Interestingly I met my old mate this evening who was/is (still vaguely) "in the business" and asked him his opinion of what to do when the gearbox gives up on an old A8:
1. Scrap
2. Exchange box for a "rebuilt" one with 2-year (or whatever) g'tee.
3. Get someone competent to take it out and apart and replace the appropriate parts showing wear/damage.
3. No contest. 
He reckoned ZF boxes like the A8 has are largely robust and last "forever" and that once you've found and fixed what's broke, and replaced any other parts that wear out you're sorted for a long time at a bargain price (relatively speaking).
I also asked him, if it's still largely OK but has the odd "twitch" do I get it looked at now or wait till it's more serious. A: Wait, it won't cost much more. 
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2003 D2 FL S8. Irish Green Pearl/Beige. Solar sunroof, auto-dim mirrors, electric rear seat functions and extended leather. Ski hatch retrofit. Aftermarket reversing camera. DVB-T and XCarlink now removed as redundant.
2016 Volvo V40 T5 Cross Country (4WD) with ALL the toys including adaptive cruise etc. etc. Osmium Grey with Blonde/Charcoal leather interior. Polestar performance "optimisation".  (Even rarer than a D2 S8!) Oh, and a brand new engine at just under 30,000 miles on the factory one! 
Finally: gone, but not forgotten.....
1998 D2 PF S8. Agate Grey/Platinum. Every option (I think) except electric rear seats, Tiptronic steering wheel, ski hatch, towbar & dimming door mirrors.
e.g. Cruise control, NavPlus/TV, Bose, GSM, Xenons, Solar roof, Parking sensors, Alcantara/leather everywhere of course. (internal dimming mirror added later)
1998 (very early) Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec; ABS/TCS, Heated screen/mirrors, Aircon. Added Auto-dim mirror, Leather seats, Trip computer, Cruise control, OEM Ford SatNav with CD changer.
And before that a lot of Rover 800s, a few oddities, a lovely Triumph Dolomite 1850HL with Overdrive and way back in my schooldays an Austin Seven aka Mini 850!
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