rob1978 Posted May 8, 2012 Report Share Posted May 8, 2012 Hi all, first post so bear with me. I currently have a Q7 4.2TDi. BIG MISTAKE! Only had for two months and absolutely hate it. Foolishly talked into it by my wife. Prior to this I've had two A8 4.0TDi's, both very highly spec'd, which I absolutely loved. I've also had a Mach 2 TT and my first Audi experience was an A4 1.8T, which was a great car. So having coming to the conclusion that I enjoy the A8's because of the combo of great driving experience and size / comfort, I'm now faced with a dilemma - do I get a 4.2TDi or go for an S8? I tend to have a short attention span with cars so I anticipate keeping it for around 12-18 months. My gut feeling is to go with another 4+ TDi but what has thrown a spanner in the works is an S8 I went to see on Monday (eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace). The car is massively spec'd, far higher than any A8 4.2TDi out there for same sort of money, comes with a very comprehensive warranty that should cover pretty much everything for a year at a cost of £500. I've also been offered a generous p/x of £18k for my Q7. I don't do that high mileage and although I have two driving trips to Europe planned in the next 12 months I wouldn't anticipate doing more than 8,000 miles in the next year. The only obvious negative is the increased fuel consumption (from what I've read around best I can get on a run will be 22 MPG vs 35 MPG from diesel). Tax is going to be same, insurance more or less same and I'm guessing servicing isn't going to be massively different from the Audi specialist I use. So...what do I do? My heart says the S8 but my head says A8. Any suggestions? Anyone had any experience with S8's on Europe road trips, running costs etc? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mort Posted May 9, 2012 Report Share Posted May 9, 2012 S8... If you can afford it and want it...do it. The 4.2 Tdi is more of the same you've already had. It'll depreciate like a rock down a mineshaft though... but at least you can enjoy it while it lasts.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PsYcHe Posted May 9, 2012 Report Share Posted May 9, 2012 Fuel costs are really the only running costs difference (unless the S8 has ceramics, but that's a while off). Remapped 4.2TDi has more torque than the S8, but is down 80HP. S8 will handle better and has that fancy diff at the back with a 70/30 split instead of 60/40. S8 will lose money faster than a football club. so, all in all, we're not much help here... If you can afford it, go with S8, or if you want to lose less money, but still have some fun, A8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob1978 Posted May 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2012 Fuel costs are really the only running costs difference (unless the S8 has ceramics, but that's a while off). It does have ceramics, but from what I've read they last a lot longer than standard discs / pads. The car has done 94K but all motorway (car was ex-company director and fully serviced). Am I missing any other hidden cost? S8 will lose money faster than a football club. Realistically, how much do you reckon I would lose in 12 months? Car will have just over 100k miles by then. Thanks guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted May 9, 2012 Report Share Posted May 9, 2012 4.2TDI and remap it. That is all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beemerboy9 Posted May 9, 2012 Report Share Posted May 9, 2012 If you decide you want the S8, you could take it down to Hatfield Audi (10 minutes away) and get a Master Tech to look at it for an hour. Might be money well spent...... Depreciation is impossible to judge as it is so dependent on supply and demand. 100K miles is a bit of a landmark for some folks, yet others would not buy with less mileage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PsYcHe Posted May 9, 2012 Report Share Posted May 9, 2012 Actually might not lose 'that' much, maybe 5k in the year, but depends on the market at the time. May be as little as 3k. Though 4.2TDi and remap is a good shout Planning to get mine re-mapped soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted May 9, 2012 Report Share Posted May 9, 2012 You'll not lose as much on an S8 as you will on the tractor. If you can live with £5k a year in depreciation, then good luck to you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob1978 Posted May 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2012 Been ringing around different trade dealers today re. 4.2TDi's but nothing comes close in terms of spec plus they all want to give much less for my car (16k vs 18k offered by S8 dealer). I've been down the route of remapped A8 4.0 diesel, which pushed BHP to 350 and torque to 600lbs so not sure if its worth going there again, plus, for what its worth, that depreciated £6k in 18 months. I'm thinking of having a punt with the S8. The thought of driving 2.5k miles around Europe in summer is very tempting.