Hey all, new to the forum here. I have been researching getting a new car, was looking at the BMW 740iL, and to a lesser extent the Mercedes S class. 97-00 vintange... I had test driven an A4 whe a friend was looking at cars (A4, 3 series) and was not impressed at all. Wasnt until my brother decided to look at the A6 instead of a 5 series, and bought it. I have been very impressed with the A6 so far and decided to take a look at the A8. Test drove a 99 4.2, liked it alot. But am not finding much information about the cars at all online. Cant seem to find much about the options, production numbers, anything.

So, can i get a quick run of what options are available? (cold, warm weather, gps, power rear seats etc)
What are the changes in body and interior between the years?
What known issues does the car have? (For example, the 740's have radiator issues in the 75k mile range).
What do I need to be sure to check for when I am looking?
Whats the difference between the A8 and the A8L? (Size, where its bigger, any mandatory options on the L that are options on the normal?)
Gas milage? Gas tank size? Gas octane requirements/recommendations?
Milage life of motor/tranny/etc?

Please point me in the right direction if I am missing a forum or site that explains all.

Little more background (incase anyone cares). I currently have a 96 Mercury Sable, an 87 Corvette (hence nick), and 2 BMW motorcycles. The Vette and the BMWs give me the perofrmance fix when needed. The Sable has given me an appreciation for big cars, but in general it sucks. Noisy on road, doesnt feel planted at 80-100+, rear leg room is cramped, tranny has had issues since 2000, 140k on the clock, just not really able to trust the car anymore, and with a 3-4 hour (each way) drive done on most weekends, and I am tired of doing it in that car.

THANKS!
Matt

 

What didnt you like about the A4 ?
which one was it ?

 

Well autos.msn.com does a good job of explaining options or edmunds.com

I own an A6

I think the A8L is another 10 inches in the wheel base. Most of these questions are on the edmunds website and I am not exactly pro on the options and all (having test driven the 745 and the Mercedes and looked at the A8 as my next car is all my experience.) But I know a little on Audi watchouts in general.

Things to look at are service records and making sure they treated it right. There are some quirky electronis probs, so check and make sure all the lights and all work and no lines are going out on displays. Check the timing belt because an all aluminum block and heads can be totally destroyed by timing failure. Make sure someone didn't do something stupid like pouring some cheap crap powersteering fluid in the reservoir or anything like that (If there is red in the power steering, walk away, it should be light brown tinted)

Run it on 91, And yeah the other questions are on edmunds.

Sucks to have a mercury sable. I used to have a mercury, only thing cool about it was the gas mileage

 

VetteRacer,

You are correct in that the amount of enthusiast info on the A8 (and perhaps other Audi's) is less than perhaps BMW's. I am also now in the market for an '02-'03 A8 and have been trying to do my "home work". I bought an '01 BMW 740i Sport (which I love) a couple years back, and found countless information resources on that vehicle, some of which go into great detail in making your own repairs. One for example, gave all the instructions and software to burn a CD that allowed me to "flash" an upgrade to my navigation system!

OK, that said, let me know of any great resources you might find, and I will do the same.. The A8 is for my wife (at the moment, at least I am keeping the 740, along with my Suburban and Harley..

 

Dave: It was a 0x model, just wasnt impressed with it, compared to the BMWs we test drove. For me the A4 is a useless car, not big enough for 4+ adults, and lacks the performance to be a 2 seater (not saying the A4 is a bad car though, just not for me).

Dan: Milage sucks, its alittle better then I used to get with the Vette (Freeway was ~28). The BMW's provide my good milage, 50+ depending on the road and how much control I have over keeping it in 2 digit speeds. I will check out those sites and see what I can find. Used to running 91 in the Vette and BMWs, so not a huge worry there. What were your thoughts on the A8 vs 745 vs Benz (S?)

Red740: Mmm 01 Sport. Widescreen? M-Pars? I'd love an 01 750iL Sport in Silver... m$m$m$m... Have you looked at the A8s yet? How do you compare it to the 7? I havent done any same day comparisons yet since I am not ready right now to buy. Cut the research short the past few weeks, since posting, been busy with other things, alternator in Sable is crapping out, moved the Vette to Vegas and it has some issues from sitting for the past 1.5 years I was gone... I will let you know if i find anything once I start my homework back up.

Matt

 

New to the site, and I was also searching for some information on options and came across Nick's post. I have researched Edmunds, and was not successful finding any information on the Power Solar Sunroof. Can anyone give a resource on this?

Many thanks,
Chas

 

VetteRacer, I just pulled the trigger on an '03 A8L .. $71,400 original msrp - paid $33,500. The car is clean except for a few typical cosmetic things typically associated with most used cars. 45K miles so there is still a bit of time on the warrantee to get anything that is not right made right. The interior is super clean.

The only thing that really bugs me is that the right rear door had some body work from below the moulding down that is less than perfect - don't know how I missed that on my inspection but feel stupid for not noticing until after I had the car home :@] - might have to spend some bucks to get that right unless I can get over it. The hood and front bumper was also repainted, however does not appear to be from a collision as all surrounding componenets including the never refinished lower black part of the bumper is original. Refinish quality is good, color match on the silver not *exact*, but not terribly off.

I think I got an OK deal, kept telling myself finding a used car 3 model years old that is mint is not easy to come by, or for an '03 will be closer to $40K. Also was finding that there are not a lot of used '03's out there and did not want to travel across several states in my endeaveor (this one was 320 miles out as it was)

Anyway, the 740 sport is a monster - I love the car.. and yes, wide screen nav. In terms of comparing it to the A8, they are 2 different machines - handle totally different. The 740 will not be out in the snow, as the quattro will ( I am in CT). For the driving experience, the BMW is really a drivers car and will out handle, out accelerate and out stop the A8. On the other hand, the A8 is way more cushy and comfortable and soften ups the road a bit.

Vette, Also know that I have the "short sport", which is a different sport package that comes on the "L". The "short" is the real deal and the "L" is just cosmetic incase you are not aware. The 750 is awesome, and the V12 is not as thirsty and more reliable than most think. For me though, the "real" sport was the only way to go.

The A8 is for the wife, who is upgrading from a '95 Volvo GLT with 135K miles, so she is thrilled.

Anyway, I will be posting a bunch of questions now that I own one and I do do most of my own work, so I plan to learn and share "how to's" here!

Anyone one willing to comment, let me know if I got a decent deal - having a bit of buyers remorse right now (the door thing[:@])

Red740is