Debating coming back!

[Palmer]

Some of you may remember my brief time here (6 months) with my old D3 4.2 TDI.

I left A8 owndership and went all economical, bought a cheap and tatty 2006 Mk6 fiesta... *cough* 1.4 tdci *cough*

I ran that alongside a few "weekend motors"

- 1992 Dodge Ram D350 Cummins 12v 5.9
- 2003 Mercedes S55 AMG Kompressor
- 1999 Audi S4 Avant


I despise driving the fiesta, but i do love my gas guzzling V8's.

Im debating dailying a D2 S8, with LPG to make the fuel costs a little easier.

I've considered a number of vehicles, but bang for your buck i dont think you can beat a D2 S8 in regards to performance, reliability, interior quality etc.

Any knows issues with D2's?
Can you squeeze any more ponies out the V8? exhaust / headers?
Anything to look out for when buying?

Also - the rear end im not a fan of, the lights i feel make it look a bit dated, has anyone done anything with this before? replaced the lenses or something??

[Sir WIll]

I run a D2 S8 with LPG and its an excellent car.

More reliable and I prefer it to my D3 4.2 petrol I ran for 12 months.

D2 S8 the main and key factors to look out for:

1) Its an old car so standard buying checks, good service history and ensure everything works.

2) The gearbox will fail at some point as its a weak point of the car, therefore I would not touch one that has not had the gearbox replaced or reconditioned.

3) Cambelt, its an expensive job (£1000) and there are various thoughts on when it should be done but as a rule expect one at 75,000 and 150,000 miles or every 5 years.

4) Car is heavy on brakes/ tyres/ suspension/ steering racks so ensure they are good and working well

My mpg about 17 to 20 mpg on average, but with LPG is costs me £35 to fill up the tank and I get about 200 miles for that which is not that bad.

As for more bhp, mine is stock with 360bhp which is fine for everyday I am the kind of owner who likes to keep everything original.

[Palmer]

Thanks dude thats very useful information. Yeah i just fancy something nice to waft around in lol.

Whats the cost of reconditioning a gearbox? Any tell tale signs its on the way out?

Chris

[Sir WIll]

There are probably more threads and wisdom on this fine forum in regard to the D2 gearbox than anything else.

I would start with those as symptoms can vary, mostly the cause has been to lack of servicing in its early life leads to death in its later life.

As for cost, depending on the problems and the box itself you would be looking at £2000 to £3000.

Though you will notice a percentage of cars for sale on eBay and similar sites state that the gearbox has been done which are the cars to go for.

[Phil303]

Originally Posted by Palmer

Also - the rear end im not a fan of, the lights i feel make it look a bit dated, has anyone done anything with this before? replaced the lenses or something??

They're the best bit and one of the distinguishing features! I love the massive (almost) full-width light clusters of 90's Audi's; especially on the 80 coupe-based Cabrios. They are still handsome looking cars.

The VW Corrado has a similar treatment and that also looks great.

Don't think of it as dated (though it may be); think of it as 'classic'. It's in keeping with the rest of the car. To replace these with a more current style would jar terribly. I can't think that there's anything out there really; it's a very small niche thing to market.

[Goran]

I love my D2 and wouldnt get rid of it, but in my opinion it is not the best bang for the buck.
These cars are getting on now, 14 years old or more.
Lets say you find a nice one for £4k.
You would certainly have to factor in £3k for a auto box full refurb.
The original exhaust and cats on most of these are on their way out. Lets say £1k for a new exhaust and £500 for new cats.
After 15 years you will soon need to replace most of the suspension components. Lets say £1.5k for all springs, shocks and arms.
Add a timing belt, another £1k soon unless you are lucky and its been done recently and properly along with the waterpump.
So realistically you are looking at a £4k car and £7k of maintenance imminent or comming up soon.
In that price range there are a lot more interesting and newer cars, D3 W12 around £9k, D3 4.2 Tdi around £10~£11k, Vauxhall VXR8 (ie, Holden) 6.0 litre V8 for around £11k.
If you stretch to around £14k there is the D3 S8,
If you stretch to £16k the supercharged S4 remapped capable of at least 4.2s to 60mph.
There is this too, 2007 CLS 5.5
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...ge/1?logcode=p
The low purchase price of D2s is deceptive.
If nothing else, its definitely worth taking your time and test driving several different high performance cars in the £11k range before you decide which one is best for you.

[Professor Peach]

But surely Goran, some if not all of these types of problems 'could' happen to anyone of the cars mentioned. It would be a very unlucky owner indeed that got hit with all these expenses over a couple of year period (not tempting fate I hope there ). I think the D2 gives excellent value for money compared to other interesting vehicles out there in a similar bracket. I know you love your D2 (as I do), can you think of anything you'd swap it for, I'm struggling right now to come up with anything. Yes, there is a risk involved, but I'm hoping if I look after the old girl, she will look after me.

[Goran]

The problem is its hard to not want to bring a S8 up to spec. Sure you could just buy one for £4k and ignore all the maintenance listed above, drive it as long as it lasts, and it will be a fun drive for sure. But at 14 years old all the things listed above and more things I forgot to mention should be expected as routine maintenance and not even considered a problem. The newer cars should have a lot more time left before all those things decay.
I'm now on my 2nd 2001 D2 S8 and although I did not have to replace a transmission on either of them, the other maintenance is at least £5k on the first one, and much more on the 2nd (due to exceptional circumstances)

Definitely check out the things other people replaced on their D2s on the forum, there are loads of posts.
See this thread for example, recent new owner.
http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showthrea...3023#post93023

[tintin]

I think the key point is that you need to buy a D2 "with your eyes open". It's not a cheap car to run or maintain, but IMO you can't buy better value (overall), in comparison with what else is available/comparable.

It's a good idea to have a "D2 reserve fund" to cover those (not so little…) unexpected bills (gearbox rebuilt, cat failures, to name but two), and then you tend not to be disappointed

[Professor Peach]

Originally Posted by tintin

I think the key point is that you need to buy a D2 "with your eyes open". It's not a cheap car to run or maintain, but IMO you can't buy better value (overall), in comparison with what else is available/comparable.

It's a good idea to have a "D2 reserve fund" to cover those (not so little…) unexpected bills (gearbox rebuilt, cat failures, to name but two), and then you tend not to be disappointed

Wise words Mr. Tin