need some advice. ive always admired the car from the start. ive been eyeing an 05 lwb with about 70k miles. non cpo. can i have some things i should be on the look out for, concerns, comments, anything. i appreciate it.
thanks again.

Power Trunk: make sure both sides go up evenly and smoothly.
Upper control arm bushings
MMI operation in general, plus make sure buttons aren't sticky.
Timing belt is due at 75k (expensive at a shop).
Plus brakes, tires etc... can be expensive for that car.

Overall it is an expensive car to service. I recently purchased a '04 a8l with 88k, but the previous owner replaced the brakes and tires 2k before I bought it. Brakes alone can cost you 2k+ and tires will run over 1k. If the tranny shifts smoothly and the engine doesnt labor when you give it gas, you should be ok, but, keep in mind that in 30k miles the car will have 100k miles and you are sure to have to begin repacing wear parts. They are rather expensive and labor is high as well.

Besides mechanical...there's a bunch of electrical issues that can run a pretty penny as well as noted above..I would recommend getting a full service history of the vehicle so you can see what common repair problems were already taken care of...from reading the posts all years seem to have their problems and you want to make sure your not buying a lemon or abused A8(L)...they are great cars if maintained properly and this is coming from an '04 A8L owner for the past 3 yrs...To save from the stealership's I would also recommend finding a local mechanic to assist with the repairs or start getting your own hands dirty...up to this point there's nothing within the same class I would consider trading it for!!

Besides mechanical...there's a bunch of electrical issues that can run a pretty penny as well as noted above..I would recommend getting a full service history of the vehicle so you can see what common repair problems were already taken care of...from reading the posts all years seem to have their problems and you want to make sure your not buying a lemon or abused A8(L)...they are great cars if maintained properly and this is coming from an '04 A8L owner for the past 3 yrs...To save from the stealership's I would also recommend finding a local mechanic to assist with the repairs or start getting your own hands dirty...up to this point there's nothing within the same class I would consider trading it for!!

According to Consumer Reports (or CR for short), the A8/A8L from 2004 and, to a lesser extent, 2005 are the problematic ones with the 2006+ A8/A8L and 2007 to 2009 S8 being substantially more reliable with very few problems all around outside of the occasional lemon (the newer the model year, the more trouble free, of course :)).

FWIW, CR alone surveys 800,000+ vehicle owners per year (CR alone surveyed 1,300,000+ vehicle owners in 2006).

By comparison, JD Power and Associates (or JD P&A for short) alone surveys 300,000 to 500,000 vehicle owners per year (2006 is no exception to this) while Strategic Vision (or SV for short) surveys 200,000 to 300,000 vehicle owners per year (2006 is no exception to this, either).

If you do the math, JD P&A and SV combined survey 300,000 to 500,000 vehicle owners per year (again, 2006 is no exception to this).

CR has confirmed that there has been tremendous improvement from Audi in dependability, durability, quality, reliability, satisfaction and service since mid 2005, making it 100% official. JD P&A confirmed tremendous improvement from Audi in these same areas (but not in the 2009 initial quality survey) since mid 2008 (which is wrong as it truly has been since mid 2005). I don't know about SV.

Therefore, unless JD P&A and SV agree with CR 100%, JD P&A and SV are complete trash and are to be completely ignored with CR the only automotive source that you can rely on 100%.

I know I say this a LOT. However, with bogus comments like "from reading the posts all years seem to have their problems and you want to make sure your not buying a lemon or abused A8L" when it is only 2004 and, again, to a lesser extent, 2005, I have no choice but to repeat the above over and over and over again.

I apologize for sounding arrogant, conceited, egotistic, and snobby and stuck up. But I just wish people would get there facts straight before posting them on here.

I know I say this a LOT. However, with bogus comments like "from reading the posts all years seem to have their problems and you want to make sure your not buying a lemon or abused A8L" when it is only 2004 and, again, to a lesser extent, 2005, I have no choice but to repeat the above over and over and over again.

I apologize for sounding arrogant, conceited, egotistic, and snobby and stuck up. But I just wish people would get there facts straight before posting them on here.[/QUOTE]

OK..All I said was that all years seem to have their problems...I never mentioned 04..05..08..and I also did not mention a specific year is better/worse than the other....unless you can tell me that a specific year has no problems... then what is the problem?? I was giving my honest opinion which is what I am hoping this forum is for..giving your opinion and trying to help others out. Seems like I touched the wrong nerve with you as senior member here..SORRY! The guy was just asking for opinions...I did not give any facts...FYI: I have an '04 and it is not problematic at all...at least in my opinion...