Looking for a nice D2 A8

[matt5791]

Hi all, I am on the hunt for:

- D2 A8
- facelift 1999 - 2002
- Sport version
- 4.2. Will consider 3.7 or S8
- nice unmodified example
- With decent service history (I need to be able to see it's been looked after)
- Less than 100K miles.
- Preferably, dark interior.

Now, I know cars like this are not exactly on every street corner - but I am prepared to hang out for the right car

I know a lesser example will be less money, but really I would rather pay more for something decent.

So if anyone knows of a car like this for sale, I would be interested to know more about it!

Many thanks!

[anonymous-user]

Used to have one of these. Lovely thing. Gearbox died, as they have a habit of doing, but that didn't really diminish my affection for it.

Go to A8parts.com. The forums there are probably your best shot at picking up a car with good provenance.

[Dr G]

I was going to suggest the same; in the last few years I've seen only one really good D2 (an S8) and the chap that bought it was replacing an equally good A8 that was written off in a non-fault accident. I believe he intends to keep it forever.

Your best bet is going to be the forum mentioned above and hoping that a member wants to part with a cherished car.

[Adrian E]

They're few and far between but they do crop up. Prices of good late cars have definitely firmed up in the past year as supply in the market has dropped, particularly for S8s. Can't recall the last time I saw a 4.2 A8 that'd match your requirements, though....

A8 Parts forum would be a good starting place, but setting up searches on here, Auto Trader and ebay might turn up a gem

I'm keeping mine

[matt5791]

Thanks for the replies.

I really think the D2 is the best looking Audi saloon ever made. This would be my second D2 - I had a 2000 3.7 quattro sport for 5 years and ended up switching it for a 2006 4.2 Tdi in 2010 - which was a fantastic engine, but I always felt the D2 was more special - I never liked the back end of the D3, horrible styling (as for the D4.....what a dreary car, even if it is super fast).

So seeking a nice D2 again, but it's really only going to be for in and out of work (10 miles a day) and the odd longer journey.

I've seen an S8 which sounds well looked after and also a 4.2 with quite low mileage, so I'm going to have a look at these two and see what happens.

[Adrian E]

Here's a pic to get you in the mood for a search

[briang9]

another gratuitous opportunity to show mine off too

[matt5791]

Thanks for that, very handsome motor cars.

Are those later wheels, or had they started fitting those on late D2 S8's?

Anything to watch out for on the S8?

[Adrian E]

briang9 said:

another gratuitous opportunity to show mine off too

I can see Sergey's reflected in your ever so glossy paint too Brian

[Adrian E]

matt5791 said:

Thanks for that, very handsome motor cars.

Are those later wheels, or had they started fitting those on late D2 S8's?

Anything to watch out for on the S8?

Those are what are referred to as 'Final Edition' 20" 9 spokes - they're an 8.5" width but were also used on the D3 in a 9" width, so some D2s have the 9" version. Tyre size is usually a giveaway - 8.5" uses 255 width tyres and the 9" are 275 IIRC.

The Final Edition bit isn't quite right on the wheels, as they were an option before the Final Edition run out model S8 came out (both cars above are Final Editions with fixed spec from the factory incl 20s, RNS-D CD based nav and analogue TV, bi-xenons, phone prep in the armrest, blind pack etc) but you more usually find 18s on A8s and earlier S8s.

Many get modded to update them - mine has RNS-E DVD based nav, working Freeview, Bluetooth (all OEM), Milltek, some interior trim changes etc

Very late cars like these get an S mode on the gearbox which livens things up a fair bit - earlier models get a typical 4-3-2 gate under D so pics are usually easy to tell apart.

For the A/S8 the gearbox can be a weak link - mine's had 2 services in my 4+ years ownership and the car is on about 60k miles now. Others have had box rebuilds, some have gone on happily for well North of 100k without blowing up. Just depends how it drives really. Gearing is shorter in the S so you pay more out in fuel than the A - it also much prefers 98 octane fuel. With proper wheel alignment and good rubber I can squeeze 22mpg, but others can get 25 - I just can't figure out how! The A will give a useful bit better economy if it's a daily, but for some reason there seem to be even less of them around in decent order.

The rest should be common to your previous one - water ingress through blocked drains, dodgy previous repairs, missed cambelt changes etc

[briang9]

matt5791 said:

Thanks for that, very handsome motor cars.

Are those later wheels, or had they started fitting those on late D2 S8's?

Anything to watch out for on the S8?

Think Adrian has summed up well in his reply, weak point on these (and A8)does seem to be the gearbox, however if you ignore Audi sealed for life nonsense and get the boxes properly serviced they seem to last well enough. Even so a re-manufactured box is not too bad at approx £3500 fitted from a leading ZF agent and comes with a 100,000 mile warranty. Other than the blocked drains and normal maintenance there has been nothing too bad in my 4+ years of owning. Biggest cost is fuel, I do a fairly stop/start commute and get around 17, with around 23 -24 on a long run, however I have recently bought a cheap daily driver with a 2.4 engine and my MPG has soared to 23

[matt5791]

Many thanks for that. Watch out on the gearbox then and look for service history on gearbox oil changes.

I do remember having an ABS ecu failure on the last one, which cost a fortune to remedy.

