Why is the ’06-’08 Audi S6 So Expensive to Maintain?
Because Audi stuffed a Lamborghini Gallardo-derived 5.2L FSI V10 into the engine bay of the 2006-2008 S6 Sedans.
You may already know mechanic David Long, aka “The Car Wizard” on YouTube. Long owns and operates the Omega Auto Clinic in Newton Kansas. After befriending client, Tyler Hoover, and appearing several Hoovies Garage videos, Long started his own YouTube channel with the help of his wife and staff. Long stands out among many automotive repair YouTubers because of his simple, practical advice as well as his breadth of knowledge across a variety of makes and models. He’s as at home servicing an Audi S6 as he is performing engine swaps for classic American cars as he is at maintaining Italian exotics.
In the above video, Long explains to his viewers why the 2006-2008 Audi S6 is so expensive to maintain. Coincidentally, Long used to own one and admired its performance. “It’s a very special car. It’s very rare … And if you modify the exhaust, it sounds amazing,” he says.
Older Audis aren’t known for cheap maintenance. But this particular S6 generation is extra challenging because Audi stuffed a Lamborghini Gallardo-derived 5.2L FSI V10 engine into a pretty small engine bay. Yes, the Lambo faithful will argue that it’s not the same — Lamborghini used different materials for the heads and intake — but per The Car Wizard, “it’s essentially the same.” Still, the issue is one of space. Or lack thereof.
Tight engine bays increase labor times for even simple maintenance because your mechanic will either have to remove other parts to reach the broken item or, gulp, do an engine-out service. Parts are also expensive; you need to buy high-quality parts of course. And, when it comes to things like the intakes, heads, coils, and plugs, you often have to buy 10 of each already-pricey part. As Long points out, it’s actually easier (aka cheaper) to work on a Ferrari 550 because there’s room in the engine bay.
Which brings us to Long’s customer and this particular 2007 Audi S6. The customer brought the car in with a misfire. Seeing that the valve cover gaskets were leaking, he brought in new gaskets and new coils to replace the gunked up originals. Only that didn’t fix the misfire.
As Long explains, there are four likely reasons why this S6 will misfire.
And, to diagnose all of this and truly get this Audi S6 running and sounding like its Lambo brethren, you might need to do everything on that list, which costs $4,000 to $6,000 in parts and labor. How does this break down, you ask?
- 10 injectors at $100 each (not including labor)
- 10 coils at $100 each (not including lab0r)
- $1,000 in labor to access and cleaning the carbon deposits (includes labor for the above)
- Valve covers and spark plugs ($12 each) run another $700-$800 in parts & labor
- And even if you do everything above, internal flaps inside the V10’s intake can break, and the only fix is to buy a $2,000 replacement.
Oof, that’s a heck of a bill for a 13 year-old-car. And if you ignore the problem, it’ll just get worse and possibly damage everything else. What do you think, Audi World, would you spend $6,000 on this S6? For me, if it was my daily or my dream-car weekend toy, I’d spring for the maintenance. $6,000 is a lot cheaper than buying a new Audi. And this beast deserves saving.
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