1FatJ

I'm looking at a 2003 Audi S8 with 164k miles, for $6.4k. It's a beautiful car, the body and interior in almost great condition, except for a couple minor scratches, normal wear and tear for a car pushing 15 years old. It comes with an extra set of wheels with winter tires, as well as maintenance records all the way back to 2009, all from the Minneapolis Audi dealership.

A couple things I'm a little concerned about are 1) the transmission just got rebuilt. The original owner was going to scrap it, until the current owner bought it and had the tranny overhauled. On the test drive it seemed to drive and shift great, with no noticeable issues.
And 2) the catalytic converter was replaced 4 times since 2009. That is definitely something I don't want to have to deal with almost every other year. What could be the reason for this, and should I be concerned about it?

Is this car a good deal if I can talk him down to an even $6k?
What are some things that I should look at or keep in mind when I look at this car?
What are your personal opinions or experiences with this vehicle or engine?
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I'm also looking into:
2004 S4, 130k miles, $6.5k
2004 Allroad 4.2L, 160k miles, $5k
2003 A6 2.7T, manual, 140k miles, $5k

I had an '05 A4 3.0L manual up until a couple weeks ago when I hit a deer and totaled it going 45mph. I would love any advice on the other Audi's I'm looking at.

the_duke

I would do a VCDS scan before making a decision. The multiple cats in such a short period is strange. Most cars never have them replaced.

$6k most likely won't buy a problem free Audi. Consider spending a little more or be prepared for the repair bills. All 2.7t cars will most likely have issues. I own one that has been relatively problem free but I bought it with 86k miles and paid almost $10k for it. In my 2 years of ownership I've put aprox. 15k miles on it. During that time I've had to replace the throttle body boot, which was pretty easy and cheap, and perform the timing belt service, which was not easy or cheap. I also did valve cover gaskets at the same time because they were leaking. I did all this work myself so i'm only out parts cost of about $500. I would probably have spent close to $2k having it done at a shop.

This forum is a great place to do some research on common problems. Also if you plan on continuing your Audi ownership invest in a VCDS cable. You'll be able to scan these cars you're looking at.

richard-tx

If I were you I would look for a 2005 or 2006. The reasons are:

1 - The 6 speed transmission in the D3 has proven to be bulletproof. The 5 speed in the D2 is guaranteed to fail usually at or before 150,000 miles. In other words, it is a matter of when the transmission will fail, not if. Not sure what the life expectancy is of a good rebuild (Tozo) is. A Tozo rebuild is the best there is - period. Generally, once Tozo fixes a transmission, it is good forever. If anyone else rebuilds it, it could fail again in 150,000 miles or less. While you should have the 6 speed, this is for your info in case a older one should pop up and you start considering it.

2 - The D3 4.2 has more power than the D2 4.2. The S8 4.2 has more power than the A8 4.2.

3 - Air suspension - The air suspension is superior to the coil spring suspension. Sure the struts can fail, but that is not a major repair. The superior handling and ride more than make up for it. Strut rebuild costs are about $300 each. The air suspension started in 2002 IIRC so you are good there.

4 - On the plus side the 2007 S8 has the V10 engine. Now you are close to the realm of a supercar. It should cost about $20k or so. 5.4 - 5.1 seconds 0-60 is nothing to sneeze at. The 5.2 V10 was announced in the last quarter of 2005 and full production started in June 2006 and ended in September 2009.

5 - I would avoid the 2004 model year. There are some hidden issues with the 2004 that were fixed starting in 2005.

Get all the service records and see what has been done. I know one fellow that bought a S8 and didn't review the records. Problems started to occur a few months after he bought it and then he read the service records. The engine had been pulled previously because of "salt water immersion". That is never a good thing. He sold the car.

twentysevenlitres

Hi mate,

A D2 S8 is a great buy - absolute performance bargain!
Very classy, very subtle, very quick (Audi figures on performance are conservative).
The 4.2 5V V8 (>2000) in the S8 is the most powerful Naturally Aspirated version of the port injection (indirect injection) 4.2 Audi produced and beats the next nearest version by around 20hp (C5 S6).
It is even more powerful than most versions of the FSI (direct injection) 4.2 which shared it's block. The only FSI version to be more powerful than it is found in the RS5 - though I'm not sure if this is the 'compact' block found in the B7 RS4 (also more powerful), which is technically a different engine.