My old 2000 model 3.7 quattro sport. Me looking out of the sunroof with a movie camera, in the Italian alps in around 2004

[matt5791]

Ok, so I've been to see an S8. 2002 model, 124,000 miles. priced at £3000. Ok, in an ideal world, I'd rather pay more and have less miles. In it's favour this car has a nice service history with 14 stamps, almost all of them from Vindis Audi main agent. Bodywork straight. Clean interior that could pass for less than the recorded miles. New set of tyres. Everything seems to work including the parking sensors, air con etc. Cigarette lighters have never been used - which I always like to see in a car.

Test drive - very tight to be honest. No knocks or creaks from the suspension. Very sharp turn into the corners etc. Gearbox silky smooth.

The only thing that I was unsure about - and maybe someone has come across this before - on tick over, if I remove the dipstick, I could hear what is best described as a musical note, a humming sound - I'm wondering if the crank case is being pressurised, possibly because it needs a breather replacing or something?

Anyone come across this?

[Adrian E]

There's a circular diaphragm which is part of the engine breather circuit - if that splits you can get a high-ish pitch noise especially at idle that goes away with revs. If that's where it's coming from you can pull the top covers and probably feel it vibrating. Part isn't ridiculous money, from memory. I've had to change one on an A6 and it cropped up recently on an '8.

Always difficult to diagnose without seeing/hearing a car but it's definitely a potential.

Friend of mine had a Final Edition with 160k on the clock and when I drove it I couldn't believe how close it felt to mine given the considerable difference in mileage!

[matt5791]

Many thanks for that.

I've had a quote of £799 from Birmingham Audi to do a cambelt and waterpump - something this car will require in the near future. I thought this sounded quite reasonable, and I haven't haggled with them yet, and on past experience I can usually get 10% off. And this is comparable price to 2 decent independents I use.

[Adrian E]

Last time mine had a cambelt (and it's due again) the labour was £230+VAT and parts £718.82+VAT, which didn't include a water pump but did include an accessory belt....

[matt5791]

Collected the car yesterday. Final price was £2800. Drives very well, everything seems to work. I also managed to track down the previous owner who bought the car in 2005 (for £24000!) as an approved used from Vindis Audi. We have established email and phone contact, so this is nice for when I sell the car on one day.

All in all a really straight, looked after, car.

One thing that was a surprise - just how short the gearing is. My previous A8's were very long geared and I have the old Bentley too which hardly gets above tickover - The S8 seems to be at around 2300rpm at 60mph, so it's quite a change for me.

[Adrian E]

Yeah, that's where the difference in performance between the S8 and A8 4.2 come from - as well as a slight power increase they extracted better figures by shortening the gearing! Makes for much more urgent progess, and I'd advocate 2 things - run it on high octane fuel to get the best throttle response, and after a couple of tanks of it disconnect the battery for 10 minutes to force the car to relearn basic engine settings. Did the latter on mine while I was messing about changing the alarm module and noticed quite a significant improvement in fuel economy - I suspect when it adjusts ignition timing it's always retarding and not advancing, so if it sees a tank of crap fuel it may not adjust back when good stuff goes in again.

Mid-range becomes quite addictive!

What's the box history? An oil and filter change is worthwhile but some advocate leaving well alone if it's done 100k without one, for fear of hastening its end, and just starting a box rebuild fund for when you need it....

[jfbrin]

NB the catalytic convertors on that age car. Both mine went on the S8 and there were no legal aftermarket replacements due to new Euro emissions legislation. Therefore you are forced to get an OEM part from the dealer which was stupid money. I ended up sourcing the right parts from Europe and asking a friendly garage to fit them "off the books".

I changed the gear box oil in constant fear of a failure which didn't happen thankfully.

Front arms and wish bones were replaced and tyres were expensive but the worst for me was 17 mpg as a daily driver maxing at 20 on a run. Couldn't justify the fuel bill nor the bork fear but delighted I experienced it.

The feeling of security one gets when sitting in the car especially at night with the ambient light at play is really impressive. Everything feels and looks top quality and the "made from granite" comparison is a absolutely true.

I had it on the skid pan at Prodrive's testing track and that was a real eye opener. Smooth, predictable and agile in 360 degree skids but re-establishing traction was so simple. The weight of the car makes it feel like an a4.

If I had the space, I would loved to have kept it indoors to use as a weekend treat. Super value now if you get the right one. Sold mine with 105000 FSH pampered and excellent condition for £5000 about 6 years ago.

[matt5791]

Adrian E said:

Yeah, that's where the difference in performance between the S8 and A8 4.2 come from - as well as a slight power increase they extracted better figures by shortening the gearing! Makes for much more urgent progess, and I'd advocate 2 things - run it on high octane fuel to get the best throttle response, and after a couple of tanks of it disconnect the battery for 10 minutes to force the car to relearn basic engine settings. Did the latter on mine while I was messing about changing the alarm module and noticed quite a significant improvement in fuel economy - I suspect when it adjusts ignition timing it's always retarding and not advancing, so if it sees a tank of crap fuel it may not adjust back when good stuff goes in again.

Mid-range becomes quite addictive!

What's the box history? An oil and filter change is worthwhile but some advocate leaving well alone if it's done 100k without one, for fear of hastening its end, and just starting a box rebuild fund for when you need it....

Thanks for that. There is no evidence in the paperwork of transmission oil change (I'll ask the previous owner to see if he can remember anything though) but I was going to do this anyway and just see what happens.

Interesting about the high octane.