[s-cars] Handholding for an S8 purchase

[Lee Levitt]

Nice.

Too bad about the radio, tho. Now you don't have an excuse to rip 
it out and install an RNS-E Nav system...(which I'm doing this 
weekend on my '99...)

Which for the '99 is not trivial, btw. No CANBus, no double DIN 
dash opening, etc. I've got a CANBus emulator for the former and a 
sawzall for the latter...

I think I need to get off this computer and get on my bike and go 
home! Bike commuting started early this year...my '99 is in the 
shop for a TB and a doubleDINectomy. And it was *cold* this 
morning! Brr.

Lee
'99 A6 quattro avant (lost...)
'97 A6 quattro avant (maps in map pocket)
'96 A6 quattro avant (StreetPilot on dash, still lost, doh.)



On Thu Mar 29 13:02:42 PDT 2007, 
=?ISO-8859-1?Q?G=EDsli_=D3ttarsson?= <gislio at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Paul, et al.:
> 
> Yes, this one dropped in my lap:
> 
> http://bilasolur.is/Main.asp?show=CARIMAGE&BILASALA=16&BILAR_ID=115605&IMAGEID=ALLLARGE
> 
> I made a ruthless offer which involved trading in the UrS4 Avant 
> (valued at
> the same amount that I had paid for it 3 years ago) and they 
> accepted my
> offer.  The counterparty is a bank which had repossessed the S8.  
> Isn't this
> the color of the S6 Avant I contemplated --- Ming Blau?
> 
> Radio issue is solved.  The radio has a TP button, which I 
> believe is
> somehow related to traffic reports in Germany.  Its light was lit 
> and I
> didn't think it should be but pushing it caused a prompt for a 
> preset
> channel.  On a lark I tried pressing and holding it and that did 
> the trick.
> 
> The engine service light I referred to is a yellow light inside 
> the speedo
> in the shape of an engine.  I didn't get the codes, but the 
> diagnosis which
> the mechanic read back to me mentioned a misfire.  I spoke with 
> him today
> and he guessed that it had something to do with the air-injection 
> into the
> exhaust system.  Anyway, I asked the bank if it would go halves 
> with me on
> any amount north of $1000, which will soften any major blows if 
> they agree.
> 
> Whatever ailed the automatic was bad enough that the bank deemed 
> the car
> unsellable and ordered a full rebuild.  Allegedly, it was the 
> reason that
> the owner, who had recently imported the car from das Vaterland, 
> defaulted
> on the loan.  Unfortunately I don't know the details about the 
> failures or
> its cause, but now the transmission sounds and feels right.  I 
> get a 1 year
> warranty on the work.  Rest of the car seems very solid and 
> nothing
> indicates neglect.
> 
> Fingers crossed.
> 
>   Gisli
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 3/29/07, pkrasusky at ups.com <pkrasusky at ups.com> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> Gisli Iceland'ed:
>> 
>> <<<Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2007 09:16:24 +0000
>> From: " G?sli ?ttarsson " <gislio at gmail.com>
>> Subject: [s-cars] Handholding for an S8 purchase
>> 
>> I've made a tentative offer for a European spec 2001 S8.  The 
>> car has a
>> couple of problems which I thought I?d run by the list:
>> 
>> The engine service-light is illuminated (as it has been on all 4 
>> S8 of
>> this
>> vintage which I have test-driven in the past year).  A friendly 
>> mechanic
>> hooked it up to a computer and the codes indicated that there 
>> had been an
>> engine misfire.  As the car had sat on the used-car lot for a 
>> while, I
>> didn't think too much of it and the mechanic reset the light.  
>> Exactly 24
>> hours later, the light returned.  Any experience on the list 
>> about what
>> this
>> might mean?  Any suggestions about the *worst* thing it could 
>> mean.
>> 
>> The radio has a funny problem.  When first turned on, it will 
>> play for
>> 10-15
>> seconds (good fidelity, strong signal) but then go into a 
>> channel scan
>> mode,
>> followed a perpetual periodic beep (approx. once per second).  
>> It also
>> switches to this beep mode when playing a CD, except the CD will 
>> play
>> first
>> for about 30 seconds).  What might this be about?  Could it have 
>> something
>> to do with it having recently arrived in this country (Iceland) 
>> and the
>> radio somehow needing to be localized?
>> 
>> Apart from these quirks it is a nice car with 60k miles on the 
>> clock.
>> There
>> is no record of a timing belt replacement, but the 
>> aforementioned mechanic
>> and I looked at the belt and it looked very fresh with none of 
>> the
>> lettering
>> rubbed off.
>> 
>> Its transmission was recently rebuilt by a reputable mechanic 
>> (allegedly
>> the
>> bill for this was $10000!).  But what is the story with these S8
>> transmissions?  All the 4 S8s I have driven had suspicious 
>> sounding
>> transmissions (mileage range from 60k to 120k).  Are S8 
>> transmissions very
>> fragile or very high maintenance?   Is the transmission flaw an 
>> indication
>> of very poor maintenance (there are no records) or is it just 
>> the luck of
>> the draw.
>> 
>> Any general suggestions or warnings?
>> 
>>   Gisli>>>
>> 
>> 
>> Hey Gisli-
>> 
>> Finally found one out your way huh?  Good for you, hope it pans 
>> out.
>> 
>> By service light you mean the CEL or the service indicator?  Big
>> difference.  If CEL, report back with what codes it's throwing.  
>> Mine's on
>> due to some stupid EVAP issue, I ignore it, it comes and goes at 
>> will.
>> Someday I'll make Bob trace through the ETKA Evap screens I have 
>> printed and
>> fix it for me, sure.
>> 
>> Radio, never heard of any issue.  Sounds like maybe the "scan" 
>> button is
>> "stuck" or defective?
>> 
>> Tbelt, no concern, interval is like 105k.  However, these are 
>> known to
>> mulch tstats and WP's within 50-60k, some do some don't.  Mine 
>> was addressed
>> by PO and tbelt done then, assuming due to tstat failure.  WP, 
>> the impeller
>> sheers off.  Nice.  Something to think about.
>> 
>> Trans, hmmmm.  These are NOT like the pre-facelift A8's where 
>> trans
>> hunting / thumping is GUARANTEED.  I've heard of ONE case on an 
>> '00 (Euro)
>> where the last seal in the box let go and car would not grab 
>> reverse,
>> causing need for entire teardown.  $10k???  <<<shudder>>>  Hello 
>> extended
>> warranty.  Great piece of mind IMO!  Otherwise I've not heard of 
>> any
>> reported issues on these boxes.  Yet.  Knock woodrow.  I'd be 
>> leary of "why"
>> it was done, personally.  I don't think the trans' are 
>> suspicious sounding
>> or fragile, personally.  Dunno what you might be experiencing.
>> 
>> Best bet on the radio Q is to query the AW D2 folk, they're 
>> extremely
>> knowledgable.  Worst case is I hear Rossato always wanted to / 
>> plans on
>> visiting Iceland.  Have Rossato / will travel.
>> 
>> HTH, and again good luck.  Find a buyer for your C4 4.2 Avant?
>> 
>> -Paul
>> 
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