06A8

It's been about 7 years now with the D3 A8. About 167000 km, besides the usual air suspension pump and an unexpected coolant leak from a bad seal ( whole engine had to be taken out and alot of $$$$), I thought I'd say how much of a smile this big beauty still puts a smile on my face.The stance, the purr and that second glance every time you park it....

Car has been solid engine and transmission wise. Any other tips from high mileage peeps to look out for or change before it might potentially fail?

happy safe driving fellow D3ers. Give a thumbs up once in a while when you see another!

06A8

forgot to attach some pics...

milellie111

Great post. I have only owned my 07 for a year and it has 58,000 miles on it.I've always wondered whether or not these cars would hold up, or would it start needing a whole new front suspension, electronic components right after about 120,000 miles or so. How has the interior held up? Any rattles etc? Suspension and steerint still feels tight and does the car drive almost like the day you bought it? Any noticeable decrease in performance?

06A8

Major items as mentioned were the air pump and unexpected coolant leak. I changed the links and that seemes to be creaking again thanks to a flawed design( apparently A4 ball joints are used on a car about 200kg heavier on the front end).

The interior has been absolutely rattle free, aside from a slight creak when the car first goes up a steep ramp from a flat road. The MMI gears had to be replaced, probably due to fatigue of the plastic gears.

Car drives straight and true. Strangely the engine seems a little raspier then before, a little more throaty almost. No loss in power.

mishar

Creaking can come from the sway bar links too. (I agree about design ) If you need MMI replacement PM me.

snapdragon

Creaking can be the actual sway bar mountings (anchor points)
Sadly integral to the bar, so whole thing needs replacing.

awdinut

2004 A8L bought with 60K miles on it...128K now, and besides the maintenance items, the only repairs have been a fuel pump, a wheel bearing, and a trans flash. Total $1000. I dont think a Toyota would be any cheaper over 60-128 span !

80srule

It's nice to see how people like a car long term.

I've had my A8 for a year, and it still impresses me regularly. My e38 7 Series didn't handle this well, wasn't as fast, and didn't ride near as well; and I still liked that car (not enough to keep once I had the A8 a bit). I have a drive on a backroad to work that is loved by sports car clubs for it's tight corners and sweeping bends throughout. My route is 12 miles to work, 11 miles on this road. The car can just haul through it. The A8 is truly enjoyable on that road, despite being huge.

It's been plenty reliable too over this 1 year and 10k miles (not very long or far, but still); all I've done is the variable intake links, a coil and the optical encoder for the big MMI ****; maybe $110 in repairs total. The rest has been maintenance, and that has been very reasonable too.

TinyElviss

I bought my '09 A8L last March to replace the Buick Enclave that will end up as the permanent resident in our vacation home. I am still amazed at the capability of this car.

My beauty had 64k when I purchased, and yes I sprung for a $3600 aftermarket warranty just to have a dollop of piece of mind. I just turned 71k, and still have a hard time describing the feeling I get every time I settle into the driver seat. It's almost like a astronaut preparing for a moon-shot, or a surly sea captain readying the sails for a long voyage. You just know you're going to love it, even if it is only a three minute ride to the grocery or to get the kids at school.

Recently I have been noting gas mileage.....if I stay within 7 MPH of the speed limit, I have gotten 28, 29, and 30 mpg's over a 110-mile all-highway round trip to visit my mom. Granted I am making a conscious decision to get good mileage ie not accelerating on uphills, trying not to punch past someone, and generally taking it easy. If you watch Top Gear, you may recall an episode where Jeremy took a diesel A8 on a 800 mile trip, and he employed the exact same tactics I use.

On the flip side, when a prudent yet spirited pace is called for, I love how the car hunkers down and gets busy. Squeezing the throttle provides an absolutely exhilarating feel.....

Swissman564

I bought my 2007 A8L in May of 2011 with 60,000 miles on the odometer. Like others in this thread, I have been in love ever since. After owning 5 BMW's and one Mercedes, in my mind, its Audi forever. I drive a LOT. After 18 months I have added 48,000 miles to the ticker which is now at around 108,000. As seems to be typical, I had to replace the air suspension pump but I managed to save $1,675 off the dealer service quote by using the brains and resources available on this site in another thread. I look forward to getting behind the wheel EVERY time and I can't wait to hit the road for the 500 mile trek to my parents' house for Turkey Day. The only negative aspect of owning my Audi has been the extremely high service costs at the dealership. I recently met a local Audi certified tech who now does my work and this anxiety no longer exists. Audi Forever!