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

That green one is interesting - a very early FL without Brembos. I've only ever seen one other in that spec. That's actually a bonus because although the Brembos have larger discs, the calipers themselves are an expensive liability and don't actually work very well.

The blue one is about the going rate for one with low mileage (12-15k), but tbh the only thing you get with low mileage is less rusty subframes and springs, and less wear on the driver's thigh bolster. You get the same oil leaks and worn out rubber components as a 200k example simply from age. There's another Santorin Blue example on ebay at the moment for about £7K, with 90k miles which is a much better prospect and probably in very similar condition.

Reliability is a tricky question. If the car has been impeccably maintained then it can be reliable. I'd cross a continent in either of mine without any hesitation, but then I've replaced almost everything and drive them frequently. An example which has been neglected or laid up is going to have issues which will take time to sort out so reliability will be a moving target. D2s need to be used as well. They hate being parked, so one in daily use with less history would be at least on-par with another with lots of maintenance that lives in storage.

Most people do prefer the facelift because it does feel and look a little more modern, which is a shame because the pre-facelift has an different character of its own, but still has the magic that makes a D2 special. Arguably slightly more so since it has better quality materials inside. I can't comment on the engine yet as I've never driven mine properly.

I wouldn't put too much faith in the double-din of the facelift tbh. The RNSd is thoroughly out of date now, and its non-trivial to successfully fit an aftermarket unit in there due to peculiarities of the Bose system. That said, a couple of us have been working on fitting Android-based units in there with a suitable replacement amp, and in my case also speakers, with some good results so far. Check out Ronin's thread on that for more info. Double din is available for the PF although its rare and so relatively costly. Personally in a PF I would just fit a bluetooth adapter to the original head unit and use my phone for navigation. You can do that on the FL also of course.

I would agree with HP that mileage is immaterial after it has been worked on by MJ. My S8 at 174K Miles (The Barn Find - you will see in the WITW threads) feels like a new car and I have no issue taking it anywhere. But they do need to be used. Maybe a suggestion would get yourself to a few mini meets - Possibly one at MJ's again, Mike (Conan) could arrange an easter hunt?:) - or something a bit local to you. I think some members are not too far away from Woking??

The PF that MJ is working on is well worth a look at.

Yeah, the kind of people that still run RNSD have AA road maps from 2002 in the boot and listen to CD's..

If you want a proper head unit with DAB, Reverse camera, AndroidAuto/Carplay and you want it to work properly with buttons on the steering wheel etc while looking factory, i can sort you out :D

My AA road map of the UK in the boot is from 1995! The OS one with it is from 2000. RNS-D is I think 2007 maps. :D
Most places, especially the ones I want to go in my S8, haven't moved much since any of those years ...... :ROFL:

My add-on (wireless) reversing camera works fine and having recently removed my XCarlink and DVB-T tuner (OTT) I just need take off the drivers knee panel (when its warmer!) to plug in the cable that will reinstate (a simpler) Bluetooth/mini-jack streaming audio solution.

And yes I do have CDs in the auto changer in the boot. :o

Though oddly, re MJs comment above, my car is non-Bose so replacing the RNS-D would be easier than most.
My first S8 had an RNS-C, now that WAS a rare thing!

Again thanks guys.
 

@mikkiJanye – thanks for the great response! And you seem to have a fine grasp of this car looking at your posts!

To be honest, The low mileage Santorin Blue S8 I test drove was the 1st one I’d driven. I loved it, but without any working knowledge of what specifically to look for, I wasn’t prepared to meet him anywhere near 15k. I used the price to stop me from buying it. I wasn’t sure about the valve train noise, I posted this video on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/reel/Clyum...d=MDJmNzVkMjY=).
The feedback is this is normal, great, had an expensive rebuild of the VANOS on a Z3m coupe a few years ago, put me off valvetrain noise!

- “Santorin Blue example on ebay at the moment for about £7K” – I have been talking to the seller on whatsapp. I am waiting for him to send me a video before I go see it! From the photos he’s sent my main concern is corrosion on the front window pillar (image attached) Considering its aluminium is this a big red flag? The car is rough around the edges, which normally suggests neglect.

- "The low mileage Santorin Blue" The thinking behind low mileage is resale value, attractiveness if I ever sell.
- What I meant with the double din comment, was that I could put a nice new unit with apple car play, SATNAV and reversing camera. I used to have an 2008 S5 the nav on that was useless in 2012!
- What would you budget for an overhaul on the most age prone failure components? Hoses etc, to ensure that I can drive it to Italy and back?

@strummagnet – would quite like to attend a mini meet, if you allow BMWs? It would be a good opportunity for me to learn what specifically to look for on these cars!
@Ronin – 1st thing I would do is new headunit thanks!

