Re: Thoughts & suggestions wanted re: Audi A8
 

"[ a m z ]" <amz.REMOVETHIS@eskimo.REMOVETHIS.com> wrote in message
news:w0Pef.99$8U4.5367@news.uswest.net...
> "Jonathan Morton" wrote:
> >
> > Hmm... the thing that immediately struck me about no 3 was the word
> > "alignment". That really is one of the things you can't put right on a
> > quattro - after all, if it could be put right, why hasn't it been done?
>
> I checked CarFax and the dealer just bought the car at auction a week or
so
> ago. Based on the RF tire wear, it has been out of alignment for some
time.
> Dealer replaced the brakes and both front tires just the other day (after
my
> test drive).
>
> Are you saying that once an A8 quattro goes out of alignment, you'll never
> get it back again??

I'm just thinking that the reason for the lack of alignment *might* be crash
damage causing the car to be out of true.

Even when properly set up, these cars do eat front tyres - especially the
inner edges.

> What are your thoughts about a 1997 straight auto vs. a 1998 with
Tiptronic?
> I'm most concerned about punching it to pass or needing to get moving
> quickly in tight traffic.

Well, mine's a 2000-model with Tiptronic - though I have to say I very
rarely use the Tip. Even with the conventional 4-speed auto you won't suffer
from lack of performance.

Regards

Jonathan

Re: Thoughts & suggestions wanted re: Audi A8
 

AMZ, I agree with your thoughts on 'black' A8 - a neighbor has a
black/black 2001 A8 with the solid wheels - what an incredible looking
car! There are pros and cons to all of your choices here. But one
caution - don't depend totally on CARFAX re: accident information. I
was involved in an accident in my '95 VW Jetta in 1998, which caused
about $13k of damage to a car that originally stickered for $17.5k
(although $5k was for the airbag replacement) - the car wasn't totalled
and didn't have any structural damage (I drove it for another 5 years
and 90k miles) - but the accident never showed up in Carfax when I
pulled a report on it prior to selling it.

Steve/Jonathan - I looked in my owners manual (car wasn't here
yesterday) and they said that you should replace, at a minimum, at
least both front or both rear tires. So I am going to stop sweating
now!

Dan D
'04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6
Central NJ USA

Re: Thoughts & suggestions wanted re: Audi A8
 

AMZ, I agree with your thoughts on 'black' A8 - a neighbor has a
black/black 2001 A8 with the solid wheels - what an incredible looking
car! There are pros and cons to all of your choices here. But one
caution - don't depend totally on CARFAX re: accident information. I
was involved in an accident in my '95 VW Jetta in 1998, which caused
about $13k of damage to a car that originally stickered for $17.5k
(although $5k was for the airbag replacement) - the car wasn't totalled
and didn't have any structural damage (I drove it for another 5 years
and 90k miles) - but the accident never showed up in Carfax when I
pulled a report on it prior to selling it.

Steve/Jonathan - I looked in my owners manual (car wasn't here
yesterday) and they said that you should replace, at a minimum, at
least both front or both rear tires. So I am going to stop sweating
now!

Dan D
'04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6
Central NJ USA

Re: Thoughts & suggestions wanted re: Audi A8
 

AMZ, I agree with your thoughts on 'black' A8 - a neighbor has a
black/black 2001 A8 with the solid wheels - what an incredible looking
car! There are pros and cons to all of your choices here. But one
caution - don't depend totally on CARFAX re: accident information. I
was involved in an accident in my '95 VW Jetta in 1998, which caused
about $13k of damage to a car that originally stickered for $17.5k
(although $5k was for the airbag replacement) - the car wasn't totalled
and didn't have any structural damage (I drove it for another 5 years
and 90k miles) - but the accident never showed up in Carfax when I
pulled a report on it prior to selling it.

Steve/Jonathan - I looked in my owners manual (car wasn't here
yesterday) and they said that you should replace, at a minimum, at
least both front or both rear tires. So I am going to stop sweating
now!

Dan D
'04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6
Central NJ USA

Re: Thoughts & suggestions wanted re: Audi A8
 

AMZ, I agree with your thoughts on 'black' A8 - a neighbor has a
black/black 2001 A8 with the solid wheels - what an incredible looking
car! There are pros and cons to all of your choices here. But one
caution - don't depend totally on CARFAX re: accident information. I
was involved in an accident in my '95 VW Jetta in 1998, which caused
about $13k of damage to a car that originally stickered for $17.5k
(although $5k was for the airbag replacement) - the car wasn't totalled
and didn't have any structural damage (I drove it for another 5 years
and 90k miles) - but the accident never showed up in Carfax when I
pulled a report on it prior to selling it.

