[A8] Re: Prospective A8 buyer

[C1UE at prodigy.net]

I bought a '99 A8 in late 2002.

Here are my thoughts 30 months later:

1) Car is great! Power, comfort, style all still quite 
high on the spectrum despite 6 years gone by
2) Repair costs are bad - 1st Audi dealer I went with 
clearly had no clue on how to maintain/fix Audis. 2nd 
Audi dealer was better but I still get things like: 
Sorry it took 4 days to replace the 'x', we couldn't 
get a bolt loose (!)
3) Transmission is fine on my car; after a terrible 
dealer experience and my aftermarket warranty getting 
cleaned out with a replacement transmission, no issues 
whatsoever.
4) Everything working on the car except headrests and 
heated steering wheel; power seats/windows/cruise 
control/radio/CD/various lights and bells and whistles 
all fine

Summary: I love this car; I might trade up to a 2002 
or 2003 at the end of the year, but it is only because 
I'd like ESP, Navigation, and a car without the 
frigging analog cell phone (I don't have a 
Motorola...). 

Definitely would pay for an aftermarket warranty - for 
no other reason that you can use it to get a dealer to 
replace all of the belts/seals proactively.

The Audifans mailing list has been great also; I would 
like to see if an updated parts supplier list can be 
published. Wendy doesn't respond anymore... :(

Regards,

Calvin