Wife has a 2005 A8 - now has 46,000 on it. Great car, few problems while in warranty. Biggest one had to do with the XM module (big whoop).

I am reluctantly looking at an 05 for me (I like the old grille & price). It's a nice one. Doesn't have all the bells & whistles as hers.

Biggest concern - long term reliability. Service adviser at our dealership is really helpful and knowledgeable - says A8 is the most reliable car Audi makes - but all is relative.

So, thoughts please - long term reliability?

 

Depends on what you mean by reliable. Does this car have the old style front end? Thats gonna be an 04 A8 with all the problems that go along with it from design flaws.
The 4.2L engine itself is as bullet proof as a A-1 Abrams tank, nothing is gonna go wrong with it as long as you change the whopping 9qts of oil every 5-10k.
The transmissions vary from year to year but i haven't seen any real major problems with any D3 (04+) A8. Nothing ever remotely goes wrong with the quattro system, so in other words you probably won't have any issues what so ever for drivetrain problems which is peace of mind.
However, the A8 has a LOT of electrical gadgets. The pop up monitor for instance, the motor that lifts it breaks a lot, the trunk motors crack, trunk pull down motor cables snap, the trunk latch fails on occasion, parking sensors fail, tire pressure sensors fail or the batteries go out which aren't cheap to replace, headlamps are $200 a pop if they go out, plastic cup holders break off, the push button start button breaks a lot, and the electronic parking brake is complicated so when techs replace the rear brake pads if often doesn't get set correctly and throws annoying fault codes. The list of petty crap can go on and on, but a lot of this stuff is preventable, the buttons in the MMI usually fail because folks spill their coffee on them etc.

My final assestment on the A8; in the long run it will go longer than most other cars on the road, like 500,000 miles long. Thats more than i can say for most cars on the road, another plus i like about the A8 is the body is completely made of alumninum, so the body will last a hell of a lot longer than an A4 or A6, which is why im interested in getting an 05 for myself in the near future.

 

I'm assuming you're an Audi technician by your user name. Which A8 would you get in terms of reliability from an 05 thru 07? I know price will go up with newer years/mileage etc. but which one is the least troublesome from your experience? Thanks.

 

The 05, (non FSI) the FSI engine is still pretty much new and it has shown some problems with the high pressure fuel pumps on the 2.0T (not cheap) which required replacing the $1,000 pump along with a $800 intake cam shaft that it rides on. So far i haven't seen a problem on a 4.2L, but it uses the same technology. So i would go with the 05.
The 05 is basically the 04 with all the bugs worked out of it so i know it will be trouble free.

 

I have an '04 which has been an absolute maintenance nightmare. In the 1 1/2 years the car has been out of warranty I've spent approximately $7,000 on all kinds of issues from transmission to suspension, broken arm rest, bad headlight, trunk and more. The first year I owned the car it was under factory warranty and I also had other problems fixed that I didn't have to pay for. It seems like a great car for the money when you buy it used, but be prepared to spend thousands to repair and maintain. If you still want to take the plunge, buy the best warranty you can get. Buy a "stated exclusion" type of warranty so you will know exactly what is NOT covered. Even then, the car is just not fun to drive knowing every couple of weeks something else is going to go wrong. Some Audi mechanic saying the A8 is their most reliable car is a joke. Check out Consumer Reports assessment of the '04 and '05 A8. It's one of the least reliable cars (of any manufacturer) based on data compiled from actual owners.

 

Lets see, i bet if you read my sticky you will find every reason i listed the 04 A8 as being the worst of the bunch. The A8 will have lots of maintenace because there are more moving parts of the lesser vehicles. If you think an A8 is bad try driving a 04+ 7 series BMW or Mercedes S500+ class, makes the A8 seem like a dream boat in repairs. I have worked on all of them. Me personally i would buy an 04 A8 but thats because i could probably do all the repairs that you paid for about $1,500 and i know where all the problems are.

 

it is so. i know even some guys who drive mb and bmw for everyday and have audi for long-distance drives. they say - "a8 will never break unexpectedly compared to bmw and mb".

of course anything can happen but a8 is really best that audi makes. as Clakson from topgear said - "they trains special employees that check that the leather on the steering wheel smells same as leather on the seats"

 

Hi Audi79 I have a question for you , where can i buy middle split arm rests for my 05 A8 and second how would i know what engine i have , i noticed you said youll choose one of two out there