Steve/Jonathan - I looked in my owners manual (car wasn't here
yesterday) and they said that you should replace, at a minimum, at
least both front or both rear tires. So I am going to stop sweating
now!

Dan D
'04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6
Central NJ USA

Re: Thoughts & suggestions wanted re: Audi A8
 

Dan,
Yep, I searched Audiworld and I guess the newer generation quattro can
accommodate tire replacement so long as it's done in pairs on the same axle.
Go figure.
As to the post questioning how one would address front tire wear on a car
that can only have new shoes in a set of 4, tire rotation seems to have
worked for me in that regard, rotating them whenever I change from summer
tires to snows - of course, directional tires just swap front to back on the
same side.
Cheers!
Steve Sears
1987 Audi 5kTQ
1980 Audi 5k
1962 and '64 Auto Union DKW Junior deLuxes
(SPAM Blocker NOTE: Remove SHOES to reply)

"Dano58" <dan.dibiase@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1132235410.386865.246360@g14g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
> AMZ, I agree with your thoughts on 'black' A8 - a neighbor has a
> black/black 2001 A8 with the solid wheels - what an incredible looking
> car! There are pros and cons to all of your choices here. But one
> caution - don't depend totally on CARFAX re: accident information. I
> was involved in an accident in my '95 VW Jetta in 1998, which caused
> about $13k of damage to a car that originally stickered for $17.5k
> (although $5k was for the airbag replacement) - the car wasn't totalled
> and didn't have any structural damage (I drove it for another 5 years
> and 90k miles) - but the accident never showed up in Carfax when I
> pulled a report on it prior to selling it.
>
> Steve/Jonathan - I looked in my owners manual (car wasn't here
> yesterday) and they said that you should replace, at a minimum, at
> least both front or both rear tires. So I am going to stop sweating
> now!
>
> Dan D
> '04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6
> Central NJ USA
>

Re: Thoughts & suggestions wanted re: Audi A8
 

Dan,
Yep, I searched Audiworld and I guess the newer generation quattro can
accommodate tire replacement so long as it's done in pairs on the same axle.
Go figure.
As to the post questioning how one would address front tire wear on a car
that can only have new shoes in a set of 4, tire rotation seems to have
worked for me in that regard, rotating them whenever I change from summer
tires to snows - of course, directional tires just swap front to back on the
same side.
Cheers!
Steve Sears
1987 Audi 5kTQ
1980 Audi 5k
1962 and '64 Auto Union DKW Junior deLuxes
(SPAM Blocker NOTE: Remove SHOES to reply)

"Dano58" <dan.dibiase@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1132235410.386865.246360@g14g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
> AMZ, I agree with your thoughts on 'black' A8 - a neighbor has a
> black/black 2001 A8 with the solid wheels - what an incredible looking
> car! There are pros and cons to all of your choices here. But one
> caution - don't depend totally on CARFAX re: accident information. I
> was involved in an accident in my '95 VW Jetta in 1998, which caused
> about $13k of damage to a car that originally stickered for $17.5k
> (although $5k was for the airbag replacement) - the car wasn't totalled
> and didn't have any structural damage (I drove it for another 5 years
> and 90k miles) - but the accident never showed up in Carfax when I
> pulled a report on it prior to selling it.
>
> Steve/Jonathan - I looked in my owners manual (car wasn't here
> yesterday) and they said that you should replace, at a minimum, at
> least both front or both rear tires. So I am going to stop sweating
> now!
>
> Dan D
> '04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6
> Central NJ USA
>

Re: Thoughts & suggestions wanted re: Audi A8
 

Dan,
Yep, I searched Audiworld and I guess the newer generation quattro can
accommodate tire replacement so long as it's done in pairs on the same axle.
Go figure.
As to the post questioning how one would address front tire wear on a car
that can only have new shoes in a set of 4, tire rotation seems to have
worked for me in that regard, rotating them whenever I change from summer
tires to snows - of course, directional tires just swap front to back on the
same side.
Cheers!
Steve Sears
1987 Audi 5kTQ
1980 Audi 5k
1962 and '64 Auto Union DKW Junior deLuxes
(SPAM Blocker NOTE: Remove SHOES to reply)

