[s-cars] 2001 Audi S8 Purchase advice needed (Jay M)

Wed Nov 23 08:10:03 PST 2011

I've brokered a couple in the last year, and looked at over a dozen in the process.  The 4 of 5 main items I look for immediately on S8's are not mentioned:
Timing Belt = 105k, a mile over that you are on borrowed time
Brake rotor wear = big money - rotors haven't hit the aftermarket yet
Tires = big money
Front valance inspection = unique to S8 - seen several with lower damage - look closely.  If you see damage, there is likely more hidden, as there are critical components hanging right behind it.
Trans replacement (at least one) = mentioned

HTH

Scott J
95 C4A FWD

-----Original Message-----
From: brian hoeft <qweblog at gmail.com>
To: Manuel Sanchez <manuelsanchez at starpower.net>
Cc: jaybird002 <jaybird002 at msn.com>; s-car-list <s-car-list at audifans.com>
Sent: Tue, Nov 22, 2011 7:41 pm
Subject: Re: [s-cars] 2001 Audi S8 Purchase advice needed (Jay M)

I think Manny just filled in any spaces where the audipages checklist
hasn't for you Jay.

I don't have experience with S8's except to fix an evap leak for a guy who
brings me his old 356, and all I did there was scan it and tighten his gas
cap so kind of lucky.

Looking at an A8 for my dad in fact and am pleased to know that a rebuilt
ZF-trans was dealer installed. That's the big seller for me, the guy who
would be charity servicing the thing. Then, maybe buying it myself once
he's had enough of 15MPG like a good son should.

If you are referring to the Blk/Blk S8 near lehigh valley, im jealous, it's
efing gorgeous and what I would plan on for myself when I grow into
accepting an autobox.

On Mon, Nov 21, 2011 at 9:14 AM, Manuel Sanchez <manuelsanchez at starpower.net
> wrote:

> Jay,
>
> I've also got an '01 S8 but only with 104,000 miles.
>
> The achilles heal of these cars seems to be the eventual
> repair/replacement of the transmission. A properly working tranny is nice
> however, and this coming from someone who always said I'd always prefer a
> manual transmission to an auto. And yes they can be expensive to repair.
>
> A great source for general info is the D2 list on Quattroworld as well as
> Audipages.com.
>
> That V8 engine is a beast, its a good thing its my wife's DD, as I would
> likely have had my license revoked by now due to an accumulation of
> speeding tickets. The thing just has an intoxicating amount of torque from
> the moment you press the go pedal.
>
> It is an awesome highway cruiser, it just eats up the miles. I find the
> stock suspension to be a great combination of firmness without being harsh.
> The car feels smaller than it is.
>
> The trunk is HUGE, seriously. I think you can fit 2 or 3 dead people
> inside without cutting off any limbs (just kidding, but it is a massively
> large caboose).
>
> Things to check for:
>
> There are 2 little actuators at the front top of the engine that open up
> the secondaries on the intake. In audi's infinite wisdom, they made these
> out of plastic, and they of course break. Again in their wisdom, you can't
> just but the little plastic lever arm, you have to buy the whole assembly,
> which is about $700 I think (a nice piece of negotiating ammo). There is an
> aftermarket company (gruvenparts.com - Replaces OEM P/N 077198327A
> (077-198-327A)) that makes replacement of just the broken lever arms out of
> real metal for a whole lot less. When these things are working you can
> notice a difference a performance. here is the link:
>
> http://gruvenparts.com/**website/cart/cart.php?target=**
> product&product_id=386&**category_id=60<http://gruvenparts.com/website/cart/cart.php?target=product&product_id=386&category_id=60>
>
>
> The oil coolers are liquid cooled and prone to leaking (mine is leaking
> right now...again..argh). The rebuild kit is cheap, I think $30, but
> getting to it is a big PITA. Generally speaking getting to many of the
> parts is a big PITA, as you might imagine the size of the motor makes it
> difficult to work on in the engine bay.
>
> I had an issue with my sunroof drains leaking. The routing of the drain
> line was contributing to the water backing up, and the leaks ended up
> staining the A and D pillar trim on my car.
>
> There is a coolant sensor, sim to our MFTS on the urS, that fails often,
> causing the engine to flood and thus unable to start. Part is under $100.
>
> There is an air-vent valve on top of the fuel tank that sometimes fails
> and throws a code. (parts
>
> My ground cable near the alternator frayed and failed, resulting in a
> no-start.
>
> I had my rear main seal replaced.
>
> The electric headrests have cables that come apart and stop working.
>
> O2 sensors fail.
>
> I had a transmission rear output shaft seal leak.
>
> There are a ton of aluminum control arms in both the front and rear
> suspension. The bushings will eventually tear. Some have hydraulic bushings
> that will starting leaking their goo. I am actually pricing some lower
> front control arms now as mine need replacement. Roughly speaking they list
> for $300 each, but you can get them for about half that cost (TRW,
> Lemforder) from a Worldpac dealer and or a tad more the Miramar Audi/GAP
> genuine stuff. You can get cheaper than that but I'm always a bit leery
> about the super-cheap stuff. For example:
>
> http://www.bimmerparts.com/**item.wws?sku=W0133-1836068&**
> itempk=150893&mfr=TRW&weight=**4.00<http://www.bimmerparts.com/item.wws?sku=W0133-1836068&itempk=150893&mfr=TRW&weight=4.00>
>
>
>
> Driveability wise, the only other item is that the accelerator is a bit
> touchy at launch, I find you have to really concentrate to get a nice
> smooth take-off. I don't know if this is a drive by wire issue. I've seen
> those drive by wire signal "booster" things that you plug in between the
> pedal and the harness but don't know if that would solve this issue or not.
>
> I don't know if that list will  scare you away, but if this car has had
> any of those items addressed already, you are ahead of the game. After all,
> it is a 10 year old car now, not a spring chicken.
>
> I also benefited for a while from an extended warranty that covered a lot
> of the issues I had,
>
> It really is a joy to drive, the engine performance is awesome.
>
> Good luck.
>
> Manny
>
> 95.5 urS6 Avant (RS2'd but headless)
> '01 S8
>
>
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