A rebuilt transmission is a good thing in the S8 you're looking at, as (as others have said) there is a high failure rate on these transmissions over 100k miles. A rebuilt transmission will hopefully have the improved design clutch-A basket fitted, which is a stronger design than the original part which tends to fail. If it's had a new or improved pressure valve fitted all the better.

The 6 speed transmission in the D3 is regarded as a more robust design, but I'm not convinced the 5 speed in the S8 is a weak design. They used this transmission in the RS6, which is no slouch in the torque department. If it wasn't up to the task, it wouldn't have got there. It just needs to be looked after, both from a driving and maintenance perspective.

Other than that, the S8 just has some regular 'Audi' maintenance issues:

• The front suspension just needs attention paid to any looseness or rattles. The Quadlink control arm set up on all A4 and upwards series Audi's is dynamically brilliant, but can wear quickly. Not overly expensive and arms can be replaced one at a time with relative ease.
• Front outer CV boots can tear and spray grease all over the inside of the wheels. Just take a look at them.
• Manifold flap links - these can only be seen at the front of the engine with the top cover removed. The links between the vacuum pods and manifold flap shafts snap and stop the flaps from operating. This will result in slightly poorer fuel economy, poorer low down torque, and slightly rougher engine at low revs (not all that noticeable if you don't know the engine well, but it's all down to inefficient slow speed airflow with the flaps sprung to the wide open high rpm position). If you find them snapped, check the flap shafts for free movement as these can seize (leading to the failure in the first place) and are quite a job to free up. I recommend the Gruven "unbreakable" replacement links and there's also a great write up on their site for seized flap shafts lifted from this forum and originally written by Sam (SilverD2).
• Torque mount - difficult to see, but is located at the front right (from drivers seat) of the engine near the top of the block and is used to counteract the engines tenancy to twist clockwise during acceleration (similar to snub mount on A4s). It has a tenancy to tear and limit it's effectiveness. Doesn't affect drivability much, but can decrease drivetrain smoothness. Cheap part, bugger to fit!
• Oil Cooler Coolant pipe. Anyone who has had one of these engines long enough knows about the accountants curse. Audi fitted a plastic pipe inside the housing they designed for the oil cooler on the block. Over the course of around 100k miles, the plastic goes hard, shrinks slightly and starts to leak. It's an external coolant leak and doesn't normally affect the oil.
  It is a bugger to replace - all day job for a $20 part!
  Check to see if it's been done. If it was done by the dealer, they still use the accountant plastic tube. There is a far superior aluminium tube available from eBay - or Gruven have copied it too...

Electrically and mechanically the D2s are pretty robust though.

Y888

D2 is like the wine,older the better.
Definitely will be unique classic car in couple of years.

VinceR020

I hope you're still pursuing that D2 S8, the body design just looks like a true luxury bred vehicle unlike the D3 plus D2s are totally UNCOMMON to see around which is a GREAT thing (my personal preference) plus preventative maintenance helps ALOT for the D2 S8's.....I had to settle with the next best thing (2002 A8L) because there were no D2 S8s worth the buy at the time, but after all some money put in and time and preventative and necessary maintenance and she has been riding like a bulletproof tank

1FatJ

I did end up going with the 2003 S8. It's a beautiful car and I love it so far! Definitely a unique vehicle that you don't see much of. Especially considering there is probably an A4 and A6 for every block around me.

VinceR020

Well let me be the first to say this.....Welcome to the D2 club man....I guarantee you that S8 is going to take care of you for as long as you live.....and the fact that it's a 03 S8 D2 makes it TOO RARE

I couldn't find a S8 so I had to settle for the next best thing which was the A8L D2....found a 2002 in NJ and never looked anywhere since

And regarding the A4s and A6s I couldn't agree more....those cars are heavily common so its best to have something uncommon on the road