Talk me into/out of this car
 

I like Audi's...have for a long time, but have never pulled the trigger on one. It's getting to the point where picking up a sedan is probably a good idea for me, and I'm REALLY thinking about picking up a 2001 Audi A8. As in, heading to a local dealer tomorrow to maybe pick it up.

Anyone have experience--good or bad--with this car, or Audi in general?

It's very similar to your 944 in repair/maintenance costs to current purchase price. IE, expensive as **** to maintain relative to the few thousand bucks you'll spend to buy one.

Audi has built-out massive service garages. That should say something about their profit model. To be fair, many other car mfgs have done the same. ... even Lexus.

Also, fwiw, while Audi has some great styling, they lack, compared to MBz, for serviceability. --Audi really pack the cars tightly with fragile electronic devices in hard to reach places.

I say that from my experience with a friends A4, and another S4. The A8 may have more room under the hood. tho, still, I would be a bit fearful of the more rare parts of the A8.

I would highly recommend a similar year S-Class Mercedes. Those are some tough cars. Top-notch build. Very serviceable.

Audi=Porsche cost, BMW performance (almost), VW reliability.

But hey, bandwagons ain't cheep!

What do you see in an A8 that you don't see in another competitor's vehicle? My wife had an A4 turbo. The little electronic issues are a real pain the ass. For example, sunroof switch goes out just before it rains. Fuel gauge goes out in the beginning of a road trip. They look great, drives ok, but I had enough that last me three life times.

I considered the A8 when I was looking earlier this year. I was also looking at S class Mercs as well. Used, in the same era as you. There's something about the way they look that just doesn't do it for me. To make a long story short I ended up with a 2005 E55; nicest car I've ever owned. The S classes look a little more dated IMO, and the W210 E55's are a good bargain these days but much different looking than the W211 and don't have the supercharger. I went with Mercedes and I think I made the right decision.

If you have questions about any of those just PM me and ill be happy to tell you what I know.

Every Audi owner I know complains about them. Lol, one of my friends calls his A4 "an abusive relationship I just can't seem to walk away from". His $$$ heater core just went out btw.

Do it! I had a 2002 S8 that I sold with 95k, one of the best cars that I've ever owned. Easily the best built and the highest quality. All aluminum, great motor, huge interior, and overall fun to drive. The A8/S8 was the Audi flagship, many of the common issues with lesser Audis aren't an issue on them (pixel fade is one good example). The only weak spot is the transmission, make sure it's been serviced about 80k. If it goes, there's a specialist shop in Chicago that rebuilds them quite reasonably. I looked at the comparable BMWs and Mercedes and found the Audi to be superior, at least for me.

Some of the comments here are funny. Go research early 2000s S-Class and 7-series reliability and get back to me. None of them is a Camry, and I found the Audi to probably have the least common issues.

I wish people that have never owned these cars would shut their pie holes. Or, those whose experience is limited to one car. I've owned a bunch of them and had few issues. As in, can't remember the last time something went wrong.... I've owned plenty of Mercedes and BMWs, too. Either has been a vastly worse experience. The Mercedes parts costs will amaze you - far higher than the Porsches and Ferraris I've owned and the BMWs will nickel and dime you to death.

This is from a sample size of more than 20 cars, so draw your own conclusions. Like anything else, get a thorough pre-purchase inspection so that you don't buy a car owned by an ignorant, cheap idiot. I'll second the notion of an S8 from that era. Fast and comfortable. Capable of sucking the headlights out of a Mercedes or BMW from the same era, on real world roads.

JR

Never owned one, so keeping my PIE HOLE shut. Boy, could I tell stories about my friends though.

My s/o has an '05-very nice driving car, would prefer that she have bought an '03 or prior as the air suspension in the later cars can be a $$$ pit. If the price is right on the '01, and you can live with the outdated infotainment, go for it. The quattro is wonderful, the car itself is an amazing combination of light weight (relatively) and luxury size, and it is a pleasure to drive on any surface.

Sure, there are some unnecessary gizmos that can break (trunk lid has motors, electric parking brake motors etc) but all of the 2000's lux cars are this way. On that topic, I really feel that late 80's-mid 90's german cars were sort of the peak-the last built to a true germanic flavor as opposed to a more vanilla world standard, but most of those are a bit long in the tooth now and many can't live with the lack of geegaws.

Many of those things that are on your S/O's '05 are not on an '01....

There was a new model introduced in '04 that offered such things. An '01 is simpler.

FWIW,
JR

Had an '05 A3, traded it in with 175k on the clock, Zero issues.

It's a horrible idea. It was a gorgeous but finicky $80,000 when new, and when it comes time for repair and maintenance it remains a finicky $80,000 car, even though it costs little to buy used.

I have owned a 2000 S4 and an 03 RS6. The S4 was highly modified and worked fine until it just plain wore out. The RS6 was babied and I had it from about 70,000 miles to about 110,000 miles. I have receipts for more than $25,000 in repairs and routine maintenance in that time. Other than a new transmission (500 hp cars are hard on those) I can't even say it was anything unusual or that I could complain about. An alternator here, an oil fitting there, an electrical gremlin in the dash, and it all adds up. I had something go wrong every quarter, like clockwork. Every time it went it it was at least $1,500, and usually $2,500. When it finally broke down once too many times over Christmas break even the Audi dealer didn't want to take it on trade in. I dumped it on a BMW dealer and felt guilty about it.

Old expensive Audis get more expensive as they get older. I will never have a car as fast as my RS6 or as exciting, but I will never buy an Audi of any kind ever again.

I also owned an '00 S4 and an '03 RS6. Both were bought new. I drove the S4 for 4 or 5 years and the RS6 for 7. Never had a single problem with either one of them. Not one. Zero...

Guess I must be lucky, huh?

The point is, for every horror story, there's also one like mine. At the end of the day, any car can have problems. The older it is and the more miles it has, the more likely that problems will occur. The more complex the car, the more expensive a given problem might be.

I buy cars because I like the way they drive. If they break, I fix them. It's not the end of the world.

JR

Have had many Audis, loved them. Some were expensive because I bought poorly, should have seen signs of trouble. The last one we owned, an A6, was a great car, bought with 26K miles and traded with 158K on a 2012 A4 that I expect to be a great car.

Audi in general. Bought my '01 TT with 30K miles and drove it for another 90K carefree miles. Only service work was a new timing belt and water pump at 70K miles. Single repair item was a faulty gauge cluster that I had rebuilt with warranty for under $300. Got into an accident late last year and the car was a write off. Had that not happened I would still be (happily) driving it today.

A8s are terrible terrible decisions.

luxury ages far far worse than sportiness. most mid range domestic sedans are more luxurious and reliable than a 2001 A8

my coworker has one, almost sold it when he herd that the rear struts are about 5 grand have to come from germany. thats without labor.

Funny, an '01 A8 doesn't have an expensive strut on the back. It has a spring and a shock. You can buy the shocks for under $50, ea.

Another useful anecdote...

JR

My previous owner had no problems with my RS6 either. I, on the other hand, owning a ten year old Audi paid a dollar a mile in repairs and depreciation. The OP is not buying a new Audi. He is buying one that is more than ten years old. It is a bad idea.