Talk me out of it

At work we recently took in a '97 Audi A8 4.2 Quattro on trade. 162k, dark blue, brand new snow tires. Seems to run and drive pretty damn well as far as I can find, except that the trans slips in reverse only.

It's kinda rough but I think it'll clean up nicely. I totally want it for a DD/winter beater/highway cruiser. Would that idea be as terrible as I think it would? Nobody was there who would know how much it is today.

Pros: Obscenely comfortable, 300hp V8 + AWD + winter , so many totally awesome things to break (electrically adjusting rear headrests?! That can be retracted from the drivers seat?!?!)

Cons: Trans dying?, 13 year old high mileage Audi, they probably want WAYY too much money for it.

So... how ridiculous of an idea is it? Or... how much is it worth?

My brief ownership of an old Audi V8 ended with me not having the resources to maintain it, but I was an idiot with no money or garage, and a fleet that consisted entirely of broken/illegal cars. For a normal person, I see no reason not to get it. If you do any regular highway driving, and find that you don't have nearly enough speeding tickets, then you simply must have it. Oh, and Quattro + snow = win. It could change your life.

Transmission is dying, over $5k for a replacement, its basically worth whatever you get parting it out and scraping the shell unless you want a big project.

If you need a psych-up before potentially wasting a lot of money on an AWD, V8 Audi luxobarge, go and watch 'Ronin' . (S8s in that film, but still...)

Yeah, id way rather have the 6.9 from Ronin though.

thestig99 wrote: 13 year old high mileage Audi

RRRRUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNN!

So basically it'll be completely awesome until it inevitably breaks? Sounds about right :D

My commute is an hour of highway on a good day.... in the winter, once everyone forgets how to drive, it should be "fun". My current beater is not terribly comfortable in some places, really annoying in some others (mechanical...)

Crap, I'm still trying to justify it to myself...

if you're looking for something to make the winter commute "fun" get a suby + real snow tires and go anywhere you want whenever you want for A LOT LESS than that, or any Audi will cost you

I don't see any value at all in this thing unless you like the idea of parting it out and are handy with the Megasquirt voodoo required to put that decent engine into an actually decent car. What you have there sound, honestly, like a horribly expensive pile of problems.

That sounds like a massive money pit to me. I would pass.

NGTD wrote:

thestig99 wrote: 13 year old high mileage Audi

RRRRUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNN!

This.

I see a disproportionately large amount of Audis (including later models) dead on the side of the road in my travels. They are far from the majority or anything, but definitely more than there should be considering how few are sold.

If you're going to get a car that gives you that much trouble, it should be Italian.

Buy it for $500 - put no money into it and the day it needs something is the day you sell it.

get it! wreck it .collect insurance, have a story to tell of a giant audi that launched off of a snow bank...

my friend bought an A8 with a bad trans.. Paid to have a JY trans put in and it was bad as well. Then paid to have someone rebuild it.. They messed up. Finally he told the trans guy to just give him all the bits and he rebuilt it himself in his garage. Took him a long time to get it done. I think he likes the car, but not the hassle.

Found out today that the reverse thing is intermittent. First time I backed it up, it had to be pushed. Second it was the same as the other day. Third it was like a normal transmission.

I also found out it's $3400. PASS.

thestig99 wrote: Found out today that the reverse thing is intermittent. First time I backed it up, it had to be pushed. Second it was the same as the other day. Third it was like a normal transmission. I also found out it's $3400. PASS.

You have chosen wisely young grasshopper.

IMO, those type of cars are intended to be driven by someone that takes it the the dealer to be maintained, traded in after 4 years and driven by the next owner until some major component fails, then junked. They really aren't for the type of people that want to drive an old luxury car, once you get past the early 90s they are pretty disposable.