Werejackal Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 I'm going to look at an S8 tomorrow. It's cheap, but it's got high milage. 173,000 to be exact (with the belts last done at 163,000). 1998 car with full Audi history. Frankly, it looks great on the photographs, but I'm worried about about that mileage! 100,000-130,000 wouldn't have bothered me too much, but 170,000 is a big number! Am I being unduly worried? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willg60 Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Hi.. you might have seen my post (Gearbox trouble on S8)... The car I just picked up is a 98 S8 and has done 147,000 miles. Despite the problem I've yet to diagnose, the car really is fantastic in every way. The condition of the car is like a 60,000 miler and the engine (when not missfiring, if indeed that's actually what it is!) is superb, sounds fantastic. The only thing that could be better with the car is the drivers seat. The sueude is a little worn, but still looks ok. I recon, as I'm sure everyone else will say, mileage is not a problem as long as the service history is bang on... and in particular, find out about the gearbox history if you can... These cars are normally owned by people with plently of cash, so they normally get maintained regardless of cost.. what sort of price bracket is it in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werejackal Posted October 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 The dealer is asking £7,500 for it. It's only been up for sale for half an hour, and I was the third person to call! Apparently it's all sweet and "You wouldn't believe the mileage from the condition, mate!" Of course, he's not going to say "Yeah mate, it's a snotter that's pi**ing oil everywhere!" Anyway, he's having the ball joints done on the suspension tomorrow lunchtime, so I'll be going to look at/drive it tomorrow night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willg60 Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 I paid £8,000 for mine, and despite this (hopefully small) problem at the moment, eveything about the car is top notch- body work is amazing for the mileage and not a trolley dent in sight! I recon another important thing, as with any Audi, is the suspension arms, they normally all go at once, I had to have 3 done on my old A8 and cost £600+... So make sure you take it over some bumpy ground (at slow speed) to test for knocks. I recon the gearbox is the biggest concern... especially from what most peeps on here say!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willg60 Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Is it the grey one at amccars on autotrader? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie61 Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 [ QUOTE ] The dealer is asking £7,500 for it. It's only been up for sale for half an hour, and I was the third person to call! [/ QUOTE ] Probably picked it up from a car auction for 5k or less if it's an independant garage. If you register with the british car auctions website http://www.british-car-auctions.co.uk/ for a fee you can get a heads up of what cars are coming up for auction and where. You'd be amazed at what big engined cars go for , most will have FSH as they've been lease cars maintained regardless of cost. If I were looking for another 8 it's where i'd be looking, why pay a dealer 3k so he can give you a 12 month worthless warranty with it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werejackal Posted October 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Yes, that's the one. And I'm not confident enough to buy from an auction. At least you have SOME comeback with a dealer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willg60 Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Yes, an auction would freak me out a little... I suppose all you can do is give her a good once over and put a silly offer in (I think it's always fair to expect a bill of some sort almost straight away, just to get the thing up to statch. If you didn't then I'm sure the price of teh car would be higher in the first place). I agree with the comment about big engined cars though... with fuel price like they are, the market must be very limited, so it's a buyers market... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Botang Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 I dont think its worth that money, and here's why. High mileage S8's (100-150k) represnt very good value for money, but one you start going beyond 150k any car regardless of what it is will start hitting a wall of depreciation. On that basis the 7500 you invest now, in 20,000 miles time is only likely to fetch 5000 or lower. I dont know how many miles you are likely to put on the car and how long you would be looking at keeping it, but IMO the only way to recoup the investment on a car that has done that kind of mileage is to keep it until it dies. On one hand I dont doubt that the car has many years life in it yet you have to consider what the market resale of the car would be further down the line. I think that you could very easily be throwing money away regardless of the cars condition, its all down to people perception and there aint that many people that are prepared to buy 200,000 mile cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willg60 Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Fair comment, but if you want an S8 and your on a tight budget, a high miler is your only option! maybe try and come up with another £1,000 - £1,500, you could get something around the 100k mile mark which would mean a better resale value in the future.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A8Mark Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 I agree,the milage is to high for me,seeing that hes still asking 7500 for it! Id go no higher than 6500 for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 My A8 4.2 Q Sport was bought with 170K miles (6 yr old FASH) and I sold it a year later for £600 less, and just over 200K miles on it. Nothing mechanical was wrong, just the climate display bulbs had died, the climate needed re-gassing. Wish I still had it, but hey-ho. If you are going to keep it, don't worry about mileage. Check it over very well though. Nothing should be wrong with it. It has probably been up and down the motorways cruising all day. A fat cat director would probably have had it. However, that is too much cash for such mileage. Go see it, and see what you think. But don't buy it at that price. Wait a week or so and see if he still has it. Then drop your offer....