[V8] $500 V8 For Sale

[diemarthadie at aol.com]

I wonder if we are not looking at a future bounce, however.  I'm not 
saying these are Shelby GTs of the future, but that they will indeed 
age well from a design standpoint, represent the beginning of a special 
line of cars by a prestige company, are limited production (and getting 
more limited in quantity), and (when right) are fairly fantastic cars 
to buy cheaply.  I see what's happened with some older Mercedes that 
seem to now move into the upper turn of their value curve.  They are no 
less expensive to maintain, are a no less recognizable marque, and are 
often in much greater supply.  MB 300 series wagons, for example, seem 
to have turned a corner where they are starting to command what I would 
consider a premium cost for 'an old car'.  They will, no dooubt, have 
old car needs, and MB parts pricing.

Let's take a guess from the list.  How many V8Qs are actually still 
complete and viable as road cars?  I'd be shocked if more than 1/2 of 
the original +/- 4000 US ones were still in good, driving, usable 
condition.  I'm thinking based on my having participated in the 
vivisection of 3 of them, the volume of them at Bruce and Chris' 
locations, and the general number of listers that have mentioned their 
parts car(s) over the years.

Perhaps the V8Q is headed there in a few more years.  It might take a 
campaign of people like us throwing it into the reader-voting mix at 
various car magazines, or websites... perhaps we could drive up our own 
values that way?

I dunno.  I'm musing along with Roger, who it appears did not lose 
power like so many up there, but is probably snowed in and musing by 
the fire with a nice scotch and his laptop ;)  Or should be.

John

-----Original Message-----
From: Roger Woodbury <rmwoodbury at roadrunner.com>
To: v8 at audifans.com
Sent: Wed, 25 Feb 2009 7:01 am
Subject: [V8] $500 V8 For Sale

Well, folks, I am thinking more and more that we are at the end of this
trail.  The newest V8 is 15 years old.  The cost of general maintenance 
on
these cars is beginning to be "legendary", and even the person who sees 
one
that is perfect, and cheap, will likely ask someone about the car, and 
will
be told that they are terribly expensive, unreliable, prone to sudden
accidental acceleration, and all sorts of other ignorant opinions.  
Unless
the person speaks with one of us poor fools, of course.

The truth is that maintenance is not much of an issue, if the car is
maintained.  Most people don't want to do that. Most people don't want 
to
take it to an independent mechanic, don't know an independent mechanic 
who
will work on these cars or who knows anything about these cars, or will 
take
the time to try to find one.  The Audi dealers generally know about as 
much
about these cars as they do about a Horsch, so franchised dealers are 
only
good places to hear them ask, "you have a what?".

Indeed, some parts seem to be getting a bit difficult to source, but not
impossible.  Unlike some of the hoses on the 200 20V Turbo that are no
longer available, as far as I know everything on the V8 is still 
supported
by Audi.  At a price:  UFO calipers are more than $550 each!  Ouch!  
(After
market calipers do not exist.  I have been almost everywhere on line to 
ask,
and NO ONE advertising them HAS them.).

The best of the cars available aren't selling for more than three 
grand, so
I would have to say that the value of these cars has ended in the 
market.

So what we have here is a now, very old, very powerful vehicle that 
nobody
except for a few really want.  While this can be a true, enthusiast's 
car,
as a daily driver I wonder how much longer critical parts will be 
supported
by Audi.  Maybe there is some sort of regulation that mandates this?
Whatever it is, I suspect that by the time that the newest of these cars
passes its twentieth anniversary, there will be only us left who know 
what
they are.

Roger

(About to start to accumulate parts cars....)

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