Looking to buy a A8 D4 - questions

[Froodle]

Hi. I’m looking to get either a 2016 or 2017 A8 (< 60000 miles but the lower the better) and wondering what thoughts people have

 

should I go LWB?

Black/Edition 21/SE Exec/Sport?

3.0TDI or 4.2TDI?

optional extras to look for?

optional extras to avoid?

things to check on a test drive and when looking over the car?

 

[Steve Q]

This might help: 

 

[Killzone]

I amin the same bout , I have seen a 4.2 long  wheel base  , but has 128000 miles 

[Steve Q]

19 hours ago, Killzone said:

I amin the same bout , I have seen a 4.2 long  wheel base  , but has 128000 miles 

It's all in the service history of it's full Audi history you should be fine. Just watch when the cambelt and water pump need changing

[Killzone]

I also watched  a video  from the Car Wizard saying  stay away from the TDI ,s 

Are they that bad ?

[Steve Q]

On 6/22/2021 at 12:19 PM, Killzone said:

I also watched  a video  from the Car Wizard saying  stay away from the TDI ,s 

Are they that bad ?

It's like anything you'll get good ones and bad ones. Service history will be a good indicator of how reliable that particular car has been. As well as what could potentially go wrong in the future. 

[Meow]

On the matter of space and the question of swb or lwb ........

Some cars, like my old Skoda Superb are like a Doctor Who Tardis, kind of bigger on the inside than on the out, or rather you wonder how they do that, kind of thing. The Audi A8 is somewhat the opposite. For the muscular build and dimensions of it there is for some people surprisingly little space inside. Still a big car yes, but just not AS spacious inside as you might expect. Everything about it is thick, padded and big built; the doors, the console ( like an aircraft ! ), the big seats. That applies to both swb and lwb. The seats are really comfy, b.t.w.. But in the swb, the rear legroom DOES involve a degree of compromise with the front legroom. How it compares with an A6, I could not tell, but I will say that the trick playing Skoda Superb beats it easily in the narrow criterion of rear legroom. Importantly I will point out, it may only be a problem if the driver is very fat or has very long legs. I'm a FB I will admit and until I manage to lose more of the belly and therefore be able to get closer to the steering wheel, the rear legroom will be limited. Again, by limited, I don't mean its tight like in a small car, just not huge like you might imagine an A8 to provide. The lwb version provides plenty for all easily. So does the swb really, unless the driver is fat or lanky.

As for exterior size and living practicality, the swb may be shorter but its length is still well over the length of a Tesco car parking space and significantly longer than my old Superb. Width also, very much more and I'm still getting used to it and wary of some situations. You can look at this two ways and it also depends on what driving situations you'll be in. You could say, thus far and no further with length and limit your self to the swb, because after all it is itself a very long and generally large car. In underground car parks you're already sticking out from your bay and having to be careful winding down the levels. Now me, I'm having to take my A8 into small streets in some tight circumstances ( taxi use ) so really the swb suits better ( although I would love to have the easy legroom of the lwb ). I also park in the street so I'm already pushing it with the swb sometimes. But maybe someone else has a nice big drive way, maybe has no need to plumb the depths of dense housing estates, maybe doesn't need to park in multistory car parks or on the street at home.  The lwb would be just fine.

Ride MAY be better, the noise MAY be lower, with the lwb, just from reading a general point about that but I really cannot say for sure.

Even on your own in the lwb it has a nice advantage in driving self,  of being able to spread out for breaks on long journeys i.e get into the back for a snooze, a read, a meal off a seat back table , or whatever.

The lwb certainly stands out !  You may think it looks elegant or you may worry people will assume you're just the chauffeur, I don't know. I like the look though. Its a head turner and people do peer inside to gawp at the legroom.

The assistance systems do help in parking. Maybe a higher spec one does it for you.

 

 

 

[Meow]

As for engine reliability, I've seen stuff saying the 3.0 tdi is fine but the 4.2 more problematic and expensive to deal with. 

 

Remember also, an aversion to diesel and diesel maintenance might be found more on an American video or forum, as over there is plenty of petrol models and gasoline prices are low, so why not. 

Besides, in the UK certainly, outside of the very high end, like w12 and the S8, or very old models, or the most recent very new ( D5 and not D4 at that ) models, it was virtually all diesels. Look at lists on Autotrader and its virtually all diesels other than very old or ( D5 new ).  Then its a question of 3.0 V6 or 4.2 V8 and the 3.0 is said to be a safer and cheaper bet ( not meaning to knock the 4.2, which I'd love in a personal car )