[s-cars] V8 vs A8

[pkrasusky at ups.com]

Hey Dave-

I came out of a urS6 for 5yrs /80k, and am 3.5yrs / 50k into a urS8.  I'll echo all of Ben's previous sentiments and add a few.

It is CERTAINLY leaps ahead of most other cars out there, even today, chassis-wise.  A D2 (even an A8) are tremendous driving cars.  The overall ownership experience is quite rewarding.  A8s you want post-facelift ('00-'03) as the others have 1000% guaranteed tranny issues.  The later ones sometimes lose reverse, tho that seems sort of rare.  I don't think they are a guaranteed failure tho.  My //S8 box started slipping @ 130k in 1st / 2nd, it was a $4k rebuild.  Tho that's no surprise for a 4k lb car w/ 360hp being ahem enjoyed day / out, I don't feel it owed me much.  I haven't heard of many other //S8 box failures, tho not many have the miles I've racked up.

$10k buys a REALLY nice A8, heck less than $10k does.  $10k buys a 120k mi '01 //S8 these days, or there about.  Like Ben said throw 2-4k more at it and you're in 90-100k range.

They are very DIY, and like Ben said the QWD2 forum is phenomenal.  Mine's had some appetite for cash due to using it 20k+/yr, nothing scary though.  Extended warranties are your FRIEND (<100k cars).  Typical stuff.  Control arm bushings, leaks leaks and more leaks (trans output, front diff out put, and oil cooler coolant leak are ALL *guaranteed*), cam chain tensioner seized, my cats are rattling now @ 146k but many fail much (MUCH) earlier, blower motors chirp, etc.

If you can stomach the slushbox a D2's a hit.  I'm a diehard stick junkie and I don't miss stick one bit (tho the //S8s have paddles).  Heck I'm bored w/ cars after a couple of years yet each and every day I find myself more smitten w/ my D2.  Alumibitch, she's a temptress.

Really loved my urS6, but no denying they are old and sounds like that's something you're aiming to get AWAY from. I WILL SAY tho that it dawned on me recently that I nearly never ever even open the hood on my car now, compared to seemingly weekly with my urS6.  Truth.

Anyway, come on over to QWD2 if you need further help - enormous resource base there.  Heck a NUMBER of chaps have 2 even 3 of the things - madmen!  Speaks to the cars tho, and, all the owner's are very cool.

HTH, good luck.  If you want a really clean sorted silver / grey alcantara (uber rare combo) '01 //S8 with 98k, LMK my bud's got one for ~ $14k - *everything* has been done to it (everything!)...

-Paul NC bound for some _EPIC_JNRage_ this weekend of der P car / ECMag variety - muwhahahaaa - K.



Date: Thu, 18 Feb 2010 11:39:50 -0500

From: Dave C <dconner at gmail.com>

Subject: [s-cars] V8 vs A8

My fleet of Audi's consists of two 1987 type 44's. I bought one of them in 1992, and have been driving and maintaining these things for a very long time, doing all my own maintenance and know them inside and out. But they are getting on in years and I find myself considering replacement with something newer. The question is "how much newer?"

I'm nervous about not understanding how a car works and maybe being unable to repair it when things go wrong, etc. I recently drove a 2007 A8 for the first time and was in awe of the complexity of the cockpit with so many electronic gizzies. I've never driven a V8, or even sat in one for that matter, but I'm aware of the loyal following they have.

It looks like I could buy a first generation A8 (D2) for somewhere in the neighborhood of $10K but it would be a ten year old car with 100K miles on it, so I would need to anticipate repairs from the start. I don't want to spend a whole lot more than $10 K on a car, but could go higher if I felt it was worth it.

I'd actually like to have an avant, but choices are limited. A 2002-3 S6 avant would be very nice :-) Maybe I should consider an A6 avant.

Considering that I like to keep my cars for a long time and do my own maintenance, would I be better off with the more familiar technology of the

V8 or an URS4/6? I think there would be a benefit to getting something ten years newer than that (A8) but it would still be a 10 year old car. Another upside re: the A8 is that there are a >lot< more of them available to choose from. Most of the V8's and URS4's are pretty beat by now... clean low-mileage examples are quite scarce.

So ... should look for a clean V8 or URS4?

Or should I look at something much newer and try to adapt to 21st century automotive technology?

Decisions, decisions.

- -

David Conner

Columbus, OH