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfer Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Totaly agree with botang, my S8 had 149K, I sold it on an "S" plate three years ago for £7k, no way is that car worth more that £4K, sorry J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfer Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Totaly agree with botain, my S8 had 149K, I sold it on an "S" plate three years ago for £7k, no way is that car worth more that £4K, sorry J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnss8 Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 I know it's an S8 you want but if mileage and money are an issue why not look at a 4.2QS for now, you'd probably get a newer and less mileage one for your money and as earlier posts on here have said there's not that much difference in the 2 cars!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willg60 Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 4k !! I saw a 1999 S8 with 159k miles got for nearly 10k recently. It was the 340, but did have the TV. I think if this car is uptogether with a proper Audi history, it's got to be worth 6k at least. The 100k mile "car is ready for the scrap yard" might well have been applicable 20 years ago, but modern cars can go on for 500,000 if they are looked after properly. My girlfriends dad got over 500,00 out of a Renault 21 with the original engine and clutch! Weren't A8's built to do 500,000 anyway? I agree a QS might be a better option in the 5-6k bracket.... I think you should take a look and if it's as good as he says, make a realistic offer, or look at some QS's.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werejackal Posted October 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Hmmm... A lot of conflicting messages! I don't plan to put masses of mileage on whatever car I buy - I do about 6000 miles a year. However, whatever I do buy is not likely to stay longer than 2-3 years, especially if I got a payrise or came into some money. My head says "have a look and then wait and see if it sells", but the devil on my shoulder keeps saying "someone's going to snap it up, and you'll be waiting 3 months for another S8 in that price bracket." I could "lower myself" to a Quattro Sport, but in my heart, it's the S8 I want with the full-fat dose of power and the improved gearshift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willg60 Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Go and have a look...... I was looking for an S8 for ages, and I never saw one cheaper than £8,500. The one you are looking at, is the cheapest S8 I have ever seen, and I keep an eye on the autotrader and ebay all of the time. I'm not sure where audijohn got the figure of 4k from? Anyway, I sold my old 1995 4.2 QS 4 speed! (120k miles) for £6,000 exactly, only a few months ago. A 1998 S8 even with that mileage must be worth somewhere between 6-8k depending on condition etc etc... From what I have seen, they don't come up very often in that price bracket, theres plenty on the autotrader for 11k+ for 1998 with 100k on the clock.... I suppose you can only go by whats out there...?? If there are S8's out there for 4k, I'd like to see them and phuck (in a word) cos I just shelled out double that on mine! go and have a look, it might be all good, you'll know straight away if its a shed. Also, buy an S, otherwise you'll always be lusting after one like I did when I had the QS! Don't delay the inevitable! good luck... remember your not under any obligation until you've shaken the blokes hand.... !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Botang Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Id suggest it is worth £6500 maybe £7000 at a push if it is in very good condition, but what concerned me more is that in a couple of years time with an additional 20,000 miles on the clock the value (at todays prices) may only be £5000. I should think you will be able to find a 100-120k car for around 8500 which to me would represent better value for money as you should be able to get 7500 back for it in a couple of years time. You can also factor into it that the lower mileage car should in theory cost less to run as the higher mileage car may require more parts over the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werejackal Posted October 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 I'm going to go and look at it tonight, so I'll post my impressions when I get back. I'm also going to look at the green S8 that was on eBay recently (item 4578206530 ). It didn't make its reserve, so I got in touch with the seller, and he's willing to talk a deal. Much lower mileage (90K) and I reckon I can get it for around £8,000. I didn't really want green - my ideal colour would have been black with grey interior, but I'll settle for green if it's a nice car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfred Posted October 6, 2005 Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 I ran an Autotrader national search out of curiosity and the cheapest S8 that came up was 7.5k. the next one along was 9k. If you were buying a classic car all the experts would tell you to buy the best condition you can afford - I would go with that. I saw a lot of poorly maintained A8s S8s around when I looked where owners skimped on servicing and relied upon inherent reliability. I paid over the odds for my car but I bought it confident that it had been extremely well cared for. The 8s hide miles extremely well. Mines now on 92k and the interior shows no wear at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfer Posted October 6, 2005 Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 I bought one for a mate at an auction last year for £7K, blue/Grey interior, 110K full A/SHist. Herd it running no test drive though, turned out A1, yea on reflection £4K was a little LOW, sorry guys I do like to steal them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willg60 Posted October 6, 2005 Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 I thought green was a bit old manish... but i'm well pleased with mine, the colour polishes up a treat ! and its the same as the one in Ronin!!! got to be all good !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crasher Posted October 6, 2005 Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 I'd agree with all the talk about the cars taking the mileage. Providing you get full history and keep it serviced then it should be good for 500k miles easily. I've just put 25k miles on my 02-plate in a little over 8 months and I reckon its still bearly run-in (with 65k on the clock)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willg60 Posted October 6, 2005 Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 At the end of the day, your only paying 7 grand for a car that might (I actually got a grand more back for my QS after a year!) lose a couple of grand in a couple of years. Just think about the poor bastad that probably dropped the best part of 30-40 grand on it in the first few years of the cars life ! Now that would be a shocker ! What would you get for 7 grand brand new ? a Fiesta or something else equally as shite.... and that would definately halve in value over a couple of years.... As long as it's been looked after, you should be fine... go for it ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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