Just Bought a New Car - It's Your Fault
 

So in my little pea brain, this was the progression - read Eric's thread about the crazy new Audi S8, let that thread remind me that I haven't looked for an S8 for a while, find one in Dallas, buy it. Within 5 minutes of reading that thread I was on the phone with the owner, and two days later I was in Dallas. Damn you Pelican!:D

I had been looking for a sedan daily driver for quite some time, and was getting serious about a W124 500E in Tucson. Also considering an E39 M5, but I just can't get past the interior wear and poor reliability. I had looked at the S8 multiple times but hadn't found a nice one, this one was a new listing and I was lucky to get there first. The car is a 2002 S8 with 84k, a one owner open checkbook car with dealer records, based on the records he was very meticulous including a timing belt change early. Original MSRP per the window sticker copy was a shade over $75k. I bought it directly from the original executive owner who replaced it with a Cayenne turbo. Loaded as all S8s are with heated seats front and rear, big Brembos up front, front Recaros, etc. 360 HP 40-valve 4.2L V8, 5-speed automatic with a great sport mode and Tiptronic, Quattro AWD. Almost perfect inside and out, very well taken care of car.

I really like this car, it's not as fast as my much loved XJR but more spacious, has sportier handling, and is better built. From a feature and assembly standpoint it is fantastic, this car is beautifully put together and still feels as solid as a new car. The engine is really good, responsive and plenty of power. The transmission is an automatic but it's a good one, and a 6-speed manual swap is pretty easy.:cool: It eats up the highway but handles well around town, very well controlled ride and excellent handling for a big car. Overall I like it a lot, it accomplishes my goal of hauling the family while still being fun. Now does anyone need a 2005 RX8 with 26k?:cool:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1351423998.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1351424032.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1351424044.jpg

Great looking car :)

Very nice. I'm jealous.

Very nice!!

We need a "Like" button like some other social network site!!!

Ronin!

You continue to make me proud:D

That's what I'm talking about!

There you go. Should I send the deposit check over now, or would it be better to wait a few months when you list it? :cool:

Congrats Matt, when are you shooting Ronin2?

I'd be totally lying if I said that Ronin played no part in this decision.:cool:

I'm glad I'm not the only guy still lusting for an S8 years after seeing Ronin. :D

Nice catch!

If you wind up owning every car under the sun in this life, this will still be on the top 10 list in the looks department.

I love Ronin as well but I fell for these cars just seeing them on the street. Beautiful in pictures and even better in person. I have to love a big car more than a little one to justify the fuel.

And I know that you get a lot of ribbing around here for changing cars so often, but if someone is a car nut and does not have millions of dollars and a 20 car garage, this is not a bad way to own them all. Or at least most of them.

Nice score.

Looks nice. What'd you pay for it?

JR

That car looks *huge*

Very nice.... I've ridden in one 8... Not sure if was an S tho..... Very nice cars though.

So what's the timeline on this one? And I thought the Mazda was a keeper? ;)

Yep, roomy, luxurious, and fast. Once a guy reaches a certain age, he begins to appreciate stuff like that over cramped, noisy, and beat you to death. ;)

Needs some tint on those windows.....

Totally agree. The styling is simple but relatively timeless. It still could pass for new. As for the car buy/sell gig, I take any ribbing in good humor. Frankly I share my car exploits because it seems that people are curious, and most of these cars are squarely in the bargain used car department. A $75k Audi for less than $20k, really? I try to share the good and bad to help others focus their car shopping, because I can provide the perspective of someone buying these things used vs new.

It's in fantastic condition. I did ok.:cool:

Honestly of all the cars that I've sold, the Mazda caused me the most consternation. I drove probably 10 different cars looking for a replacement, each time getting back into the RX8 was a big improvement. The only reason I'm selling is the need for 5 seats, the first thing I did was grab a new booster seat for the Audi. We've been driving it around town as a family as an alternative to my wife's F150, which has 12k miles in 6 months.

I still have a highly modified Carrera to handle the cramped, noisy, and raw.;)

I hope it is still under warranty. :D (sorry... I couldn't resist)

Very nice!

I'd love to steal that!
Very nice.

It looks very nice. I have a couple of them and was curious what the market for them was these days. If you don't want to discuss the price in a public forum, I understand. I wouldn't mind a PM, if you want to share your experience. It's just a data point for me.

JR

good lord matt!! hahah..i do love that car.

how does the topic come up with the wife? as you are buying the airplane tix? i need some pointers..unless of course you use some Jedi mind trick on her..:D

That particular vehicle with the amount of mileage and shape, is going for around $22500 over here.
That's dealership price.

He already said "under $20k". Nice private party score, the best way to buy a car by far. One owner, records and you get to actually meet the person who owned it and talk to him or her.

