Wanted D2 S8 UK
 

Hello,

I am looking for a low mileage (less than 90k) excellent condition, low owner D2 S8, ideally not silver or with a cream interior.

Im based in Woking Surrey, but willing to travel (within reason)

I test drove the blue one on autotrader for sale by Kingsgarage, but fundamentally its condition wasnt great, the tell for me was 3 different budget tyres (not a sign of an enthusiast owner). Car had been clearly sitting for a long time, and after research has been for sale for over a year.

Litterally, no D2 S8s for sale. Missed the black one that was sold by 4starclassics by 2days.

I own classics so arent in a mega rush but want to get one, as Ive got the V8 bug. I had a 2007 S5 many years ago, sold and missed ever since.

I'm currently restoring a '98 S8. Silver with black interior, 117K miles. Doesn't quite fit your brief, but the thread is here if you're interested: http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showthread.php?t=16359

Its probably a couple of months off completion as I'm not getting a lot of time to work on it at the moment.

Hi Marty, and welcome. You're definitely in the right place.

However. Low mileage D2 S8's are extremely few and far between these days as you have found.

Without teaching you to suck eggs, you're far more likely to find a very well maintained, higher mileage example, than a (potentially not well maintained) lower mileage example.

Mikki Jayne does some very specialist work refurbing only the D2 model, and her work is well documented on this forum so its worth doing some homework on her project posts to see a number of the common issues that crop up. Any car she has overhauled on is generally considered to be a very sound investment even if the odometer reads higher than you'd typically prefer. +++

I personally find the Pre facelift car to be a better driver (proper cable driven throttle) and its the old school Audi Red dash / interior lighting where the Facelift car looks slightly more modern inside, but does lack a bit of that feedback through the loud pedal.

Happy hunting. Plenty of people on here will help you out I dont doubt.

Low millage and technical condition are 2 different things.

And yes MJ will have a great PF S8 for sale soon, I've seen it myself.

I waited for at least a couple of years for a low mileage car to come up for sale, it didn't ever and ended up buying a well known forum car with 135k on the clock, and have put less than 1k on it since buying 18 months ago.

As others have said, buy on condition and provenance rather than mileage, and a well sorted car from MikkiJayne is a far far better proposition than a low miler that's been sat in a barn for the past decade

Welcome to the club Marty - both to the forum and to the (select) list of people looking for such a rare example. As already pointed out, if you're looking for an <90k S8 that's been well maintained you may be looking for quite a while. Sarg's one belonged to a good friend and member of the forum, and that's your most likely place to find one.

It might help if you give an idea of your budget (and what "within reason" means in terms of travel) - I presume as you have "other classics" and were considering the 4star one that you're prepared to pay a reasonable price for the right car - if it helps, I spent about 4 years looking for the right one for me and looked at several which were a couple of hundred miles from me. It was well worth the wait though ;).

Happy hunting :D

thanks.
 

All - thanks for the kind support and guidance, very much appreciated. I knew posting on the forum would provide me with a feel for the car and best approach.

I will take the advice onboard, I agree maintenance is the key. As you all know any car goes through a stage when they are so cheap to buy they get run into the ground or with BMWs end up wrapped around a tree. The black 4star car was essentially a one owner car with great service history, I wasnt phased by the 90k on the clock, I just missed the boat and it sold. I would have bought that without a doubt.

Question: how much maintenance are these cars? Im running a BMW E28 1986 528i and a E36 1995 convertible. I was looking for a retro V8 which wouldn't require massive time with me working on it? Got 3 motorcycles as well, and a young family. Im a mechanical engineer so more than happy tinkering with cars, but im looking for something to take to my local independent garage once a year for a service? is this going to be a) a money pit? b) a part time job?

Answering the questions:
@tintin
- Budget is open, really depends on condition & Spec. Ceiling would be 11-12k, this is another toy
- "within reason" I stated this as in the past ive travelled 3hrs to go look at a lemon advertised as a diamond! Based in woking, if the engagement with the owner feels right id travel upto Leeds/Manchester for one. Aberdeen/Shetland is a stretch!
- Test drove this one (https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/12726052), 66k miles, but it wasn't as good as it looks and didnt have alot of service history. Dealer gave me BS story that it was enthusiast owned, no one who cares about cars puts nexan tyres on them.

MikkiJayne - keep me posted on the car, I will look you up on the forum! Im kind of set on a post face lift for the increase in engine output. do you have an post facelift car for sale?

Welcome Marty. Others may not agree, but having had S8s for over 20 years I'd say they don't really need much maintenance at all. But when they do an expert like MJ is worth their weight in gold.
(My 20yo current S8 has just had the MJ treatment at 100,000 miles and is and is good as new in most respects, better in some e.g. braking!)

As for the extra power of a facelift, forget it, the direct cable throttle of the PF is so much nicer to drive. And I think the extra power is only at high revs anyway. I really miss my "heavily loaded" PF.... :-(
And offhand, the only really significant improvement I can think of with the facelift is the dual HID headlights. Though the brakes are also supposedly improved....

HP Sauce
 

@HPSauce - thanks for the response, I will bear that in mind. Having only driven the Post facelift, I was more than happy with the throttle response of the NA V8, made me smile and I can see the whole family in one cruising down to Cornwall! The updated interior and dash are also a draw, a good double DIN stereo would be great addition.

I still think about the blue one everyday, it was overall ok, but the £15k asking was too much. what are you thoughts? 12k too much? hard to value without seeing I understand.

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/12726052

??

Is this one known to the forum? love the colour and interior

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-det...ear-asc&page=1