Audi S8 question (yes I do own a Porsche)

[jmohn]

I apologize for the lack of Porsche content, but I need some advice. My son is interested in a 2002 Audi S8. He is in Minneapolis and the car is in Chicago (private sale). Does anyone know who, in Chicago, does PPI's on this model Audi? Further, is anyone aware of known problems/issues with this model and year (2002 Audi S8). The car is well equipped (actually loaded) and has 120K miles on it, full service history and "appears" very well kept. Asking price is approx. $13000.

Thank you for your assistance.

jmohn
'78 SC

[hcoles]

IMHO - this is one of the issues with Audi... they are not real main stream in the US.. therefore not a lot of specializing indy mechanics and variety of replacement part places.
FWIW - I would suggest some sort of BMW - very clean and nice E39 540's are out there for well under $13k. Unless you are set on a V8 the I6's have fewer parts and easier to work on. Think of it this way.. the fact that finding a PPI is somewhat difficult, compared to other mfgrs, points directly at the point I'm trying to make... if something goes wrong where are you going to take it? At 120k the "free" reliability is for the most part used up...
Also, is there an excellent bbs on these? If not then there you go again.. no support.
I don't know all of this for certain.. just a preception, could be different in your area... maybe there are 10 indys specializing in Audi within driving distance. That's my 0.02.

[hcoles]

also - the word around here is that kbb is way high these days on price. The market for this type of car is very very soft. High maint. not great mpg.. has a v8 and people are now a avoiding v8's like the plague.. I would not pay one dime over $8k for that car. If you get it put aside min. $200/mo. for maintenance. Another thought... the people that buy these types of cars new are not "car" people... in other words they don't over maintain... if you are lucky they got the services on the miles listed and if something broke they got it fixed under warranty. They tend to be drive until something breaks then fix type of people.

[genripper]

I can't recommend a PPI location in Chicago but I would suggest finding out what dealer the service was done at and maybe call them. "Fully serviced" would include a big service at around 90k with a timing belt change.

As with any car a PPI, review of the service records and a carfax would be good.

Minneapolis is a very strong Audi market with any number of good dealer and independent Audi specialists that can service that car competently, and while any individual car can be good or bad, IMHO I would suggest that a 02 vintage A8/S8 is no more maintenance intensive than a comparable 540i, certainly less so than a 740il. I'm not knocking BMW, I sell them for a living, and I've sold Audi's, Porsches, Benz's, Rovers and VW's in this Market for over 20 years.

Chicago is also a very strong market and should have plenty of PPI options, not knowing any from Minneapolis is not the same as there not being any.

+1 on the suggestion of budgeting 100-200/month for maintenance, would do that on any high end import of the vintage no matter what the marque.

The S8 is a great car, maybe not as crisp as a BMW, but all wheel drive and great performance at a great price makes it the 928 of the German 4 door sedan market.

How about that, my 1st post on a Porsche form is about an Audi!

[arrivederci]

Plenty of Audi indy shops...go to a dedicated forum like Audiworld and post the same on one of their regional forums. There are also a number of places (online) to get replacement parts other than the dealer.

I agree with genripper too about reliability. My parents have had an '01 since new and from what I've heard, it has been very reliable.

[tonypai]

jmohn

I can recommend Al at CPT. www.gocpt.com

He's done good work on my A8. Throw out a post on the D2 forum in AudiWorld. You'll find other S8 owners.

Not sure of any known problems with the 02 S8 but the earlier model A8s (mine's a 98) had transmission problems and control arm issues. The engine is pretty bulletproof. $13K is a good price. Good luck.

[javadog]

The coolant thermostat tends to stick closed after 40-50k miles. I'd suggest replacing it with each belt change. The tire pressure monitoring system can be problematic. Plan on changing the sensors eventually or just turning the system off. Given where you live, make sure there isn't a lot of corrosion on the underside of the car.

An S8 of that vintage is a great car to drive, with some of the best seats I've ever sat in. There are several internet forums that cater to Audis, so finding support is easy.

JR