fermata

Hey all,

First off, not to blow smoke up anyone's ****, but I want to say I've looked at a few threads here and am blown away by the sense of community and the vast knowledge in this group. You guys really have something special here.
I've always been fond of Audis, r8 posters on my wall as a kid etc - the main reason I purchased my current car (VW Cabrio) was that it has the same VR6 up front as from the TT.

Anyways, I have not yet purchased an A8, but my Cabbie is showing signs that she's near the end and I just found out that my mechanic (a family friend/used car dealer) has a 2006 A8 for sale. It has 185,000km (115,000 miles) on it, but was in a front end accident, which is how he got it. He does incredible work and told me that he's done all the body work, brakes, timing belt(!!!), tune up etc. I drove it a bit yesterday and played with all the buttons and stuff, couldn't find any problems. Drive was absolutely stunning, air suspension works perfect as far as I can tell, and everything in the interior looks good too. I'm test driving it again tonight, so I can get pictures for you guys.

He's selling it for $14k (cdn), is that as good a deal as I think it is? Aside from the fact that accidents obviously shake up the whole car, is this worth it or will it only be leading towards more headaches? I'm good for just normal maintenance, and I've seen in the threads that timing belt is one of the bigger fixes these cars need, so I'm hoping that I'm safe. I'm a little low on the pay scale if there are going to be a lot of repairs needed, though, but he assures me that he's checked everything.

Is there anything I should ask about or investigate? I would love to have a stunning car like this, but if it's always going to be in the shop then I may have to painfully pass.

His daughter drives a 2003 A8L (same deal, front end accident) which just went over 275,000km (170,000miles), and she says that she's never had any issues aside from the odd computer glitch here and there, and that her suspension froze one time in these awful Canadian winters. Just thought I'd mention this in case it shows the quality of his work.

Apologies for how verbose I can be, I'm just beyond excited at the thought of owning a car like this and don't want it to leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Thank you so much in advance.
Neil

Jack88

Prior damage means the repairs better be spot on. If this one seems real sweet to you, have a different certified mechanic look over it. Don't be afraid to walk away if you have any weird feelings about it rather than making excuses for problems. The timing belt is the big maintenance item to look for, and while it's a plus for this car, I wouldn't shy away from one that needs it, just negotiate accordingly and get it done when you get the car. For anyone else looking at this, 14000 Canadian is about 11,400 US

tx170754

As one who spent 5 years in long, cold, salty, Canadian winters and, especially if you're on a low budget, I would say, besides it was in a front accident, don't buy it.
Just my .02

laychooba

i paid 10k CDN for a 2005 A8L with 20k less km's and not accidented, full
dealer serviced for 10 years.

i feel he's asking a bit too much. there's hot deals, you just have to hunt for
them. people are scared to buy these cars because of the assumed high price
cost of repairs.

fermata

Thanks for your honesty folks. I suppose the search begins!