shap2

Sort of kidding. Been lurking on this site for over a year like dozens of others I'm sure and I think I'm ready to bite on a 2007 A8L. Problem is this site has done too good a job of pointing out all the issues with the car and I'M SCARED! I love the car, I've test driven it - no problem there - the issues I most worry about are reliability and maintenance. I've looked at other cars, BMW 750(did not test drive), Mercedes S550(test drove), Lexus 460l(car show), and i liked them all and if I had to quickly give few word answers for why I like or dislike each of them it would go something like this:

BMW 750...Beautiful car, coolest looking to me of the cars I mentioned but no AWD and reliability in question - if it had AWD I'd definitely buy it instead of A8L. Merc s550... not as cool looking as A8L in my opinion and TOO EXPENSIVE, if it was only a few thousand more than A8L I might overlook the lack of AWD and consider it, but unfortunately it's nearly 15k more than a loaded A8L and the cool features of the car just ain't worth that extra 15k to me. Lexus 460L...Sweet car, same features as the A8L, or close enough, plus a 19 speaker sound system(wow!) - and the peace of mind that comes with buying from a manufacturer with legendary reliability and customer service - almost put the deposit down on it after the car show but decided AWD was very important to me, if Lexus 460L had AWD I'd buy it instead of the A8, no question.

Anyways, 2007 pricing probably will be out any day now and I just want some reassurance before I go in and purchase. If I get that new B&O sound system along with all the other options i want I think the cars MSRP will be just over 90k(gulp!) I think the A8L is a cool looking car, with awesome features including AWD and I am willing to overlook reliability issues up to a point.

I've seen plenty of negative "issues with my car" posts(I guess it's one of the purposes of this forum), and I've seen a few posts where people talk well of their cars, but not nearly enough to make me comfortable about my potential purchase. Help talk me into this purchase!

Randy Welch

We ( Gina ;-> ) have a 2004 A8L, and other than the mmi/tpms quirks and the trunk hinge the car has been quite good mechanically and is a great driving car.

If you look at some of the posts by those who have had more than A8L you'll find that the general consensus is that the car has improved each year since the 2004 model.

I've been so impressed by it that should the time come that if I were ever part with my RS6 I would seriously consider one. It is one of the nicest cars out there. I'm impressed every time I drive Ginas.

(You have to consider that on most forums of this type you'll see more problem type posts since this is where people turn for help. )

greenie

that many Audi dealers should not be in the automobile business IMO! That being said, a NEW A8 coupled with a dealer that you can trust "just in case" should give you miles and miles of pleasure.

jprescott

I think that any car is out of the woods this many years into a new body style. I'm up for an S or LS460 next but would be afraid of either one now. Fortunatly I have 18 mos for them to work out the bugs.

Arkay

For many here on the forum, the dealership experience soured the ownership experience to a great degree. These are complex cars, no arguments there, but I believe the quality is improving compared to the '04 model.

Should be able to do some research on the reputation of the Audi dealer(s) in your area.

FWIW, mine is an '04 and I've had very few problems compared to the other members' experiences. Coupled to an excellent dealer experience, I am very strongly leaning towards getting another Audi, the S8, after the current lease is up in 9 months.

tozoM8

Of course you can find posts with complains. Thousands of people thinks, that " another month without problem" would be a boring post.

Austin A6 3.2

An acquaintance owns a 4 month old LS430 and has been stranded twice. Both times, she was stopped at a light, and when the light turned green the car wouldn't move, causing people behind her to get mad and start honking.

Car was towed to the dealership twice, and they claimed they fixed the problem the first time around ...

It's all relative. My 2000 A8L (replaced by an '05 A6 last year) and my A6 have both been very reliable. In fact, in 17 years of owning Audis I have never been unable to get where I needed to go - some minor issues on some cars, nothing that kept me from enjoying them thoroughly.

If there is a good dealer in your area, get the Audi.

06A8

1. Audis share parts with volkswagen, and in a sense they should be cheaper and more reliable then others if it should fail since they are produced in higher numbers.

2. Audis are way more exclusive then todays BMW and MERC

3. I dont, and alot of people dont give way to BMW's, and i personally think the 7 series is over-rated.Only the rear end looks cool honestly. interior is filled with slabs of weird wood and of course, MMI>>>>>>>>>>>&gt ;>>i-drive.

4. Merc S550.A 7 series clone that handles worst then the audi or bmw, just fast in a straight line. Slalom testing has shown it can only reach 60.1mph. Audi A8-67mph, lots of difference. As you said too much money for useless toys, and more importantly, an interior only a complete tasteless person could like.(just look at that steering wheel)

5. Lexus. Good cars.Just amazingly boring clones of german competitors, brakes in japanese cars will never be on par with german counterparts, neither will the handling be.

6. Audi just rules. Seriously.

06A8

oh and i forgot to add, I myself drive an 06 A8. simply outstanding traction wet, snow or dry. And the lovely V8 sound no lexus is ever ever going to give you. got a cool 15000 km in it after 8 months ( came as an early 06 model), just brilliant service and brilliant driving.

Audi S5 TC

That new S Class is awful.