[V8] 740i vs. S8

[Coleman, David]

740s are nice cars.  A tad roomier in the back than the S8, and have the
understated yet stuffy good looks that BMW, and now Audi to a lesser
extent, are moving away from.

A good friend is a tech at a BMW/Porsche shop.  He's got well over 20
years in the biz, a darling of a resume, and certainly one of the more
capable and intelligent car repair guys I know.  When he started at this
shop, he loved and had previously occasionally worked on the 7 series
(and Bimmers in general).  Eight months later, he despises them.  Parts
are wickedly more pricey than other brands, Porsche included, and the
engineering is better described as different rather than better.
Ironically, he used to look down at Audis, but after helping me
repair/maintain those that I've owned, he's squarely in their camp and
jumps at them when they come in the shop.

Also, having driven a 740 (sport model?  Dunno.) within a day or two of
driving a friend's '03 S8 myself, I can practically guarantee you that
any shopper who drives both, then buys the Bimmer, is more interested in
the propeller and cache.  From a driver's perspective, in my mind, you'd
have to be a dunderhead to prefer it over the S8.  Vastly better
interior and control layout designs aside, the S8 is a car you look
forward to driving, as opposed to being seen in.

The tiptronic is lame compared to a true manual, but sport mode or
you-shift-it is good enough for me to live with.  They're available in
Germany with a 6-speed, and may share the same floorpans, so perhaps the
conversion labor wouldn't be much more complex than for a V8.

Best inference I can make is that the 740s are just as nice or nicer to
own if you can pay for some of the work, routinely carry five people,
and can rely on the 930 for giggles.  Otherwise it's S8 all day.

-DaveC.
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: v8-bounces at audifans.com 
> [mailto:v8-bounces at audifans.com] On Behalf Of Jeremy Ward
> Sent: Friday, January 07, 2005 10:48 AM
> To: Ed Kellock; v8 at audifans.com
> Subject: [V8] 740i vs. S8
> 
> I have toyed with the idea of 'upgrading' to a '99 740i 
> Sport, but so far lack of $20k has kept me grounded in 
> reality.  My ears perked up when I saw Unka Bart's email...
> 
> Can't be more costly to maintain than our V8's, can it?  
> Also, I hadn't considered the D2 S8 as my next car...  Anyone 
> know how reliable these babies are, what kind of $$ they are 
> selling for, and (most importantly) if Keith can drop a 
> manual transmission into one? :-)
> 
> Anyone know of any old mags putting the 740i Sport and the S8 
> head to head?
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> - Jeremy
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: v8-bounces at audifans.com 
> [mailto:v8-bounces at audifans.com] On Behalf Of Ed Kellock
> Sent: Friday, January 07, 2005 7:11 AM
> To: v8 at audifans.com
> Subject: [V8] Re: NAC - '99 WMB 740i info request 
> 
> Glad to help.  I must say I've been tempted by the propeller 
> on more than a few occasions, especially the pre-Bangle 7's.  
> Watching the first several minutes of the Transporter doesn't 
> help either.  Those are very nice looking however it seems 
> they're not as nice to maintain.  I guess I should always 
> mandate that I watch the S8 scenes in Ronin as an antidote.
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Unka Bart" <gatorojo at earthlink.net>
> To: "Ed Kellock" <ekellock at gmail.com>; <v8 at audifans.com>
> Sent: Friday, January 07, 2005 7:01 AM
> Subject: Re: NAC - '99 WMB 740i info request
> 
> 
> > HI Ed,
> >
> > Thanks for the URLs for the my750 site.  I'd seen that site a couple
> of
> > years ago when I was considering the 750i, but hadn't bookmarked the
> > URL and lost it (the URL).  My neighbor has now completely discarded
> > the idea.
> >
> > Must have been a sudden attack of sanity...
> >
> > Bart
> >
> >
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Audifans V8 mailing list
> Send posts to: mailto:V8 at audifans.com
> Manage your list connection: 
> http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/v8
> Have an Audi V8 question?  Check the Audifans Knowledgebase!
> http://www.audi-quattro.org/cgi-bin/twiki/view/Audi/V8
> Have a V8 answer? ... Please help others by adding to the KB ... all
> contributions welcome!
> _______________________________________________
> Audifans V8 mailing list
> Send posts to: mailto:V8 at audifans.com
> Manage your list connection: 
> http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/v8
> Have an Audi V8 question?  Check the Audifans Knowledgebase!
> http://www.audi-quattro.org/cgi-bin/twiki/view/Audi/V8
> Have a V8 answer? ... Please help others by adding to the KB 
> ... all contributions welcome!
>