theanimala

So, here's my dilemma. I am looking at buying a preowned A8L to replace my 2005 A8L. I have been driving my 05 for 8 years and I still love it, but 140K miles and some serious repairs lately as me ready to upgrade. With the money I am willing to spend, I am basically stuck between the slightly nicer looking (sorry pre-face lift guys!) or slightly faster (sorry 3.0T guys!) cars. I am not sure which one makes more sense. Whichever one I get I plan on driving for many years to come so it's not a quick flip. I do like the looks of both, although I do like the look of the 15 more. Of course I also like the speed of the 4.0T engine more as well. Coming from an 05, I have neither the speed nor the upgraded looks. So confused, looking forward to your input!

Thanks!

Edited the title to reflect the correct year/engine option, sorry!

derfA8L

Guess I'm a bit confused here. Your post suggests that you like both the face lifted and faster car, so that would be the 2015 4.0T. So what's the dilemma then? From your post it's not a matter of preferred styling OR faster performance, since the 2015 checks both boxes.

MP4.2+6.0

Do you have the years and motors right as a preliminary question? I could believe a 14 4.0t and a 15 3.0T might pencil out price wise in similar price or budget zones, but not if you put both the bigger motor and the new year together.

Yes, BTW for me I consciously went facelift (2015 to get there)--like the lights a lot better, cleaned up slightly bigger trunk, a little more juice if it's the 4.0T (at least rated, but ratings are sandbagged by almost all accounts), heads up display whenever that was, LED's becoming standard on 4.0T if I remember it right, etc. But, depends on your budget.

3.0T D4 is basically the performance of your 4.2 D3 if that is where you are coming from. But with a the 3.0 liter V6 (even blown) and two more tranny speeds, mileage will go up. If you go to 4.0T, you are basically getting to the D3 S8 performance wise--actually a little more w/ the aded torque of the turbo and again two more speeds--but with mileage probably somewhere in your D3 4.2 zone. Another nuance--if you are at altitude, turbos lose less power than blowers. If in many parts of country, doesn't really matter, and either peppier than N.A.

3.0T's will tend to be more basically equipped (and thus less $), while 4.0T's will be better equipped as a stereotype. But that all irons out with price.

You also don't say SWB vs LWB. As a 2005, you had to be LWB. On D4 you have more choices there, though it depends on year, and motor for some years.

To make your dilemma harder, honestly if you are in between like that, put the D4 TDI on the list too. Even though I went deeper performance w/ S8, honestly I thought about it a little. If it was SWB it would have come up my list higher, or maybe when I'm done with HP fix and want just stealth really nice cruiser. TDI is always USA LWB. Without dealer CPO stock, there aren't so many right now, but worth considering. Mileage that blows the others away, but the torque of almost my D3 W12. At least the equal the 3.0T performance wise (or more), but really better for the broad torque band. Torque is fun! You can find some TDI's pretty cherried up, and probably not a great seller's market just now. Or again, hold up until the CPO TDI's come back if inventory low. It wouldn't surprise me if dealers are back door dumping them to auctions or something unless AoA is really policing. Audi is going to have a huge fire sale on TDI's if they ever get out of the EPA proctology lab. One of my local dealers is apparently sitting on $5MM in just TDI inventory, some of it probably still new 15's and some now prior gen like the Q7. Endless 2016's, and they are already halfway through the model year. Total unmitigated debacle. But owners tend to love them. I think they are in denial though that the fix won't neuter them some; but stuff like that is hitting the pricing too. Worth looking at as a buyer in a scenario where you are in between the two gas motors choice wise, especially if pricing and/or include features (closer to "loaded") gets compelling and it appeals to you longer term.

Jack88

To comment on MP4's TDI suggestion, I drove both the TDI and 3.0T in the A6, and found the broad torque band of the TDI to provide a sense of power that the gas motor lacked. While their performance was comparable, the gas motor felt like you had to push it to get it, where the TDI felt like the power was always there in reserve.

Puzz1

Fwiw, I have a '15 3.0T and find the power to be more than adequate for the kind of in town driving I do. I also like the near 30 mpg on the highway. My other choice was the S6 but I wanted a little more room and didn't feel I would be able to take full advantage of the power train - perhaps I was kidding myself but that was my justification. Would I like the 4.0? Sure. But the 3.0 is no slouch. Good luck!

OhNoMrBill

I just picked up a 2013 CPO A8 3.0T (SWB). This car seems to be plenty fast. I think the V6 runs out of thrust when you hit about 70mph. So long as your not racing, you can quickly get up to highway speeds in a very reasonable amount of time.

I drove several V8s in my search and found that they are much more visceral. This engine has serious thrust that is asking for trouble. When I drove one on the highway, I found moving around traffic easy. But really too easy as acceleration quickly takes you to "reckless driving" territory. Ticket waiting to happen around where I live. It would be fun to rocket out the toll both daily with this engine. I was set to buy one, but the delta in real acquisition cost turned me away.

You can see the difference with these two videos.

Another thing you need to consider is that there are very few 2014s on the market. If you want a 2013 or a 2015, the choices are many. 2014s are not available yet, probably another 6 months or so. If you search AudiUSA CPO inventory you will see this. Finding your perfect 2014 will be much harder. There is one 2014 that I drove at Tysons Audi in Tysons Corner, VA. This one if fully loaded ($115k sticker) for $64k. It is very nice with not a blemish. This car is not shown as CPO on their website. There seems to be a glut of 2015s now, especially short wheel base ones that are priced in the high 50s.

The other consideration is that you will find more 3.0Ts in CPO than V8s. The dealer I bought mine from said they do not CPO the V8s as it adds too much cost to the car. I looked at a lot of Audi dealer websites up the east coast and saw this same trend of V8s not being CPO. If CPO is a desire, it may be more difficult to find a V8. I think the main difference is the car likely has new brakes&rotors, tires, and has more checks/service done to square it up. You can make your own CPO by buying a warranty and do similar services. add $2500 in services and $3500 for warranty. For reference, I found the 2013 4.0T without CPO run about $44k-$47k. With CPO, they are $51-55k. Interesting is the the 3.0Ts CPO have almost no delta in the market place from CPO Audi dealer to used car huts.

Comparing the V6 to V8, I found my exact highly optioned 2013 car (sport, dynamic, comfort, leather, convenience, LED headlights) in a 4.0T for $11k more, abet 15k miles less. Mileage is probably worth 2 or 3k at most. So lets say it is 9k more. That is a lot of extra coin for a toy. I can buy carpet for the wife instead, which will probably bring more happiness.

Happy hunting.
BB

derfA8L

With great power comes great responsibility 🙌

slickrick68

Good post. I am actively looking for a 13-14 and the '13 4.0s are rare to be CPO'ed. Paul miller has a 2013 4.0 for $42k which is very tempting..

Puzz1

Slickrick, what did you end up doing?

slickrick68

Still looking. I have a very picky buyer so we have dialed in 4 cars we like, just sitting idle on them. I found a tremendously equipped car but its not the color combo and the mileage is just a tad high, but the sticker is $106k.