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Hey gang,
Today I test drove a beautiful S8 and would like your opinion on something I noticed has me second guessing the accident-free history of the vehicle. In the picture below you can see that the factory sticker that is placed on the bottom of the driver side B pillar is damaged.
The attached Carfax shows both a clean accident history as well as decent service history. I spent a good part of my test drive examining every inch of the car for straight lines, panel gaps, and paint anomalies. To my eyes everything checks out except this damaged factory sticker.
Am I over-reacting? Could this just be the result of some dumb dealer inventory sticker that was applied over this one at one time or another? I will be doing an independent PPI Wednesday to check this and other well known areas. I'll also be double checking and looking for matching panel VIN/numbers. Your feedback is appreciated.
It's actually a very big deal to get that kind of sticker replaced. Similar hassles for the master emissions sticker. Proof of ownership, old sticker scrapings evidence where practical, maybe inspection at dealer, etc. Anything involving the VIN identity of the car involves lots of paperwork and verification before Audi would even think about providing a new one. Hence why it may not have been replaced. Can be done, but takes persistence.
Seat belt buckle can get caught in door jamb as far as another explanation, though then more likely scratches. Low percentage chance some dufus didn't like any stickers, so went after even that one initially before getting some education. If the kiddie airbag stickers are missing at the front of both front door jambs (on my 2015 S8 at least) that might be an indirect clue there. I find those kind of nanny tacky.
If there were true real damage there, logically the sticker would probably have been replaced. Big bucks repair if it involves the B pillar and would need to go to one of the Audi regional centers if beyond cosmetic--where they could have gotten the sticker re-do blessed.
For self protection if you have not already, go over that area super carefully of course. Look for any masking tape marks evident in paint. Look really critically at those rear hinge bolts and the base mount to see if paint was cracked or damaged in any way. That is often a give away for folks playing with door adjustments (or removing them) since it will be hard to match that to factory and the second you touch those bolts it always cracks the paint. Also look at both driver's side striker plates (font and rear) for any mars in the triple square screws they use that would suggest they were played with. From experience, if you put a tool to those triple square type screws involving some torque even the first time, it burrs them very slightly. Any body work beyond a repaint for a key scratch type thing in that area would probably result in door adjustments like these. It can happen though for innocent reasons like a wind noise or door closing difficulty complaint. Overspray underneath the outside portion of door at very bottom would be another that a body shop may not take time to make perfect.
If you get comfortable, it still can be worth kicking up some dust pre sale. It will be hours of someone's time and hassle to get it replaced right. I actually ran into something similar to on a low miles year old Mini S I bought from a Mini dealer--unexplained, obscure yet minor cosmetic damage not easily explained, and with a clean CarFax. I held firm on price and got the "it's perfect," clean CarFax, blah blah blah. Having held the issue in reserve at first, I then I said, well how come the supposedly pristine painted hood hinge bolts show cracked paint then? I had already gotten comfortable with all the usual checks there for overspray and such myself so intended to close on it, but meaningfully below the ask. Having surfaced it, I just held to my price and let 'em squirm. They did not try to rebut me on the paint issue itself and the typical laughable "sales manager" stereotype did go look at it along the way and admitted something was at least unexplainable. Net, it seemed to help me leverage wise in cutting the final deal.
Three times failed emission inspection ? An independent inspection is a good idea, but do not rush there are extremely nice clean cars out there, it may take a little of patience, good luck !
Three times failed emission inspection ? An independent inspection is a good idea, but do not rush there are extremely nice clean cars out there, it may take a little of patience, good luck !
Good catch. Trying to track this one down for more info.
I have seen that kind of sticker ripped by pressure washer wand at the car-wash, so that would be my guess as to what happened. Just has to catch a loose edge.
If this is a car at an Audi dealer, they should definitely replace it. They get a premium over the off-brand dealers and it should be fixed, the process shouldn't be too difficult for them. It will be a much larger hill to climb with a non-Audi dealership.
Good catch. Trying to track this one down for more info.
