S8 Report and Reliability Question

Congrats on your new beast! You will find a wealth of information in

along with a very supportive usercommunity.

Paul W's

is an excellent site for educatingyourself, especially about Nav system mods. I am shopping for a car just like yours, or a new 2005 A6 4.2. Haven't decided which one best fits my needs yet. My next step is to drive a new A6

4.2.

The new A6 4.2 is awesome. That is actually the vehicle I went in to buy or lease. I particularly liked the dark blue over gray interior, with the new Navigation, and all the bells and whistles. But that was $55,000 at my dealer. The S8, which had been on the lot since I first test drove it in February was slowly coming down in price. I guess they claim it was $83,000 new when first placed in service in 2002 in Arizona, and in February they were trying to get $65,000 for it. They had dropped to $54,900 by the time I was test driving the new 2005 A6. I was ultimately able to get this

21,726 mile vehicle with remaining factory warranty and a certified pre-owned 2 year extension to 100,000 miles. That was almost as long a warranty as the A6. They eventually dropped the price to a point I was willing to pay.

So I drove them both, back to back. The interior of the S8 just fit my personality, and the ride of the vehicle, particularly on the after market Zender 19 inch tires with the P Zero tires was impressive. The steering wheel mounted Tiptronic gear changing buttons, the extreme bolsters in the seats, and the completely tailored interior did me in. Just ordered my new license . I used S8 "hand" (the kids plate showing a hand) les" And it does.

I will admit that I'm still worried about reliability and expensive repair issues.

The navigation is excellent. Just learn how to use it, and it has almost everything you could ask for.

What year disk(s) are you using? Newer than 2002?

I think mine is from 2003. (But, I am in Northern Europe, not the US).

I think I'll see if I can buy an updated disk. Mine was apparently made in

2001 and put into the 2002 Audi S8. The problem in the U.S. on the west coast is that new streets are being added, and older streets are blocked off with developments.

Also, I like the way my wife's new 2005 Lexus RX330 Nav system puts gas stations, restaurants and the like onto a map that you can see. I think that can be done with the Nav Plus version, but I don't have that. I have the one that shows up in the center information screen in between the speedometer and the tachometer. Not much info.

But that is a really SMALL issue. Over-all this is a fabulous car, with terrific interior, including the best seats in a sedan I've ever used. Feels like something that should be in a Porsche Turbo... :-)

Ok. I have the Nav Plus in my A2.... That one has all the restaurants, gasstations and so forth.

I don't have that. Might have only gone to Europe in 2002. I don't know if I can upgrade to it, either, as my 6 CD stacker is in the location your NavPlus is. Either way, I'll manage just fine. Great car!.

I don't think Nav+ has ever been offered in the USA.

Really? The CD stacker is mounted in your centre console? That must be one of the double-height systems - Symphony2?

There is quite a community of people who have retrofitted Nav+ units. This is particularly straightforward if you start off with the double-height HU.

Have a look here:

However, if you want to keep the CD changer facility, you'd need to install a trunk-mounted unit.

Indeed.