[Oli18]

Hey Ian,

Has your opinion of the D3 changed since these posts?

Are they still as hard to work on as once thought or has it become easier with better tools?

Love your new d3 by the way

oli

Originally Posted by IT

For my two penneth, I love the D2..... Alway have, it was my first love and brought me to the Audi brand.

The D3 at first seemed ugly, and I resented its existence, but over the years it has matured and now I find it quite attractive, with an extensive list of toys and gadgetry that I would really like in a car, but sadly the older D3's seem to be suffering with this gadgetry malfunctioning, and unlike the D2 where an item breaks and most things carry on, the D3 is far too interlinked for simple DIY repairs for most people.... Mecanically they seem to go well, but the gadgets and quality of the interior trims dont seem to stand the test of time like the D2 did.

So yes, my D2 feels a bit older, and the shape looks a little more dated, but it still goes like the clappers, is having no problems with this snow and above all is both comfortable and reliable....

I cant see me looking to move my D2 on for some time.....

Originally Posted by IT

The D3 is actually a better ride in terms of comfort and reassured handling. The air suspension (when working) means you can alter the suspension dynamically, although of course you need the MMi working to access that, and the MMI stops working as soon as anything else audio related stops working, but thats a seperate grumble....

According to the press release, the D3 is built using less welding joints that the D2 (I forget exactly how many) but the result is noticable. The car does feel firmer, more rigid and in a good way....

I imagine the S8 would be a very capable motor, but with even more electronic-canbus-dependent-take-back-to-Audi-to-fix gadgets as standard kit it wouldnt be long before I fell out with it.

And then, just in case you do happen to have Vagcom, a little time and a hint of skill, component protection kicks in to make sure you cant use components on your car if they were originally used on another car with a different VIN....

We recently picked up a D2 S8 with well over 200K on the clock, which had been replaced (begrudgingly) by a new D3 S8, and they (quote) 'dont like the new one'

Nuff said for me really...