Do any Backroomers run / have experience of the A8 or S8 ? Reliability ? Alternative larger saloons to make a positive yet low-key statement to clients ?
MrW
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You may find that Audi\'s low-key statement is so low-key as to be completely inaudible.
Audi S8 the invisible executive luxo-barge, and a car that I aspire to even though I\'ve never driven one. Maybe that film \"Ronin\" has had a subtle effect ...
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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Hawkeye,
The A8 in \"Ronin\" is spectacular however the quattro system was disconnected to achieve the final driving scenes - with 4wd in place the action was not dramatic enough. Undramatic, comfort, understated and traction in all weather conditions - that is why any A8 is so special.
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Built like a Bentley but with styling like an A4 so it won\'t be wrecked when you come back to it?
What more can we do for you?
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I guess you are right - I am lusting after a post 1999 S8 although a 3.7 quattro sport is probably more sensible. The value seems excellent, insurance now under £1k (now mid-30s), drive just about large enough - question is do I put aside £1k for maintenance, £1,500 or £2k per year ? I\'m assuming that as long as the book is stamped up with Audi imprints that reliability will be good.
The alternative is something predictable and I really don\'t feel that way right now.
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They are not my kind of car at all, but a friend abroad ran an A8 4.2 quattro for four years, which his wife now drives, whilst he currently runs one of the last \'old\' A8 models fitted with the W12 six litre engine not available in the UK.
His only problems have been when a local tyre fitter didn\'t realise that the tyres he chose as replacements for the first A8 were left and right handed, as well as single directional. Neither did he for that matter, until I pointed it out when paying a visit! Hardly the fault of Audi.
How does he treat his cars?
Both cars have always been fully serviced by his Audi agent, but in a country with much lower traffic volumes than we suffer, he has caned both cars, frequently, and still had absolute reliability.
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MrWibble - I am also looking to get an A8 as one of my next cars (next year). I reckon going through a specialist or a club is usually the best way.
I saved a bucket of money this way when I bought my 3-year old fully-loaded MB G-wagon plus I had advice on getting the best spec. (The salesman who did the deal was on the committee of the German G-wagon club, a club which charters 747 cargo planes twice a year so their members can drive their own G-wagons around Iceland or Central America or wherever for their hols!)
A s/h A8 seems to me to be one of the best \"left-bank\" cars a petrol-head can get.
I\'d be interested to swap notes. Have you found any good websites?
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I don't think a low, long limo with a thumping great V8 under the bonnet makes any kind of low-key statement, Mr W.
If you're seeking something which suggests style without flamboyance, achievement but not at the customer's expense, then this isn't the solution. You're thinking along the right lines, brand-wise, but need something more discreet, more compact.
The A8 4.2 is a storming drive, but thirsty and expensive on the tin bashing front.
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Why do you say this, Morris Ox?
We built this to cut down on obtrusiveness. The benchmark was the earlier "S" Class.
If you look at the car in profile, you should see the same styling cues as the A4, or A6.
An uneducated observer would think it was just that.
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Why do you say this, Morris Ox? We built this to cut down on obtrusiveness. The benchmark was the earlier \"S\" Class. If you look at the car in profile, you should see the same styling cues as the A4, or A6. An uneducated observer would think it was just that.
Because, Sean, A8s were never sold to \'uneducated observers\'. Because if your benchmark really was the previous S-class you modelled it on a monster. It may well have had the same styling cues as its smaller siblings but its footprint was right up there with the seven league boots of a 7 series or an S-class.
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Morris Ox, by using the term monster I presume you mean "excessively large". I don't have the exact figures to hand but I would call a Roller, or a Chevy Suburban, or a 1980s Cadillac, or a Hummer "excessively large". An A8 is simply a large saloon as MrWibbly says. A 7 series BMW cannot be described as a monster or excessively large at all.
Why do you call an S class a monster?
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CMark - I've been keeping my eye on Great Trade Centre (not so many coming up now as 6mths ago), Fontains.co.uk have some pretty interesting metal on a regular basis and I'm also looking at a "no major faults" auction purchase of a 2-3 year old - timeframe is sometime in April / May next year.
Morris Ox, I guess everything depends on your perspective - I just want a superbly engineered vehicle and to feel good driving it - certainly I would feel good driving a sports car / tourer of some persuasion or even a Mini (and there is so much more to life than personal transport).
