I do all my own work and have never hired anyone to do anything in my life. (45 years old) I have 3 of these cars, the ross tech and bentley. they are all regularly running driving cars and I'll no doubt learn much more as time goes on. After owning for 2 years and since picking up a second and third (2001 S8), I love them and don't ever intend to buy anything other than the A8/S8. I live in Maine. we have calcium chloride sprayed on the roads in the winter which rusts everything out quickly, and tons of bad roads, pot holes, and changing weather. Between the all wheel drive, aluminum everything, minimal price tag for the D2, safety, luxury, comfort, speed !, quietness, etc, etc. it's the only car that fits the bill. Oddly enough, this is the perfect car for a cash strapped person/family who does their own work. Over time it's the most economical car to drive. and your the king of the road. I just replaced the entire front suspension in the '98 with a kit from FCP for $283. all 8 control arms, tie rod ends, sway links. tightened the rack and it drives like new. not factory parts, but I don't really care. cheap money. Most other parts are cheap too if you get the cheap Chinese crap at Autozone. It's good enough in most cases. I think the 4.2 motors might last forever ? 200K and don't even use oil. knock on wood ). Worst thing that happened in 2 years is an ignition module. I know people are scared to own Audis due to the rep for maintenance cost. that's why I can pick them up on the cheap. D2s sell for between $1000 and $2000 up here all the time and only need a few hundred in parts to set right. there's 2 for sale right now. one for $1200, and another for $1800 that are "daily driver" running driving cars with good trannys. I want to go buy every one I see and can't convince anyone I know to go get one. ain't life crazy...sometimes I think it's just me, but then I go for a ride...my wife's pretty darn happy in her's too, which means I'm happy )

 

I agree with you 100%. I've had 6 A8s ranging from 1997 to 2010. I sell Audis for a living here in Syracuse, NY. Due to our winters and the road conditions, Audi is very easy to sell here and in the last 5 years or so, the market really took a peak on them. You are right about buying them dirt cheap if you can do the work your self. I had an 03 A8 that I drove for about a year. I took it on trade for an 08 A8. I sold that 03 with 360K miles on it. It belonged to a professor that travelled a ton on the east coast. Car ran perfect and the body was perfect. These cars will easily last over 200K if you take care of it and don't abuse it like some "audi owners do". 01 S8 you got is a real classic sports full size sedan. I don't think there is anything better in it's class that drives better then the S8. The performance and handling is amazing on these cars. Good luck with your A8s. I hope you have a lot of fun with them.

 

I've got two owner 97 A8 with 19' A5 rims,.. and shes a beaut. To be frank I could afford a two year old one and not sweat it... but I love this one. There have been times where I get it in my head "hey, I'm gonna go get a new car. And when I test drive them I think to myself.... this kinda sucks. My old car is Better or as good as the "new" car their touting as so wonderful". Had mine for 5 years now and have had no real reliability issues that can't be fixed by myself a layman with some spirit and can do attitude. In two weeks I'm gonna do a bunch of stuff to deal with some minor but extensive oil leaks. But would I buy the car all over and do it all over again? YUP!
Grande Prairie Alberta,
C. Kap

 

To Josh, this is one of the greatest posts I've read - and was very encouraging to me when I was considering the '00 L I am now the proud owner of.

Whilst doing my homework, I took a look at some other marques that purportedly had stellar reliability (like Acura) and found commentary no different than what I found with Audi. There was a smattering of misc. items and annoyances that folks complained about (many of which were electrical in nature) and I even dug up some dirt on more well-known issues (comparable to the D2's transmission).

I came to the realization that: 1) no one brand is immune to this sort of thing; 2) Any/every late model car is going to have items that are expensive to do at the dealer (and the costs were all comparable); 3) many owners praised their vehicles highly, and lastly 4) YMMV - lemons and cherries abound.

Needless to say I'm enjoying the honeymoon with my new (to me) ride and haven't been this ecstatic about a car purchase since I can remember. 13 years old and it has no need for an air freshener - still smells like nice leather on the inside!

- Happy in FL.