[V8] 4.2A6 Pros and Cons

[TooManyAudis at aol.com]

Henry A Harper III wrote:
> repair bill of
> almost $30k and  five months in the one shop in all of Michigan certified to
> work on  aluminum body cars.
> 
> > Before committing to either an A8 or  S8, check the insurance rates. 

You guys are really starting to bum me  out.  

--
Kent McLean
'99 A4 Avant
'91 200 20V Avant  #3
'94 100 Avant, sold
'91 200 20V Avant #2, up in smoke #2
'91 200 20V  Avant #1, recycled
'89 200 10V sedan, up in smoke
 
Kent,
 
you have gone through more Audis than nearly anyone else I have heard  of.  
With the possible exception of Fay in Arizona.  The first thing I  would do is 
equip your new car with some kind of fire suppression system.   Forget a 
sprinkler, you need the kind that puts out Industrial kitchen grease  fires, or 
better yet, the kind they use to put out fires in old tire  piles....
 
It seems to me that the A8 is now a 'do the math' proposition.  It's  not a 
$70k car.  It's a $6k to $15k car for something that's in the 8 to 12  year old 
range... probably not a whole lot more than your A4 with the bum  engine.  
 
In my opinion, the early A8s are beautiful cars.  if they  drive as well as 
they look, you'll probably find a way to get one.  
 
Cost of ownership for this car falls into two categories, mechanical  repairs 
and "insurable" repairs.  You should be able to get some idea as to  the 
reliability of the engine, drive train and various components, as well as  some 
idea as to maintenance and common repair costs.  It these will most  likely be 
more than an A4, but one would assume that some higher quality parts  went into 
these cars initially.
 
For insurable repairs, nearly any bump, scrape or bruise that requires body  
work will result in the insurance company totaling the car.  If you buy the  
car at, say, $10 grand, well, that's all the insurance company will be liable  
for.  So, in theory, your insurance costs should be based on a $10k car,  not 
its $70 original purchase price.  If the repair estimates  are $30k to fix the 
car after an accident, it's going to be totaled,  not fixed.  I don't know if 
this kind of logic can be used with your  insurance company.  I doubt it, but 
who knows...
 
So, you have a few choices...  
 
You can buy the car and pay outrageous amounts monthly for comp and  
collision insurance, knowing that your rates are based on repair costs that the  
insurance company will never pay out because they will total the car for the  
slightest ding.
 
You can buy the car and purchase only liability insurance on it.   That way 
if you get into an accident you can repair it yourself with body  panels from a 
junkyard car or simply part the car out.  Your financial  exposure will be 
the purchase price less the amount you can recoup from the  individual parts 
that are sold to other A8 owners.  This will most likely  amount to several 
thousand dollars less in insurance payments per year.   After 36 months or so, 
you'll probably saved enough by not buying comp and  collision to pay for another 
A8.  Then again, 36 months appears to be  3 or 4 times the mean time between 
catastrophic Audi failures for  you...  
 
Buy a working car and a parts car.
 
And, most importantly, if you do get into an accident, don't be the one  that 
caused it.  Let the other insurance company pay for anything that  happens to 
the car.
 
Bottom line is, if you like the A8 (and you obviously do), you can work the  
numbers to make its purchase appear to be a sound financial investment.
 
-- Tom Werner
 
Charleston SC
1988 80q for sale (see marketplace ad)
1995 A6q 5-speed -- open for generous offers
 
 
 
 
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