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Old 18th April 2019, 10:23 PM
Derek29 Derek29 is offline
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Default D3 W12 Ownership experiance

Hi guys, got a spare 10mins tonight so thought id try give back to the forum as I've been a leech the last few years.

This is aimed at anyone who's thinking about buying or does any D3 but specifically a W12.

I've owned mine for 4 years now. Bought at around 96k, its now on 106k, I do very little millage in it per year as it only gets used 6 months of the year (summer time).

Despite only doing 10k miles in it, it hasn't been without the odd bill!

I highly recommend buying a vagcom system (VCDS) despite the initial £280 outlay, you will save loads on fault code scanning and general repairs etc. I lowered the car about 10-15mm for free (about the only thing that was free)

First thing I had to do was the exhaust flexy joints, these are part of the centre section of the exhaust. There are 4 joints in total. If one starts to leak, they all will very soon. You can buy a centre section, which has 2 of the joints, so you need two centre sections, at around £400 each when I checked. I ended up putting it into an exhaust shop to weld in new ones, which came to around £300.

Then there was a wheel bearing at around £110.

Decided to get the wheels refurbished, diamond cut original finish, £300, then the tyre pressure sensors needed replaced, £180 for 4, still need a 5th for the spare wheel (yes its displayed on the MMI). 255/40/19 tyres, prices vary massively but your around £120 a corner for a decent brand.

Engine service. The W12 takes 11 litres of oil. An oil filter, two air filters, and 12 spark plugs, I didn't know when they were last done so just replaced them at about £75. While doing this, the MAF sensors decided to give in, the air intake temp sensor on both, putting the engine management light on. £110 each.

I replaced the drivers door lock mechanism as the switch to operate the soft close didn't work. There are ways of replacing just the microswitch which I looked at but didn't quite fancy it so shelled out £160 for a new one.

After a few months of sitting during the winter, the discs and pads needed replaced. On the W12 they are the largest size in steel you can get on the A8, went for genuine discs and Brembo pads, all in came to around £420. Then you need to reset the pad thickness via VCDS.

Then I had about a year where nothing needed replaced! Apart from the petrol, best I've seen was 21mpg, that was on a 1.5hour run on A roads. Expect 13-15mpg around town and shorter trips. I basically tell myself ill be £20 for an evening of going here and there.

That brings me to last year. The air suspension light came on. Started off by changing the compressor piston ring. This ideally involves removing the front bumper. The compressor on the W12`s are tucked away under the airbox on the left hand side of the car, behind the aluminium wing support frame, and loads of other gubbings. The piston ring didn't cure it, so next was the front air struts. They came to near £500 for the pair, and while I had the front suspension in bits, I replaced the upper arms with Meyle HD ones as they looked cracked, £100.

More recently while its been off the road this year I set about trying to sort the whine coming from the serpentine belt area at the front of the engine when cold. I replaced the power steering fluid, which didn't do much but needed done. Next I went for the water pump, which did feel tight and has some play. While the belt was off, I felt play on the tensioner pulley, but you cant buy just the pulley anymore, you need the whole unit at £120. The belt also cost £100 and is about 30 meters long!

Next is a parking sensor for the centre grill, the grey one, £94 each. I couldn't justify that so bought a new aftermarket pair off eBay for £20 and a tin of spray paint.

Was it all worth it? I think so. I'm a panel beater/mechanic and there are no other cars built like this which have that same feel. Very well engineered, sometimes annoyingly over done, but once you can accept the fact the even the smallest jobs require bumper removals or that even small parts will cost at least £100, they are great cars.

Just a heads up before you buy, either have plenty money for garages or be competent with doing it yourself.
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Old 18th April 2019, 11:28 PM
H-M3 H-M3 is offline
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Thanks for sharing your experience. Where are you located, might get some work done on mine
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Old 19th April 2019, 08:10 AM
snapdragon snapdragon is offline
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"either have plenty money for garages or be competent with doing it yourself." - Nice write-up - that about somes it up
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