Standing under the architecturally-designed curves of metal and glass that are an Audi main dealer, I almost didn’t notice that the 2007 Audi A8 turbo diesel was priced at £3,000 more than the website advert. The atmosphere is that persuasive.
Fortunately I snapped out of the Vorsprung durk technik’s spell and started to really look, finding the boot needed valeting and the service history had some question marks. Despite low mileage of 43,000, the steering wheel and gear knob leather were dull and felt worn. There were a few more marks on the trim than I expected on this age of car, but they only stood out because the leather seats, carpets, ceiling and gadgetry still looked new.
And what gadgetry some have: a TV that glides out of the dash, keyless ignition (just have the fob about you) and soft-close doors. Rather than sound a bothersome alarm when you leave a door ajar, it just closes for you. Overkill? Perhaps, but don’t underestimate how tired earning enough cash to run this monster might make you.
Rear legroom isn’t vast, but the foot well is quite deep, which means even tall adults can sit comfortably with legs fully supported.
Pulling out for a test-drive the car thumped noisily over pot holes, but a click of the centre console bezel changed the suspension settings, transforming the ride. Combined with the engine’s library-like refinement and feather-light steering, it was as easy to float through little streets, as to dominate the outside lane of dual carriage ways.
The A8 is so good that I almost offered the ‘sales specialist’ that extra £3,000 back.
Reliability and servicing
2003 – 2007 A8s have 7 major common faults, which tend to appear from 5 years old. Post 2007- models have a reputation for perfect mechanical reliability. But you may find it needs software updates, centre console buttons do stick, and CD players can fail. Most common of all, is the Sat Nav disc being out of date. The cost of these is a lottery: Software updates are £40, but the cd player is £400. Sat Nav is £150+.
It’s servicing that has the real potential to dilate your pupils. Ever other service is ‘major,’ and in between the dashboard may ask you to pop in for a filter change or two. This is innocuously called variable servicing; research shows more frequent small bills make customers less angry than once-a-year fiscal spankings.
A big service is £850. Plus rear brake pads and discs will cost £350 and it’s £500 for the fronts. Then, through the year you may need a gearbox oil change here, a pollen filter there.
And pretty quickly you will have spent variable sums totalling £2,400, as the A8 I looked at has this year.
Residuals
A brand new Audi A8 4.2 TDI Sport is £64,000. After two years and an average of just over 20,000 miles, it will be £31,000.
The average mileage jumps up by the 3rd birthday, to 60,000 miles, but depreciation slows so the average retail price is £23,000. About 40% of the cars on the market have lower mileage than this, so it’s not that hard to pick up a 45,000 mile-specimen for £25,000 like the one I found.
Most interesting of all, I could not find a specialist who was cheaper than the main dealer.
Need to know
· There are three engines that are either out-dated or under powered: 2.8 petrol, 3.0 diesel and 4.0 V8 diesel.
· The one to have is the 4.2 TDI which has 380 bhp, manages 40 mpg and 0-62 mph in 6 seconds.
· Stephen Hendry, 7 times world snooker champion had one, and it’s for sale near Watford.