2006 Audi RS4 Avant

First things first: this RS4 is going to be priced lower than almost any other on the market because it’s recorded as Category C, meaning that an insurance company once assessed the cost of repairs as uneconomical. Such cars can be professionally repaired and returned to the road; often the owner will choose to spend the insurance payout on doing just that.

The details of the misfortune that befell this car are not known, so when the vendor was considering the purchase back in 2015 he ordered an RAC inspection to give him peace of mind. The inspection, which remains with the car (see history, below) identified repairs, replacement and re-spray work to various panels but found no faults with the car beyond a non-functional cruise control, oil staining to the dampers and a tool kit missing its bottle of tyre sealant.

The vendor of this car had a BMW M5 saloon before he bought the RS4, and he found the M5 ‘tail-happy, too big and not very practical.’ In comparison, the RS4 behaves like ‘a go-kart with a boot’ and has been the source of much pleasure in his four years of ownership thanks to its potent acceleration, prowess in corners and boundless grip. Now, however, the vendor’s enthusiasm for motorbikes means he needs a van that can tow trailers, and the RS4 requires a new home.

Note that despite the ’04 year ‘RS4’ personal plate, which comes with the sale, the car is a 2006 model, first registered in November of that year.

 The first impression is of a stealthy, sinister-looking car that’s been lightly modified, but we think that’s purely down to the tinted rear windows and the colour change on the original wheels – they’ve recently been refurbished and are immaculate but no longer in their original bright silver. Nothing else, bar the funky font on the number plates, is non-standard.

 You can search for evidence of damage repair, but it’s very far from obvious. The paint is perhaps not up to concours levels, but only your detailer will notice…and only then if he’s got a good eye. It presents very well with a consistent shine, the panel gaps are even, the stance looks right and the lamps lenses and badges are all smart and undamaged.

The car sits on four low-profile Continental tyres with plenty of life left.

There are a few minor marks commensurate with age and with the car’s modest mileage (still not quite 50k), most notably a small scratch on the driver’s seat base. The rest of the leather, embossed with RS4 logos in the seat backs, is worn in but very smart. Everything in the complex communications and entertainment system works as it should, including the six-CD autochanger, Bluetooth phone connectivity and the large sat-nav screen. The exception is the cruise control, which the vendor has never tried to address. With six gears and 400-plus bhp to play with, ‘it’s not the kind of car that seems to need cruise control,’ he says.

There is also an issue with the rear windscreen washer, though the wiper works fine, and the systems check occasionally thinks the rear centre brake light is not functioning, when in fact it’s fine. The rear parking sensors operate as they should and so does the cooler in the glovebox. There are some air bubbles around the demister wires in one of the rear quarter windows.

Early in 2018 the car had its inlet manifold swirl flaps removed, a common mod that other RS4 owners have chosen to do when the flaps repeatedly gum up with carbon deposits and generate fault codes. At the same time, the ECU was re-mapped to prevent it looking for flap position data and to allow the engine to make the most of the less restricted inlet path at higher RPM. The result was a slight increase in peak power, up to 416bhp@ 8090 rpm. More recently, the same specialist performed a gearbox and differential service.

Peering at the underside of the car reveals no leaks or surface corrosion, but there are fairly extensive undertrays to cover many of the working parts.

There’s one mechanical job that will need doing soon – the bite point of the clutch is low and a new clutch is recommended in the recent report, so check what specialists charge and budget for that.

History from the last decade or so is pretty good – the service book reveals plenty of regular attention including ‘long life’ services in 2008 and 2015, with annual servicing in current ownership. The MoT certificates in the file go back to 2010, supporting the current mileage of 49,606.

The current MoT expires in January and last year carried advisories for corrosion to suspension pipes, an issue that may need addressing this time round.

Also in the file are the various original Audi handbooks and the RAC inspection, which forms a detailed assessment of several dozen aspects of the car. There’s evidence of an Audi health check from back in 2011 and the vendor has had the tyre pressure monitor and sensors replaced in his ownership, but can’t locate the paperwork for this at the moment.

 The temptation here is all about value: any RS4 Avant of this generation with less than 100,000 miles on the clock seems to be offered at £17k or more; those with 50,000 miles hover around £20k Asking Price. The ‘Cat C’ status of this car means it won’t reach the same heights, but it offers very much the same near-supercar driving experience.

Neo-classic German performance cars seem to be experiencing their own boom time, so while the re-sale value of a Cat C car will always be lower than a perfect example with a full history, if the model as a whole is gaining value you’re unlikely to lose out. Low cost of entry, high thrill level – that’s what it boils down to.

We would have any bits of outstanding work (and especially that clutch job) seen to immediately and then get on with enjoying the car. These RS4s were seriously special creations and while they’re not fragile, they deserve diligent care.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us in Abingdon. To arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles for sale. We offer far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding than traditional auctions, and we never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this. We do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or the result of a long test drive.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.