Project Jaspis Green jewel juggernaut

[C4R 100N]

Originally Posted by MikkiJayne

It looks very clean which hopefully is a good sign that it's been well maintained.

So, I said that I would post some repair/maintenance evidence here. So here goes!

I would appreciate some comments....
These receipts represent the effort that the previous owner expended in keeping this vehicle in shape. I have added up the receipts and they came to circa $51,000 AUD over the years! Too rich for me to ever have contemplated. I am far too poor to have ever entertained such lavish attention being spent on a car. I am glad that the previous owner (2nd owner I believe) was able to do so. He insisted on original parts too.

I could not believe it when I peered into the wheel arches and saw that all of the new suspension hardware had the 4 ring logo emblazoned on it!
Jas****8_repairReceipts_pt1_redacted.pdf

Jas****8_repairReceipts_pt2_redacted.pdf

Here is the service schedule.
Service Schedule - Audi S8.pdf

[moltuae]

Originally Posted by C4R 100N

So, I said that I would post some repair/maintenance evidence here. So here goes!

I would appreciate some comments....
These receipts represent the effort that the previous owner expended in keeping this vehicle in shape. I have added up the receipts and they came to circa $51,000 AUD over the years! Too rich for me to ever have contemplated. I am far too poor to have ever entertained such lavish attention being spent on a car. I am glad that the previous owner (2nd owner I believe) was able to do so. He insisted on original parts too.

I could not believe it when I peered into the wheel arches and saw that all of the new suspension hardware had the 4 ring logo emblazoned on it!
Attachment 22552

Attachment 22553

Here is the service schedule.
Attachment 22554

It certainly looks like it has been well maintained
Like any big luxury vehicle, these beasts can cost a lot to maintain. I dread to think how much I've spent on my S8 in my ten years of ownership but I would estimate I've spent an average of at least £5K each year. But, unlike most vehicles of a similar vintage, at least there's no rusty bodywork to contend with (not that you probably see much of that in the land down-under!). The high maintenance cost is no doubt one of the main reasons these cars are so rare now. I'd like to think that some day soon these cars will be changing hands at a price that better reflects their rarity and maintenance costs. Not that I'm ever likely to sell mine, but it would be nice to know it was worth at least most of the money I've spent on it.

Originally Posted by C4R 100N

I can't help noticing that the posters on this forum are very articulate compared to the people that I am accustomed to interacting with.

Strange ain't it? It does seem that these cars attract a particular demographic. We certainly have far more than our fair share of intellectuals on here. It seems that most here are (or have been) business owners and we have a curiously disproportionate number of people here who are in IT (myself included). It seems almost half of the members here work (or have worked) in some sort of IT-related industry.

[IT]

It looks a good spec car - by UK standards (I dont have any AU brochures)

Cruise control, electric rear headrests/lumbar, Auto Dim rearview mirror, Bose, Servotronic steering, Blinds, solar sunroof were all options on a PF car.

Interestingly, in the UK, we also had a text based Sat Nav, which you don't seem to have, presumably as maps may not have been available......

[C4R 100N]

In the news here in Australia I am reading that Audi Australia are having a voluntary recall for certain models manufactured between 1997 and 2000. There has been a list of VIN's circulated of the affected vehicles. Unfortunately for me, my vehicle is on the list....

The recall concerns potentially faulty Takata airbags that have been implicated in a number of deaths worldwide.

Audi Australia are going to buy back cars rather than replace the airbags due to the expense.

I just bought my S8, as I have posted on here. This is gut wrenching news to me as I am really loving this car.

What do you lads and lasses think about this news? Do I have other options apart from participating in the buy back??


I can't bear to contemplate giving up this lovely vehicle.

[steamship]

A very worrying prospect indeed, especially if you don't have the ability of having the airbags decommissioned instead, as an option. It's not as if cars that were manufactured before airbags were a thing have been banned from roads or recalled by manufacturers for destruction.

To put that comment into some context, I did some searching to see if we in the UK could face such a dilemma, and came across this article, written just over a month ago.

https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/...ls-list-919661

This one line from the article shows just how lackadaisical the manufacturers are here with regards to safety:

"Analysing data from the DVSA, it found that more than 1.7 million cars in the UK still have an outstanding safety recall to have the airbags replaced, 11 years after the first recall was issued by Honda."

[moltuae]

This is the first I've heard of this airbag fiasco

I've just checked my car (using the links in the article posted by Sean). Interestingly, if I check by reg/VIN I get a "no outstanding recalls" result. However, if I search by make/model/age, there are 2 recalls, both for earlier airbag issues (unrelated to the Takata issue), implying that my car has had the recalls done.

So I'm wondering if some cars, such as yours Paul, might have already had the airbags replaced several years ago for a different recall. In which case they might now be fitted with a later airbag, one which could be unaffected by the issue.

Either way, I think that there should definitely be more options open to owners of affected vehicles, especially considering that many vehicles of that age may now be cherished, expensively maintained/restored classics. Legally decommissioning the airbags should certainly be an option but manufacturers should also offer subsidised replacement airbags, enabling owners who still wish to replace their airbags to do so at a reduced cost.

[MikkiJayne]

Does it say which airbags? IIRC a PF only has driver's and passenger's front, not sides etc.

Personally I would tell them to do one and swap in some bags from a facelift or other model which has proper bags. B5 A4 and C5 A6 steering wheels are compatible, although the passenger dash bag won't be.

Biggest problem is that they'll have to already be in Australia since we can't ship airbags to you. That may limit your options somewhat.

[C4R 100N]

Originally Posted by moltuae

So I'm wondering if some cars, such as yours Paul, might have already had the airbags replaced several years ago for a different recall. In which case they might now be fitted with a later airbag, one which could be unaffected by the issue.

Sadly Mark, judging by what I read on one receipt, the previous owner (he owned it for 15 years) asked for a quote to replace the airbags in 2015.
http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1576751461

Either way, I think that there should definitely be more options open to owners of affected vehicles, especially considering that many vehicles of that age may now be cherished, expensively maintained/restored classics. Legally decommissioning the airbags should certainly be an option but manufacturers should also offer subsidised replacement airbags, enabling owners who still wish to replace their airbags to do so at a reduced cost.

What a sensible idea! One that I am certainly going to suggest to Audi when I reluctantly approach them about this issue.

[C4R 100N]

Originally Posted by IT

It looks a good spec car

Yes IT, it is a lovely car. I am trying to not get too attached to it though in the face of the recent developments regarding the Takata airbag safety recall...

Up until this development I was still pinching myself to make sure my good fortune at having come into ownership of this vehicle was real.