappointment and we moved on. But then it popped up again, this time on Ebay with even more pictures. The pictures displayed even more damage then the original advertisement had suggested, and Paul sent it over to me for my thoughts. I initially dismissed it once again, but then started thinking – you know, what if this was just the perfect winter beater? Instead of mechanically beaten, this car just looks a bit ratty outside – perfect for snowy conditions where you’re concerned about paint damage. After all, it comes pre-beaten:


Year: 1995
Model: S6
Engine: 2.2 liter turbocharged inline-6
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Mileage: 56,000 mi
Price: No Reserve Auction

1995 Audi S6 Quattro, 56K original miles, 5 speed, 2.2liter 5 cylinder Turbo engine, no rust, hail damage, needs paint work, clean title, air, cruise, Bose AM/FM cassette, tilt, sunroof, leather interior, All Wheel Drive, 16 inch factory alloy wheels, heated seats, differential lock, digital climate control, power windows, locks, mirrors, seats, no rust at all, garaged, non-smoker, almost new tires, pearl white exterior with graphite leather interior, glass sunroof, came from Nebraska, was in hail storm, top surfaces and upper top 25% of left side, few dings on upper 25% of right side of car need bodywork and painting(enlarge pics to see), to reduce the amount of bodywork I recommend replacing the hood, trunk and left fender and I have the trunk and left fender available that I can give you, hail damage was mainly top surfaces and upper part of left side of the car, car runs and drives like new, is unmolested and unmodified, completely rust-free and one of the lowest mileage S6’s you will ever find! Leather is in very nice shape, engine, transmission and clutch are in perfect shape, car drives like new, very rare find to find such a low mileage/rust-free older S6!! Look at the engine pics, no corrosion, no grease or oil, has no been cleaned or pressure washed, looks like new!!! any questions feel free to call me at 401-714-4061, all power options work fine, comes up on boost fine, no problems except for the hail damage

On Sep-14-14 at 05:24:49 PDT, seller added the following information:

if you don’t have a reasonable bodyman to fix this car, my bodyman and painter can do the complete car for between $1500 and $2000……

It’s very unfortunate that this occurred to what was otherwise a very nice S6, but it does present an opportunity to get into a notoriously long-lived, very capable car for a bit of a cut rate. In prime condition, I’d suspect the asking price on this car to exceed $10,000 and it would likely be snapped up if the rust-free, low mileage and good condition are verified in person. It has the best-wearing of the interiors and under hood shots look significantly better than most we see in New England – no surprise given the mid-west origin of the car. I’d not take the seller up on his offer for a $1,500 paint job; Pearlesant White Metallic is notoriously expensive and difficult to repaint properly to the point where I wouldn’t be surprised to see a reasonable quote for a full respray equal the asking price of the car. That asking price of $6,900 is a bit high considering the extent and severity of the damage to the exterior in my opinion; however, we see mechanically solid S6s with higher miles but rough paint trade hands regularly in the $4,000 – $6,000 region, so perhaps it’s not too far out of line. It’s not a project I’d be interested in taking on – the dents would always bother me. But for someone looking for a clean, fun daily driver that they can throw at any element and not be concerned about the dinging a perfect paint job look no further. I’d go for a wild color wrap in vinyl to cover the damage and have at the next winter driving season with vigor!

-Carter

11 Comments

  1. Poorhouse
    Poorhouse September 15, 2014

    That car was hammered by hail.
    No pics of the roof, but you can be sure it is as bad as the hood and deck lid and will need to be replaced. The quarters are nasty as well and will require a good amount of time to repair properly.
    I would guess it would cost $10k-$12k to repair this car properly.

    Plus, I’m sure it was a total loss if insured. I don’t think NE does salvage titles an cars this old, but you would still potentially have the total loss in the cars history report.

    Definitely a compelling car for someone looking for a driver or winter beater.
    I can’t see paying more than $3500 if it drives well and doesn’t have any mechanical needs.

  2. Carter
    Carter September 15, 2014

    Certainly depends on when the hail damage occurred – if it was recent, I doubt very much someone had complete coverage on the car. Even nice and low mileage, it wouldn’t make much sense unless the insurance was very cheap since the blue book on the car is only around $6K.

  3. John
    John September 15, 2014

    Looks like there is one partial pic of the roof on the ebay listing. This one may be for sale for awhile longer as the flipper seems to have a pretty high buy it now. Will be interesting to see what happens. I also don’t see this going for more than $4,000. Would be nice if it had some records. Wonder if carfax shows any servicing.

  4. Jayson
    Jayson September 15, 2014

    With 56k rounds on the ticker I can’t see how this s6 isn’t worth every cent of the asking.. the guy who scoops up this car will know exactly what his getting, and should it be picked up with solely the above mentioned intent, then this car may still be serving it’s owner 20 years from now for mere chump change. $28.75 per mo. + gas to be exact (if 10k per winter is driven).. in that context some might say this car is easily worth three times the asking!

  5. Brad
    Brad September 15, 2014

    I’m not doubting the mileage, but man, how does one even scuff up a seat bolster that fast? Oh well, buy it and send it straight to 2Bennett for a while, they can fix everything, mechanical and cosmetic.

  6. UrSDriver
    UrSDriver September 16, 2014

    Apparently living in Colorado I have no idea what hail is capable of. That looks like it got hammered by softball size granite. For 7k you can buy a very nice C4 S-car with a straight body.

  7. 4RingTurbo
    4RingTurbo September 17, 2014

    I’ve viewed this car several times, it just hurts me to look at it. I’m with Poorhouse’s estimate on cost to repair. Even more if you took Brad up on his suggestion to ship it coast to coast to 2Bennett – that’s got to be about a $1500-ish trip. Personally I don’t see any but the most extreme die-hard Audi guy with cash to burn undertaking a restoration on this once-beautiful car.

  8. Ry
    Ry September 19, 2014

    This looks worse than most hail damaged total outs I’ve seen in car insurance auctions (copart, etc). This is worth only parts value IMHO, minus costs to go get it. There’s no way this is economically justifiable to fix in place. Also, I’ve owned 20-30 yr old cars that I’ve bought with very low miles, and it turns out that time, sun, and air all conspire to do more harm than you’d think (for starters all bushings on vehicle, all a/c seals, etc).

  9. Dallas
    Dallas January 14, 2015

    I read a comment on another site that’s apropos – “this car was displayed at Pebble Beach – on the driving range.”

  10. Farkas
    Farkas January 14, 2015

    Looks like someone let a monkey loose with a ball peen hammer. Too bad, such a great car.

  11. Doug
    Doug January 14, 2015

    Perfect storm-chasing vehicle.

Comments are closed.