re: Pros and cons of v8 Quattro

[Eliot Lim <eliot@u.washington.edu>]

i've had mine longer than most people (7 yrs, 98K) and have to say that
mine has been trouble free for most of the period after the factory
warranty expired.  i bought an extended warranty for it which covered
a couple of expensive items (climate control, brake bomb, power window
regulator) and came out ahead.

since the expiration of the extended warranty the car has not needed a
single thing fixed.  it just runs and runs and feels like it will last
forever.  german cars at its best.. probably very benz like in this
regard. 

the engine has been perfect from new till now.  not a single thing has
gone wrong with the engine in its entire life.  and it doesn't feel like
it's about to die either.  the mechanics call it bulletproof.  i don't
think one would need to worry about a rebuild.

as far as i'm concerned those v8s that tend to be troublesome are probably
cars that have been neglected or abused. (or east coast salt cars)  my car
has cost very little to own, and there are no "recurrent and niggling
flaws" to speak of.  

i've read that to "rebuild" an engine you will need to send the entire
block back to the factory because of the special way that it was cast.
but then i hear that replacement engines can be gotten for just a couple
of $K.

as for the tranny, the audi dealers are not trained to repair it, but you
can try the BMW dealers who may be.  the previous generation 7 series
cars use exactly the same ZF unit.  repair will be a lot cheaper than
replace.

i think the key to buying a v8 is to make sure that the service history
is complete.  i would not buy a car that gets taken to jiffy lube once
in a while,  or a car with half a dozen owners.  good ones are hard
to find because the current resale value is dismal and those owners
(like me) with good ones would not even dream of selling at current
prices.  the only ones that show up are the bad ones.


eliot