Went to look at a 2000 Audi A8 today... observations.
 

Hello. Looking at getting into my first Audi after owning a BMW 540i and Mercedes S600. I test-drove a 2000 A8 today with 127k on it. The car was smooth overall, but I did notice a few things:

1. Upon removing the oil cap, there was dark 'sludge' on it. Not the milky stuff that comes from short driving, but actual oil sludge. The oil seemed old, but the seller claimed to have changed it 1500 miles ago. Do you think that there is a chance of major engine sludge issues with this car?

2. The car's air intake was loose (not connected with the the supporting part on the front of the car). Is this cause for alarm? The history report shows no sign of prior collision damage.

The car ran and idled perfect, handled very well, and the transmission shifted nicely. It also had nice brakes. Everything seemed to work, and it did not leak a drop of fluid. The timing belt was replaced and it was claimed to be up to date on all services through two Audi dealerships. It is a dealer selling the car for a client, so I didn't see any of the service records, but the car ran the part. I'd be getting it for $6,800, which I feel is a bit high, but I really was rather pleased with its performance and condition. What's your opinion?

Thanks in advance.

Its probably not sludge, all audis have a very porous aluminum valve cover/s which absorb oil and get this "burnt" oil look to them. Just about every audi i have ever pulled the covers on looks likes that. Sludge would be muck built up on the cams and what not, and you can't check for sludge by just removing the oil cap. Short driving trips can develop a milky white oil substance on the oil cap as well, so if you see that chances are its an older gentelman that ownes it.

The intake being loose was probably the mechanics fault, more than likely he was getting at the throttle body to clean all the crud out of it. If it shifts fine (read sticky) and its up to date on services $6,800 is a good price.

I just drove it back home. Occasionally, upon coming to stop signs, I get a less than favorable downshift (hope that this is not indicative of an otherwise perfect failing transmission). Other than that, the car is marvelous. I can't seem to get burned discs to play, however... is there a certain brand of blanks that this car likes? Also, where can I get GPS CDs? Finally, the rear driver's door does not open from the inside when the car is unlocked. I'm not aware of any child safety features on the car, so what could this be? I noticed that the handle does unlock the door when the car is locked.

I would double check for leaks on the transmission pan. The main cause of failure on the transmissions are small leaks which lead to having low fluid, then failure. More than likely there is a small leak from the transmission pan which needs to be fixed and it needs to be flushed and refilled.
The CD player should play all burned CDs. Sometimes when you unplug the power to the unit and plug it back in it fixes it.
The GPS CDs are from a company called Navteq, you can get them from them directly or buy them from the dealer. However on the 2000 model the navigation isn't very accurate and there isn't a screen display. A disc from navteq could cost you $300, so in my opinion a Garmin is a much better choice.
There are child saftey locks on the inside of the door, open it up and there should be a small lever that needs to be flipped. If there isn't chances are the cable fell off the door latch, if that happened, the door panel has to come off and the cable needs to be reattached.

Thanks auditech, it turned out to be the child lock after all. I didn't find documentation of it in the owner's manual. What I found odd was that the CD didn't play in either the dash player or the changer.

How can I lower the rear headrests? The button on the dash doesn't seem to be working, and I don't know if there is a switch by the rear seats somewhere.

I must comment on the ebonyschwartz finish -- not quite black, a dash of gray, with differing shades depending on the condition of the ambient light -- fantastic! I like this Audi more than my two previous cars. It really has a perfect balance of handling, performance, electronic features, and luxury.

The only cars that I would find more appealing would be the BMW M5 or Audi S8, but those were quite a bit away from what I had to work with. I think that this was the best car I could buy for the money.

Additional comments: Upon starting it for the first time today, the car was idling high and making a large amount of noise for about 45 seconds. I take it this is normal? (update: it just happened again, but the car was parked just 10 mins before? maybe this is the ICV?) Also, after starting it and shifting to reverse, the instrument cluster area says "OK" at the top and then "Service!" below it. This only happens the first time after starting the car. The transmission shifts between R and D fine. Is this also normal? Also, it seems that hot air is blowing out of the side vents while the the desired air is coming from the center vents. Is there a control to unify what is coming from all front vents of the car?

The only thing i can think of for the CD player is he had an Ipod integrated into the system. Audi sells a direct link up with the symphony radio for the Ipod, however a power source has to be rewired for the Ipod control unit and the CD changer is usually the one that takes the axe. However there should be a fault code for the radio, every module on that car has a control unit with its own fault memory, so it shouldn't be hard to diagnose for a qualified audi mechanic.

The noise you're hearing upon cold start it most likely the SAP (secondary air pump) activating to heat up the cats faster. Its basically an air pump that injects air into the exhaust stream, kinda sounds like a vacuum cleaner and it boggs down the engine a bit when its active. Completely stupid and worthess thing in my opinion.
The service light is the reminder light for changing the oil, it can be set to go off at any mile of your choosing with anyone with a vag com or factory scan tool.

Im not sure what you're asking about the transmission......

If the climate control unit is set to "AUTO" it will push the air out of any of the vents it wants really, it you desire it to come out right of the center vents, you can select a button that looks like a horizontal vent. The auto function will also do it, but usually only when the A/C is on and its more than 70* outside, the car has sensors to tell it this.

Well, I got the CD to work, it was just a matter of how I was burning it.

The sound is tied to a higher idle speed. I'm uncertain about what you mean as to 'bogging down' (higher RPMs, lower RPMs)? If this is the SAP, is it better to drive with it running or allowing the car's idle to reach the normal range before driving? It also seems like there is a lot of noise coming from the front of the engine, by the serpentine belt (sound is still present after engine reaches normal idle). It's kind of like a mechanical drone, almost... What can be done to remedy this?

Regarding the transmission - after starting the car, you have to shift through R to get to D, right? Either way, I have to get back out of my garage. So, after the car slows down to the smooth, sub 1k idle, I shift into R and back out. As I do so, I get that message -- "OK" with a line below it and then "Service!" below that. When I shift out of reverse, the message goes away. This only happens the first time the shifter engages or passes reverse after the car is started.

Its always good to let the engine idle for 1-2 minutes before driving if the engine is cold, especially a tight clearance german engine. The SAP just kicks in for about 30 seconds then turns off, it sometimes comes back on. If you haven't heard what one sounds like before have another person listen to it to make sure its not something else.

Nothing in the in that display has anything to do with the trans, its just the oil reminder light. Now if all the shifter lights illuminate RED, then its in limp mode and there is a fault in the TCM that needs to be looked at.

Ok. Now, I'm almost certain that the sound isn't the SAP. There is a higher-pitched sound coming from the front... I'll see if I can get a video of it so you can have a look at what I'm talking about.

I only get that message once in reverse. If the oil needed to be serviced, I'm sure it would be a constant message so I'm not going to worry about it too much.

You are able to hear the sound, and luckily it goes away so you can notice the difference. Maybe it's just due to cold? The engine had been running for a few minutes total before the sound went away.

I also just noticed a sort of 'vacuum' sound when shifting into reverse when the window is down or a door is open. However, it gets the gear instantly, with no hesitation, and the transmission does shift well...

Here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDcurvVyvik

That noise is definately not normal. Its gonna be a pulley of some sort, from what i can tell the fan is barely spinning in comparison with the pulley so i already know the fan clutch is shot, and i would imagine the belt tensioner hasn't been replaced. I would start with both of those as a bad fan clutch will cause you to overheat in the summer. I had a noise very similar to that which turned out to be a bad A/C fan (electric fan next to the fan clutch) which usually only comes on when the A/C is on or the defroster is on. So make sure the noise doesn't cycle with that fan either.