Size isn't the real issue but the accumulation of engineering effort, insight, clever design, road-holding, sheer power and "smile factor" that the S8 gives me when I have had the opportunity to drive one is what is pushing me. I may be able to get away with a mid-size quality saloon (I've driven - happily - a Mondeo and low-end 3 series previously) but that just wouldn't be the same. Perhaps I will tire of it within a year and move on to something else but at least I will have satisfied my itch.
MrW
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BTW the standard A8 is 16' 6" in length - 2 ft more than the typical mid-range saloon and about a foot or so wider.
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Morris Ox, by using the term monster I presume you mean "excessively large". I don't have the exact figures to hand >> Why do you call an S class a monster?
Because the generation of S-class which Sean refers to was acknowledged by critics (and some Merc insiders) as being over-large and over-engineered.
Size is a comparative value. When you consider that most people in Europe drive Fiesta/Focus class cars a vehicle two sizes up is pretty show-stopping.
I got the impression from Mr Wibble that he was looking for something which had a certain tasteful discretion about it. The A8 and its ilk are just too big to be discreet.
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Ah, Morris Ox, we both agree but I haven\'t expressed my meaning sufficiently.
A Bentley is an excellent car. It, too, is not sold to uneducated observers. If parked, it tends to attract unwanted attention from such people, and concomitant damage.
If you arrive at a potential customer\'s premises in a Bentley, he may think that you are making too much money and be reluctant to deal with you.
This was our thinking of the older \"S\" class.
We were given the brief to design and build an opulent car sans opulence.
Does this help, please?
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Doesn\'t make a lot of difference to me.
The only thing which made the A8 seem smaller was the fact that it came from a maker which, unlike Merc, didn\'t have a reputation for making limousines driven by bloated plutocrats or East African dictators. Psychological trick, I guess.
However, when I drove an A8 4.2 in 1997 up close and personal it didn\'t look or feel small. It felt wide in the cockpit, had thunderous performance and weighty momentum and, like everything else in the class, felt better suited to open spaces.
Nice car, did what it said on the box, can\'t knock it for that. If you like bigguns it\'s a pleasingly left-field choice. But it still makes a whacking statement.
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MO - Its all about perspective and personal choices I guess. Depends on what you are used to - an 81W Cortina estate (beige !) I brought back from the dead in \'93 seemed big compared to the Fiat Strada I was used to.
If I get one then I hope not to make a \"whacking statement\" as you put it !
Backroomers : Any thoughts on what to buy, what options worthwhile ?
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I think Mr W has the right idea here.
Cars are an emotive thing, and in my case I find the statement to be exactly that desired. It says \"here, I\'ve done well and have treated myself to something incredibly comfortable and of the highest build quality, without sticking two fingers up at the people who got me here\". It shows an appreciation of quality and engineering excellence ahead of an appreciation of the gaudy.
I think they A8 is exactly the car that Mr W is after. If my drive were wider, it would be on my shopping list.
If I don\'t reply it\'s nowt personal, I\'m just working!
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I ran an A8 4.2 until I sold it last year. The buying decision was easy compared to other large alternatives (S-Class, LS400, Jag, BMW 7). It is understated but superb to drive and extremely quiet and comfortable. Reliability not an issue though I had to get Audi to share the cost of front wishbone replacement when they became \'creaky\' (known problem). A friend subsequently bought a 2.8 A8, he has taken it from 100k to over 150k with no problems, just gets his local specialist to service it.
The 4.2 averaged early 20s consumption but on a very high speed long trip to France averaged over 29mpg.
PB.
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Mr Wibble
I\'m now on my second A8 (currently 2.8 Sport) and have never regretted it one bit.
I too use mine for business and it always gives the right impression - i.e it is a large car but doesn\'t shout it out. If you are to use it for commuting like me then you may wish to consider the V6. Nowhere near as fun as the 4.2 but nowhere near as juicy - once up to speed however there is so little dfference.
The toys (certainly on the Sport and the S8) are everything you could possible want and the reliability has been excellent.
As for servicing...my latest car has the variable servicing which rewards you with near 20,000 miles between services (my first service cost less than £270 which when you consider you haven\'t had to pay for a 10,000 is excellent value). Like a lot of Audi\'s it does drink oil (1 litre/1000 miles approx) and you must use the long-life oil if you are to maintain the VSI regime.
I can\'t praise them enough.
If you can get a reasonably priced S8 the go for it (A dealer in Tonbridge recently offered me one for 10K of the sticker price) and their was an \'02 S8 fully loaded in last week\'s telegraph for £36,000. Lot of money but an awful lot of car!
Happy hunting
Huss.....newbie
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