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Audi A8
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Comments
If you check out http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ you’ll see that the A8 has annual green house emissions of 9.2 tons and the 750i has 9.2 tons.
Although the 750i is given an EPA Air pollution score of 6 compared to the A8’s 2 (higher is better).
If that’s your cup of tea personally, if I were concerned about emissions (which I’m not...they're all "pretty good"), I wouldn’t choose either of these.
BTW, these cars also are LEV or ULEV-cerified, so the pollution and emission indexes may not be as bad as you think.
I was reading on the S board hat you are contemplating the amg s, and a few others....I almost ordered the Bentley and wonder what you think of that brand?? They are expensive, but I don`t think they would be changing the body styling any time soon...Personally I think it is a great looking car, although Merc sure doesn`t..One of the few spots I disagree with him....I really do not think the Maseratti is all that much different than the Audi---just in an overall way...Now it can be ordered in so many different interior colors it will blow your mind, but the ones I saw although quite beautiful wern` that much different....For some reason I have not seen any Mercedes interiors that appeal to me, nor bmw, although my wife`s in a tan is o.k. but surely nothing to write home about...Good luch with your next choice. Tony ps Hi Eric-I guess wt will be just you and me to carry the flag
As for the Bentley, the Flying Spur is a very understated design. It is flawless, a bit more better proportioned than the hunch-backed Conti GT. But the 200k price tag and rarity( currently 1yr waiting list) kept me from gettting one. And you can't go wrong with all of that Audi/V-Dub hardware baked into it, as far as reliablility/driveablity goes.
Mercedes dropped the ball on the W221, as they did with W220 on the interiors. It would be the complete package if they would've used 10% more of polish in them, almost there but not quite. I guess that's why they offer the Expresso option on interiors(not sure about the new model tho). But even here, they still can't quite cut the hides like Audi.
I've ruled out the Quattroporte, for now anyway, as the Cambiocorsa transmission is way to complex and overly complicated. They need to definetely hook-up with Audi to buy their the DSG technology, or use a conventional auto or Ferrari's new F1 out of the new 430. Altho the Q-P GT is very exhilirating to drive, probably tops in the class, the W-12 has so spoiled me that trying to figure what gear I'm in is not worth it in this type of car. I'll drive my Vette Z06 instead.
BTW, this car has served me so well that our family will always have an Audi somewhere. My daughter and sister are enjoying their S4 Cab's very well, and my Mario Andretti of a wife(lol) is anticipating her S8 so bad that she has went to purchase Audi's driving gloves for this winter.
I just have a friend who's very interested in buying the car as the W-12's are very hard to come by, especially factory-order fully loaded ones. He totalled his Phaeton on the BQE the other day and really fell hard for the W-12 powertrain that's in(oops, was) his Phaeton. So to sop up his sadness, he bought a completely loaded A6 4.2 just yesterday to complement his Audi TT 3.2 Twin Turbo and wants my W-12 to complete his Audi love squirm. The guy is an Audi nut who actually worked for the company to help develop Quattro over 25 years ago in Ingolstadt ( a complete techno geek). A very good friend who's stealing a very good car from me.
Anyway, all is well here....just took the car out for our dinner and it's still a kick to get into it. I don't think I will ever feel differently.
By the way,I only have a little less then 3K miles on it!
I guess I use the bike a lot...
Eric
Vegas is usually fun, but this was a business trip. As far as winning goes, I never win in the long run. They don't build cities likie that by losing money.
..and the free trips are from the hotels are always the most expensive!!
They used to "limo" us back and forth to Atlantic City every other weekend, but when the granddaughter came we cut that out.
Anyway, I just called the dealer to ask when I should bring the car in for service...and was told any time after 4K miles would be fine (and covered for free service).
Eric
Anyway,
I like to gamble...maybe a little too much :-), but not with anything but disposble income.
Vegas, on the other hand, is a lot more to my liking.
And yes, once you travel off the boardwalk (or the marina area now) the city is pretty shabby. There is a lot of money coming into the city, but it is not really helping the people there at all.
Gonna try Foxwoods soon....
I personally think this is the thing that all dealerships could learn from Lexus...The caring for the customer...They all have the super fast computers that trigger a personal response once the name is typed in...The Audi is a new dealer, and I can easily get the manager for whatever, but I would personally like to deal with the regular people whose job it is to make a business work...As I have alluded in the past , it takes time and effort to accomplish this, and this is why imo Lexus will close the gap more quickly than anticipated....
The above is just a recap --and I am not at all upset with my experience---just that there is a ways to go with the dealership networks...My car has been with out problems, and I am thankful Tony
Eric
I don't know where this site originated, but it rates Audi dealers and has customer comments. My local dealer in northern Virginia, HBL, is rated one of the worst in the country--262 out of 274 dealers. They've treated me OK in my one visit, but billed my credit card for the "free" loaner several weeks later, without my permission, and never corrected it when they (Enterprise) said they would. I had to have it disputed with Discovery to get rid of the charge, and this has happened to at least one other person using that dealership.
