Just purchased a 2004 A8L with 134K. I've been looking for a luxury sled for a while to compliment my A4, now I got a huge project, should be fun.

Known issues so far:

-Back seat: for some reason the PO couldn't get a grey one to replace a torn back seat, so he bought black. He gave me the original which was torn up as well. Keeping my eye out for a replacement or ideally replacement skin in grey. I really don't like the grey, but it will work for now.

-Interior is kinda ugly, tried cleaning it which helped a little, shampooed the carpets, but still got some staining. steering wheel is wearing off, looking for a replacement I guess or some way to refinish it.
Lots of buttons are worn off, I really hate that!

-Suspension: when i got the car the suspension was giving codes, VAG found failed sensor, and calibration error, I did adaptation and cleared codes, seems to be working without error now, dodged a bullet for the time being. Overall I'd like the suspension to be less clunky, it's smooth, but not as tight as I'd like and there's some rattling around. I'll be looking at what wear points to replace first.

Transmission: seems ok, except 2-3 is a little heavy both up and down, not sure if I feel like spending $600 on transmission oil at the moment, researching software upgrades, etc.

-Cam intake linkages: these were both broken, ordered new ones already, should be here tomorrow. Arms seem to move freely.

-Timing belt: hasn't had this service, so I'll be doing that this fall

-Right side inner CV boot is hosed, doing that this weekend, just ordered the boot

-Body: seems straight, no accidents on record, however it looks a little bit like some repainting occurred on the right rear QP, they did a good job because I only notice it if I'm looking really close in the right light, this paint is hard to match.

 

I love these cars, and you will too. They aren't as hard as a lot of ppl make them out to be, just a tad bit more expensive than a 10+ year old car should be. They like to be babied, and they'll be fine.

 

I wouldn't wait on that. At 115k miles, the one I did needed it bad. Every day is a gamble without it.

 

The backseat depends. You may find one in a junk yard or on eBay.
I would do the transmission with either Mercon SP or LG 6. The LG 6 is under 20.00/quart. The SP is under 10.00. Well spent. A filter and pan gasket about 50.00.
Replace the front upper control arm bushings. They are 15.00 each for OEM at Rock Auto. Take a look at the sway bar links.
The timing belt change calls for a real technician. Parts are not cheap. Spring for plugs and a fuel filter.

That should address most of your issues.

 

Congratulations, you will find a lot of information here and a lot of good advice, there are a lot of topics here that are repeated so make sure you search before posting. Feel free to ask anyone for help, they can point you in the right direction. I Would bookmark a lot of parts sites and walkthroughs because sometimes links are hard to find. Also put your location in your info. Enjoy your a8

 

134k on the original belt? If it were mine I would park it until that belt got changed. When that belt fails, that $600-$800 maintenance item turns into a multi thousand repair bill instantly.

A couple of years ago I went to look at an A8 with 120k miles that was for sale. When I got there, the owner informed me that the timing belt just broke. Two heads and one piston later (plus the belt, water pump, etc) and it was up and running again. He should have changed the engine as he scored one of the cylinders but he just wanted to fix it just good enough to sell it. God help the next owner. His repair bill? It was well over $4k.

The trans might just need an oil change. See your dealer regarding what oil to get. He will likely want your VIN number.

Congrats on your purchase of a nearly $100,000 car for just a fraction of that.

 

Thanks for the welcomes and comments. Following your advice I am driving the A4 this week, I'm going to remove the timing belt covers next week to inspect a bit, just to see how bad it is. I'll be ordering the belt kit from FCP next week following that.

Tried to do a transmission adaptation, but got stuck on a greyed out option, I'll be posting that in another thread.

 

Most likely you will find the belt looks good. What usually happens is the bearings fail on the guide rollers and that causes the belt to fail.

 

Oh, that's interesting, seems that I would hear some of that coming...?

 

Inspection is pointless. They all look good up until the moment it fails.