2001 S8

That was a great write up by twentysevenlitres of the majority of the issues common to D2's.

I put $1200 aside for maintenance and repairs per year. If you do you own maintenance, you can probably cut it $600 per year. The first and second year of ownership might be more $$$; tires, changing out fluids, breaks/rotors, control arms, etc...

As for getting a comparison between D2 and D3, I suggest going to the D3 forum and propose your question. There seem to be quite a few members over there that went from owning a D2 to a D3.

Good luck.

dizoer

Thanks for the info everyone! It sounds like routine maintenance and one time fixes. Sounds like its the same as the average car (every car has its unique issues) except more money for parts and labor. Now I know what to look for. When I do find one I like I will definitely use common sense and check the maintenance records. As for the d3 I am sure the maintenance is considerably higher. Plus the carbon that builds up in the engine often must be cleaned around every 10,000 to 15,000 I read which is costly!!! I personally think the d2 body style is the best looking of all a8s. Stately and well proportioned. A very special and unique car. Thanks again!

whooosh_s4

Noticed this while doing some research for my D2 S8. I actually went the other way, D3 > D2 S8. After $28k in maintenance on my D3, I couldn't take it any longer. I made sure all the current repairs were completed, and I sold it. I have far less trouble with my D2. The only thing I lack is a "factory" like Bluetooth solution for the car. With the custom exhaust, I mainly listen to that note while driving around town on short trips....

twentysevenlitres

There are two pretty good Bluetooth add-ons for the D2 (might be three or more actually), xCarLink and Grom.
Both of these are little tech boxes about the size of a cigarette packet that plug into the CD stacker plug of your headunit.
They both have a USB input for your personal music collection to be put on a stick, and they both have an add-on (at additional cost) Bluetooth module for both media and Phone calls.

XCarLink: see here and here
The first link is the unit I had. The second link is a newer unit which wasn't around when I bought mine and may be offer a better direct Bluetooth experience.
For my XCarLink, you get to keep CD stacker functionality, which may be a bonus (in 2023?), but in the case of the USB input you are limited to lossy MP3 format (and WAV, because that's so popular!). Hopefully Bluetooth media playback doesn't have the same limitation(s).
I found XCarlink to be a bit buggy with the switch from CD stacker to Unit and vise-versa, and I'm not a fan of MP3, even in a car.

Grom: see here
For the Grom, you lose the CD stacker, but you get to play many more formats, including FLAC. It will stream over bluetooth as well (not sure of limitations, I'll have to test mine).
I've currently got the Grom plugged-in on my car. It also has its own bugs. I currently need to pull the head unit out of the dash, as the Grom is buried behind it, as it is trying to play CD2 track 96 or something, which I don't have on the stick! It could be a formatting problem by using empty folders or something, and I'd also been fiddling with the random and sequential play functions of the RNS-D, which I don't think the Grom liked. The unit needs a reset I think, as unplugging the USB hasn't worked.
I haven't tried the Bluetooth unit yet (I'm very slack with this sort of thing!), but I'll give it a go once I sort the unit out.


There's also a similar third box which used to be around called Yatour. Has the MP3 and CD stacker replacement limitations. Not sure if it's still available and I have no direct experience with it.
There's also a number of universal Bluetooth kits too, which might be worth looking in to.