considering_a8 Posted November 13, 2005 Report Share Posted November 13, 2005 Hi all forum members: After thinking about it for a couple of months and having a good look around I have just acquired an A8. I bought a 1999 (facelifted) 4.2 Quattro with 73k on the clock. It appears to have been a well pampered company owned example with loads of service stamps and paperwork and had its cambelt change service (cost: £1250) just 1100 miles ago. It seems a nice spec with SatNav+, Bose, Solar Roof, Xenons, GSM phone etc. (it even has all the blind options, heated rear seats etc. so the original purchaser evidently ticked all the boxes). I paid £7600 for it which is a bit more than I planned to spend but after hunting it was the cheapest non-abused facelift example I could find which had a decent spec and a relatively low mileage. I’m sure had I hunted around I could have found a facelifted 2.8 with 130k ish for under £4k but after reading this forum I decided I wanted a V8, Quattro and an impeccable history. I’m still in two minds as to whether it was the right price but seemed about right – particularly as it’s just had all-round new brakes and tyres. Anyway, a few quick questions: Although the history is comprehensive I doubt the gearbox oil has ever been changed. At 73k how important is this? I know Audi say for life and everyone else says not but should I make this a priority or wait for the next service? The service book implies the intervals are every 10k or 1 year (and that’s how its been serviced) but I was under the impression post-99 A8’s had BMW style variable indicators? Which is correct? The manual seems to contradict the service book. The SatNav+ seems quite noisy at start up from the CD drive (it has an updated 2003 disc) for a while. Is this normal (i.e. it’s just loading map data on switch on) or is the mechanism on it’s way out? What SatNav system would a 1999 A8 have? I’m totally confused by DX, C, D types etc. Thanks for any help. From a brief drive around in the dark locally this evening it certainly seems a very nice car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willg60 Posted November 13, 2005 Report Share Posted November 13, 2005 Hi, I would say you got a good deal. To get a face lift with low mileage and all the trimmings for that price sounds pretty good. I would, from what people say on here, get the ATF done sooner rather than later. Not sure I can answer your other questions but I'm sure the others will ..... enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SneakyMcC Posted November 13, 2005 Report Share Posted November 13, 2005 Wow, sounds lurrrvly! Welcome home. Get some pics for us... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willg60 Posted November 13, 2005 Report Share Posted November 13, 2005 Ahh, silver right.... from ebay? I had that on my watch list! Not sure about the wheels tho.... I have seen late style Avus S8 rims with tyres on ebay for about £600 if you wanted to revert to the original spec. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
considering_a8 Posted November 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2005 Yes, I am on the lookout to put the wheels back. The original alloys had apparently corroded a bit so they'd replaced them. The upside is that there are 4 new tyres on the car and I have the receipt and warranty for the new wheels. They're OK, but I prefer things original. The car was being sold by a company in Ipswich and it had been a Director's car and by the look of it has been well looked after. I have the invoice from the last service which was carried out about 1100 miles ago by Ipswich Audi and included the Cambelt. It's also just had a driveshaft seal replaced at the Audi dealer (£500). There have been a few A8's on ebay recently. I did have a look at Item 4584916369 which eventually sold for an astounding £10k+ but wasn't as nice as this one. Time will tell (it might blow up tomorrow) but I've bought and sold many cars over the years and, as far as I can tell, it seemed a very honest example. Odd wheels normally make me suspect but the rest of the car seemed so straight I decided to take a punt. Having looked around, there are some neglected A8's out there and you're certainly better off with an older, higher mileage pampered example than something neglected. With this one, it seemed a nice spec (I'll probably never use the Sat Nav as I find my portable Garmin unit better but for whatever reason it seems to make cars easier to sell on) and the comprehensive history were major positives. For all that, I wouldn't have paid more than £7600 although CAP Black Book has the car at £8025 trade price in base spec so it wasn't a terrible price even in the era of 90p a litre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
considering_a8 Posted November 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2005 Incidentally, 4589806643 is a re-auction of one which sold for £7400 about a week ago. It's on at the moment. I didn't look at it so have no idea what it's like or why the purchase didn't complete but sounds a nice spec. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfred Posted November 14, 2005 Report Share Posted November 14, 2005 Sounds like a real bargain - v jealous. I've got same era car - is yours the 2000MY with revised armrests? There's a SATNAV page on one of the info links on here. Mine is v noisy when it starts up - in terms of you can hear the DVD whirring away in the drive unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
considering_a8 Posted November 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2005 [ QUOTE ] Sounds like a real bargain - v jealous. I've got same era car - is yours the 2000MY with revised armrests? [/ QUOTE ] It's a 99 car but the March 99 facelifted version (with the different style buttons etc.). Don't know about the arm rests except it has them! The SatNav is the 4:3 LCD one based on CD, not DVD, I think. As you say, I think it just loads a load of map data etc. from the CD when you switch it on and the noise is just the CD head seeking a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willg60 Posted November 14, 2005 Report Share Posted November 14, 2005 Yours does have late arm rests I'm sure, along with all the other goodies... I really would like a face lift but facelift S8's don't seem available for lessthan about £12,000... so I can dream on !! BTW item 4589806643 is near me and i nearly looked at it just out of interest... seems the sellers doing dodgy things with fake bids cos it didn't make the money he had hoped... I see he's using a reserve now too, I thought it looked a bit dirty in the pics..? Well, i hope you have a trouble free time with yours, it sounds well looked after and has had all the major things looked at... if it goes wrong, you might end up like me wishing you'd never bought it... I recon mine isn't worth what I paid and is going to cost me thousands due to a suspect gearbox (which I still haven't diagnosed)... total nightmare.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
considering_a8 Posted November 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2005 We’ll see how it goes. I’ve owned several large saloons (Lexus, BMW etc.) over the years and I’ve come to the conclusion there are no hard and fast rules as to which work out and which do not. Some I’ve run for 1-2 years with great enjoyment and generally faultless and sold for nearly as much as I’ve paid for them and others have been disasters. In general, I have to say the Lexus have been by far the best in terms of bulletproof reliability. Nothing is certain though. All you can do is judge a car as best you can that it’s been well looked after and trust to luck. It’s why large saloons are worth barely 10% of their purchase price after 5 years – few people will take the risk on them. One of the big battles with cars like 7-Series, A8’s etc. is finding anyone who knows how to fix them. Sometimes this is the main dealer, sometimes not. The approach of those who don’t know is just to keep replacing bits until they fix it by chance. If anyone knows of anyone who really knows their way around an A8 in Essex or surrounding areas I’d be interested to hear. Sounds like you’ve had a lot of bad luck with your car. Are you sure the gearbox is on the way out? Auto’s do get a lot more clunky and noisy with age in all cars simply due to wear in the same way manuals get weak syncros, slop in the gearleaver and increasingly clunky. It doesn’t mean there is anything actually wrong with it or is about to blow up. I’m sure you know the car, but have you compared it against a similar mileage and age car to check you’re not being paranoid? Once you lose confidence in a car it’s possible to start imagining all sorts of things and listening to ever slight noise. I know I have! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
considering_a8 Posted November 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2005 [ QUOTE ] I see he's using a reserve now too, I thought it looked a bit dirty in the pics..? [/ QUOTE ] I'm always slightly suspicous when zero rated bidders suddenly appear. If it's a 100% car as described 7500ish is a good price whoever is bidding. It looks bit dirty at the back to me, the pictures and description are not wonderful. I did email asking for better pictures but never received them. The seller is a trader so is clearly trying to move it on at a profit. It might be a bargain or it might be a complete dog - only a very thorough inspection is likely to reveal which. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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