Dolphin Gray

I am considering picking up an 07 or 08 Q7 for my wife. What should I look for? Not sure what the differences are between years. When did they start putting in the power liftgate? Thanks for any insights or opinions.

ltooz_a6_a8_q7

08 has many bug fixed... don't get 07. My 08 has no problems at all.

http://www.dognmonkey.com/audi/q7-after-3-years.html

Good luck,

Louis

1Hondalover

Go for it. We just recently bought a 2008 CPO S-Line primarily for my wife. Because of the expense of parts, repairs and recommended service we also paid for Audi Care Plus which takes care of the 55K, 65K and 75K services.

We have never owned a car of this caliber but as an ex-motorcycle racer I understand the liabilities of things like tires, brakes and the overall cost of maintaining such a vehicle. Since my wife drives it the most we we'll get the benefit of longer tire and brake wear unlike some here that drive theirs the way I would.

This is not a domestic pillow. The ride is tight and the brakes want to throw you through the window. Not sure what your experience is, but if things like brake dust and squeal offend you don't buy it. We love this car.

omniskye

i fully agree with ltooz's comment: don't go with the 2007, but go with 2008 and newer.

we just picked up a CPO 2008 Q7 Premium about a month ago - so far so good. based on my extensive research, lots of bugs in the 2007 model year that were fixed in 2008. heard there was even water leaking into the car itself in the 2007 model. (keep in mind 2007 was first year they introduced the Q7 so they had some kinks to work out.)

i come from owning 2 lexus's so my experience with my first german car is mixed. in terms of the interface and buttons on the dash, the japanese cars are much more intuitive. but it could be just a matter of getting used to, as i'm familar with all the controls now that it's been a month. ride is stiffer and 3.6 engine is louder, compared to our previously-owned lexus RX 350 SUV. car is very heavy, so acceleration isn't as strong compared to our lexus RX. however, because of the weight, we feel much safer in this car. my wife drives this primarily and she absolutely loves the look of the car. overall impression thus far - so far so good.

i believe that the Premium or S-Line models in 2008 come with the power liftgate. don't think the base model has a power liftgate but not 100% sure.

in terms of 1Hondalover's comment about the Audi Care Plus package - we didn't get it because you MUST use it within 7 years of when the car was ORIGINALLY in service. this means if the original owner bought the car in 2007, it must be used by 2014. this means if you haven't reached 75k miles, you wouldn't be able to take full advantage of it. however, if you think you'll reach this mileage within 7 years, you'll be saving some money. (most people do, but i'm just waiting until i get to that 55k mark since the first interval begins then with the Plus package.)

GomerPyle

2007 was the first model year in the US. They were selling in Europe in 2005.

In the US market a power liftgate has been available since introduction.

I have a 2007 4.2. The nice thing about CPO is that whatever bugs existed, were taken care of by the previous owner. Most of my issues have been ECU programming related - aka software - because the ECU was replaced previously. I think it had to do with the battery draining issue. A lot of my stuff was programmed for Euro mode, such as trailer lights. Did you know that the range of the steering wheel tilt and telescope is programmable? Crazy.

Dolphin Gray

Thanks everyone for all the info. We will be hopefully test driving a few in the next week or so. Then hopefully making a decision. I need to let my 04 S4 go, but my guess is that they will not give much for a trade in so I may have to sell it outright, although I have not had a lot of luck with that, it is much easier to trade but of course the dealer has to make some money so that is always a difficult call. One additional question, what does the 4.2 get for real world gas mileage? In my 04 S4 with the 4.2 I can't do much better than 20 on the freeway and of course it is much lighter.

GomerPyle

I've been averaging about 14.5 MPG combined city/hwy.