A8 3.0tdi How good? Realistic running cost?

[cammy33]

Hi all, I am looking to purchase a A8 3.0Tdi, will be bout 2005. Are there many real issues with these cars ? and are there many really happy owners out there? Any info would be great. Thanx in advance

[Bacon]

Hi
I love mine! It has a couple of cosmetic issues, but they are not engine related.
I have bought a diesel tuner (BHP Plus - £280) and I get roughly 40MPG, I spend a lot of time on the M25:aargh4:.
I recently travelled around europe in it, I went from Calais to Vitoria (Northern Spain) on 1 tank of fuel, in fact the 3500 mile I completed took 4 tanks in total. Total 39.9MPG for the whole trip!
It also goes like a scalded cat from the lights and has bags of power.
The money
My insurance cost an extra £80 per year from a 2002 A6 2.5Tdi & tax is only £250 per year.
Find a good independant service place, Audi wring their hands with glee when you turn up in an A8, my standard Audi dealer service, including a brake fluid change, cost £690!
I am real glad I bought mine, it's quiet, fast and very smooth, and the best bit.... Its the size of a small village:approve:
Enjoy

Bacon

[Gerbil]

Hi
I love mine! It has a couple of cosmetic issues, but they are not engine related.
I have bought a diesel tuner (BHP Plus - £280) and I get roughly 40MPG, I spend a lot of time on the M25:aargh4:.
I recently travelled around europe in it, I went from Calais to Vitoria (Northern Spain) on 1 tank of fuel, in fact the 3500 mile I completed took 4 tanks in total. Total 39.9MPG for the whole trip!
It also goes like a scalded cat from the lights and has bags of power.
The money
My insurance cost an extra £80 per year from a 2002 A6 2.5Tdi & tax is only £250 per year.
Find a good independant service place, Audi wring their hands with glee when you turn up in an A8, my standard Audi dealer service, including a brake fluid change, cost £690!
I am real glad I bought mine, it's quiet, fast and very smooth, and the best bit.... Its the size of a small village:approve:
Enjoy

Bacon

Hi Bacon,

I have the petrol version of the same car and agree with everything you say, except my fuel consumption is not so good!!

Can I ask if you worked out the MPG yourself or used the computer on board?

My petrol 3.0 shows a fairly optimistic fuel consumption compared to actually filling the car up and doing the maths - eg 33-34 mpg on the trip 2 comp when the maths says 29-31?

My 2005 A8 was off the road recently and Audi very kindly lent me a brand new 3.0tdi for a couple of days - it was pretty awesome (incidentally one of the upsides of dealing with a main dealer). I never got to fill it up to check what it actually consumed in deisel but on a 200 mile motorway trip it was indicatiing almost 40mpg!

When I brought mine I could have had a similar 3.0tdi, but the premium on the price was about £5k and on the quoted mpg for both cars this did not add up - the quoted figures in Parkers guide suggested the diesel was about 4 mpg better, and I would have had to drive some serious miles to get the £5k back!!

But whilst my petrol car is very close to the quoted consumption both your one and my loan diesel car seemed much better than quoted.

p.s. love the way the Government and industry still quote MPG when you can no longer buy a gallon of petrol! Alternative is Euro measurement based on litres / 100km and we do not measure roads in km!!!

[Bacon]

Gerbil

I used the onboard computer, it is fairly accurate. I just put £50 of Diesel at 103.9p and the computer is showing 465 miles at the moment.

Motorway driving is the best and I go round the M25 and thats at 60MPH at best.

regards

Bacon

[mikey666]

Had mine over 12 months now a 2005 model. Been best car have ever owned so far. I get 37 mpg on a run and about 22 round town. No problems at all with car apart from cannot interface my Ipod. This has apparently been sorted out in the newer models. I have owned bemers, Jags and mercs but this is the best and most reliable so far.:D

[upliftin]

Great to hear, im just looking at getting one from around 04/05. Specs look great.

[a8 tech]

Had mine over 12 months now a 2005 model. Been best car have ever owned so far. I get 37 mpg on a run and about 22 round town. No problems at all with car apart from cannot interface my Ipod. This has apparently been sorted out in the newer models. I have owned bemers, Jags and mercs but this is the best and most reliable so far.:D
You can retro fit AMI FOR AROUND £300 TO ADD FULL I POD FUNCTION:biglaugh:

[john14335]

My last car was a 530d sport, which I thought was superb..........until I bought the A8. It truly is a superb car + equals the BM on fuel economy (average 37mpg on mostly A + B roads, 43 mpg on a long run). It has loads of space, is extremely comfortable + has way more class than the majority of exec saloons. The car has had a superchips remap which takes the power to 277bhp and gives it enough torque to stop the earth turning - I'm not a boy racer, but it's nice to know the power's there if you need it.

The only fault with mine is an airbag light which won't go out. My local dealer has diagnosed a faulty control module, which they would like the grand total of £1300 to replace!!! Thankfully there are quite a few specialists who can repair the modules for around £100 - don't think the dealer's getting the job.

Insurance is on a par with the BM and provided you don't use the main dealer, servicing is also on a par with 5 series ownership. For info, Agnew's in Belfast quoted me £645 for a full oil + filter service, with changing the brake fluid being extra, which would have left the service in the region of £750 - avoid the dealers + servicing is 30% oft that cost.

Buy one, you won't regret it

[happydan]

I have had a 2004 model A8 3.0tdi and I have to agree with all the comments on left on this post. I have had merc and beemer but the A8 is by far the best car I have owned :)

I had as major service done at a local independant a month after i got the car as it needed brakes, discs, etcc as well which set me back just under £1000. After that I have started doing the service myself at home, as that way I know the job is done properly, but in order to do so I would suggest you have a good service manual and the one vital tool a genuine VCDS cable from Ross-tech. I think you will find it is a good investment.

The best part about the A8 is that is is understated class, and the power under the hood is awesome. Highly recommend but personally I would stay away from the main dealers.

hope this helps you a little on making up your mind.

[a8 tech]

Find a dealer with a A8 LICENSED TECHNICIAN as a ross tech lead is pointless if you do not understand the most advanced networked audi vehicle in production which requires a minimum of master tech status followed by a 2 week intense training course for this vehicle which sadly no longer runs, so you will need to find us older techs with the bald spots not the younger hair gell freaks lol
Average license for vehicles is 1 to 3 days so you can see there is a lot to learn and master multi networks from fibre to can etc etc etc

[happydan]

Hi A8 tech - I cant deny that - lol :)

All I was trying to so is that the ross tech interface is def worth getting and it allows me to do some of the simple function and service resets etc..., but yes you are right that it is not a simple thing to just pick up and off you go!. In fact without forums like this It would be very difficult for home mechanics like me to avoid paying dealer prices for some of the simpler tasks.

the A8 is a complex machine for sure!

[a8 tech]

Just a bit, and the new model will be a nightmare from a repair point of veiw