A8 3.0tdi quattro sport - purchase and servicing questions

[dkes]

I am in the market for a used car to cover approx.. 15-20k miles per annum, 90% motorway and 10% fast A road. I want reliability and comfort, as average journey length will be 130 miles.

I have commuted for years on a 300 mile journey using a variety of vehicles (pick-up, 4x4, A4, MG ZT, Scooby Forester, Evo X, Transit van) so I know what is important to me. In this order:
-comfort (low cabin noise and good seat)
-reliability (if well maintained and preventatively maintained)
-cruise control
-mpg (motorway 40ish or greater)
-decent sound system

I have been offered a 2007 Audi A8 3.0tdi Quattro Sport by a friend of mine, the price is right so I would like some advice regarding the mission profile fit and anything that I should check for which may provide early warning signs.

I would also like some advice regarding any service items or preventative maintenance items (air compressor relay?) that I should perform if I purchase the car.

Car has covered 121000 miles.
It is in great condition inside and out.
Full Dealer service history up to 97000mls, including cam belt change.
My friend acquired it at 97000mls (2 years ago) and has not had it serviced but did have the oil changed 2000mls ago.
I feel like it will need a service now, what would it need? What would estimated costs be? (private or Indy?)

Finally, for return on my investment, I would hope to run the car for a minimum of 4 years, covering up to 80,000mls in that time. Is this possible without becoming a money pit?

Thanks for your time.

[snapdragon]

"Full Dealer service history up to 97000mls, including cam belt change."

It doesn't even have a cam-belt so get to the bottom of that claim!
My advice would be that the 2007 year had pretty much all the common problems sorted by production changes (injectors, chains, suspension).
Bills can be large but it is a £60k car.
It depends whether it is in it's second flush of youth or end of first. Go though the bills - it's better if suspension parts and gearbox oil have been done.
If not be prepared to do the former to improve the tightness and the latter to help maintain it.

[dkes]

snapdragon...thank you for your speedy reply.

the 'cam belt change' quote came from me, I was reading the service book and saw at the 97000ml service that they had ticked the cam belt as an item (perhaps I misread it).
No bills with it, just the stamped service book.
I thought that the gearboxes were sealed for life? am I wrong?
What suspension parts would you recommend and any projected costs for doing both of these items?

Thanks

[dkes]

It was owned by a manager at an Audi dealership for most of it's life up to 97000mls so I am assuming that it wanted for nothing.

[Rudidudi]

Incidentally i saw one of these today, also at 120k miles, on a 55 plate.

out of interest what do you think a 55 plate would be worth?

[damtom85]

There is nothing like ' sealed for life'. Manufacturer of the gearbox (ZF company) says to change oil and filters every 50000 miles otherwise you will get problems with gearbox, rough changes etc.

It would be nice if you could connect VCDS diagnostics to car and check for errors, check for how many times fault occurred and when was last time. If there is fault which is very frequent, means that component is on way out.

[JulianHicks]

A few quick comments, as I have a 2005 TDI 3.0 which has 210,000 miles on the clock which I've run since it's had 61,0000.

The TDI has a chain drive, not a cam belt [as said elsewhere in this thread], which is not replaced in the life of the car - there is no service item entry for it in the back of the service book! Service admins often just 'tick all the boxes' so looking at the book quickly can give you a false impression of what was done at the service.

The gearbox also does not have any service reequirements; my hasn't been touched in 10 years ...

Regards - Julian

[snapdragon]

The Audi service system says that the gearbox oil is a lifetime fill.
It is not sealed in any way and there is a chapter about how to drain and refill it which there wouldn't be if it was sealed.
The documentation states (and I paraphrase) that it does not normally need replacing unless the car is used for towing, is driven in very cold or hot climates, is a taxi, or is driven in an offensive manner (it does actually say that).
I would think given that, that after 100,000 miles it would equal some or all of those.

[JulianHicks]

Interesting comments Snapdragon. But in the A8 'service schedule' book, the only reference to gearbox service items is to the Multitronic gearbox which should have the ATF changed every 40,000 miles !