PaulW

Some of you know who I am, been posting here for a long time. Had a 97 A8, 01 S8, 07 S8 and now I have an 08 A8L that I bought cheap about a year ago and brought it back from the dead. I have to say, I never thought the A8L would be the one I really like, but it's just so smooth as compared to my 07 S8. I like that it gets good mileage, and it doesn't really matter that it does not have the power of the V10.

But now I figure I can have the best of both worlds! Where has the 4.0T been my whole life? 28 MPG on the highway? Sign me up.

I was in Connecticut last week and met up with an old A8 friend, BobD on this board. We had an awesome time together and he gave me a ride back to my hotel in his 16 3.0T A8L with lots of options. OMG, that thing is SO NICE! His has 45K miles on it and it's a cream puff.

I've been searching ever since. Either for a car with a broken air suspension that I can fix or something like that. Something that is in very nice shape but needs mechanical work. So after researching them and each year brochure, I am thinking a 15 to 18 4.0T would be my first choice, and it would be nice to get the "Sport" model which I believe is 17 and 18, it has the S8 front bumper, I don't think it has anything else difference. The 17's and 18's are loaded with all the goodies, and I do love the Balao Brown interior, but I haven't seen one in person yet. I am not a fan of black cars, my 01 S8 was black and I said never again.

There is a loaded 15 near me in FL that requires suspension work and has high miles, but the guy won't respond! But his ad does not come down: https://spacecoast.craigslist.org/ct...744047016.html

At that price and option level, I would consider black.

The more I look, the more I find. It would be nice to find a low mile example also. I don't see many carfax's with any suspension parts being replaced, I assume I will have to replace all front control arms on a car that is close to 100K or over. And at that mileage, it will not surprise me if the front air suspension needs two rebuilt units within a few years.

Here is something very close to what I want: https://www.ebay.com/itm/18644078419...3Avlp_homepage

It does not have the S8 front end, but I don't think I would miss it once I had a car. However, I want to spend less than $25K (I am thrifty and the best part is the hunt).

I would also consider a 3.0T or a S8 if it was right, always wanted to own a Daytona Grey D4 S8. Throw in the light grey interior and I'm in.

If anybody is considering selling, reach out.

Here's some of my old cars:

97 A8 which I heavily modified, this was my girlfriend at the time, she is now my wife of many, many years!



01 S8, put a Nav plus in it and that was about it.



07 S8, didn't change it at all except for some different wheels. Just loved the torque and interior finishes.



My wife's present daily driver (I also use it but mostly my 04 Toyota Sienna Mini Van!), we just moved to FL and her 19 SQ5 is still in Chicago as she goes back a lot. Found this about a mile from my house for $3K and it needed a lot of work. Great car, but rough around the edges.



What the heck, I also have a 99 996, which is also still in Chicago, soon to get to FL.

skiracer

Hey Paul, it's been a while! I bought a '14 S8 with 38K miles on it in 2018 and it now has 95K miles. Overall it has been very reliable and low maintenance. There are the recalls for the PCV and turbo oil screens that must be taken care of if not already done. As far as suspension work I have only had to replace the short control arm to sway bar links, everything else still looks pretty good (just inspected when I put the summer wheels/tires on). The 4.0T engine is just incredible- amazing power and not too bad milage. The engine bay is cramped but you can get to the maintenance items pretty easily. And sine you are going to be in Florida now, the AC in these rocks! All the interior comforts are there, including the heated/cooled massaging seats. Give me a call if you'd like to talk about it- I'd love to hear from you!
Doug
PS- My son is still driving the '03 S8 with 200K on it now. Gabor is a life saver.

PaulW

Nice to hear from you Doug! I do recall you purchased a S8.

I've been putting the VIN numbers of 4.0T's into the audiusa.com website found here: https://web.audiusa.com/recall/

But every VIN I have put in shows no active recalls. Do you know if that is the page to find out if the oil screens have been completed? Or is it a different page?

skiracer

Paul- I believe that if the recalls have been completed they won't show up on the audiusa website. I put in my VIN and the PCV and oil strainer recall I had performed did not show up. Apparently there is an automatic transmission locking cable recall I need to have looked at though.

PaulW

You are right, I found a car that has not had the strainer recall done and when I put the VIN in there it reported that it needed it.

Now to find a smokin' deal on a great car. The hunt is the best.

Sleeper8

Hey Paul! Must be the house is really done if you are looking for new projects, lol. Figured you couldn't stand still for long. I am Greg over on QW in case you don't recognize my handle here.

Currently I'm almost 6 years into my D4 journey ('15 S8). Mileage was low 30's when I got it, now 95k. Overall a very trouble-free car for me. Money I have spent outside of normal maintenance amounts to having the chip on the ACC camera re-balled ($600) and a few hundred $ tracking down a weird vibration.

When looking at potential cars I'd be a bit careful on the suspension issues if it is on the rear. Eric Von Ha had a bit of a cautionary tale about it that he posted on the other site, I guess pretty much the entire rear interior must come out to replace rear struts. Other than that, I don't think there's a lot you couldn't tackle with ease on a D4. Good luck hunting. I have noticed that there have been a couple of D4s with lower mileage on Bring a Trailer that were probably within or close to your 25k range.

BTW, it would be great to have you on this board. You probably don't know it but you pretty much single-handedly saved D2 ownership from becoming a total disaster for me (and probably a lot of other fellas over on the QW). Was a great board back in the day. Good to hear BobD is doing well also.

PaulW

Nice to hear from you Greg. The house is getting very close to moving in, but I still have lots of projects left. I want to get my shop (which is about 4 miles away from my house) up and running including the installation of a MaxJax lift that I purchased.

Really, I want to have a nice car again after driving the 04 Sienna for so long. The D3 is nice, but it's not the caliper of the car my S8 was. I just found my old S8 for sale in the Chicago area. After I sold it on cars and bids, the guy sold it about 1.5 years later and then I think it's been to two used car dealers since then. Nobody wants to buy them.

skiracer

It made the restoration of my XKE possible. Without it I wouldn't have gotten it done.

2turbos4rings

I’m the resident ‘have you thought on a W12?’ So, have you thought of a W12?

Seems like it might be a good fit given your criteria and enjoyment of the LWB D3. It’s got the most equipment, it’s the most reliable and easiest to work on, the flattest torque curve and they dyno at 500 lb-ft. It’s much more of a spiritual successor to the V10 S8 in power delivery, the 4.0T can’t avoid the lag inherit with depending on rpm to spool turbos to give you power. I can eek close to 25mpg on the highway, but it won’t touch 28mpg if that’s important to you

They were $25,000 more than the S8 and $50,000 more than the LWB 4.0T A8 when new but now you can get them well within your $25k budget. Happy to help you find one if this is the route you take

Good luck with your search and hope to see you here in a D4 soon!

escapA8

So... I haven't checked this forum for yearrrrrs and then today I come across your post from yesterday. Incredible!
How are you?! Great to read your post. Nice to hear K is now your wife.
I've been enjoying my 2nd D4 S8 for a few years now. (See photo below.) It is an incredible machine. Time for you to join the D4 club. You won't regret it.