im hunting for a w12 now

[IT]

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....

[tonupkid]

Reffro's right. As far as I could detect the only difference between Darrens W12 and My V10 S8, came down to our respective driving skills - commitment - or lunacy in Darrens case

Hand on my heart I'd say the W12 had the edge in a straight line, but by a margin so slim that it would be good to try again.
The big difference is not in the handling, I think Darrens W12 has the sports suspension anyway, and I believe its an SWB too. The big difference is the sound.

The W12 is super quiet. You can hear it working (bearing in mind that Darren knows how to push it, and was), but the noise is coming from a different county to the one in which you're driving. Very deceptive, so quiet you don't realise just how the speed piles on.... until you arrive at one of those corners, in a downpour

The S8 on the other hand. I Still can't believe the way it sounded out there on the ring. I've had it for almost 12 months, but this was like a different car.
Snarling, howling and barking mad. No whooshing, no way. It's pure aggression and so totally addictive.

You have to decide what spec you want motor and hold out for that. There's S8's out there more loaded than the W12's, and I think that the basis S came with more stuff, but that may be down to them coming on the scene a few years (2006) after the W12's.
And that brings me to the main decision target. Price. S8's are still quite hard to find at sub £20k, whereas there's loads of W12's at really tempting money.

By the way. Refro's right when he says that the D2 S8 is more fun to drive. It is -

[Singh]

Ian, get a warranty like me from Swindon Audi and enjoy your W12 stress free. It's near enough £2k and needs to be paid in full (not installments) they paid out £15k for an RS6 in one year without quibble and you can take it to an indie as its not underwritten by Audi so if your getting the work done at 50 rather then £100+ per hour then that's fine by them. Its for three years and comes with roadside too. I just need to get mine down there for an inspection.

[briang9]

Would cats be covered by that warranty Amar?

[Singh]

Yeah I believe so bud.

[daviesbike]

wow lots of messages from the heart there that are really making me think twice about the w12

so is the v10 s8 as smooth as in the suspention settings that you can have ? or whats the score in the two when it comes down to the extras like leg room and fridges ect.. ? im thinking of both pearsonal and also as im already a taxi driver i thought about setting it up as a hire for weddings vip transport ect ? would the s8 cut the mustard for an all round pleaser ?

[daviesbike]

also am i just boring in saying that the s8 interior lacks a bit of ... well character its seems bland with no wood trims it seems a more aggressive car all round unlike the d2 with its wolf in sheeps clothing look the v10 s8 seems to show off the fact that its sporting a power house under the bonnet, i do love the both cars but the price tag is some what exessive at the moment when you consider that the d3 are all alike aside from the engine and grill the a8 4.2's i have seen look very much alike inside and the workings of the adaptive air ride seems the same or am i not understanding the differences hear ?

[IT]

Originally Posted by daviesbike

wow lots of messages from the heart there that are really making me think twice about the w12

so is the v10 s8 as smooth as in the suspention settings that you can have ? or whats the score in the two when it comes down to the extras like leg room and fridges ect.. ? im thinking of both pearsonal and also as im already a taxi driver i thought about setting it up as a hire for weddings vip transport ect ? would the s8 cut the mustard for an all round pleaser ?

Suspension settings are the same across the D3, you either have Sport, or non sport, where sport is slightly firmer and lower ride, but you're hard pressed to notice in practise I think....

The fridge sounds good, but is a real pain - You lose so much boot space right in the middle its stupid, I would actively avoid a car with one fitted.

The S8 and W12 are different beasts all together. The LWB W12 would be obvious choice for limo work, but its unlikely to give the sporty feel you probably want - I agree its incredibly mute too, loads of power, but absolutely no sense of urgency. You can have 100 on the clock and its a complete non-event, no real sense of excitement, just business as usual, which again, is what a high speed limo should do. You'll be pressed back in your seat a little, but its far from a sporty little number,

The S8 runs on 20's, is SWB, looks more sporty, but I'm sure would pass for all but the most serious of long distance limo work.

The S8 also comes from an era where B&O was available, which would be nice to have, as the D3 bose is just a touch lacking at the top end...

The S8's are 2/3 years newer than the W12, so any issues with Lambo engine etc havnt cropped up yet, so the W12 isnt necessarily significantly better than the W12, although I hope it is.

You'll need to decide whether sporty, or comfy is your priority, as the W12 can be a bit sporty, and the S8 can be a bit limo-y, but both have their strengths and weaknesses by design.

[Essate]

Try mine if you want "soul"!

Trust me it outclasses the S8 - every time.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3322312.htm

[daviesbike]

mmm now thats quite nice i must admit very good spec too i have found a lovely s8 for 20k with all options b&o ceramic brakes 8 pot callipers ect and a one off interior

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2006-56-Au...#ht_2966wt_937