boomer28

I'm looking at a 2013 or 2014 S8 and had a few questions and wanted to see what people thought of the few options I have in front of me.

1) Year really matter? From what I understand '13-15 are pretty much identical

2) Much of a difference between the regular diamond pattern seats and the ones with the contrast strip down the middle? (Only seen the former in person).

3) Could you live with out the B&O system? Huge music fan and the B&O is all I've experienced and it's amazing. Is Bose that much of a drop-off in quality?

4) Estimated value to assign to a CPO with two identical cars?

Lastly, I have 2 pretty much identical cars near me. Only real difference is one has just under 20k miles and the other is about 34k except the later has a CPO. Offered price is about $4k less for the higher mileage CPO one. Seems like this is the way to go, no? Thanks in advance. T

Jack88

I can say I test drove an S8 coming from my Bose, and did not see a huge improvement. The regular Bose provides excellent clarity as it is. I would say that the D3 Bose is better, though, since it seems to match clarity of the newer system with better bass. Neither of the D4 systems offer much bass.

At the end of the day, go with the car you like better. If you like them both equally well, I'd go for the CPO one with higher mileage. Realistically, they are both still nearly new, so why not get the cheaper one with better warranty?

boomer28

Had a chance to experience a standard Bose system tonight and B&O is leagues better. I listen to a huge range of music and think this will truly make a difference. I wish there was a touch more bass however it's still better than virtually any included audio system I've ever heard...

MP4.2+6.0

FWIW, I have D3 Bose and D4 B&O. Less than a month though in D4. My take is the B&0 is definitely crisper on the notes and music. In both vehicles I an using the same high bit rate copies off of personal CD's, and literally the same player unit moved from one to the other. I always found the D3 Bose strong, but now I can hear individual notes better and the bass line is more distinct rather than a bit mushy. As in, the speakers and processing can handle the content very well. Actually, I don't find the bass weak, which I know is in contrast to many if not most common comments about B&0. And I am a guy who uses subs in home environments, though to articulate the bass rather than crank it up or "thump it." What I do find weak is the overall volume of the unit. I am still playing with the hidden settings, put honestly I think there are some nanny police behind the configurations who decided above certain SPLs was simply verboten in the D4. Thus I can probably get my D3 Bose up as high (or higher?) in apparent volume this B&0, but the B&0 is still crisp and accurate at is highest levels (near '34'). The Bose would clearly be distorting before you ever tried to go to full volume. If I was on a tighter budget, would I have to have it? If D4 Bose is in the zone of D3, no. And still not sure I would pay "new" pricing over $6K; I bought CPO. Or said, another way, if I have a certain max budget and need to make choices, I would probably pick either driving related electronics or incrementally nicer interior stuff somewhat earlier than this, knowing the Bose really is not a slouch and all of the balance of the interface is basically identical.

MP4.2+6.0

To your first question BTW (nearly identical from 13-15?), to me that is a no. But if you are on a budget, likely "close enough."

From 2013 to 2014, yes you are pretty much right. And 2013 already picked up some changes that went across the D4--if you pay the money. Audi Connect (Google Earth and WiFi type stuff), 360 cameras, cylinder on demand, and various other running improvements. From 2014 to 2015 though you are crossing over to the "facelift." You get both visible tweaks there like headlights with better/cleaned up lower linear lines and a variety of other modest midlife styling tweaks, and behind the scenes like sound insulation and some other things.

I personally think the facelift (2015+ helped a fair amount; I was definitely of the mind for a long time that the early D4's looked like ginormous A4's and were not very differentiated. I still lsruggle some to tell the contemporaneous A4's, A6's and A8's apart even as a 40 year owner. The S8 didn't suffer from that as much perhaps--S8 not that similar to S4 look to me beyond the invariably common themes like quad exhaust and aluminized mirror look.

Anyway, be sure you know about the facelift changes that occur with 2015's. You can decide if they are worth the higher pricing of the newer ones general.

boomer28

Thanks guys. On the B&O front - I really need to play withe settings/levels more as that's something I'm used to doing and there is clearly a lot of optionality here...

On the different models, have done some more research and for sure there are some tweaks but its VERY minor IMO. They had a new S8+ ad the dealer when it took out the '13 yesterday and while not side-by-side it was damn close. The new wheels on the S8+ where really nice however the interiors were about 95% the same (new steering wheel, few other minor things). I think the pricing on '13s is pretty amazing relative to the other years right now as there is a high number of leases coming off right now and will continue to for a while...

frybear

I would think the S8 comes with diamond cross-stitched seating since that is part of the sports package on the A8 and the S8 is obviously a sport but I could be wrong, totally wrong. Then again, doesn't the S8 have the "racing" style seats like the S4?

Ferrari27

Bought a '13 S8 with only 7,900 miles and Audi care in July of '15. Pro baseball player was the first owner. Original list was $132,500, every available option.

I paid $87K. Best ride I have ever owned. B&O is superb, but the Bose 3D in the wife's new 17 Q7 is hard to believe. The results of hammering the S8 are like nothing I have experienced, yet the S8 will go unnoticed in a funeral procession.

Pulled up next to an MB S63 and gave him the go sign. He said "no thanks. I tried an S8 once." If you don't need the MB bling and love the ultimate luxury, performance and exclusivity, the S8 is for you. '13-'15 doesn't matter.

HouTexAudi

My '14 S8 had and my '16 S8 has the diamond patterned seats. That was standard with no option to do otherwise.

Spolzie

Had Bose Audio in a Murano; and it was nice...Bose misses on midrange as designed for voices. I have B & O in an S4 and it is WOW