smills1840

Hello! New here, loving the forum so far.

I'm looking at purchasing a used D4 for my daily driver. I'll list what I'm looking for, and then ask some questions.

First, my budget is $40k, maybe $42k for the absolute perfect car.

My requirements for the car:

1. Heated steering wheel, so cold weather package.

2. Audi Advanced Key (I don't ever want to touch the key once I drop it in my pocket in the morning)

3. Ventilated seats aren't a requirement, but I definitely want them pretty badly. It appears they might be standard, but I'm not 100% certain.

4. Same with quilted leather, and massage function. Not absolute necessities, but I sure would love them!

Now some questions:

1. I haven't decided whether or not to strictly look for CPO cars. I'm absolutely a DIY mechanic, and have built cars from the frame up. So wrenching does not scare me, just the cost!

The CPO cars are obviously more expensive by at least $3k, but could I purchase a better aftermarket warranty with that money if I buy a non-CPO?

2. I'm curious how many miles is TOO many miles for a used A8? I'm looking at the 2011-2013MYs that are in my price range. I'd love to be below 50K miles, but the prices drop pretty quickly for higher mileage cars. Is 50k miles too many if I want a great condition, dependable A8?

3. If I'm not mistaken, I believe the Audi Advanced Key became standard for 2013. If I'm looking at 2011-2012, are there visual indicators in pictures that will tell me if the car is equipped with Advanced Key? That is an absolute deal breaker for me.

4. When it comes to the 3.0T vs. the 4.2, which configuration is more likely to give me trouble for the 3-4 years I'll own the car? Once the CPO expires, I absolutely do NOT want to be forced to spend $5k for a transmission rebuild or something crazy. Sensor and other misc. items wear out, and I understand that. For the 2 years I get with the CPO, I'm going to be very proactive in identifying potential problems and pushing to get them sorted out before the CPO expires.

I know the 4.2 is the kind of the hill for the early D4's, but I'm certain I'll be happy with the 3.0T. APR offers their 3.0T upgrades for the D4, correct?

5. If a car has quilted leather, what other features come with that package? Or, what is that package called?

6. I'm definitely interested in the LWB, but not a requirement if a NWB car meets all my demands. Are there any negatives about the LWB? More expensive maintenance perhaps, or anything that would sway me towards the NWB cars?

I'm coming from a 2009 528i with 95K miles, and I'm just ready to upgrade. I imagine the A8 will be a whole new world.

Thanks for the help!

OhNoMrBill

Looks up the brochures for the model years to get the packages and build info. That is a big help.

The quilted seats come on the Sports Design package. These typically come with the 5 spoke wheels, but sometimes are in 10 spoke cars.

The LWB vs NWB for me was parking in the garage or not. The LWB is longer than a Honda Minivan. If you are garage parking, you need to measure. Note, the car is stupid wide as well, so it takes up a lot of floor space. The LWB also has standard power side shades, the NWB was a unicorn option for it. The LWB also has 4 zone air conditioning. I wanted the LWB and hoped to find a rear seat package, but there was no way to park it. I went NWB with the Sport Design package instead.

CPO or Not to CPO, I suggest CPO. The cars in my area of DC were not any different priced, plus they typically had new(er) tires, alignment, fresh brakes, and fluid service. They also typically do a paint freshening and dent removal.

I have the 3.0T, I think it is powerful, but not crazy fast like the 4.0T. I wish I had gotten the 4.0T, but the price at the time was not worth it. CPO 4.0T are high 40s now. I did not drive or look at the 4.2 to make comment.

Audiusa.com and cars.com had the better selections. Car Guru was interesting to review as well. Also Carfax.com is now doing used car postings that come with the carfax.

Happy trails
BB

Puzz1

If you look at the performance stats, the 3.0T performs very similar to the 4.2 and gets nearly 30mpg on the highway. The options you list are great, but I would also add the drivers assistance package. I was never a big cruise control guy before I bought this car, and I must say, for long road trips, the adaptive cruise is awesome. It also includes the overhead view for the park assist and auto high beams - both great features. I'd take the DA package over the quilted seats if given the choice. Having had an e61 5series wagon, you'll be very pleased with the upgrade.

Happy shopping.

OhNoMrBill

On the 2013, the over head camera is not standard. It is probably less than half the cars have camera assist, at least in my judgement of looking at used cars up the east coast. The non CA cars just have front parking sensors. Where I work the spaces are tight, so I use it often. Other shops or general parking I use it to watch the curb ahead.

I second the adaptive cruise, I set it at 75 and steer for the highway part of the commute. DA is easy to see as the car has 2 black fog looking lights in the lower side grills. These are the radars.

theanimala

Getting an A8 for $40K is easy, getting one with all of the options you want is harder. I personally recently purchased a 2013 A8L 4.0T with everything you are looking for minus the adaptive cruise control for under $50K. It had 35K miles, 1 year left on warranty and is a CPO after that. I could have saved a lot with a 4.2, but since I was upgrading from a '05 A8 I wanted something different. I know the new engines are different/better, etc, but if I was going to stay with the same car I wanted a big change. To me that was the 4.0T engine, and I am LOVING it. That being said, I really do love the diamond stitch leather and would not want to go without it. Looking at the brochures, it only became available on the LWB models in 2013. Before that it was only on the NWB. In all of those years you needed to get the Sport Design package to get it. While the diamond stick seat is standard on 2016s, I found it very rare on 2013s.

Ventilated seats (massaging) are not standard, but every car I looked at on eBay, CL and local dealers all had it. It's part of the packages that every car had in the 200 mile radius I searched. Advanced Key is standard since the D4 came out, you cannot order a car without it.

LWB does not require (or cause) any more maintenance than NWB. All it causes is more care when parking. I do have the camera assist package, and after having it for only 3 weeks I will not own another car without it. It is crazy how easy it is to park now without even turning around, and I get it perfect every time, the first time.

Good luck with your search. Be patient, and wait for the car to call you!

smills1840

Thanks for the replies so far!

First, I'm excited to hear that no matter which car I chose, it will have advanced key. That is a feature I truly regret not getting on my bmw.

2. Is there any way to tell in from pictures if the car has camera assist?

smills1840

Also, I really don't think I'll miss the power going with the 3.0t over the 8 cylinders. A tune and a pulley could remedy any lack of power I might find. HOWEVER! If the 4.2 is more reliable, or requires less maintenance (sensors, wear items, etc.), or even if they're equally reliable, I'd gladly go with the 4.2.

Jack88

Audi advanced key is marked by small squares on top of the door handles, and the ventilated seats are not standard, they are marked by the button on the console and the button for the accompanying massage function on the side of the seat.

I sold my A8L with 72k on it, and it was still bulletproof, as far as I'm concerned. I would highly recommend looking for one with the adaptive cruise as well, it's absolutely terrific. It's most easily confirmed by looking for the sensors on the lower corners of the bumper, they look like fake fog lights.

As far as CPO or not CPO, I'd take the money you're saving by not getting CPO and put it in the bank. Try finding a car at new car dealers only or private party, used car farms usually end up with the dealer rejects and tend to be lower quality cars hiding problems. Non Audi new car dealers will have A8's they received on trade and decided it was nice enough to sell, and can be excellent non CPO examples. Private party is a good way to go, provided you have it looked at by an Audi mechanic, and can get you an excellent car at a good price, with the added bonus of getting the opportunity to gauge the previous owner and how they actually took care of the car.

As far as 4.2 vs 3.0t, I like the 4.2 better. The broader torque band makes it move more effortlessly in day to day driving, and makes a far better noise(noise is important to me.) I had a 3.0 for a loaner for a couple days, and missed my 4.2's growl, the 3.0t sounds like a bee hive to me. The acceleration is better in the 4.2, but not by a large margin, about 1/2 second quicker to 60mph, but no tunes are available. That said, what's best for you depends on taste and what you're looking for.

The A8 seems to have dodged first model year issues, the 2011 is exactly as reliable as the later years, as far as I can tell. I had to put very little into mine. Looking for an earlier one does give you the benefit of being able to find one with more options with less miles than comparable newer ones.

Last tip, be willing to buy a car out of your area. Sometimes the perfect car isn't next door, and given the investment, it is worth the extra effort, I promise.

Good luck!

OhNoMrBill

The advance key is standard on the A8L, but not the NWB. The non-L the advance key is part of the convenience package.

I suggest you read the brochures for each year you are looking at. You can find them here: Auto-Brochures.com|Audi Car, CUV & SUV PDF Sales Brochure/Catalog/Flyer/Info A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 Q3 Q5 Q7 Allroad R8 TT

A gem I found is that a 2011-12 Sport package has the diamond stitching is a non-L option and it comes with the sport Diff. For the 2013, this package is split into 2 for Sport design and then a separate Sports Plus for the diff. The packages are available on the LWB and NWB. The SP package appears to be a unicorn option.

stickman1970

I purchase my '12 A8L about a year ago with 62K on it. I've been driving the wheels off of it ever since. Getting ready to break 100K this summer.

The only problems that I've had out of my car is the ACC. Sometimes it would go out, then come back on for no apparent reason. Then finally it went completely out, only after I had my windshield replaced.

One thing to know, if you get your windshield replaced and your A8L has the ACC, Lane Assist, and Audi Brake Assist (which I'm sure it will), you're going to be looking at approximately a $1,000.00 repair bill.

After having my windshield replaced, I had to take it into the Audi dealer to do a full sensor realignment. It's been working fine ever since.

Other than, I love this car.