We’re a fickle crowd, automobile enthusiasts. We’ll sit around critiquing cars all day long; what we would or wouldn’t have done, and where the current seller has stepped up or fallen short. Without knowing the whole story, we’ll question motivation, driving habits, cleaning regiments or part choices. Piece by piece, we’ll pick apart what often isn’t an unreasonable asking price for a used car, spending money that isn’t ours and making bold claims about how little we would pay for such a ride. But for those of us who have gone through attempting to rebuild a vehicle to a high standard or return a car to stock form, it’s a little easier to be objective when viewing an asking price on what is a pristine example of a rare car. Simply put, there’s a balance between buying an example that fits the “wants” – you “want” a perfect, pristine, low mile, low owner count maintained car, but you “want” to spend as little as you can. Let’s take a look at a car with a serious fan following in seriously good condition and break it down – in this case, it’s a pristine 1995 Audi S6:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1995 Audi S6 on eBay
Year: 1995
Model: S6
Engine: 2.2 liter turbocharged inline-5
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Mileage: 94,984 mi
Price: $12,995 Buy It Now
CARFAX CERTIFIED!
RARE S6 L5 TURBO COMBINED WITH 5SPEED MANUAL!
ALL WHEEL DRIVE QUATRO!
SERVICED(SEE RECORDS ON THE PICTURES)!
4WD/AWD 5SPEED MANUAL! CD CHANGER! Serviced!
You are looking at a sporty luxury vehicle that has been well kept and maintained; it’s an all around great looking vehicle. The car has mostly been driven on the highway, and it is in great condition.The famous Quattro all wheel drive provides superb traction whether its winter, fall or summer. Rain or dry you will get superior traction and security.
The engines is one of the finest German engines ever created – a 2.2 liter L5 turbo that runs and feels smooth and provides abundant power. The transmission shifts like on a new car, no skips or slips on shifts.
The interior is in nice condition. The front seats lean all the way back to the rear, so you can actually sleep rather comfortably in the car!
All the electrical options appear to be in working order. A very good climate control system is present in this car, and the A/C blows ice-cold.
The trunk is clean and roomy as you can see from the pictures, and has all the AUDI tools that came with the car.
This is a unique hard to find car, that is painted with a color that really makes it stand out in the crowd.
Our friend Adam over at Fast In Fast Out alerted me to this car, and he was well to do so. While the seller has a somewhat spotty reputation and seems to retrieve improbably nice and low mileage examples, there’s no denying this S6 is one of the nicest we’ve seen. Mileage is in check, it only has 2 owners (one for most of its life), and it appears stock. If there are questions about the mileage being legitimate on the chassis, the light Ecru interior is generally a tell-tale – and I don’t believe I’ve ever seen one quite as clean as this one is presented. Granted, a lot can be cleaned up with photos – but the car presents incredibly well. Then there’s the price – a Lincoln short of $13,000. Is the price outrageous? I’m sure more than one person will say so. But consider it this way; for a clean, lower mile S6 figure the car is worth a premium already. You could easily find a decently presented car for $5,000 with double the miles, but that’s not the point – those miles can’t be unwound. If the interior is as clean as shown, figure that’s worth a few thousand dollars of not refinishing/replacing the leather. If everything works, including the A/C as claimed, again figure that’s a few thousand dollars worth of repairs to a lesser example. Refinish the wheels and put decent tires on and another thousand is gone. Then the paint, lights and plastics outside could easily set you back a further few thousand dollars. I see only one potential flaw; the front end appears slightly askew on the driver’s side – though it’s very minor.
Is it really unreasonable to ask a premium for a premium car? I don’t think that it is; while S4/S6s turn up in this condition from time to time, they don’t turn up often this good – and the asking price usually isn’t that much less if at all. For a clean slate, turn key car in show condition as this one appears to be, it’s clearly worth the premium if you like the color combination. I wouldn’t pay more, mind you, but again consider what condition M5 or 500E this amount buys you, and this S6 is certainly nicer and more unique.
