Im looking to get a car and have come across a few A8's for sale. I'm rather familar with other audi's; A4,S4, A6, etc. I dont know that much about the a8's however. When did the models change? ( what are the different generations?) What types of problems should I expect with them. Im looking at older models like 97-99. how expensive are they to fix, and can the work be done on your own? In particcular does the 97 model come with HID Headlights and can you change the lights on the 97 to the one piece lights like on the 2000 models. this is the add for the one i'm looking at, let me know if you think it's a good deal or not:

I am selling my 1997 Audi A8 Quattro 4 door sedan. This vehicle is incredible, and is still unmatched by 2007 standards. If you are looking at this ad, you must already know a little about these magnificent automobiles. This vehicle combines a 32Valve V8 300hp power plant when combined with the beautiful Quattro all wheel drive system rockets this vehicle off the line at 0-60 in 6 seconds. The secret-- this vehicle was built with the first ever aluminum Audi "space age frame" making it durable, light and extremely safe.

This vehicle is equipped with the HOT & COLD PACKAGE!

HOT PACKAGE - dual climate zones, rear A/C, solar windows (reduced the inside temperature of the cabin), solar panel sunroof (powers the inside blower via solar power to keep the car cool on hot days!) and rear/side window shades

COLD PACKAGE - all seated have individual heated seat controls, heated steering wheel, subzero cold start valve

Check the other A8's around as this is rare to have both packages!

Here is the kicker- I consistently get around 24-26 mpg on the highway and around 21 mpg around town! Granted, I am not heavy on the pedal either!

I have all manuals, keys, remote key fobs, and even have the VHS video that came with the car explaining all these cool features!

The specifics- I have owned this vehicle for 2 years. The car has never been smoked in. I drive quite a bit for work, thus the quick high jump in miles. When I bought it, it had 71,000- now it has only 116,000. This car has always been serviced at appropriate intervals and is ready to drive home!

Reason for selling- I spend so much time in my car, I am simply ready for a "change in environment".

Also, this vehicle is equipped a remote start system (dealer installed) which is a huge asset on those cold days!

-Heated steering wheel
-Heated seats front & rear
-Heated cup warmers (front & rear!)
-power seats front & rear (yes rear!)
-Lumbar Support (all seats!)
-Sunroof with solar panels to blow fresh air in while parked in the sun
-rear power sun screen
-side window sunscreen
-all wheel drive
-BOSE radio speaker system with sub (sounds greeeeeeeat!)
-all manuals & original VHS video explaining all the features


Thanks for your help in advance.

 

www.google.com , www.edmunds.com and so on

 

If you really have your heart set on a D2 (1994-2003) A8, spend a little extra to get a 2001 or later model. Unfortunately with A8s, whatever you don't spend now when buying the car, you're likely to spend later. Age, besides mileage, also plays a role, and 97s are somewhat less reliable than later D2s.

The following threads, I think, should be helpful in some minor way, and one of them is even titled "School me on A8s"

https://www.audiforums.com/m_145044/tm.htm

https://www.audiforums.com/m_405796/tm.htm

https://www.audiforums.com/m_324445/tm.htm

 

it occurs to me the OP cud simply read through the threads in our little corner of paradise, and get a pretty gud idea about the nature of A8's, too

 

I have a 2000 A8L with 110K miles and I love it. I'm not sure if you can make the headlight modifications that you are seeking but the listing you provided does sound intriguing, particularly with the extras noted. It has every option that I ever heard of. The kicker is the price. What are they asking? You should be able to pick it up for something close to 12K. If I were to sell my 2000 right now I would be fortunate to get 18K out of it.

As far as maintance... they are very expensive to fix but compared to my previous 97 A4 trips to the shop are much less frequent. So far I have replaced a couple of control arms (160 per) and the timing belt (over 1000) and not much else. My A4 was costing me several thousand dollars per year where as my A8 cost me nothing in 2006.

The mileage is not too bad either for a V8 and the power is awesome. The easiest car to drive over 85 I've ever driven. I would say get one but try to get a 2000 or newer (2nd generation). Good luck!

 

cool. thank you to everyone for the help so far. I read through the other linked posts and did some more research on the cars. I haven't really found too much about these online. The original for sale item i posted the seller was asking 8500 in Richmond VA. Since making this post I have been looking around a lot more and have found a lot of the newer models for similar and in some cases cheaper prices. Over all the one question no one really seems to have been able to answer was about the headlight conversion for the 97-99 models. Due to some eye sight problems HID headlights are going to be a big selling point for me, it doesn't seem like most of the 97-99 models came with HID. Anyways i'm leaning hardest right now towards a 2000 model in the Northern VA area with about 93,XXX miles on it. Please feel free to leave anymore advice or suggestions.

 

So after some more looking I've finally boiled it down to two cars. I found a 1999 4.2 A8 with about 93,000 miles listed at 6,995.00 and a 2001 4.2 A8L with about 115,000 miles listed at 11,500.00. I have carfax reports for both cars and they both seem to have been kept in pretty good condition, other then the Higher then normal miles on the 2001 model. Which would be there better buy if you were in my shoes?

 

I wouldn't take either really. IMHO $7K is not a good amount to spend on any big Audi, unless it'll be a weekend driver only, if you're a DIY type of guy, or if you have plenty of funds to fix all the stuff that's going to come along. Which, if you do, you could better invest in getting a low-mileage example. For that same $11500 you could probably find a 98 or 99 with lower mileage than that 93K one. A lot of it depends on how long you plan to keep the car, how many miles a year you plan to put on it, and how much you're willing to spend to keep it happy.

 

thanks for all the help everyone. I ended up getting a 2000 A8L with about 75,000 miles. Going to pick it up on sunday. Will post pictures then. By the way anyone do the RNS-E conversion in one of these?

 

Hans,
I've ALWAYS wanted to ask... You're not teh REAL HB, are you?