[V8] RE: confessions of a V8.....

Tue Feb 1 09:18:54 EST 2005

When I can't speak for myself I find someone else for whom to speak -- a
good friend who had a '91 5-speed since new and sold it several months
back (it was displaced by an RS6, which filled the V8's third spot in
his garage next to an S8 and his wife's A8).

I see him often and each time I typically endure 3-5 minutes of pathetic
albeit sincere whining about how much he misses the V8, even considering
what he now "drives" (the quotes are his).  He wouldn't trade the RS to
have the V8 back, but if monetary valuation were entirely moot, he'd
take it back for the S8.

Old, new -- auto, stick -- BMW, Audi -- whatever -- I am sure this V8
community is among the finest in existence, and that's compelled by the
outstanding-ness of these cars versus the cookie-cutter,
fine-for-now-but-just-you-wait familiar white oldsmobuicks the reggelar
folks drive.

It's been a week and a half and I miss my V8 a hellun.

-DaveC.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: v8-bounces+david.coleman=blackrock.com at audifans.com 
> [mailto:v8-bounces+david.coleman=blackrock.com at audifans.com] 
> On Behalf Of Roger M. Woodbury
> Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2005 8:00 AM
> To: v8 at audifans.com
> Subject: [V8] RE: confessions of a V8.....
> 
> 
> Me, too.  Since I have sold my '93 V8, I have been in 
> withdrawal, and it isn't pleasant.  I find that I am spending 
> late night hours haunting Autotrader and eBay looking for the 
> next car.  Sunday evening my wife and I were out to dinner 
> and I confessed that I was looking for another car...one for 
> myself that would be as satisfying as was the V8.  (She LOVED 
> the V8 and was pretty sorry when it got sold...).  So, I am looking.
> 
> I have "on the shelf" a very nice '91 200 20valve that I 
> bought as a restoration project, and is almost done.  It's a 
> pretty neat example with its chipped ECU and new UFO's, and 
> the remaining work is slight...in fact the amount of work 
> that I have done so far isn't great, and I drove it 1500 
> miles on its maiden voyage, so it was fully functioning when I got it.
> 
> But I am going to have to have some surgery on my knees, and 
> I am not sure how able to manage a clutch I will be over the 
> long haul, so I am ready to go a different route.
> 
> And I miss my V8.
> 
> So, I am contemplating three vehicles right now.  First up is 
> a V8 allroad.  There are some compelling reasons for the 
> allroad with V8.
> First of all, there is the V8.  Secondly, it has an eight 
> cylinder engine, and thirdly it has a 4.2 litre V8 engine.  
> The capacity of the wagon body is really very, very good, and 
> the trick suspension might be very useful for me in my 
> various ventures which do involve some mild off road stuff, 
> and some rough road stuff...places the '93 V8 would NOT go.
> The down side is to me that trick suspension is an unknown as 
> the car accumulates miles, and I wonder how difficult and 
> expensive the thing will be to keep running over the longer 
> term.  Will an allroad reliably see 150,000 miles?
> 
> Then there is the '02-'03 S6.  A definite maybe.  The final 
> decision to sell my V8 was because it was a sedan, and I 
> really need greater usefulness in my vehicles than a sedan 
> can offer, unless the entire rear opens in a hatch.  The 
> biggest problem with the S6 is that it was produced in such 
> limited numbers that finding a used one that is in decent 
> condition for a price that is at all attainable for mere 
> mortals is problematic.  I also don't know what the road 
> clearance is on those beasts, and some of our rural paved 
> roads are pretty rough, especially in the spring when frost 
> heaves rear their ugly heads.  The '93 V8 was fine, but it 
> was about as low a car as practical to drive.  Example:  my
> '88 Porsche 928S4 will NOT clear all frost heaves in the 
> spring with stock spring heights:  the front end engine panel 
> will hit, so on extremely rough roads the car ends up getting 
> "walked" over the worst of the bumps.  I wonder if the S6 
> might be this low anywhere underneath.
> 
> Last night I found a very interesting looking S8 on eBay.  
> Oh, yeah, I kNOW it is a sedan.  But it really was yummy 
> looking, so I am following the auction.  The car is at a 
> franchised dealer and will be Audi Advantage certified.  I am 
> not sure that I would buy another sedan, but in doing my 
> "market research" I might as well learn what stuff goes for, 
> right?  And there is that great big V8 engine.....
> 
> Then there is the obvious option of getting another '93 or unobtanium
> '94 V8.  The possible plan is to buy the car, ok, ok....it 
> might go like
> this:  Car gets bought for, say, six grand.  And lets say 
> that the interior of the car is really, really good.  Let's 
> say it already has sport seats, ok?  And then the headlights 
> will need to be changed, and lets say I find a set on the web 
> for, say, $300, so I will have, oh, $500 in the headlights 
> and the installation when the wrench gets it done.  New 
> tires...gotta have tires on ANYTHING, right, so that is a no 
> brainer.  (Here's a hint:  215/60 Bridgestone 
> somethingorothers are cheaper than 245whatevers that they put 
> on those other cars, by quite a lot).  And lets say that this 
> V8 has some obvious issues under the hood at its near 100,000 
> miles....leaks, timing belt, tensioners, rubber gizzies and 
> all that jazz.  Oh, yeah, and lets say that the hvac need 
> attention and the stereo is fershitzky, and, oh, well, what 
> the hell, the steering rack is gone and most of the light 
> bulbs are dim inside the dashboard.  And we'll throw in 
> rubber rear suspension bushings and, oh, why not, shock absorbers.
> 
> What is the magic number?  Well, easily it is $4-5,000.  For 
> the purpose of this little fantasy, the transmission is 
> OK...needs to have a flush and then go chortling down the 
> road.  So the total investment is now in the $11,000 range.  
> It is an eleven year old vehicle, and here in Maine, my 
> annual vehicle excise tax is around $170, and it will cost 
> about six hundred a year to insure with physical damage 
> coverage, although I will more than likely just self insure 
> the carcass.  
> 
> So, next year when and if I decide to buy the allroad/S6/S8 
> or whatever, the tab will easily be in the twenty five grand range.  
> 
> Which is better?  The bottom line for me is that despite the 
> neat looking interiors, the airbags that deploy from every 
> nook and cranny, and the fact that the new V8's have a 
> gazillion valves, I am not sure that, aside from the 
> allroad/S6 wagon bodies' utility, that there has been any 
> meaningful improvement made over the 4.2litre V8...by Audi or 
> anyone else.
> 
> I think I will go and lie down now, because I am becoming 
> morose over selling my V8....
> 
> Roger
> 
> P.S. Oh, yes.  And I have never given any thought to an S4.  
> My wife and I sat in one two years ago when we were 
> contemplating an allroad.  The
> S4 is simply too small for us.  But the allroad really did fit....  
> 
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