Eric
It really is a problem for those that start a new dealership from scratch....There is a large new building almost empty of customers and mechanics, a fairly large inventory, and from my observation absolutely no advertising....I`m sure the owner knows what he is doing, but I think it will take a long time to get people aware of Audi and them...Some of our fellow posters profess that they are not interested in the financial well being of an auto company, but if a company is making alot of money they then have he resources to take care of their customers...I am familiar with bmw down the street , and they have a good sized number of loaners, as well as Lexus, which is moving almost across the street from Audi, which I think will help Audi....I have had no problems at all, and I really like the car.... and the dealership is most attractive Tony
Eric
Eric
i'm trying to decide between a preowned 04 A8L with 10,600 miles and a new A8.
do you think there is a difference in the way the longer L
handles?
also, does quattro drive a little "heavy"?
geo
BTW: What's the asking price on the '04? And has it had the MMI recall done on it?
we are down to $55,500
i am still working ...
more importantly WHAT RECALL ?? lol
george
premium pkg, sirius radio, adaptive cruise..i am kind of excited..
i simply love the way it looks, i just wonder if the brandy-new a8 might be a little tighter. i just like the idea of saving $20K or so..whaddya think?
i DO like
The recall for the '04 involves the MMI system. It would randomly shutdown for hours or days and power up randomly. NOTE: The entire interior operating system runs through this system, so I'd take it to a dealer to make sure the service has been done. They'll be able to tell just by running the VIN through the database.
i should have mentioned that it's a dealer offering me this car
it is a CPO and comes with the 100,000K miles warranty
i am concerned with the 'ratings' feedback on edmunds
seems like a lot of eletrical issues, but i love the car
i'm doubtful they will go to $50K, if i got them to $53K i think i'd be happy
george
As far as through the curves go, Your only talking about 6 more inches. Good luck you are going to buy the finest sedan on the market. That quattro is like it's on tracks in the wet weather.
sounds like you are enjoying the ride!
how many miles have you driven so far?
how's the MMI?
perhaps more importantly, how is your dealer treating you?
george
It is now out in Europe.
That car is Bad to the bone!
The MMI is great, Big dial and easy to navigate. The dealer has great customer service. No service yet but they seem on top of it. I am sure the MMI is the new post recall so I would not worry.
They were in awe over the details of the car, which are very understated. I let a few people sit in the inside and compare to there Lexuses and MB's, and it was no contest says one guy, who just purchased a leftover '06 model(unlucky fella). The owner of a doughnut/butcher shop(Dreesen's if anybody's familiar) is in the process of receiving his A8L Sport that he traded his '01 LS430 in for. He mentioned that the A8 is the best kept secret in the biz. I concurred, naturally.
The W-12 is still running like a champ. Around mid-summer I'll replace the factory 20" tires for some Michelin Pilot Sport 2's that have received rave reviews on many upscale European cars.
I do have one quibble tho: I find it hard not to check the oil level in the car as the computer doesn't tell me to service until 7k miles or so, which I'm not used to as I'm an old guy who's used to the old 3k mile intervals.
BTW: We got word on Friday that Audi will begin building our S8 in September. Can't wait.
Tony, Eric- How's everything??
The 1-1/4hr trip was a pleasure. The seats are really fantastic, and the little bit longer-than-usual trip allowed be to fiddle with steering wheel position. Pretty close to perfect now.
Loving the car....
Alway a pleasure to see a new message on this board and to keep in touch...
Eric
Congrats again on your S8. I am waiting for the R8.
it ran fine for 3 years....
(e)
BUT, the Pilot Sport 2's split the difference. The Pirelli's have a very stiff sidewall, thus harshening the ride. The Michelins, of course made with good quality, gives you the comfort of an all season tire, but when things get hairy, they hold their own, ESPECIALLY with our AWD-equipped cars. Remember that the A8 holds corners and steers about as good as a 7-Series BMW, believe or not. So the tires can only aid this.
The most remarkable thing about this is that we New Yorkers/Englanders encounter our fair share of crazy weather(Something you Califorians miraculously escape), and these tires actually offer a better grip rating than some hi-po winter tires. At 390 a pop, it's a no-brainer for me.
BTW: The wife told me that I'd have to part with my beloved weekend toys, the Vette Z06 and my JGC SRT-8 to aquire the R8 V-10, but SHE can have her S8 because she parted with the CLS 55. How about that. I have to give up two cars compared to her one. Go figure. I'll do extra house chores to butter her up to let me get an R8, the poor man's Lambo.
On the subject of brake dust, there are a few steps to take. Probably none of them are without some compromise. There are arguments, pro and con, to be made about metallic-content pads. I have tried them successfully on a couple of Mercedes cars and did not notice appreciably greater disk wear. Additional disk wear is the usual argument against such pads. I did have much less dust.
On my present A8, I have noticed far less dust in the year I have driven it than on earlier German cars. I have changed nothing, not pads or wheels. Perhaps Audi has devised some way to reduce the dust from pads. Pad composition? Wheel design? Who knows. I normally do not wash my own car but I will occasionally spray my wheels liberally with Simple Green and just hose them off. I find that, unless I have driven in rain, this does a fairly good job of cleaning them. If the car has been in rain, a soft brush after spraying with lots of Simple Green will usually take care of any lingering dirt. I live in California where it seldom rains and this is an easy way to keep my wheels clean. If I am dressed to go out, I don't even get my shoes wet. Just let them air dry and you are done.
Good luck,
WP