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldavo69 Posted May 9, 2012 Report Share Posted May 9, 2012 They sound awesome, just do it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt5791 Posted May 9, 2012 Report Share Posted May 9, 2012 I have 4.2Tdi and absolutely love it, the torque (which peaks at only about 1700rpm), the MPG, and being able to shame high performance petrol cars with a diesel. And the running costs seem really very reasonable indeed. I have had it for 2 years and it's been way more reliable than the D2 3.7 V8 it replaced over two years ago. It also has a degree of rarity with the majority of D3 A8 being the 3.0L. Depreciation has been quite reasonable over the last 2 years. The other thing to note is, if you look through this forum, take note of how many threads are dedicated to problems with S8's - much more highly strung car and I suspect less reliable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob1978 Posted May 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2012 So I decided to go for an A8 4.2 TDi (2007) in the end. Couldn't justify the extra running costs of S8 and was very happy with my 4.0TDi performance wise. I pick it up on Thursday and am going to get it remapped. Previously used AMD but any other recommendations? Ideally closer to me (P'boro) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted May 29, 2012 Report Share Posted May 29, 2012 Have a chat with Ben at Shark performance, he'll sort you out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob1978 Posted May 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2012 Ok - Just curious why everyone recommends Shark? Any personal testimonies? They are about £50 cheaper than AMD and closer for me but they can't put car on rolling road, unlike AMD who have a 4 wheel rolling road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted May 29, 2012 Report Share Posted May 29, 2012 What do you want achieve by putting it on a rolling road? All it'll do is give you some rough before and after figures, if you have images of them spending hours individually tuning your car on said rolling road you will be sorely mistaken. Ben is a long time member on here, who has set himself up in business, he's also a good friend of a few of ours too, and a decent and honest chap, he knows what he's doing and his maps are very highly regarded, quite a few members have had their cars mapped by him, and all very happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted May 30, 2012 Report Share Posted May 30, 2012 So I decided to go for an A8 4.2 TDi (2007) in the end. Couldn't justify the extra running costs of S8 and was very happy with my 4.0TDi performance wise. I pick it up on Thursday and am going to get it remapped. Previously used AMD but any other recommendations? Ideally closer to me (P'boro) P'Boro huh!! I am there. You'll just have to bring it to me for me to have a quick spin down the Nene Parkway, the Perkins Parkway, Bourges B'vard and the others that make up the ring road....... (please...........) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob1978 Posted May 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2012 What do you want achieve by putting it on a rolling road? All it'll do is give you some rough before and after figures, if you have images of them spending hours individually tuning your car on said rolling road you will be sorely mistaken.Ben is a long time member on here, who has set himself up in business, he's also a good friend of a few of ours too, and a decent and honest chap, he knows what he's doing and his maps are very highly regarded, quite a few members have had their cars mapped by him, and all very happy. Thanks for the info. To be honest, I'm a complete philistine as to how remapping works and pros / cons of rolling road, I just assumed that the rolling road would be better because of the pre / post data metrics. At the end of the day, as with any service provided, recommendation is the best guide. The only negative from my perspective for Shark is location...my Mrs wants to come as she thinks she is getting a shopping trip to Lakeside Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roberto1954 Posted June 23, 2012 Report Share Posted June 23, 2012 (edited) i wanted an S8 too but running costs put me off ive just bought an A8 4.2 tdi 57reg face-lift fantastic car what an engine im off to shark-performance for a re-map next week they remapped my other cars a 3.0tdi A8,my 2 A6's,and my skoda fabia ive been very pleased with all of them you dont need it on a rolling road-just drive it Edited June 23, 2012 by roberto1954 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottish_4.2TDi Posted August 24, 2012 Report Share Posted August 24, 2012 Howdy, Dont know what you bought my friend, but my twopence worth is the 4.2TDi. Ok less power than the V10, but more torque! Get it chipped, and you wont notice the difference in power as much. Also, better fuel consumption. Enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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