Wow, are they lifetime struts or something that never wear out? And how much to replace those control arm bushings?

Thanks!

 

I'll say this, i have NEVER....EVER seen a stut go bad on any german car that was younger than 10 years. I've seen audis with 400,000 miles on the clock with the original engine and struts still on it. The only time i have come across a blown strut was on an allroad, and that was because the dumb bitch was driving around on a blown air bag for 6 months! Naturally, no strut can take than kind of abuse.
The air springs and upper links will be your only problem with the suspension on the A8, and as stated before will only cost you around 500-600 to fix yourself on the airsprings, and about another 500 for the links. A shop will cost about 3X that.

 

The prices you quoted for Lexus struts could NOT be for the entire strut. A strut general is the entire housing for a shock absorber insert, the hydraulic insert and spring as one assembly. The inserts (the actual shock absorbers) are the part that is replaced in struts...sometimes strut bearings (cheap part) that contacts the strut at the car body. Also those prices are suspiciously cheap, even for a Toyota strut insert. No insult intended to the owners, and no one likes to hear it, but a Lexus is just a Toyota with a lot of sound proofing, nicer trim, bells and whistles.

You more than likely saw a price for an entire strut assembly for an A8, not the shock absorbing insert. Many people have A8's at over 200K with all original struts and inserts operating perfectly...there is no reason for the strut itself to fail.

An Audi A8 is unique in many ways, even among other Audis. A Lexus at any price is not in the same world of quality or engineering as an Audi A8.

Boardroom documents from Toyota admit that Lexus was as much a marketing campaign as a luxury version of already existing Toyotas...right down to the name...they were one vote away from calling them "Alexus" (really!)...they decided that Lexus (a made up word) sounded expensive, thus psychologically justifying an inflated price. The early models shared almost all major systems with existing Toyotas (most still do), right down to the ill-fitting exhaust systems you can see almost dragging the road under brand new Camry's and some models of Lexus. It was all about luxury in the most cost effective manner...to Toyota's advantage, NOT the customer...in Toyota board member's own words.

P.S. I have a base model 1990 VW Passat GL Wagon with 200K miles, I've owned since brand new (it's old enough to by liquor)...all original struts and inserts....perfect ride, no bounce, original handling...driven hard, never garaged, paint good, no rust, no oil burning (unlike 100K mile plus Hondas). They may not be perfect, but German cars are NOT the same animals as Japanese cars.

 

Those are the correct prices for the Lexus GS struts i listed. Actually, the prices were discounted because i am a Lexus forum member and i was able to apply a promo code. But the actual cost for one front shock absorber is $87 and for one rear shock absorber it is $96.That is the online price for Lexus OEM parts from an online Lexus dealer.

I have not owned a german car before, only Japanese (Nissan Maxima, Acura TL, Lexus GS430) but i hear german cars offer more of a sporty ride/handling and better driving experience. Of course, i also hear of nightmares with electronics in german vehicles which made me cautious, but with a good warranty, hopefully i'll be one of the fortunate ones. Also, i will be looking for a 2007 A8, which i have heard is much more reliable than the older ones supposedly. Independent mechanics i've talked too always let out a gasp when i say i would like to look at audi for my next car. They say "if you do, don't bring it here!". Maybe their experience is with the older Audis i'm guessing?

The Lexus has never left me stranded, which i appreciate, but it is missing some soul. The GS430 was targeted as a sports sedan, but i laugh at that notion. Throwing in 300hp does not make it a sports sedan without making the suspension and brakes sporty. The GS is nothing more than a smaller version of the LS, a luxury cruiser.

I would like the A8, not as a daily driver, but as a nice car for the weekends and to take highway trips with me and my wife. Benz and BMW are out of the question, too many of them around. I am impressed by the Audi's uniqueness.

 

An amendment to the above:

The price you saw for Audi was an entire air suspension assembly on a D3 ('04 and up). The repair kit Auditech79 mentioned is the equivalent to the insert I mentioned.

D2's ( '97 - '03) with coil springs, take a replacement hydraulic damper for even cheaper than airspring repair kits, but since a '65 beetle I have never had to replace a shock on any German car, at any mileage (VW's, Porsche's & Audi). I beefed up the suspension on a street-racer Scirroco I built...the strut took a slide in insert to replace original damper, that was oil filling the same strut, with a piston...some modern cars can be converted this way, too...original "strut housing" is retained.

Originally, a MacPherson strut (as they were called at first) WAS a complete assembly...spring and all.
I just researched Toyota/ Lexus shocks (and Audi) and the terminology has changed...they ARE now calling just the dampening unit a strut (same for D2 Audi), so I stand corrected about the term "strut" as catalog orders go. But I still found the prices you quoted for replacement kind of scary cheap...don't know your supplier though....there's a lot of brands (good and bad) and "OEM" often refers to the OEM dampening 'rate' of an aftermarket "knock-off".

 

I think we were posting simultaneously.

About nightmares of German electronics and any other problems: You only hear from the unlucky ones, high mileage or botched by unqualified mechanics. The other overwhelming percentage that have few or no problems (myself for instance), you never hear from. You do not have to be "one of the lucky ones" to NOT have excessive problems.

Price nightmares for German parts usually originate with full dealer prices and are often parts NOT needed or available other places for reasonable prices.

A mechanic that is scared to work on an Audi, is either not qualified, too cheap to buy tools and a manual or hasn't had the chance to work on as many as the flood of other brands needing repair. I do all my own work. I am no genius, by any stretch...I just have a good manual and seek qualified advice when I need it.

I have an '01 D2, which I and many others consider one of the most dependable cars they've ever owned. I've worked on cars from many other countries, including Japan and I find German cars the most logically constructed of all...with the proper info and tools, not difficult.

As for past Audi's with problems: A mechanic who has actually worked on them, may be referring to early D3's (2004 models) which had a few issues...first year of the new design. I do not hear the same of later ones and many have had few issues with their '04's. Like I said, you only hear the bad stories....thousands of A8's are out there and only a small percentage report their problems here.

I started on this and other forums to ask questions about regular maintenance..not excessive problems. I stayed here to continue learning from some very talented people, to help those with solvable problems who were being scared by dealers and unqualified mechanics...and to sing the praises of an incredible car. I'm not always right, though....I was wrong once, but realized that I was only "mistaken"

 

I must say that so far i'm impressed by this forum and fanbase for the A8. I was worried that only snobby old farts drove A8's and if i needed advice or help on a forum, there would be none and posters would be scarce. You guys respond very quickly and are not so quick to say "dude, use the search button" as i have experienced on other forums. Silverd2, you along with auditech seem to know alot about these cars. I'm sure there are others too which will make me more comfortable purchasing this car knowing that you folks are on hand here.

 

PM me your VIN and I can see if I can get a build sheet of your A8

 

I can tell you exacly why indy techs don't want anything to do with audis.

1. They are the hardest (with the exception of saab) to flat rate. Meaning it pays them less to get a job done and they don't pay as well as japanese cars. On average a toyota tech that has 10 years experience can pull in anywhere from 80k-120k per year, while the average audi mechanic makes 45k-90k. If they are really good, you can break 100k.

2. It takes longer to do things because they are "overdesigned" using heat shields, clips, excessive bolts/screws, they don't come apart by pulling on things (cough mercedes) and overall they look intimidating.

3. Requires a crap ton of metric tools/precision tools you won't find on any other car with the exception of some Saabs and Volvos. (mostly interior dash pieces, and suspension/subframe areas)

4. They're pussies.

 

#2 is a compliment to the cars and #4 sums it up nicely.
Well said.