Bought Another Audi S8

[greglepore]

Nice....wish I had one of those rather than our d3 A8L.

[Deschodt]

I rented a decent A8L (special at Alamo) and enjoyed it very much. The radar traffic thing, the massaging seats, the ginourmous back seat room.... great car for a rental... Only added $300 to my week bill and "made" my vacation special...

[onewhippedpuppy]

Thanks all!

Originally Posted by javadog

It looks like a really clean example. How many owners? Any damage history? Did you get any records with it? What did it cost? If you don't want to mention those things publicly, send me a PM. It's getting really hard to find a clean, low mileage S8, I'm curious where the market is now.

So the full story is that it was purchased by an Audi enthusiast for his girlfriend. He previously had two D2 S8s and was on his second D3 S8, and thought she might enjoy driving it. After 16 months she decided that she would rather have a Jeep. They were the 3rd owners, and he did basic maintenance like oil changes, filters, and tires. No records unfortunately, they purchased it from a dealership in SLC where the 2nd owner traded it in. Clean Carfax, no signs of paintwork. At the time of my purchase it was the lowest mileage D2 S8 that I could find advertised in the USA.

Originally Posted by jhynesrockmtn

Lovely example. I have a pilot friend who likes cars. Has a nice 911SC, a 72 4.5 MB he is working on and a few old Moto Guzzis. His daily driver is usually something interesting and AWD which we need with our winters. His last one was an S8. Nowhere near as nice as this. He bought it with about this many miles and dumped it when the transmission failed at 180k or so. Has latest gamble is a first gen Infiniti FX35 with just under 100k on the odo.

With the work you are putting into this, will it be a long term keeper? What's the over/under at 6 months ownership?

Right now the plan is long term keeper, but we all know how that goes. Though to Sid's point I am slipping in my old age, I'm over two years on the RX7 and about 16 months on the 911. My wife really loves this thing, so that will likely slow any potential sale. I'm doing a full maintenance baseline, replacing all of the common failure points as well as full maintenance. I've already done the ATF and filter, fuel filter, and coolant sensor. Full list for over the break is spark plugs, coil packs, vacuum lines, variable intake arms, oil cooler pipe and seal, timing belt/roller/pulley/tensioner, water pump, thermostat, oil pressure switch, front engine mount damper, cam and crank seals, serpentine belt/idler/tensioner, fan clutch, oil change, coolant change, air and pollen filter, and probably some other stuff that I forgot. After that point, I'll eventually need to address the transmission output shaft seal and the right rear final drive seal, refinish the wheels, touch up a few scratches on the bumpers, PDR a few small dings, and have the scratch prone inside door grab handles refinished. That's it! In all seriousness it is a damn nice car, and everything I'm doing should set it up well for the next 80k.

[javadog]

When you do the transmission output shaft seal, make sure you use the updated seal and updated housing design. Now that you've done the transmission fluid don't forget there are a few places where they used gear oil.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Thanks JR. I’m dealing with the leak for the moment, I’m considering buying a Supersprint exhaust and it seems like a good time to do both.

[javadog]

Have your local Audi dealer pull the maintenance history on the car and print it out for you. There was a service bulletin on the output shaft leak, the "fix" design changed a couple times, it's likely it's already been fixed once. If the new housing has been put on, it'll save you a fair bit of money. You'll need to know which housing you have before you order the seal. Doing it at the same time as you do the exhaust makes a lot of sense. If you should have the entire exhaust out, clear the AC evaporator drains while you're down there.

[Sarc]

Damn fine S8.
I never tire of that shade of Silver.

[javadog]

Originally Posted by Sarc

Damn fine S8.
I never tire of that shade of Silver.

I like it too, better than the Avus Silver of the later cars. When I ordered my RS6 in 2002, I didn't really want Avus Silver, which is the only silver they offered for the car. I negotiated with Audi to paint it a different silver, for the princely sum of $2500. All was fine until about 60 days before they started to build the car, when they informed me that they couldn't do what they agreed to, because there "wasn't enough time" Keep in mind, I ordered the car a full year prior to it's being built and the shade of silver I picked was a current Audi production color.

****ers.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I’ll give that a shot on the history JR. The local Porsche dealer is pretty cagey with sharing history due to “privacy concerns”, but I haven’t tried Audi.

[javadog]

If they don't play along, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by javadog

I like it too, better than the Avus Silver of the later cars. When I ordered my RS6 in 2002, I didn't really want Avus Silver, which is the only silver they offered for the car. I negotiated with Audi to paint it a different silver, for the princely sum of $2500. All was fine until about 60 days before they started to build the car, when they informed me that they couldn't do what they agreed to, because there "wasn't enough time" Keep in mind, I ordered the car a full year prior to it's being built and the shade of silver I picked was a current Audi production color.

****ers.

I didn't know that you could do that w anyone but Porsche. I sold new Porsches, (and Audis), many years ago and at that time I remember hearing that Porsche and Rolls Royce were the only companies that painted cars custom colors or "to sample". I know that Audi didn't offer it then, maybe you have a close connection to them(?).

[javadog]

Well, judging by my outcome, I guess not.

[speeder]

Sorry they let you down.

[onewhippedpuppy]

In process:



Done!

[fanaudical]

I know that a lot of people will look at that photo and think "What a PITA!", but I never found it to be that difficult. I think I can get the front bumper off my A6 and into "service position" in less than 30 minutes. I do miss the room between the motor and the radiator on my old '92 100 though...

[javadog]

If you've ever worked on something with a tight engine bay and no way to remove the front structure for better access (like a 928) you appreciate how many modern cars are built. Like you say, it's not a PITA, it's a welcome alternative to busting knuckles for days on end.

[onewhippedpuppy]

After now doing it once, I could easily pull the front end in 30 minutes or less. After that point access was a breeze. Honestly it wasn't a difficult job.

[javadog]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

After now doing it once, I could easily pull the front end in 30 minutes or less. After that point access was a breeze. Honestly it wasn't a difficult job.

Careful, you don't want to upset the Anti-Audi crowd with a little inconvenient truth...

[manbridge 74]

New Porsches are the same. First time you’re like, WUT! Then it makes sense...

[javadog]

Anybody want to buy an '03 S8? If so, send me a PM for details. Looking for a quick sale if I sell it...

Need a truck at the moment, don't want two cars.

JR