"Dano58" <dan.dibiase@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1132235410.386865.246360@g14g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
> AMZ, I agree with your thoughts on 'black' A8 - a neighbor has a
> black/black 2001 A8 with the solid wheels - what an incredible looking
> car! There are pros and cons to all of your choices here. But one
> caution - don't depend totally on CARFAX re: accident information. I
> was involved in an accident in my '95 VW Jetta in 1998, which caused
> about $13k of damage to a car that originally stickered for $17.5k
> (although $5k was for the airbag replacement) - the car wasn't totalled
> and didn't have any structural damage (I drove it for another 5 years
> and 90k miles) - but the accident never showed up in Carfax when I
> pulled a report on it prior to selling it.
>
> Steve/Jonathan - I looked in my owners manual (car wasn't here
> yesterday) and they said that you should replace, at a minimum, at
> least both front or both rear tires. So I am going to stop sweating
> now!
>
> Dan D
> '04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6
> Central NJ USA
>

Re: Thoughts & suggestions wanted re: Audi A8
 

Dan,
Yep, I searched Audiworld and I guess the newer generation quattro can
accommodate tire replacement so long as it's done in pairs on the same axle.
Go figure.
As to the post questioning how one would address front tire wear on a car
that can only have new shoes in a set of 4, tire rotation seems to have
worked for me in that regard, rotating them whenever I change from summer
tires to snows - of course, directional tires just swap front to back on the
same side.
Cheers!
Steve Sears
1987 Audi 5kTQ
1980 Audi 5k
1962 and '64 Auto Union DKW Junior deLuxes
(SPAM Blocker NOTE: Remove SHOES to reply)

"Dano58" <dan.dibiase@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1132235410.386865.246360@g14g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
> AMZ, I agree with your thoughts on 'black' A8 - a neighbor has a
> black/black 2001 A8 with the solid wheels - what an incredible looking
> car! There are pros and cons to all of your choices here. But one
> caution - don't depend totally on CARFAX re: accident information. I
> was involved in an accident in my '95 VW Jetta in 1998, which caused
> about $13k of damage to a car that originally stickered for $17.5k
> (although $5k was for the airbag replacement) - the car wasn't totalled
> and didn't have any structural damage (I drove it for another 5 years
> and 90k miles) - but the accident never showed up in Carfax when I
> pulled a report on it prior to selling it.
>
> Steve/Jonathan - I looked in my owners manual (car wasn't here
> yesterday) and they said that you should replace, at a minimum, at
> least both front or both rear tires. So I am going to stop sweating
> now!
>
> Dan D
> '04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6
> Central NJ USA
>

Re: Thoughts & suggestions wanted re: Audi A8
 

Jonathan,
I was thinking "crash damage" too - even a low speed slide into a curb can
result in huge damage to the complex multi-link suspension - and adding on
the behavior of the aluminum space frame following damage from a crash (the
aluminum can't be pulled out & fixed like steel can). The "fix" the vendor
offers may only be good for a short time, and then the alignment will creep
out on that corner again.
Cheers!
Steve Sears
1987 Audi 5kTQ
1980 Audi 5k
1962 and '64 Auto Union DKW Junior deLuxes
(SPAM Blocker NOTE: Remove SHOES to reply)

"Jonathan Morton" <jonathan@jonathanmortonbutignorethisbit.co.uk> wrote in
message news:dlhckh$adl$1@nwrdmz01.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com...
> "[ a m z ]" <amz.REMOVETHIS@eskimo.REMOVETHIS.com> wrote in message
> news:w0Pef.99$8U4.5367@news.uswest.net...
>> "Jonathan Morton" wrote:
>> >
>> > Hmm... the thing that immediately struck me about no 3 was the word
>> > "alignment". That really is one of the things you can't put right on a
>> > quattro - after all, if it could be put right, why hasn't it been done?
>>
>> I checked CarFax and the dealer just bought the car at auction a week or
> so
>> ago. Based on the RF tire wear, it has been out of alignment for some
> time.
>> Dealer replaced the brakes and both front tires just the other day (after
> my
>> test drive).
>>
>> Are you saying that once an A8 quattro goes out of alignment, you'll
>> never
>> get it back again??
>
> I'm just thinking that the reason for the lack of alignment *might* be
> crash
> damage causing the car to be out of true.
>
> Even when properly set up, these cars do eat front tyres - especially the
> inner edges.
>
>> What are your thoughts about a 1997 straight auto vs. a 1998 with
> Tiptronic?
>> I'm most concerned about punching it to pass or needing to get moving
>> quickly in tight traffic.
>
> Well, mine's a 2000-model with Tiptronic - though I have to say I very
> rarely use the Tip. Even with the conventional 4-speed auto you won't
> suffer
> from lack of performance.
>
> Regards
>
> Jonathan
>
>