![]() 08/09/2015 at 20:05 • Filed to: audi | ![]() | ![]() |
Well oppo, winter is coming. So, I’m going to take a gander at this particular vee-hicle after work tomorrow:
Such A8L. Very aluminum. Much 4.2 V8. Quite purple. Wow.
![]() 08/09/2015 at 20:09 |
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Damn, that’s a fine looking car. Pretty reliable also, what year is it?
![]() 08/09/2015 at 20:10 |
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2001
![]() 08/09/2015 at 20:20 |
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Also, it has navigation and for some reason on American cars the navigation is strictly through the driver info center. Blargh. Not like that matters, since navigation 14 years old is completely useless today.
![]() 08/09/2015 at 20:22 |
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Nice, I suggest that you buy that.
![]() 08/09/2015 at 20:38 |
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A 2001 A8L? That’s such a lame car. Only losers drive those.
![]() 08/09/2015 at 20:44 |
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I was waiting for you ...
![]() 08/09/2015 at 20:46 |
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It’s okay, I’m here. What can I help you with?
![]() 08/09/2015 at 20:47 |
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Emotional support. I’m giving up my lunch break to go to the bank tomorrow. This better be worth it.
![]() 08/09/2015 at 20:50 |
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Let me put it this way. Here’s a picture I took this afternoon:
It tells you three things:
1. I’m an unsafe idiot.
2. The car has made it 130k miles without any catastrophic issues (never been stranded or bankrupt, but I’ve had a couple little things that were $100-$300)
3. It is smooth an stable enough at nearly 90mph for me to take a picture and have it look like the car isn’t moving.
![]() 08/09/2015 at 20:52 |
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Ooh, side note: this car has very similar mileage.
Also, being that it is a large German flagship executive sedan ... I expect pure confidence at upper end speeds.
![]() 08/09/2015 at 20:56 |
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Dat V8 ….. dat quattro …. DAT PURP!
![]() 08/09/2015 at 20:59 |
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here’s a better large FWD luxury car
![]() 08/09/2015 at 21:00 |
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![]() 08/09/2015 at 21:03 |
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Well, it is purple. So that is a start. However, it is not the 2nd gen AWD RL.
![]() 08/09/2015 at 21:09 |
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Dat RPM tho. That’s what I’m turning at 60-65.
![]() 08/09/2015 at 21:18 |
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Haha, the best response. I will own a purple car someday, so just know I’ll be jealous if you get it.
![]() 08/09/2015 at 21:20 |
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Comparing a fancy Honda to an A8L? Does not compute.
![]() 08/09/2015 at 21:34 |
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Very nice. The Quattro always calls you back.
![]() 08/09/2015 at 21:48 |
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The first-gen is cooler. It has a longitudinal engine like the A8. And it was also the one that was out when the car you’re looking at was made :p
![]() 08/09/2015 at 21:49 |
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Honda makes much better cars than VW/Audi
![]() 08/09/2015 at 21:53 |
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At 55 on a flat road I’m turning about 1500rpm and getting around 32mpg.
![]() 08/09/2015 at 22:00 |
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I will admit, the RL is probably more reliable and economical than the A8. But if those are your primary two objectives when buying a king-sized luxury car, you might as well get a Lexus LS. The Audi is more opulent, the Lex is more solid, and the Acura...well...it’s just sort of there.
![]() 08/09/2015 at 22:20 |
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“Better” at 200,000 miles for sure. Below that though, I’d argue VAG is better.
![]() 08/09/2015 at 22:22 |
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I usually knock post-VAG Audis for their reliability, but I really cannot see how this car is any better. In the same way that German cars have an unfair reputation for being unreliable, I think Hondas have an unfair reputation for being more reliable than they really are. I do a fair amount of work on friends and family’s vehicles and the cars that have the worst track records are accords and civics. Just anecdotal evidence so it doesn’t hold much bearing but I still don’t trust them.
![]() 08/09/2015 at 22:51 |
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Yeah, I like Lexus/Toyota better, but in this case the RL is more of a direct competitor in the full-size top-tier FWDAWD luxury segment (RL/RLX, A8, Deville/DTS/XTS). And back then, the RL had a longitudinal engine like the A8.
But I totally agree that the LS is much more awesome.
![]() 08/09/2015 at 23:09 |
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The A8 always competed directly with the S-Class and 7-Series, never really with the RL. The Acura stickered for $30,000 less than the A8 in 2001, which is $40,000 in today’s dollars. The A8 and the RL didn’t compete any more then than the RLX and the A8 do now.
Also, the Acura was only available here as FWD, and the Audi as AWD. Let’s not lump them together in that sense. Quattro is not just the occasionally burst of power to the back.
![]() 08/09/2015 at 23:44 |
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1) Timing belt.
2) Transmission.
Enjoy.
![]() 08/10/2015 at 00:05 |
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Actually, Audi did sell the FWD A8 in the US back then. