I currently drive a 92 s4 and I have enjoyed my experience with this audi's performance and dependability for the last 4 yrs and 70k. I'm looking at a 2000 A8 with 80k on the clock as a replacement. I like the look of this vehicle over the A6 body and I can use the size difference to hold all the hockey bags! After reading through alot of these threads, I'm concerned about the dependability of these vehicles, I understand that the bad usually gets reported. So before I scare myself away from this silver limo I'd like to ask for your inputs. Are the 2000's and later more robust on the transmission issues that are mainly reported by the earlier years? What is the cost associated with the trans flush and filter if it had to be done by a mechanic? Is the frequency about every 40k miles? My understanding is the A8 has the same basic drivetrain as the 4.2 A6, so they would have this interval also? Are there any other known issues with the 2000's, or A8's in general other than obvious leaks and damage? Overheating? I would like to drive this vehicle for a long time with the same feeling as I have now. I looked through the data but there is enough for at least a month or so. I don't think this car will be there.

Thanks

 

One thing we have here is audipages, which has documented so many of the standard design flaws and how to fix them.

Getting a car with 80K means you'll need to do the timing belt ($1800 for somebody to do it for you, about $450 if you do it yourself) as major maintenance.

You'll probably also need to replace the lower control arms (4) sooner or later, about $500 for parts.

The tranny service is $350 to have somebody do it for you, about $125 for parts.

I visit the A6 board frequently, and one thing that the 4.2's have is a front end vibration problems, which I believe is a resonance frequency problem. That would be difficult to solve.

The A8 is just an awesome car, and I don't think they are anymore expensive to purchase than a 4.2 A6, some are even cheaper.

And I wouldn't want a 2.7T because of the problems I have seen with those engines, seems like there's always a check engine light on.

Nobody has them, they are absolutely beautiful, very large, quiet, and loaded with luxury features.

I had a 91 200q before this, and others on this board had them and S4/S6's. I think that the A8 is the logical next car!

Good luck.

The 00's don't seem to have any more problems than other years, but there has been a few reported thermostats that went bad which caused them to run hot, but I don't think ever overheat. No big deal.

pw

 

Hello,

You are wise to be doing your homework.

I have a 1999 A8 that I bought in August 2002. My car had 70K when I bought it, now it has 83K. It
appeared to have normal maintenance / wear and
tear / issues as most cars.

Good things about my car / A8:
I love the look (understated, sublte, smooth)
I love the performance - great power, handling,
quattro for rain / snow, good MPG
I love the size - comfortable for 4, plenty of
trunk space
I love the comfort - seats, interior, etc.
I love that it is rare

Bad things about the car:
IMHO, Audi either did not design things properly,
or build things properly, or care about certain
things. My car has all the common problems:
-steering wheel heater does not work.
-Driver side power headrest does not work.
-Driver side seat heater does not work.
-Cruise control is intermittant (does not work
more than it does work).
-Oil leaks from a variety of places, including
valve cover gaskets and timing belt area.
-The transmission output seal failed and dripped
oil on the catalytic converter.
-The fuel tank filler seal failed and leaked
gasoline in the trunk.
-The transmission does the 'thunk' when lifting
off the throttle at highway speeds.
-Both tie rod ends wore out

Overall I am sort of ambivalent about my car. Most
of the problems are more annoyances rather than
serious issues. I do most of the work myself, and
nothing has been that difficult to fix. I expect
that any car more than 3 years old and more than
50K miles will have some problems, but I would
expect that a premium car would have less than
this car.

So, my advice would be to really think about what
is important to you. If you really want a large
car with a lot of power that goes in all weather
conditions with a lot of comfort. That you won't
see on every street corner, that has some really
cool advanced technology, that will annoy you with
some items, has incredibly poor dealer support, is
really expensive to maintain, then the A8 is
for you.

Barry Lenoble

 

And it has audi assured warranty so you have some peace of mind.

 

My '01 S8 had a leak at an electrical connecter on the side of the transmission at 30k miles. Since the tranny fluid was going to get changed anyway when the dealer dropped the pan, I took the oppportunity to change the tranny filter also. At least at 30k miles, the filter looked OK, the tranny fluid looked near new, and there was minimal metal shavings on the pan's magnets. A 40k regular change interval sounds fine, but I wouldn't recommend going beyond this.

Unless you have the rare problem of a thermostat failure, overheating is definitely not a problem. The only time my temperature gauge ever moves about ~40% (whatever temp that is) is on the track in the summer, but running at full throttle 90% of the time for 30 minutes is a severe test of any cooling system.

Finally, the quality of the local dealer goes a long way toward determining what kind of A8 ownership experience you'll have. After 4 years with a '92 S4, you should be able to evalute your dealer.

 

Barry, that analysis is right on the button.

 

Thanks for the quick replys, I will use this forum more now that I know its here. I'm in Massachusetts where this car is for sale, it has the GPS, xenons, phone, and cold weather package. Except for a couple small scratches on the back bumper, the car is mint in and out. I can buy the car for 21K, which in my eyes is a great deal compared to the mentioned A6 4.2 which seem to carry a higher resale value. I will have a mechanic look it over more closely because of the price but it drives fine. I have an Audi mechanic that will do the belt, pump, themostat, tensioners and serp for around $1300. I thought I could wait 10k and still do it 15k before the maintenance interval, until reading this forum. I really like this silver and navy A8 because of the fact that it is a rare sight, and the resemblance to my series lines are no coincidence and probably the reason I like it more than the A6 style. The tranny issue bothers me for longevity but I'm not sure it should as long as I maintain the 40k flush.

 

audipages. Check out the "Used A8 Buyer's Checklist".<ul><li><a href="http://www.audipages.com/">audipages</a></li></ul>

 

I've been reading more than working for the last couple of days! Thanks

 

..to put it simply these two cars are not in the same league. I loved my UrS4 (chipped, upgraded brakes, RS intake manifold etc.) but it was much more costly to maintain than my now 84,000 mile A8. The turbo, exhaust, head gasket, issues on my S4 we more often a problem than any issue I have had on my A8.

Your observation that we tend to discuss problems on this board is correct. This is an amazing place to get help from some very knowledgable people. Even pre-purchase this is the place to be for getting a fair price, warranty, etc.

My 2000 A8 had 74,000 miles on it when I bought it in Tampa. Drove it home to NY over two days and could have gone another week like that in comfort. On the road it's simply amazing.

I have invested another $1,500 beyond purchase price on this vehicle in the first year. A fluke failure of the ECU (1st ever ECU failure my Audi mechanic has ever seen) and repair of the radio buttons on the steering wheel (were out when I bought it). I paid $24,000 for the car last October, I have 25,500 in it now.

I also got some 18" rims and tires for it but that is not repairs.

The prices are even better now and you'll love the car even more than your S4. Better quality, performance, ride, etc.m Plus no turbo-lag!

GL,

Tom