A8 4.2 Quattro what to look for...?

[V8Smith]

I am looking for an Audi A8, not too bothered which model just looking for a good clean car with not too high mileage under 100K. I have found a 4.2 Quattro Ming blue, beige leather its in good condition and has full Audi history. The car started up from cold and white/grey smoke came out of the back of the exhaust, nothing excessive just for a second or so, is this normal?? I know some big V8's do this (My TVR does) just wanted to ask if this is normal or what the problem could be if not?

Cheers

Mike

[kamal996]

Check that the cambelt has been changed as this is a big job. Also the electics used to play up on the very early cars. Problems with starting, flat batteries etc. ELectric aerials also play up. Go to honestjohn.co.uk websiste and look at the car by car breakdown-very useful.

Also on Quattros you can get weird clunks and bangs from the diff. Quite scary at first but its usually because the tyre pressures are incorrectly set or the tyres are not equally worn and so the diff "locks" as it thinks the car is sliding.

>> Edited by kamal996 on Tuesday 21st September 15:48

[V8Smith]

Thanks, will check the cambelt etc.. The car has only done 82000 miles and has full Audi service history, and is a 1998 R car, is this classed as an early car or should the electrics be OK?

Thanks

Mike

[davidy]

A8's have a 'big' service at 80,000 miles, make sure its been done, its the major belts service. Audi quote around £800 for this, I paid a mere £1600 once they changed all the discs and pads as well (and some other odds'n'ends).

Other points to look out for :-

Electrics, make sure everything works, a lot of 'normal' stuff gets routed through the ECU. I suffered terrible intermittent electrical problems with mine; 96 (P) car at 4 years old - 85k miles. Wipers, indicators, all went intermittent.

Lower Wishbones front, excessive bush wear causes the arm (aluminium) to get damaged.

Expensive Servicing - Audi dealers IMHO know that not many poeple will touch the cars and charge accordingly. Thats all I'll say on this in public, but other forum members have backed up my dealer experiences. Do a search in the mists of time on PH for 'stealership' that'll point you in the right direction.

I thought I'd get 200K miles out of the car, sold it at 94K with more electrical issues than you could shake a stick at. Maybe I had a lemon, but I've had a Saab 9-5 for the last 80k miles with no major faults.

When they work they are brilliant, surprisingly nimble on the sports suspension (watch out for the 18" rim tyre cost!), great with kids as loads of room, a boot the size of a small African country, the built in side blinds and that electric rear blind (invaluable with rear facing small children). Amazingly economical too. my 3.7 would do over 30mpg on a long run.

Very understated motors too, mine was debadged which added to the mystery. If you can someone independent to service it to keep the costs down, it will certainly help. A warranty is fairly essential - lots of kit to go wrong, mine only gave me stick after the warranty expired (of course!)

Oh and Audi UK (or their dealers) will not sell you a service manual, but you can buy one for US$100 from Bentley Books in the USA. Ok it is for a LHD car but is so low volume many things will be the same.

Hope that helps

davidy

PS my preference having had the Saab would be to buy a low mileage Saab 9-5 estate instead. Its nearly as refined, just as comfortable and you'll get a lot newer one for A8 money, and its a whole lot cheaper to maintain.

[kamal996]

V8Smith said:

Thanks, will check the cambelt etc.. The car has only done 82000 miles and has full Audi service history, and is a 1998 R car, is this classed as an early car or should the electrics be OK? Thanks Mike

R reg should be fine. What you really want is the 99 facelifted cars-much better as they had better suspensions and no electrical maladies

>> Edited by kamal996 on Tuesday 21st September 18:10

[davidy]

Meant to add that my Audi dealership services each took several days. A8 parts availablity isn't that great.

I have heard of 200K mile plus cars, but I reckon the owners must have had deep pockets (or thats how far they will go without a service!!!!)

My local Audi dealer changed hands recently and they rang me up to see if I still had the car. Got chatting to them, recounted my experiences, he was surprised at some of the service I'd got and didn't blame me for selling the car.

I've never failed to reach a destination in any other car (than my A8) unless I crashed it heavily. Even my TVRs were more reliable!

davidy

[shadowfax]

My Mrs & I got a 96 4.2 last year for £10.5k whch had done 15K, mostly around the IOM as the former keepr's third choice car. Fantastic drive but had warped discs and despite being in the dealers for 6 of the 11 weeks we had it, still came back with water leaking inside from ? air con that they said they had fixed 3 times. Gave her every penny back when she threatened to take em to Trading Standards. Problem is the car is awesome - torquey, nimble, gentle V8 burble from the front when you open her up; and addictive - My 400SE was a different beast, sound wise, but even now with a silentish XJS 4.0, I am looking round for a well serviced, all bits done, 100k, 96 - 98 4.2 A8 as a next car. Addictive, all round excellence for me. Then again, have you seen the prices of BMW 740's? Hmm....

[clapham993]

The one to watch out for is wear in the front suspension bushes - a £1600 job at an Audi main dealer. Mine has done 104k miles now with very few (minor) problems.

[Roadrunner]

I was also looking into one of these a while back, but decided against it after a little research. It seems the image is a little more solid than the car unfortunately.

[Plotloss]

Bizzarely the aerial is something to watch.

They were specifically made for the A8 out of aluminium so if its been replaced by a steel one thats very bad due to the corrosion thats caused by steel and aluminium bonding.

You also cant buy aluminium aerials any more...

[Palantir]

I bought my second A8 4.2 Q, a 98 R plater 2.5 years ago with 73k on from an Audi dealer. It now has 167k on it. I have it serviced at the dealership and have had the electric aerial replaced (don't make the original unit any more), air con compresser, a couple of electric mirror motors and a rear suspension arm bush. Had a couple of oil leaks fixed as well. All under warranty, other than the suspension bush.
I spend my life on the motorway, get 26 - 27 mpg and 60k out of a set of tyres and brake pads.
The car still drives like 20k, uses 5 litres of oil between 10k services and still looks great.
I've had BMWs, Mercs and Land Rovers but would always choose an audi for reliability and running costs plus dealer attitude.
Looking to change before 200k as I fancy a 4.0 TDI once they have depreciated to £35k or less.

You can always get a lemon but my experience of the A8 has been very good.

[V8Smith]

clapham993 said:

The one to watch out for is wear in the front suspension bushes - a £1600 job at an Audi main dealer. Mine has done 104k miles now with very few (minor) problems.

Is there a check I can do myself to see if the bushes are worn? Can you tell when driving the car?

Mike

[quattromatt]

Suspension Bushes.......drive slowly over some sudden but small bumps....u should get a knocking noise....!?

[V8Smith]

clapham993 said:

The one to watch out for is wear in the front suspension bushes - a £1600 job at an Audi main dealer. Mine has done 104k miles now with very few (minor) problems.

Looks like the offside suspension bush needs replacing, where on earth did you get the quote for £1600???? I just got a quote from the local Audi specialist for £130 for the lower bush and £100 for the higher one, thats a fitted price!!!! The only thing I can think of is that the £1600 included a damaged Alluminium arm or the dealer ripped someone off?

Later

Mike