[s-cars] V8 vs A8

[Taka Mizutani]

Dave,
I would go with a D2 A8 out of the choices you've presented:

1. V8- way too old, not too much newer than the type 44s you're already
driving.
2. UrS- the newest is 15 yrs. old, the oldest 18 yrs., again the same
problem- quite old, but the advantage of a newer chassis, better electrics
and still a manual.
3. D2 A8- oldest being a '97 and the newest an '03, you're looking at a
roughly 10 yr. old car- I'd recommend getting a post-facelift '00 or newer
car. The known issues of trans seal leaks and valve cover gasket leaks are
not really huge. The cars drive well for such a large car and the engine bay
isn't super-cramped like in the smaller cars with V8s.
4. C5 S6- rare car, '02 and '03 only in the US- very cramped engine bay,
being that the C5 chassis was adapted after the design was done to fit a V8-
not ideal and a lot of things are very hard to access in the car.

Do you want or prefer a stick? I'd go with a C5 A6 2.7T rather than the V8
version. If you have to get an Avant, then it gets a lot more complicated.

BTW, with any of the newer cars, I highly recommend getting VAG-COM so you
can diagnose the car properly.

Taka