Acronym question - WITW? – linked to overhauling the cars? What does it stand for?

Oooh that's bad :( That is from a careless windscreen fitter (ie all of them) trashing the paint taking the screen out, not dealing with the scratches, and then moisture getting in and creeping under the paint. That's glass out and respray the whole roof to solve it, and tbh with it getting in to the aluminium like that you may not even solve it by repainting. I'd walk away from that one, even in the lovely santorin blue. So many D2s have been spoiled by awful paintwork now its very difficult to find a 100% original example. We have most of them within the forum now I think :ROFL:

I can't see the insta link, but excited mechanical thrashing for a few seconds on startup is fine. A loud clatter or rattle on a cold start is very not fine and indicates the cam chain tensioners need replacement (£1500 in parts).

WITW is 'What's in the workshop'. My restoration threads started out with that title and then got shortened to WITW, so search on 'workshop' as well to find the early ones. They are all in the Daily Banter section and go back about 7 years I think.

Btw, there's a <100K grey example on ebay too which has been for sale forever. Run screaming from that one - its trashed and likely needs a gearbox rebuild.

What about this car ?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204130408...Bk9SR57UgPaiYQ

Described as Ming Blue Pearl, looks flippin silver to me! :ROFL:

I had a 2000 S8 which I sold a little while back (seems prices have gone up a little). As for reliability, it was on just over 122k miles when I sold and I had no problems with it. Usual suspension bushes needed replacing and regular oil changes but nothing you wouldn't expect. I really miss that car :-(

That was me a few months back :ROFL:

And no interior photos... odd?

Definitely recorded as Blue on DVLA.

its crystal blue.

Discussed in some detail here before being snapped up at 3 grand or whatever it was, washed and put back on by a trader:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showthread.php?t=16806

Ive seen that car autotrader, but the colour isnt my cup of tea and the cream interior looks tired.

Seeing this tomorrow https://www.specialistcarsgroup.co.u...02211302156405

See how it is, looks ok but devil is in the detail

From googling, was sold in auction on 28th November, is there anyway of findout the sold price? screenshot attached

https://www.centralcarauctions.com/v...tails/6095K64Y

Looks like a decent spec, although not leather pack C, or even close to fully loaded :ROFL: But, an RNS-e fitted which is a nice touch and a pretty rare mod. I think you can get a carplay adapter for those too, although it doesn't have a touch screen. The black dash top with grey leather is quite unusual and I think adds a nice contrast to the interior. Glass sunroof which is rare. Auto-dimming interior mirror, but it looks like the exterior mirrors have been replaced with plain glass. Thats pretty common because the dimming ones fail a lot and are £150 each to replace. The auto-dimming ones have a thick black border around them.

The dealer-fit rear entertainment often doesn't work any more so worth checking that has all its remotes (three iirc - they live behind the rear armrest with the Playstation controllers) and the infrared headphones, and that it still does work.

Fingers crossed its a good one :)

That looks to have RNS-E retrofitted (later DVD based nav and pair of SD card slots limited to 4GB non-HC ones). You can also add factory Bluetooth for phone and if TV is working digital someone has spent some money on that. My old Final Edition had it done as well. Just check the nav disc is readable as the lasers get tired with age and most discs are copies (I used to knock them out for people!)

The drop down rear screen was IIRC a dealer fit option. Possibly a PS2 in the boot, hence the odd cover on the right

ETA - d’oh! Beaten to it by MJ lol

It also has the original ultra rare rubber floor mats.
I once almost bought a car just for them, but it ended up slipping away to someome who got there sooner

LOL, floor mays were the first thing I was going to replace for nice ones

I'll fit you a headunit free of labour if can have them +++

update on todays fun
 

Ok, so I went and saw: https://www.specialistcarsgroup.co.u...02211302156405

Must say the guy I met was very friendly and professional, we went for an extended test drive and mechanically the car was fine. Gear changes precise and engine pulled strong, brakes had recently been refurbished stopped fine. The glass sunroof was really a nice touch, not sure why they werent like that as standard? weight? the black dash and black steering wheel really worked well, inside it was great.

The main red flag was the 11 owners and the total lack of service history, no garage invoices for the work. Just A4 europarts invoices with hand written mileage and "service done". The car was sold at auction on 28Nov in Glasgow and the last owner europarts invoices are in Glasgow so match the evidence. The car still had residual glue on the front screen id say from the auction house.

For me the bodywork was the main issue, tatty and for me a full respray would be required, on a 6.5k car with 11owners, 134,000miles and no history doesn't make sense.

Some issues.