Originally Posted by tx170754
Three times failed emission inspection ? An independent inspection is a good idea, but do not rush there are extremely nice clean cars out there, it may take a little of patience, good luck !
The plot thickens with this one. Turns out this car has APR downpipes so that explains the failed emissions testing. Getting a crash course in how to handle periodic emissions testing with a possible stage 2 S8 if I end up buying the vehicle.
The plot thickens with this one. Turns out this car has APR downpipes so that explains the failed emissions testing. Getting a crash course in how to handle periodic emissions testing with a possible stage 2 S8 if I end up buying the vehicle.
Do you want a previously tuned one? I would pass personally. It means it has already led a more stressed life, before your watch. Probably does not have the revised turbo line filter screens either. IIRC that wasn't straightened out til circa 2017. Can't speak for other states but in CA if it fails like that th VIN is more likely coded for future periodic strip search smog checks in the future--aka the "enhanced compliance" ones. At that point a visual may find the downpipes. The engine cover does somewhat hide them and IIRC at least in in CA they aren't supposed to disassemble things.
OOPS, a yet bigger question: are you really sure this is a "+" ?????????? As built from the factory...
Given the other crap, I would insist it be checked at the engine code #. A Moroney reprint by the VIN could get you there too. Meantime though, maybe someone decided to one-off call the tune along the way as good as a + ? -- since the factory + is basically just a tune tweak.
Suspicions: notice that screwed up door sticker still says it was built in October 2015. Sale date the next April would fit a + type early sale date for early USA deliveries. But IIRC the announce was at least a few months later than October 2015 for USA--more like it was speculated by folks like me know track them closely, but not official for USA until more like Dec or Jan. It was announced earlier for Europe, but they also follow a calendar year convention for vehicle model years. Early build USA 2016's are definitely not +'s--I was looking at them new on the proverbial show room floor right in that early Winter type window when the + announce came out. Early build would be like August for an ongoing model run, so this is a definite TBD in gray area of build changeover. Final intro at dealers seemed delayed into Spring 2016, but it wasn't clear if it was due to a build delay, an EPA compliance delay, or they had too many non- +'s still sitting around. Again, I was there for it. A lot of non-plus early run 2016's were around in winter and Spring, and it was a buyer beware situation. I also doubt early order guides for a dealer to even spec one of these were even available in October 2015, let alone a couple months earlier when it would be entered in for a build date.
OOPS, a yet bigger question: are you really sure this is a "+" ?????????? As built from the factory...
Given the other crap, I would insist it be checked at the engine code #. A Moroney reprint by the VIN could get you there too. Meantime though, maybe someone decided to one-off call the tune along the way as good as a + ? -- since the factory + is basically just a tune tweak.
Suspicions: notice that screwed up door sticker still says it was built in October 2015. Sale date the next April would fit a + type early sale date for early USA deliveries. But IIRC the announce was at least a few months later than October 2015 for USA--more like it was speculated by folks like me know track them closely, but not official for USA until more like Dec or Jan. It was announced earlier for Europe, but they also follow a calendar year convention for vehicle model years. Early build USA 2016's are definitely not +'s--I was looking at them new on the proverbial show room floor right in that early Winter type window when the + announce came out. Early build would be like August for an ongoing model run, so this is a definite TBD in gray area of build changeover. Final intro at dealers seemed delayed into Spring 2016, but it wasn't clear if it was due to a build delay, an EPA compliance delay, or they had too many non- +'s still sitting around. Again, I was there for it. A lot of non-plus early run 2016's were around in winter and Spring, and it was a buyer beware situation. I also doubt early order guides for a dealer to even spec one of these were even available in October 2015, let alone a couple months earlier when it would be entered in for a build date.
I can confirm that it is indeed a 2016 S8+. This is confirmed by both the original window sticker and build sticker in the warranty/service booklet. It also turns out that my local indy shop that I did the PPI with is the same place that the previous owner had it tuned. Considering the impeccable condition this car is in and the added provenance of where tuning has been conducted, I'm leaning toward pulling the trigger on this one. Stay tuned!
11-23-2020, 11:31 AM
Am I over-reacting? - Car Shopping Question
