jabrown

Audi owner since 1985. I have an opportunity to purchase a 1998 A8 4.2 with roughly $20,000 miles on it for wholesale or better. I'm tired of pumping money into my 1992 100CS Quattro and am looking for a newer car.

Any big maintenance issues with these cars? I've scanned the first several pages of posts and noticed the hunting issue. Can someone comment if the hunting issue is primarily age related or mileage related?

Thanks!

---Jim

Nasti

Miles that low are suspicious. Did you carfax and make sure there were no major accidents? If you know and trust the seller than not to worry, but if not I would invest in a paint meter or hire a pro to look at it.

BTW - over the last 3 weeks I show 13 1998 A8Q's nationwide sold at auction. Average price around $10k and average miles 93k. I use these numbers as a base and add for above average and low miles.

PaulW

Less than 3,000 miles a year? Is it showroom condition?

An A8 takes repair money also, especially one that is 7 years old.

It's an awesome car, but I would not believe that the car has 20K on it unless I saw it in person and it looked like it came off the showroom floor.

Good luck!

Acceler8

where do you find info on what was auctioned?

jabrown

I know the owner. It was really only driven 20,000 miles and garaged the vast majority of the time it wasn't being driven. It wasn't his primary car.

I wouldn't call it showroom condition in terms of cosmetics. After all, it is seven years old. But, it is in excellent cosmetic condition with no known mechanical defects.

---Jim

jabrown

That's great information!

If $10k is average auction, do you have any feel for how much of a premium one should add for the very low mileage?

Thanks.

---Jim

jabrown

I know this car seems like too good of a find, but I know it is legitimate. 20k miles. Garaged. No accidents. Excellent cosmetic condition. No known mechanical problems.

My big concern is maintenance.

Anyone have a feel for what I should expect to spend on this car in maintenance over the next few years? What big ticket items are likely to need replacing? What items are known to be a significant problem with this model?

Thanks.

---Jim

PaulW

If you do your own repairs.

You could do a new control arm/tie rod set for that....

You'll also need to do the timing belt within a year or so.....don't wait until 90K miles.

Plus you will probably end up replacing some parts because of the age of the car and it's lack of use.

jabrown

$1,000 per year, I can handle, but I don't do my own repairs. I don't have the time, skill, or tools.

Any idea how much I should add to that estimate for labor in the DC area?

Thanks a lot. You've been very helpful.

---Jim

JimR

That's using indy mechanics.