Considering A8

[Mumawalde]

Hello I am the happy owner of a 2001 A4. I've had it for years and it regularly carries me and my family around daily. Well we now have a third kid, and need something wider for the extra car seat. Rather than go the SUV/Crossover route, I was looking for wider cars. The A8 naturally came up on my radar. I did some quick looking in the forum, but I thought I'd ask what I should expect if I get a 2004 A8 for carrying around my, now larger, family. I've known people with 2004 A4's and I can name a multitude of potential problems such as: oil sludging, and crappy plastic components in the engine bay that always seem to break. Are there any known problems that just keep showing up with the A8s? Thanks!

[Brozee]

Don't mean to sound rude or anything but search...
There are at least. At least, 10 posts alone on this. To sum it up, avoid 04's if previous maintenance hasn't been done.

[K9COP]

But good advice just the same. I'd say stay away from ANY A8 that hasn't had proper maintenance. I have gradually, like an oil tanker doing a 'U'ey, moved from 'It will be cheaper to heat your house by burning $100 bills' to inescapably looking back at it every time I park it.
Un-maintained, or with problems, they are THE MOST counter intuitive, complicated, expensive, mysterious, infuriating POS on the road. When I first bought mine, it sat for two months essentially un-driven, because I was so pissed off with the thing. It is gradually, but only gradually, working it's way back into my affections. BUY VCDS software if you buy one, and if you can, get any prospective purchases scanned with that before you commit. It will reveal any/most nasties that are hiding...

Be prepared for heartache and expense, or by the best D2 (or Discovery!) you can.

K9

Originally Posted by Brozee

Don't mean to sound rude or anything

[mishar]

It is same as A4 but it is quite a bit more complicated, so more things to go wrong and quite a bit more expensive. Also not many mechanics have any experience with A8. Since you are looking at 2004 (I guess not a huge budget) and have young family, an old guys advise would be: Don't do it. Than again I would never listen. May be that's how I got that experience.

[volvopentaman]

Not great, but excellent cars when they work.

If they don't work, you're seriously screwed, if you aren't the super DIY mechanic. A fatal service can cost you the price of the car or even more, so be warned!

I've heard of people spending up to 70.000euros on engine and transmission overhauls etc services in a matter of a year or two.

So my best advice is to stay away from 04 and older, take a 05->. A W12 is an excellent choise, no too much can go wrong with that engine, and it has only a wee bit higher consumption than the V8, but delivers outrageous power without any revving. It's a chain-engine, so no belts and also no FSI and stucking manifolds etc problems.

Electrical glitches and software problems are the biggest issue with these cars, and even if i'm somewhat of an electrican, i have a lot to learn with my 2006 W12, especially from the coding and software side.

And a couple practical things to remember, the A8 is a BIG car, so be prepared for that your wife will have problems parking it. Another thing is that these cars are best suited for the highway, not the city.

[Mumawalde]

Thanks for the help guys. I'm not completely closing the door on this option, but I'll keep your posts in mind. Any other advice would be welcomed as well. Thanks Again!

[Mister Bally]

Keep in mind that while it is a large vehicle, it is not very wide in the back seat. Tons of leg room though. Three adults is a tight squeeze in back and I'm not talking about overweight individuals either.

As far as the car goes, I have an '04, early model built in February, 2003. Bought it off of a two year high mileage lease with 56,000 miles on the clock. With over 160,000 miles on it today, I would do it again. Only major failures were:
1. WABCO Electric air compressor for ECAS(Electronically Controlled Air Suspension.
2. Thermostat failed in "closed" position requiring timing belt removal so I replaced everything including water pump, rollers etc as I was in there.
3. One front air suspensin "damper" (air strut).

Everything else was normal maintenance stuff.

I fully expect to get 300,000 miles if not 350 to 400k before the car gets donated.

[Edd W]

Discovery for the same budget as an 04 A8, now that really is looking like risky venture - mind you, you did buy an Omega, albeit, one with a rather nasty but powerfull engine.

I would advise getting an A6 avant - more like a bigger A4 but a lot easier to look after than an A8 and nearly as nice to own.

With an A8, there is always that nagging doubt about air suspension failures when you're 300 miles from home on a cold wet night with three children in the back... and the surprises, like one day, for no apparent reason, you get no sound from the radio, or the MMI re-boots for no reason after you have been driving for 20 minutes etc.....

[mishar]

Buy Honda Odyssey. You have more important things to do than fixing your car.

[Brozee]

Agreed it seems that you should heed our warning before jumping in over your head.