-Carter
i never had a car or own one at the age of 42 but my wish is to have one of those …
i never had a car or own one at the age of 42 but my wish is to have or own one of those …
A lot of car for the money. I’d ballpark it around $7-9K. Need to know about the underside. Could need some suspension freshening, etc. or not. 62 “watchers” currently on ebay….
While black on Ecru would be my preference, this certainly is an attractive color combo and seemingly in great shape. Having owned 2 of these cars, I’d much rather buy a tastefully upgraded example with higher mileage from a private party with a stack of maintenance records and a first-hand narrative of history than a overpriced suspect creampuff from a dealer with a “spotty” rep. This, for me, takes much of the luster off the selling points summed up nicely by Carter – great leather, paint, AC, wheels, etc. While a thorough PPI (including a paint and body inspection) might level the playing field satisfactorily, it probably wouldn’t be enough for me to pull the trigger at this price. (If my memory serves me correctly, this same dealer had a red ’90 or ’91 Coupe Quattro not too long ago thatalso had
While black on Ecru would be my preference, this certainly is an attractive color combo and seemingly in great shape. Having owned 2 of these cars, I’d much rather buy a tastefully upgraded example with higher mileage from a private party with a stack of maintenance records and a first-hand narrative of history than a overpriced suspect creampuff from a dealer with a “spotty” rep. This, for me, takes much of the luster off the selling points summed up nicely by Carter – great leather, paint, AC, wheels, etc. A thorough PPI by an experienced Audi mechanic (including a paint and body inspection) might level the playing field satisfactorily, but it probably wouldn’t be enough for me to pull the trigger at this price. (If my memory serves me correctly, this same dealer, or perhaps another nearby, had a red ’90 or ’91 Coupe Quattro – low miles, looked amazing – that turned out to have had major body work and bad paint job when inspected closely. Hopefully that’s not the case here, but I’d recommend some care and extra due diligence for the interested buyer.
Sorry for the double-comment – accidentally hit submit too soon on the first!
4RingTurbo – this the car you’re thinking of?
https://germancarsforsaleblog.com/1990-audi-coupe-quattro-4/
Not the same seller, but this seller has reportedly had some problems. That said, most of their feedback is positive so it’s hard to say. Ultimately, I agree with your points overall, though there is a major appeal for me with an unmodified, all-original example in pristine shape such as this. If it’s the color you want, it’s probably not worth hanging out to see when the next one comes up for sale hoping it’ll be a lot cheaper. It might be, but you might also miss your chance.
Yes Carter, that’s the one. I follow you on the all-original, unmodified point. From a collector’s perspective that may make great sense. The driver portion of my car personality dominates the collector in me every time in this conversation though, and will go for “S” cars like the following examples over the costly pristine and unmodified ones nearly every time provided the modifications are tasteful and performed skillfully like they were with the ’94 here and seemingly with the ’92 as well…
https://germancarsforsaleblog.com/1994-audi-s4-2/
OR
https://germancarsforsaleblog.com/1992-audi-s4/
Agreed, both nice examples!
This price would be appropriate if it had <50k.
I’ve reviewed those two examples above on multiple occasions on my quest to purchase my next C4… they were both delicious.
While the upholstery and exterior in this example seem impossibly clean, and the detailing job top-notch, there are some concerns:
There are bits in the engine bay missing (coil plenum, air filter cover, injector cover)
As stated, something is awry with the front and rear end fitments
Coolant color is concerning
No washer fluid (just sayin’)
Headliner and some door cards are beginning to sag
No OEM mats
No RF key fobs included
I’d also like to see the undercarriage, including the muffler and rear diff, and under the rear seat where the battery resides and an important collection of electronics.
This price seems like a long shot. If it does not sell, I’ll keep you posted as I’m an interested party in the sub-$10k camp.
ps – Here’s another that sold for almost $7k less recently, with a known history… a significant difference:
http://forums.quattroworld.com/classifieds-vehicles/msgs/24340.phtml
If you feel like doing some interior work, I also found this one in Denver that has similar miles but the leather looks a little worse for wear. Also a two-owner car. But half the price!
http://denver.craigslist.org/ctd/4620606177.html