[A8] Prospective A8 Buyer

[lenoble at optonline.net]

Hello David,

This may not be what you want to hear, but I will be honest. I have a 1999 A8. I bought it in 2002 with 70K miles. It now has 101K miles. 

I am very disappointed in this car, and I would never recommend an A8. 

These cars have numerous problems that are endemic to all. This includes:
Transmission - most, if not all A8's will develop transmission problems. My car shifts poorly, frequently  upshifing too soon, and hunting. Then there is the dreaded 'thump' that occurs when are on the highway at 70 or so, and lift off the throttle like when you are exiting the road. When the car slows down to 60 or so transmission drops to idle, then thumps back up to RPM. Very annoying.
Cruise control - seems to be broken on most cars.
Seat heaters and steering wheel heaters break often
A/C drains clog. This causes water to pour out of the dash vents and puddle on the floor.
Mechanically, expect lots of oil leaks - from the valve cover gaskets, cam seals, transmission output shaft seals, etc. 

All in all, the car has many wonderful qualities. The looks are great, stylish but inderstated. The power is awesome. The handling is great. However, the Audi service is terrible, and parts prices are ridiculous. My antenna mast wore out (who ever heard of a fixed mount antenna wearing out?) and the replacement was $65.00.

My next car will probably be a Subaru. The new Legacy GT has 250 HP, AWD, BBS wheels, etc.

Barry


----- Original Message -----
From: David Greaves <da5150_2000 at yahoo.com>
Date: Monday, April 25, 2005 5:20 pm
Subject: [A8] Prospective A8 Buyer

> Hello everyone.  I currently own a 1994 Pearl White
> S-4 and am considering selling it and buying a
> 2000-2002 A8.  I would welcome anyone's thoughts
> regarding reliability, desirable/undesirable options,
> pricing, and general owner satisfaction. Thanks a