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If I found a car that I really liked that did not have night vision, it wouldn't stop me.
What I am really looking for is a car that has a few mechanical issues that the owner wants to give up on and I snag it for cheap money. I need another car like I need another hole in my head, but I'll have one soon!
I think I know where your head is at. (No more holes, please. (-; ) The thrill of a good deal plus the challenge and satisfaction of fixing a few things on an amazing car. Good luck!
So I flew to Houston yesterday to look at it, if I liked it I was going to buy it and drive it home.
Let's say ALWAYS look at the car in person. I'm glad I did. The dealer who owns it is very nice and helpful, but he really didn't tell me the correct condition of the car over the phone. He knew it needed items, did not disclose them until after I brought them up and he had a list of things that needed to be done to it.
It is a fully loaded car with sport differential that stickered at 118K. Here's what I found out in just a few minutes looking at the car:
Brake rotors shuttering, would need rotors and pads all around
They says a conrol arm requires replacement
Steering wheel is cocked and requires alignment
Small noise from engine compartment when driving 40 MPH
HUD leather is unglued from sun damage
Trunk won't open electrically, pulled code, it's a hall sensor which means a new motor or trunk controller
Instrument cluster plastic is scratched, I mean how do you not let anybody know this? Big scratches that were on the bottom left and right that would require the plastic lens to be replaced.
Left rear sunscreen won't go down
Rear sun shade for panoromic glass won't retract
B&O front left tweeter cover was missing from speaker, the first guy said to me "oh, he has it on order"....which was just a lie.
Even though it had 2 year old Pilot Sport AS tires, I felt like they were flat spotted and they were not coming back.
I did offer $19K, but it would of been a project, I don't think he wanted to drop off his $24.5K asking price. I'm very happy that he did not accept my offer as I thought about it more.
It was a really nice car, but more of a project IMO. If you had to get all the items fixed at the dealer, it would of been more than $10K easily.
I did see the S8 he had there with the grey interior, really liked that color interior. I would consider a S8.
And I think the pre-facelift A8L's are fine too, the HUD is really nothing special to me, but I have not used it much. I can't see it during the day with my polarized sunglasses on.
The hunt continues, it has to be a cream puff and in better or equal shape to my 2007 S8, this car was not.
Hmmm... I hope you didn't just make the trip to check out that car. Sounds like it was pretty disappointing after seeing it in person. But, smart thing you did instead of buying it sight unseen. My take on it is that if small things are broken or damaged, there must not have been any budget available to properly service and maintain the car. Meaning, more (bigger) trouble down the road, Glad to hear you passed and walked away. Enjoy the hunt. (Did you say S8, again? (-: )
I'm with Floris on this one. This car has clearly not been well cared for- in fact seems to have been abused. You are smart to run away from this particular car and aviod what would likely be a ton more problems in the future.
Why do some S8's have a three spoke steering wheesl and some have a four spoke? Now that I'm writing this does it have to do with the cold weather package? Maybe only the four spoke steering wheel is heated?
My 2015 D4 S8 has the three spoke steering wheel, which is heated, and the winter package with things like rear heated seats and ski sack. Not sure if there's any correlation between the number of steering wheel spokes and optional package of any kind.
So after my trip to Houston, a 16 A8L showed up local in Daytona Beach with 55K miles. I ended up seeing it yesterday (they are open on Sunday, weird). It's white with the Balao brown interior.
The outside of the car was almost 100% perfect, just a few chips on the hood. The wheels had no curb marks and had Pirelli tires with date codes of 2423, so less than a year old.
The interior was in very good shape, but the back seat had a bunch of glitter on it, I would say the last owner had a teenage daughter and sat back there after a dance recital or something. It was in the perforated holes in the seat, I'm not sure if it will come out or not, of course the salesman says they can get it out. The car drove perfectly. Two owner FL car. https://www.spanosmotors.com/invento...3afd6gn008350/
Here's the kicker. The car is higher than suggested retail at $28,950 (Manheim says $26,700) and on top of that there is a $900 dealer fee and $995 ceramic coating charge. So they are asking $31K for the car. And it doesn't have B&O, night vision or sport package.
It sure is fun looking, but now I am looking at S8's also.
And to answer my question above about the steering wheel, I believe the prefacelift cars had a four spoke steering wheel with the cold weather package (three spoke was not heated), but the facelifts had three spoke heated steering wheels.
Why do some S8's have a three spoke steering wheesl and some have a four spoke? Now that I'm writing this does it have to do with the cold weather package? Maybe only the four spoke steering wheel is heated?
The only S8 with 4-spoke is prefacelift with lane assist. Every other option and configuration is 3-spoke, including heated pre and post
06-07-2024, 04:55 AM
