On paper, the W12 is the one to have as a luxury weekend barge. Most are long wheel base, without sports suspension or sports seats and are built for wafting along. I would have had one in an instant, until recently.
If you want sporty, the S8 is the better choice by far.
For running costs though, the 4.2 is probably the one to have, simply because you can not only get second hand parts for it, but you can actually fit them easily.
The W12 seems such a tight squeeze, if anything goes wrong under the bonnet, its an engine out job, which I'm astounded to say was a job a local Audi garage wouldnt quote for, as its so rare and specilist requiring specialist jigs, that they didnt own. Cats are the big failing, at nearly £1K a piece, and with 4 of them, 5/6 years old seems to be the time they're all going. At £5K + for the engine out to replace them, theres no wonder you're seeing W12 prices falling. Im sure people with friendly MOT stations have fudged it through the test, but do you want to buy into that hassle with your hard earned dough?
Considering the one I went to look at was about as tasty as you could hope for, and I still walked away at £7500, you can see my complete reluctance to get involved with the things.
Shame really...
If you are looking at one, take vagcom with you and check the engine ECU's - both of them - for errors. Problems with the cats will be logged in there. After a while the engine management light comes on. Take the car for a good test drive, then run vagcom to make sure it hasnt been freshly reset just before you arrived - The one I test drove had, and the guy was really reluctant to let me Vagcom it. He knew the game was up as soon as I mentioned plugging in......
Ideally, you want a W12 that has recently had all 4 cats replaced by Audi with supporting paperwork, which will be virtually impossible to find cheap, otherwise budget the cost of a D2 gearbox times at least 2 for repairs.
W12 gearbox isnt without issues either, but thats the least of its problems
On the plus side, its chain driven, so no cambelt to change, thank chuff for that. Just 12 spark plugs and a shed load of oil then....
__________________
For parts enquiries and
Forum User Administration please contact customer services directly, not me
-
enquiry@a8parts.co.uk, www.a8parts.co.uk, or call
01642 783537
The Daily Town Car - 2023 Tesla Model Y Performance. Black with Black. Giant ipad screen, huge sunroof, 4 wheel drive, Tow bar, lots of ooomph and made in China, so actually built properly unlike the Californian ones.
The Family Wagon - 2018 Tesla Model X. Black, 7 Seats, Towbar, Homelink, Enhanced Auto pilot with Summon and self park, Heated front seats, CCS Charger upgrade, MCU2 Upgrade, Falconwing Doors, Self opening / closing doors, Netflix, Spotify, toys, Air suspension, alcantara roof + lots of other stuff......
The 17 year old Driver Wagon 2015 Skoda Citigo Monte Carlo. Alloys, Power steering, Aircon, Leccy windows, Sat Nav, bluetooth, central locking, cup holders, 59 whole bhp. Million times better than my first car. Well jealous.....
The First 20 Audis:
2001 D2 4.2 QS Silver, 1997 D2 S8 Silver, 1999 D2 4.2 Silver, 2002 D2 S8 Dolphin Grey,
2003 C5 RS6 Blue, 1998 D2 S8 Black, 2000 D2 4.2 QS/S8 Ming Blue, 2003 D3 4.2 Ming Blue,
2005 B7 S4 Blue, 2006 D3 3.0 Tdi Black, 1999 D2 4.2 Silver, 2003 D3 4.2 LPG Crystal Blue,
2000 D2 S8 Silver, 2007 3.0 Tdi Q7 Black, 2009 B8 S4 Black, 1998 D2 S8 Agate Grey,
2006 D3 4.2 Tdi Blue, 2006 D3 S8, 2007 Q7 3.0 Tdi, 2006 C6 S6,
The Second 20 Audis:
2011 A7 Sline, 2001 A2 1.4 Tdi Black, 2002 A2 1.4 Tdi Silver, 2006 A8 4.2 Tdi Blue,
2007 4.2 Tdi Q7, 2006 S4 Cab Silver, 2010 RS6 Saloon Black
, 2007 TT Roadster,
2010 A8 D4 4.2 Silver, 2006 C6 A6 2.7 Tdi Quattro, 2000 D2 4.2 QS/S8 Ming Blue (again), 2008 Q7 4.2 Black,
2009 C6 RS6 Saloon Daytona Grey, 2001 Fully Loaded A2 Tdi, 2006 Avant S6 Black, 2007 VW Caravelle Exec Black (almost an Audi)
2009 TT Roadster Daytona, 2015 Q7 4.2 tdi lava grey, 2002 GmbH D2 demonstrator, 2006 D3 A8 LWB 4.2 Tdi Black
Most Recent Audis:
2001 A2 1.4 Tdi Black, 2007 4.2 FSi Q7 ABT Blue, 2016 S5 Coupe Launch model, 2004 S4 B6 Cabriolet, 2016 Q7 Sline White, 2006 Q7 4.2 FSi Black, 2012 Q7 Sline+ 4.2Tdi White, 2008 Blue Audi S8
Everything Else
1989 Subaru Justy, 1986 Vauxhall Cartlton 2.0 GL, 1985 Vauxhall Carlton 2.2 CDi, 1987 Ford Sierra XR4x4, 1983 Vauxhall Senator, 1985 Vauxhall Senator 3.0i, 1997 Polo Saloon, 1997 Peugeot 306 1.9 TDi, Ford Sierra Sapphire 2000E, 1990 Subaru Justy, 2000 Subaru Impreza, 2000 Subaru Impreza RB5, 1993 Range Rover LSE, 2005 VW Bora, 2003 Skoda Superb, 2003 VW Passat V6 4 Motion, 1996 Peugeot 106, 2000 Range Rover 4.0, 2019 Tesla Model 3 Performance