[V8] Re: V8 quattro?

[Buchholz, Steven]

It seems the old adage ... "one man's trash is another man's treasure"
applies here ... 

The fact that Evan is posting to the list makes me think that he is at
least somewhat familiar with the foibles of older Audis ... perhaps even
the T44.  

My standard response to a question like this is that I would *never*
recommend an older Audi to someone who paid someone else to work on
their car.  Assuming that Evan was one of those people who did do at
least some of the work on their car ... I wouldn't try to discourage him
out of hand ... 

Let's begin with the price ... I dare say you couldn't get an older 4kQ
for less than what the seller is asking for this V8!  For around 1-2
thousand $ you could pay someone to address whatever issues the car
might have and end up with a damn nice car for the money ... and the
outlay would be even less if you decided to take on the work yourself
...

The statement that motivated me to even make this response was the one
about difficulty of maintenance ... The V8 is no more difficult to
maintain than any other T44 ... and some (like me) would argue that it
is actually easier to maintain than its siblings.  As long as you are on
the V8 list you should have a good bit of knowledgeable support while
you are doing the learning for yourself.  The built in diagnostic
capability alone makes it easier to maintain than say a 4000/5000/200
...

I will not dispute the comments about the fuel economy ... between my 2
cars, one can and does get over 25MPG on the freeway, where the other
struggles to get 20.  For me fuel economy isn't that significant an
issue ... in and of itself that is ... I look at the overall cost of
ownership.  Given the vastly less expensive insurance, registration and
payments, I find it difficult to identify a different car that comes out
cheaper on the bottom line for what you get.  

... another thing that might factor in ... the V8 was the first quattro
Audi made with an automatic.  If that is a requirement, I'd argue that
it is difficult to find anything at all better for the money ... 

Steve B
San Jose, CA (USA)
> 
> Evan Parker wrote:
>  > There's a V8 quattro in resonalble shape in my town for like $1500.
>  > I need a car for work that is good in the snow, decent on gas, and
>  > easy to fix for someone of reasonable automotive knowledge.
>  >
>  > Is this car a reasonable prospect?
> 
> No.
> 
> Good in the snow -- most definitely.
> 
> Decent on gas -- about 20 mpg if you don't push it (assuming
> it's a 1990 at that price). Lot's less if you enjoy the V8.
> 
> Easy to fix -- by whom?  The V8 is a complex car with lots of
> things that can go wrong.  On a 15 year old car, they will.
> This V8 list is helpful when you car dies suddenly for no
> reason. They'll tell you the reason.  Little things, like
> $150 sensors that are NLA.
> 
> Concern #1 is the automatic transmission. Make sure it works
> smoothly in all gears before you buy.
> 
> If you buy it, concern #2 should be the timing belt. That will
> set you back about $800 in parts and 8-12 hours of work. Or let
> a pro do it for about $1500-1800 -- which is the price of the
> car. :)
> http://www.audifans.com/twiki/bin/view/Audi/TimingBeltV8
> 
> On the other hand, you will fall in love and want for nothing
> else (except maybe a 4.2L V8).