JustBusiness

Greetings all A8 enthusiasts,

I am begining to plan my purchase of my second car, the first I have purchased on my own. I have driven my Impala since new for 140,000 miles.

Now, I have graduated from college and work at a financial services company. My Impala seems like it will die at some point in the near future, and I have been considering a new car for a few months now. After alot of searching, and test-driving, I have concluded I want an Audi A8. I drove the 2009 A8L, and loved it, however, I think I would prefer a SWB. Also, I by no means have the capital to purchase brand new.

So I think I have settled on a SWB 2005 A8, with sub 40k miles. I will drive it in upstate NY mostly, year round. I prefer the front end on the '05 to those on the '06+.

At any rate, I am looking for advice on how/where to buy my first Audi. There is only 1 audi dealer local, and they are notorious for being poor service and overpriced for preowned. They also don't have any used a8's in stock.

I have some friends that are able to purchase vehicles at dealer auctions (www.manheim.com), but am worried about what type of problems it may have. Is this an equal risk to buying one off of ebay?

Also, what about warranties? Should I tough it out with out one, and use an independent mechanic, purchase a third party warranty, or what do I have to do to get an Audi warranty?

Also, is there somewhere I can find all of the options (colors, interiors, wheels, options) for the '05 model year A8. Also, what about importation #'s for the U.S. or North America.?



Thanks for all input (hopefully it is positive).

Regards,

Justin

Galco

Suggest you do the auction as i did for my 2006 sport. The prices on the 2005 are very reasonable. Suggest you talk with your friend about current prices on the 05s, as with any car the first year of a production still has bugs, in this case the '04. Also, try to get a late model '05 as it has bluetooth over the outdated on-star system.

These cars are great but will be expensive to repair when needed and they will need it. Also suggest you get the best, transferable aftermarket warranty you can afford to cover yourself.

Good luck and keep us posted.

MP4.2+6.0

just sticking with Galco's advice line, remember Audi's basic warranty is 4 years, 50K miles and it is pretty comprehensive. Service in included too for cars thru 2006 for the same interval. Thus, buy a car still under factory warranty for now, so you can get any non cosmetic issues covered under factory warranty by a dealer. Then add onto that a good aftermarket warranty if you don't buy Audi Certified.

As far as specs, etc., just look on this site under Resources/Model Guide and go to the desired year of the A8 like 2005 for all the specs, option configurations/choices, etc.

If you want to know weaknesses, search archives. The posts have been written before, including maybe some of mine.

kozubik

2005 was not version 1.0, but I think the general consensus is that the bugs were really all worked out in 2006.

I tend to like the 2005 front end as well, but in terms of modernity and resale, the 2006 may be preferable, as it may more closely resemble the upcoming D4*, and thus be more desirable when the time comes for you to either sell it, or continue driving it yourself.

(* and other upcoming/current models throughout the audi range)

theanimala

So you would hope it sells for more later. I like the new grill but could not get a 2006 for anything less than $10K more than a late model 2005, even with similar mileage. For me it just wasn't worth it.

Also, the 2004 was the first year and the one considered to have the most bugs. General consensus is that the 2005 model, especially late models with Bluetooth, to be the same bug wise as the 2006.

JustBusiness

Yes,the $10k more puts an A8 out of my range (for now). The 2005 with bluetooth seem to have most of the bugs worked out.

I have been doing some research on what options I want (or would prefer), and made a list of 5 acceptable colors. If anyone is interested I will list my choices:

Exterior -
1. Oyster Gray
2. Brilliant Black
3. Akoya Silver
4. Atlas Gray
5. Light Silver

Options:
Needed:
-Cold Weather Package
- Bluetooth
Preferred:
- Alcantara
- 19" 12 Spokes
- Dual Pane Laminated Glass
- Wood Steering Wheel
- Parktronic
- No convenience package (I am guessing most with Alcantara and dual pane glass have this option though).

Now I just need to find all interior options. I would like a very dark brown leather, or black and have the seats recovered at some point.

As for aftermarket:

- Custom exhaust (Headers, downpipe, all the way back).
Will I need this to be made to order, or are there quality aftermarket full exhaust systems for the d3?


This is a work in process, and will be changed by your opinions. Thanks again for any input.

BTW, I plan on using this car till it dies. Resale value has no impact on my decision.

Galco

<ul><li><a href="http://www.edmunds.com/used/2005/audi/index.html#">http://www.edmunds.com/used/2005/audi/index.html#</a</li></ul>

theanimala

It's good that you have 5 colors that you would consider, that should open your options a bit. The dark brown leather is called Amaretto, and it is VERY nice. That was my first choice, but the deal I got on my Black on Black was too good to pass up and keep waiting for a similar Ameretto car.

Cold weather is a must, as well as the Premium/Convenience Package so you get the Smart Key system (I love that option). I also had the 19" 12 Spokes as a must have, it really does make the car look more 'bold'.

Dual pane is great, but hard to find. I have the wood wheel and it looks nice but it is slick and very hard on a long drive. I like the three spoke wheel with paddle shifters but I do think a leather wheel would feel much better.

Mine also has the soft close doors which is a slightly amusing to watch but totally unnecessary. Parktronic is also helpful because of the size but not needed if you are slightly extra careful.

XM or Sirius is a must in my mind. As is an upgrade to the AMI or Dension Gateway 500 for ipod connectivity.

Good luck with your hunt and finding the car you want at the price you want. Since the A8 isn't the greatest seller it will take some time to get the exact car you are looking for, but it's worth the wait.

Polidori

Bite the bullet and buy a CPO car from an Audi dealer.
One of the cooler options available is the four zone climate control which gives each rear seat passenger a separate climate control. But, this option, like alcantara, leather pkg, and dual pane glass, is tough to find.

audivotary

an auction. We agreed on the price before he bought it and he brought it back and had it covered by CPO. Also, I wasn't committed to buy it if I didn't like it, since he could have sold it for more money if I didn't buy it. This is a good way top find low mileage cars.