1. Drivers door was 3-4mm too low, was out of alignment (image) but gave the vibe of crash damaged. gap in seal on top of door. RHS front bumper wasn't flush with the wing (image), looking underneath the arch was clear over spray. The drivers door had weird peeling again a sign of poor respary.

2. Front bumper paint peel and front passenger door paint peel-

3. Fuel cap was so badly corroded Ive never seen such a thing, looks ok outside but inside WOW (image)

4. Rear Passenger door window frame corrosion was like something from the titanic (image) and has corrosion chipping on skirt

5. rear wing has a dent

6. Rear driver side door heavy chips from smashing into cars or walls.
7. Wheels need refurb, inside corrosion is awful

8. Drivers rear door frame, paints chipped away

9. the PS1 was just in the boot mounted on a frame, looked totally screwed, the tv in the rear didnt work just cannon fodder in the rear.

10. reversing sensors didnt work, boot grommet was cut and inside a wire was sheared might be linked?

overall, would be a massive project and not something I have the time for?

At £6495, is it priced well? id say it would take quite a bit of ££ to get it to a place id take it to a car meet.

All s8's and d2's in general you will find will be project cars, just priced differently.

I strongly suggest you contact MikkiJayne about her prefl S8 that she's restoring, it will be a ready to go sorted out S8 with no financial input after purchase other than fuel and insurance.

Its priced a little high with the body damage but not outrageously so given how few there are left. Thats pretty average condition for the price bracket tbh. To get something significantly better you're going to be in the 10-15K range.

The driver's door has probably been fiddled with. Its not uncommon for them to end up out of alignment like that, and the window frames are notoriously difficult to get right if they have to be removed for repairs. Ditto the bumper - the brackets on the wings bend slightly leaving the corners sticking out like that

The corroded fuel door and door triangles are standard fitment these days. They all go like that eventually. Many fuel doors have been replaced but the door triangles are an ordeal to get to and require the door completely stripping, then you have to line the window frame up again. Its common for the black B-pillar trims to suffer the same way.

The PS1 frame is how they are. They were dealer-fitted and all that kit was knocked up by a small British electronics manufacturers, hence why it looks a bit agricultural. Shame it didn't work though. I've yet to encounter one that does.

The boot cable grommets are all like that, unless the previous owner was dilligent enough to fit one of my polyurethane replacements. Its unrelated to the parking sensors. That's probably because one sensor is bad or damp. Common problem, and cheap enough to solve.

On to the next one... +++

James' (RS6) Fern Green S8 should be up for sale at Martin Atkinson Cars in January.
It doesn't fit the bill here because of the beige interior, but someone might be interested.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1671310590

Pics of the car here:
http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showthread.php?t=14673

@spanker
 

That green car looks really nice and I could maybe live with cream as it would contrast nicely.

Real shame RS6 didnt put it up in the forum 1st, rather than to a dealer that then adds £3k on top. Ive always bought and sold cars privately, cut out the middle man and both save or make a little more on the car.

I can see on the forum, he has attempted to sell it multiple times, and the asking no offers price in 2019 was 5.5k

I look at that car at £10995 with 131k and think its 3k too much. Quoting service history from 6yrs ago is hardly relevant, again will probably need timing belts and other stuff doing.

Its also in S****horpe for me might as well be Rotterdam!

thanks for lettting me know....

I'm sorry to say that you've made an incorrect assumption there based on the limited information at hand.

James (RS6) bought the car from Lee Dennick in 2016 (Lee is not a forum member so I never referenced him here).
Lee regretted selling the car so bought it back from James last year. (I've been chatting with Lee recently).

Lee then recently saw this: https://www.martinatkinsoncars.co.uk...shire/20667142

Discussed here: http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showthread.php?t=16809
So he's just recently traded in the S8 for the D3 W12
And that is why it is now at a dealer awaiting preparation +++

Makes sense
 

@spanker, thanks for politely correcting me, wasn't at all obvious that he was no longer the current owner.

Thought it was strange in his posts he mentioned Portsmouth for servicing then it ended up in S****horpe!

Thanks Marty

Comedy forum censoring of Scun thorpe :ROFL: Although tbf having been there I entirely agree!

Despite its location, it's definitely a car I would be viewing if I was looking for one. Although the stiffer suspension and sports exhaust wouldn't be to my taste so would probably put me off unless I had the time and money to put it back to the factory way. But I love the rare colour combo.

Its a marmite colour for sure. Rare it may be, but not one you would ever find in my collection :D

Looking at the photos, there seems to be a lot of bubbles in the glazing. I'd think they're asking too much but then as mentioned by others, there isn't much competition so can almost ask what they want.

There are better ones out there for sure.

I occasionally have to visit S****horpe...it's better than Grimsby...sorry, Gr***by 😂

+1.