Another one bites the dust....
 

Well, it was somewhat inevitable, wasn't it? :(

After spending considerable time, effort and money sprucing up my A8 over the last 8 months or so I drove it home on Tuesday night and felt the dreaded shudder / hesitation between second and third gear and having read of tintin's recent experience I guess that's game over for me. I even went out for another short journey after parking up to make sure I hadn't imagined it but unfortunately for me, I hadn't. I'm away on a weeks holiday so have plenty of time to consider my options but I think I've already reached the correct conclusion. I'm going to remove the stuff I've upgraded and try to recoup some of the money I've spent and scrap the car, which is such shame as its still in great condition.

My heart says spend 3 grand on sorting the gearbox but my head says spending that money on a car worth much less would be stupid. I've read of others on here who have regretted getting rid but that 3 grand could go towards a new car, along with the money I get for scrap, plus the bits and pieces I can sell.

Gutted doesn't quite cover it and maybe I'll change my mind several more times but I'd certainly appreciate any advice on the do's and don't s before I get home next week and have to take some action. I might add that the car isn't a daily driver and had actually stood for two weeks before I drove it Tuesday so there's no urgent rush on my part to make a decision :(

I'd certainly appreciate any advice and experiences from anyone who cares to comment.

Thanks

Ronnie

It's a shame, but when you can net about a grand for the wheels alone, especially if the tyres are correct and all good, it doesn't make financial sense once you get to that point in terms of value.

Another '8 or something else, are you thinking?

Or... contact ZF in Dortmund and find out a cost for refurbing it.. Might be a lot cheaper than a replacement.

Thats real bad news. Sorry to hear it :-( .... But, as you say, its in good nick and spending a couple of grand means that you have a great car as opposed to spending more than that to get something not quite so, well, grand.

Wheels were refurbished very well and tyres (Vredestein Ultac Sessanta 275/35/20) and wheels have done less than a thousand miles Adrian, that's what makes it even worse, I was only just starting to enjoy the effort I'd put in. All new front and rear lower arms, ball joints, track rod ends blah, blah, blah....:(:(

Probably another 8 or S8 due to my size, I've driven much faster, better handling cars than A8's but never felt as comfortable.

ZF Services have bases at Crick in Northamptonshire and Nottingham.
Its worth the time to enquire.

If you or someone you know can remove the box and you can do without it for a while, then the repair option is definitely worth a look. It's the up front cost of a replacement box, plus the massive labour bill to fit it, that makes it such an expensive job. If a refurb will cost a grand and you can get it pulled out and put back for £500 or less it'd be worth considering for sure.

Most other D2s have the potential for similar failure unless they've had oil and filter changes and/or done low miles.

Gutted for you mate. You are in an awkward position, however i agree with Adrian. If you are really thinking of another 8 then i'd be thinking of fixing it as long as the rest of the car is good. I know on the one hand it's dead money throwing at it but to replace the car will cost the same, and that might give the same issue again later on. You've come this far with yours all it needs is a gearbox and it'll run for years to come (hopefully)

You'll never get your money back that you've spent on it. If you were throwing in the towel and saying i'm getting something else then yeah rip it to bits and get back what you can.

In a nutshell, Dezzy. +++

I kind of agree with most of the comments so far. My perspective when I decided to have my gearbox refurb'ed for c£3k was really less about what I would get for the car, and more about how long would it last if I fixed it, and what would the cost of driving something comparable be.

On that basis, spending £3k (with a 100k/3 year warranty) seemed to me like a reasonable investment compared to the £10k+ that it would've cost to put me in something that was even close to the s8. However, I do use my car quite a lot, and three grand is still quite a lot to shell out on an old car with an uncertain future in terms of further bills.

So I'd say that if you're likely to keep it, want to continue to drive a car of this quality, and can find the funds to do this, then it's worth it. If any of these don't apply however, then you'll probably be moving it on, and at least there will be people here who'll be interested in (parts of?) the car...;)