Fabio's A8

thanks for the help with the oil leak. In all likelihood, I think it's going to be a major expense to fix...and the car has a lot of other expensive maintenance to be done. What I am considering is a new A8, like a 2004, which I can get for $23000 cdn. Did Audi fix the crappy transmission for this model year? The tranny cost me over $5000 to rebuild two years ago. Are there other problem areas which are unique to the 2004 and new model years? Or, should I stick to my old faithful?

Beartrap

From my reading of it, the D3's haven't experienced trans. problems - YET. Just a minor "chirping" issue which is covered under a TSB. If you're getting an '04, make sure it's a high S / N (8,000 +). There were some early teething problems.

PaulW

D3 A8 out of warranty = VERY, VERY EXPENSIVE REPAIRS

jazbo123

And all that damn computerized (non-DIY-er) stuff on the D3.

mkurak

My sense is that you are running for nothing. If you have 23 grand burning a hole in your pocket, then go for it. The oil cooler/heat exchanger fix is expensive, no doubt, but they don't go very often, as far as I can tell. As far as I know, the D3 is even more expensive to repair. (For the record, Consumer's Reports really doesn't like 04 or 05 - I realize that you may not care.) We had a D2 mentioned last week with 370,000 miles on it.

jazbo123

hey, I'm not getting any younger either...

dimitristx

All other things being equal, you're better off buying an '03 D2 A8/S8 than an '04 D3 A8.

PaulW

I wouldn't get anything but an 06 or later