I just use my wily seductive charm.:p

This one was an easy sell, only having one family usable car was becoming an issue. After buying it she loves the thing. Not an easy feat, my RX8 has been her favorite thus far and the only car she has regularly driven.

LOL. Matt won't disclose the price cause it will be offered for sale here in a couple/few months. He is living his midlife crisis by being unfaithful to his automotive harem. :)

Well, congrats. I am sure a lot of car for the money. A lot of UGLY car. Sorry Matt, but that looks very dated. None of the local LA girls would fall for it being new or even new-ish.

You might as well have bought Higgin's old car?

http://magnum-mania.com/images/2_9_w_full.jpg

But it is no big deal - I am sure it won't last terribly long. ;)

G

Great find! Enjoy!

I'm sure my wife is 100% ok with that. Besides, I've never been much on snobby chicks.:cool:

Now that it's been a couple weeks, how's life with the S8?
Has it met expectations?
Any dislikes about it?

Inquiring minds want to know. :cool:

Thus far VERY happy. I bought a new car seat for the back, with the little guy in the middle we can easily and comfortably fit our family of 5. It has done a lot of around town family car duty, so it has definitely fit the bill from a practicality standpoint. Really nice to drive, excellent comfort but still handles well. Definitely feels smaller than it is, and it's fun to punch it mid-corner and let the AWD pull you through. The steering is a little over boosted at low speeds but weights up nicely, which seems to be a common complaint of the Servotronic variable effort steering. Excellent brakes. The inside is simply beautiful, from a quality and assembly standpoint it is easily the nicest car that I've ever owned. I love the engine though it's too quiet, I'm trying to find a good deal on a used cat-back because they run about $1800 new. The transmission is obviously a tiptronic automatic but it's very good, the sport mode does a great job of holding lower gears when appropriate. Thus far it seems easy to work on, I've done spark plugs and pollen filters which were both simple. Air filter, fuel filter, serpentine belt, transmission service, and diff service are all in the near term plan. I also found that the 3-stage adjustable intake manifold arms were broken (common easy fix and $80 for aftermarket billet arms), which will provide better torque after I receive the new arms. I also think the tie rods on are their way out, I get an occasional clunk in the steering.

Lots of musings, but the takeaway - I think for under $15k this is about the best big sedan you can get for the money. It's nicer and bigger than an E39 540i, nicer and sportier than an E38 740i, faster and more fun than a E500, and a much better drive than anything Japanese. The only real comparison that I would draw is with an E55 AMG and a a 500E, both of which I considered. The E55 is smaller and it's getting hard to find a reasonably priced nice one, the 500E is getting old and would have required me to swap back seats with another W124 to handle kid duty. I was pretty serious about this 500E, which sounded and looked (in photos) like a pretty spectacular example if you don't care about originality.

http://tucson.craigslist.org/cto/3323896678.html

Overall I'm very happy with my choice, no regrets.

Cool. I’m looking at a ’03 this weekend and Saturday can’t get here soon enough. Original owner, Ming Blue/Platinum interior; 110 clicks, but looks to be very well taken care of. Really looking forward to it.

Nice! Oddly enough the S8 doesn't have the same issues as many cheaper Audis did. For instance, the LCD display fade problems in the A4 and A6 are a non-issue. With the exception of suspension bushings and the occasional transmission failure they're really solid cars. Also relatively easy to work on, unlike some of the shoehorned installs into the smaller models.

My ex had an A8. They are brilliant cars and as you know, can be had for a song used.

But it will get expensive at some point. You've been warned :D

Matt (Mr. Short Attention Span) won't have it that long. : D

Hey, if you find a used cat-back exhaust and you want to sell your original exhaust for a few bucks, let me know. I'm looking for one to modify for my kid's S8.

JR

Hey Sarc, did you get one?

JR, I'll keep that in mind. Just curious, in what way would you modify it? I may need a plan B as thus far I'm not having any luck finding a used one, and I can't stomach $1500-$2000 for a new one.

I went to look at the Ming/Platinum one on Saturday. Unreal condition this car, no swirls in the paint, not an imperfection in the seats. The owner said he's probably had 5 passengers in the car since he's owned it. I couldn't wait to drive it, so we hopped in. I like to have the owner drive first on test drives which gives me the opportunity to get acclimated, ask question, etc.

Then 5 minutes in the transmission starts acting up. And actually popped into limp mode for awhile. I'm going to wait and see what the owner wants to do. A 6 speed swap would be the business, just don't know how much this guy wants to come down.

Helluva car though. Easily one of the best kept secrets of the car world in my opinion.

That's unfortunate. Could you DIY a replacement? If so, you could negotiate the full replacement cost into the price then pocket a few thousand. I've seen replacement cost in the $4k range, and I think the rebuilt transmission is about $1500-2000 of the cost. Have him get a super expensive quote at the dealership.:)