Speaking of A8s

[TM]

Tom,
Thanks for your words of warning. The evidence of crash damage would
kill the deal if a used A8 is seriously under consideration. If it got
down to the nitty-gritty, I would have the local A8 collision experts
take a close look at the car as well as my own mechanics and possibly
another dealer mechanic- I'm not screwing around with a $50k used car
purchase.

As for the complexity of the systems in the car, it would be no different
in that regard from the A6 or similar Benzes, BMWs, Lexi or Infinitis.
It seems as though the newer German cars are far better than the early
models w/ lots of electronics- the 8 series BMW is a much less
electronically
reliable car than the new Audis, from what I've heard.

In terms of reliability, I don't think the Germans are as good as the
Japanese, but IMHO, the A8 is a far more involving car than an LS400/430.
That said, if Lexus offered an LS430 w/ sport package and AWD, that would
be my Dad's next car. Heck, if BMW offered an AWD 5 series, that would be
his next car- the local BMW dealership's service department is far more
courteous and accomodating than the local Audi dealership. But I am not
certain if that is because I went into the local BMW dealership to have
an M5 serviced and they may be fearful of losing the owner's business
if I was treated poorly. If that is SOP regardless of the car being a 318i
or an M5, then the dealership is very good indeed and still much better
than the local Audi dealership's service dept.

I think it's a shame that new car purchases can be severely affected by
how the service department of your local dealership treats its customers.

Taka