sel126

Hope so, thanks for your support!

Incaico

I too own a 2007 S8. It is an spectacular car that should be enjoyed at it's fullest, including all accessories working as they were designed. Having said this, I can also share the repairs that has been done to "The Beast":

Replace all fuel injectors, and replace manifold and battery at 48k
Replace water pump, passenger door handle and 2 TPMS at 55k
Replace front tires at 59k
Replace battery AGAIN at 60k
Replace front pads at 64k
Replace front air suspension at 65k
Service at 65k

It is back at the dealer because of thermostat fluctuating and they found a fuel leak. Thermostat replacement is going to take 10 days since it has to come from the motherland.

I am close to $15k in maintaining this car as of Nov 2012. In every case, Audi of Downtown LA has been nothing short of excellent. Always had a loaner, (one time I had a brand new A8L for 22 days ).

Best part is that I have an extended warranty that has covered everything, except painting the door handle to match the car.

Is it worth the hassle of driving the car into downtown LA? Yes. I know it will be repaired as it's supposed to be and the car will run as it was designed. Is it worth having, as some will say, a high-maintenance car? Absolutely. Very few people can appreciate that, unless you have something similar to an S8.

I am very satisfied with my dealership but also my warranty. Most of all, The Beast deserves only the best and it receives a clay wax regularly and garaged as such a car needs to to be.

Hang in there Sel126. You have a beautiful car. Take care of it for it will take care of you

Howaboutthat

Leaning away from an extended warranty, but still thinking about it.

Fez2013

Leaning away? I'm glad I didn't. In the first few months extended warranty company covered the following:

2 - B&O door subs
Manifold flap motors
Lock button on door handle included painting it

With all that can go wrong, and personal experience with an out of warranty 7 series.. I'm always going to get the warranty.

Panelhead

The dealers appear to stick it to the added warranty providers. Read the list of what they "claim" to replace. The Audi battery looks like it comes from freight train locomotives. Has to be a five year battery. If you get two in a year, there is another issue.
My neighbor just traded his BMW 750. It was a lemon, he seemed to have a loaner half the time the first year. A loaner a month or two a year after.
I was telling him how I caught them attempting to defraud us on my wife's 335i. It is a 2007, with 35,000 miles. It went in limp mode. The dealer said to drive it for another week for an appointment. Once they had it; new plugs and fuel injectors. 3500.00.
I looked online and there was a problem with the fuel pumps. Needed a firmware update. I called the service tech and told him to update firmware and we would pickup the car. He said they had disassembled the engine without owner authorization. I told him to reassemble with my authorization, and make sure to update the fuel pump firmware. He offered to perform the service for 2200.00. First sign of completely dishonest service department.
Paid a 150.00 diagnostic charge and it has run like a striped ape since.
My neighbor said his 750 check engine light would come on. Take it in and stealer would replace one injector under extended coverage. Then a month later the same drill. He said many had been replaced twice. He asked to replace them all, but they would only do one.
He finally sold it at 70,000 miles. His wife's car and she was sick of being on a first name basis at the dealership.
I changed oil oil in my wife's a month ago. After using the dealer for seven years, never going back.
One flag, this is the third case of a S8 intake being replaced under extended warranty. These are the only three I have seen. Intakes almost never fail.

Fez2013

Panelhead,
I totally agree, they definitely do squeeze or try to squeeze everything that they can out of the warranty companies which directly relates to higher premiums for the consumers. When I had the intake manifold issue, searches and fault came up with a sensor being bad but the dealer said there was a TSB that states to replace intake manifold. Umm ok was my response.
I wonder if it would make a huge difference if the car was taken to the INDY instead of the dealer for extended warranty repairs.

sel126

Hi all, it's been a while since my last post in this thread. Have been in & out of the dealer service department numerous times. Audi Willoughby/Mentor, Audi of America and the Penske Automotive Group have all refused to help correct any of the issues the car was sold to me with. Their stance is that the car had no problems when it left the lot & that it must of happened within the less than 600 miles the car was driven when Audi Brooklyn diagnosed everything. "Sold as is" is what they fall back on at every level from salesman to upper management. I will be reporting them to all the proper agencies and bureaus shortly.

I have paid for the following repairs myself. All four upper control arms, drivers lower control arm (passengers arm was recently replaced), sway bar links, low pressure fuel sensor, fuel filter, high pressure fuel pump, serpentine belt and the tensioner. A few other minor issues I will address asap. The air suspension was replaced in February by the previous owner & is functioning as it should.

Now I need some more advice please. Although the suspension is a lot better, it still doesn't feel right. The car drives straight, has no movement in the wheel or any vibrations, but when going over bumps or holes (especially a series of small ones close together) I get a light clunking sound/feeling. Its almost a hollow/ loose feel, if that makes any sense. Its not as noticeable to the passenger, but then again I am more in tune with the car. It's driving me crazy & in turn Audi Brooklyn crazy since I have brought back to them three times after the repairs with this same complaint. Each time, I have been told that everything checks out 100% and that this is how an S8 is supposed to feel, "a sport suspension is supposed to feel tighter". I keep telling that it feels the complete opposite of tighter. Now I did request the sway bar bushing that connects it to the frame and the tire rods be checked and once again they have given it a clean bill of health. Thinking of going to an indy shop next, but I wanted to see if you guys have any input/ideas first.

Thanks for taking the time to read this long post and for any light you can shed on this situation.
Scott

mishar

You didn't mention any wheel alignment. If it is off cracks and bumps will cause weird sounds. Same with too high tire pressure, or abused tires.

sel126

Thanks Mishar, I forgot to mention the wheel alignment was done (they threw that in for me). The tires have less than 4000 miles on them and all have the manufacturers recommended PSI. They are snow tire run flats (going to swap them out in the spring). I understand that they do give a harsher ride, but it definitely feels mechanical. I really dont believe they checked the sway bar bushing, but was wondering what else it could be. I tried to think what was left on the front suspension and could only come up with the tire rods which they also said were good. Besides I believe there would have been an issue when the wheel alignment was performed if the rods were in bad shape.

mishar

Front sway bar bushings are fused to the sway bar, so if they are broken you have to replace the sway bar. It is just above $200 and very easy to replace. No need for alignment afterwords.