W12
 

I really can't weigh in, but I will anyway... I would look for a W12. 2012 to 2016.

I have a 2007 4.2 TDI A8l high spec dual pane glass cruise control etc. I have a 2014 A8l 4.0 dual pane glass cruise etc.

I love the d3 but The D4 is better in my opinion

I agree, I had a 2010 D3 and now drive a 2017 4.0 and feel the D4 is ways better and quieter.
Turbo lag or not, the 4.0T is by far much stronger than the 4.2. The suspension which was a horror story on the D3 (comfortable, but the struts and pump kept going bad all the time). The struts in the D4 facelift have been improved and they are more reliable.

All the other pros have already been mentioned, so I will not repeat them. And yes, the D3 looks much more classy compared with the D4.

Weird, I live in Michigan, so plenty of bad weather and salt, but my 2007 S8 when I sold it with 150k miles few years ago, still had all original suspension

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I'll put in a vote for the appearance of the pre-facelift D4. :)
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Only because you didn’t own a D3 and see them parked next to each other haha

mine could have been a lemon. But I remember the Audi shop head of mechnics telling me the same about the D3 and why Audi changes the suspension with the facelift.

I agree, it looks the most "Audi" to me personally. The facelift rear end is too rounded off and doesn't match the angularity of the door strakes etc....

The D3s I've seen look okay outside, I am unsure if I like the pre/post facelift more since the pre looks more classic and the post just looks like a weaker/less coherent version of a D4. Like a half step toward the modern look

The biggest change was putting the air spring’s rubber bladder in an aluminum sleeve. On the D3 the exposed rubber more readily leaked. This overworked everything else and would cause other failures. However the D3 air springs will last a pretty reliable 100k in most cases so if you watch for the signs of a leak (a corner sitting low in the morning or compressor working more frequently) then you can avoid a lot of headaches and simply swap the air springs once every ~100k

Thank you for the explanation. That's interesting. Yes, After the struts were replaced, I was checking the car for sagging daily...

I enjoyed the D3 for for 5 years. Replaced 3 struts (Audi dealership at $2500 each), the two in the front and rear right. The rear right was replaced twice, it leaked after 13 months, but I got Audi to replace it again because it did not make sense. Waited a month for Germany to OK this...
The Compressor, I simply rebuilt it myself, lots of work, but it was fun.