icecreamballer

Jack88

That is definitely on the high end, not sure why they need that long for a PPI. Usually, it's just a matter of a VCDS scan and getting a visual on all the suspension components, testing the function of systems and so on.

a_very_naudi_guy

VCDS scan - reset some codes, drive it decently and hit all the buttons and do all the functions, see what comes back. Mess with every button, make sure everything works. As Jack said check the suspension, also check for any leaks - set to highest lift setting, and then enable.. what is it, tow mode or something? .. and let it sit. See if any side sags and the air escapes. Check the body and interior and make sure the person took good care of it.

Now for the fun part - while you're waiting for the results of the suspension air leak/sag test, take the VIN # and run an Autocheck or a Carfax on it. Get the name of the Audi dealerships it was serviced at and call them. Get copies of all the service work done to it. Call Audi dealerships in the area the car has been in as well, to cover some dealerships that might not be listed. I got 63 pages of service work records from an Audi dealership in the area. I did this with my A8 and found that it had been pretty much exclusively serviced by Audi, and the timing belt/water pump/tensioner / etc all got replaced @ 75k (the expensive maintenance), the brake fluid flushes had always been performed, etc and the guy took it in for the maintenance interval all the time. After all, the SERVICE nag helps . But getting that info from Audi will help you feel more comfortable.

EDIT: It dawned on me you probably don't have a VCDS if you're looking at your first D3 here.. if you are serious about buying a used Audi, you'll want one of these to save you a lot of money. I'd order one and then use it on this potential purchase. If it's not the one, you have other cars you can use it on for potential purchases. It also works on Volkswagen and whatnot.

icecreamballer

Thanks for the reply.
I called a shop in Pasadena, CA called European Auto Hause that does strictly VW and Audi and they quoted $150 for about 2 hour PPI. But the car is at a dealership 30 miles away so I'm not sure if the shop will allow PPI that far away.
Anyway, no I don't have VCDS but I guess it may be worth getting one if I'm more serious about the S8. The carfax does have 13 service history records with last one being intake manifold replaced. I did notice there was some oil under the car, looked like the subframe or something. Couldn't quite trace where the oil by be leaking from.
If the air suspension is bad, is it possible to convert to regular coilovers? will that be cheaper than fixing/replacing air suspension?

a_very_naudi_guy

If you are planning to buy an Audi or VW - VCDS is what you want. You'll be able to do many things that only the dealership can do, and trust me, you'll need to do them. Resetting the service indicator; reprogramming the car to take a new battery, doing throttle-body adaptation, installing new head lights (aiming procedure / set to "home" position) - hell I needed it in order to get my automatic telescoping steering wheel working again! I also tried to engage my parking brake while the car wasn't fully stopped, and I got a Parking Break malfunction indicator light (MIL) and the only way to fix it was to reset the DTC with the VCDS. Imagine taking it into the dealership to do all this... $$$.

When working on the car it's invaluable as well, as it'll give you the detailed information, well beyond a simple OBD-II reader, required to perform repairs on the car.

From what I have heard, there is now an alternative to the VCDS called "obdEleven" but I cannot speak for it. I can speak for VCDS and say it is quite good. You can buy it from Ross-Tech directly or buy it from Total Car Diagnostics in Australia for a fraction of the price; it was $89 plus shipping there I believe. You could probably get it expedited. Ross-Tech charges $400 I think. Do NOT buy the $15 cables with the pirated VCDS software from eBay and Amazon and whatnot, as these cables are very poor quality and often cannot perform all the tasks that VCDS needs and, in a worse-case scenario, may screw something up if part of the programming data is corrupted. Definitely worth the $$ to go with the real thing. Although I'd search the forum for information on obdEleven as it's cheaper than VCDS I believe.

The Carfax information won't list a lot of what was performed. I recommend you call the Audi dealerships at which service was performed and ask them for full records for the vehicle.

You want the air suspension, it's very nice and the car, depending on which mode you're in, adjusts the height and dampening and whatnot to optimize for ride comfort, for maneuvering/sport, etc. With my brand new tires and in "Comfort" mode, I barely feel how torn-up my area roads are! . I'm sure the S8 has much sportier suspension parts & settings.

Cost is of course dependent on what needs replacing. If it's the struts with the airbags in them, you can get refurbished for anywhere from $300 to $700. If it's the air compressor itself, the part can be had for about $500 refurb'd, and you can replace it easily yourself. In my 2004 A8L, it's up behind the front driver's-side wheel.. from what i understand you can jack up the car, remove the wheel, and replace that compressor all in the span of an hour or so. Audi charges $2500 for this.

Getting the PPI for determining the oil leak would be a good deal. Maybe tell the dealership you want to take a test drive for a few hours or so, they should agree to it as it's a 'puppy dog' test drive, and you could do the PPI then (this is in the case they don't allow you to have it done, which would be odd).

icecreamballer

Thanks for the information, very much appreciated.
I find that it's much harder to find information and threads with Audi's vs BMW (I'm a huge bmw fan).

I also noticed that the driver side B&O speaker didn't pop up with radio was turned on.. is that a big issue?

Jack88

It likely has stripped the gears in the tweeter and needs to be replaced, but other than being annoying, there is no harm in it being that way. Do a search on here for more information. The oil leak is most likely one of the valve covers. It could be the seal, but the valve cover itself can have warped, again search here for more information! A VCDS scan will usually catch suspension issues by the overtemp shutoff of the compressor code being stored in the computer. Believe me, you do not want a coilover conversion, the suspension is very good, and is entirely worth repairing if there is a fault. If you really don't want to worry about it, get an S6, but you will notice a huge drop in ride quality for no improvement in performance.

a_very_naudi_guy

Once you go air-sack, you never go back!

mixja23

BMW's Adaptive Drive is a bit special tho tbh...

Jack88

Mercedes offers a hydraulic suspension on some cars that is borderline magical, too. But even the air suspension is way better than coil spring!