A8 2.8

[stedale]

Hello all,

I am actively considering an A8 as my next car and a 98(R) that I am looking at has 80k a FASH and a screen price of ~6k.

According to parkers they should be priced closer to £4.5k, is that right?

What do I need to know about these cars, are there any achilles heals?

What are the major servicing landmarks, should I expect a major belt change soon?

I took the car for a test drive and apart from being suprised by how much I enjoyed the car all seemed fine. The only negative seemed to be a non-functioning light on the drivers Climate control display.

If I considered pursuing this sale I would have the checked out independently, but I'd like to hear from anyone who can give me the benefit of their insights and ownership experiences (including costs!).

Thanks,
Steve.

[Plotloss]

2.8 will consume almost as much fuel as the 4.2 with a considerable drop in go.

If you're going to be a bear, be a grizzly...

[stedale]

Fair point 26 vs 21 for 2.8 against 4.2. And VED is the same. What I'd like think (know) is that less cylinders means "cheaper" servicing, all things being relative of course.

thanks.

[pwd95]

Bump
Considering this myself also, any info gratefully sought

[justayellowbadge]

Steve,

Haven't had ours long, but I wouldn't be too concerned about the drop in go - It's not a firebrand, but nor is it a slouch.
What is nice is the gearing in top - at 80 you're doing 2500rpm - theoretically geared for 192! Cruising is wafttastic.
Fuel wise, It's certainly a lot cheaper to run the the other two daily drivers, but then they are v8s..
I would highly advise seeking out the sport spec - the seats justify it alone. Bose is nice, parking sensors a plus.
Avoid the earlier V6s - they are gutless - Plotloss can probably correct but I think '97 on had the 24v with closer to 200 brake.
Where are you based - you're more than welcome to a blat in ours if you haven't spent much time with one - we're in SW london

regards,

Rich

[pentoman]

justayellowbadge said:

Steve,

Haven't had ours long, but I wouldn't be too concerned about the drop in go - It's not a firebrand, but nor is it a slouch.
What is nice is the gearing in top - at 80 you're doing 2500rpm - theoretically geared for 192! Cruising is wafttastic.
Fuel wise, It's certainly a lot cheaper to run the the other two daily drivers, but then they are v8s..
I would highly advise seeking out the sport spec - the seats justify it alone. Bose is nice, parking sensors a plus.
Avoid the earlier V6s - they are gutless - Plotloss can probably correct but I think '97 on had the 24v with closer to 200 brake.
Where are you based - you're more than welcome to a blat in ours if you haven't spent much time with one - we're in SW london

regards,

Rich

Actually the 2.8 is a 30 valve (rather than 24v) I think, also with some variable valve timing gizmos. Did the 3.7/4.2 have the valve timing thing?

[stedale]

justayellowbadge said:

Steve,

Haven't had ours long, but I wouldn't be too concerned about the drop in go - It's not a firebrand, but nor is it a slouch.
What is nice is the gearing in top - at 80 you're doing 2500rpm - theoretically geared for 192! Cruising is wafttastic.
Fuel wise, It's certainly a lot cheaper to run the the other two daily drivers, but then they are v8s..
I would highly advise seeking out the sport spec - the seats justify it alone. Bose is nice, parking sensors a plus.
Avoid the earlier V6s - they are gutless - Plotloss can probably correct but I think '97 on had the 24v with closer to 200 brake.
Where are you based - you're more than welcome to a blat in ours if you haven't spent much time with one - we're in SW london

regards,

Rich

Hi Rich,

Thanks for your response. The one I viewed is definitely the later 200 bhp version but it was not a sport. I was genuinely impressed with how it drove and handled and it made a reasonable if slightly muted sound on giving it some! I fancy a slice of uber saloon/luxobarge(?) at the moment and this car might just fit the bill. I'll try and contact an Audi specialist or service centre soon, as I am trying to put a finger on annual maintenance costs.

Thanks for your offer however I live near swansea so unfortunatley not very handy!

Cheers,
Steve.

[pwd95]

Are they all alloy bodies then?

[pentoman]

Yep they are all aluminium, didn't Audi call it the "ASF" aluminium space frame or is that something else?

Still not exactly light, but much lighter than if it were made of steel, bearing in mind all those toys they have, all the granite in the interior, the 4wd hardware and big engines with lots of valves.

[stedale]

OK fact fans here's some info I've unearthed this morning:

A8 weight bhp 0-60 vmax
2.8 30V 1560 198 9.9 145
4.2 40V 1750 310 6.9 155 (prob limited)

S8:
4.2 40V 1750 360 6.4 155 (def limited)

width 1880 mm (gateposts and garages!)
length 5034 mm

more to come...

[pentoman]

Good stuff, yes the 0-60 doesn't look too hot on the 2.8 but I have heard that they go pretty well.

Should be cheaper to maintain as the engine is shared with the A6 and A4.. brakes and so on may be less scary as well .

[stedale]

Pentoman, you're right about the 2.8 being cheaper to run. I spoke to an audi specialist who quoted 260 for a full service and in his words the 2.8 were "not bad" but the V8 were "very expensive".

Anyway, I spoke to the dealer this morning and offered him 5k for the car but they wont drop below 5.5k unless I buy it as seen (there are some issues). The book price is 4.5 so I tempted to walk away. What do you guys think??

[pwd95]

Example;
www.pistonheads.com/sales/122866.htm

[stedale]

pwd95 said:

Example;
www.pistonheads.com/sales/122866.htm

Thats a nice example, and well priced at 200 above book. For a '98, Glasses give a trade-in value of ~3000 so unless this dealer is no good at his job, he's looking for a clear 2.5k profit. Who says car sales don't pay huh.

[justayellowbadge]

80K is not really a lot of mileage though. Most I looked at in the 3-5K range were a lot higher.

[Plotloss]

justayellowbadge said:

80K is not really a lot of mileage though. Most I looked at in the 3-5K range were a lot higher.

Barely run in!

Definately go for a Sport over a normal one.

Just for those seats

[pwd95]

This seems quite a good site. Based in America by the looks but there seems to be a wealth of stuff on there.
www.audipages.com

[stedale]

justayellowbadge said:

80K is not really a lot of mileage though. Most I looked at in the 3-5K range were a lot higher.

Maybe the valuations I've been looking at are a bit pessimistic I'm just trying to find out if that is so.

[stedale]

pwd95 said:

This seems quite a good site. Based in America by the looks but there seems to be a wealth of stuff on there.
www.audipages.com

That looks very useful, thanks.

[mat205125]

Did they ever diesel the first A8's?