2002 Audi A8 Quattro Sport 2.8 V6 30V from UK and Ireland
Summary:
Can be expensive to repair... but what a great luxury car! Solidly engineered and good looking
Faults:
Squealing from the front brakes; new discs and pads fitted at no cost to me.
Front off-side brake caliper seals perished; replaced.
Rear near-side brake caliper seals perished; replaced.
Water ingress in front foot-wells; this was caused by blocked plenum tubes in the front bulkhead; fixed by removal of the tubes.
Rear exhaust mount failed; required new rubber mount.
Battery replaced at huge cost by Audi; 3rd battery in this car. Previous battery was installed by Kwik-Fit and was the incorrect rating.
Knocking noise up through the steering column; investigated by Audi but problem was never traced. Most annoying!
General Comments:
Having previously owned an Audi A6 2.8 SE, I decided to go for the more luxurious A8; I had always loved the shape and look of this car.
It turned out to be one of the best cars I had owned; it had everything I wanted in a car; the cabin was comfortable and airy, well equipped, excellent Bose sound system, quality leather, front / rear parking sensors, SATNAV, Ronal alloys which gave the car a lovely look, etc.
It wasn't an out and out performance machine; in fact, the 2.8 struggled from standing start but once it was rolling, it was quiet, smooth and efficient. It was quite economical as well. And the four-wheel drive set up with the sport suspension, and excellent Tiptronic 'box, gave it a reassuring ride on wet roads and in heavy rain.
I now have a Lexus GS which I'm still getting to know, so for now, I would say the Audi is up there with previous cars that I've owned (BMW 540, BMW 535 Sport and Audi A6 2.8SE).
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 26th February, 2009
15th Mar 2009, 16:38
Sounds like a lot of issues for a car. Are you sure it was the best car you ever owned? I need to mark the others you have owned off my "desirables" list... My 02 Maxima has had almost no issues, 1 O2 sensor, 1 wheel bearing, other than that just tires, brakes, gas. That's it... has well over 100,000 miles now.
2nd Oct 2009, 16:36
The Audi A8 (up to 2002) was made with a 2.8 V6, 3.7 V8 and 4.2 V8, all petrol for the UK. Only later, did Audi add diesel to the line up...
3rd Oct 2009, 06:54
The A8 had around 127K miles on it when I eventually parted company with it. The Japanese certainly have the reliability aspect of to a tee, however, the Germans used to build better driver's cars than the Japanese. Having said that, I drive nothing but Japanese now (2005 Lexus GS300 and a 2009 Mazda 6 TS2 TD)...
26th Feb 2009, 09:51
A 2.8? I thought that all Audi A8s had a 4.2 V8.