Yes, it's scary to work on. I tried going to an independent and they screwed it up, so I was stuck with the dealership from then on. You pretty much have to pull the engine to work on anything.
Of course I knew that and the reputation of the RS6 in general, but like everyone else I thought I would be lucky. The only modification was to reflash the ECU and add a transmission cooler. None of the mods caused any problems. I do think I should have been expecting a high-maintenance/hi-performance car. I do not think I should have expected to spend F-car money just to drive it on the roads. The brand's hand-built halo car should hold up a bit better than that.
Java, you didn't happen to sell to a guy in Minnesota, did you?
My PO didn't report any problems either, and had good records to back him up. By the time I was done with it there was little on my car that hadn't failed and been replaced. Maybe they were designed to last about 70,000 miles.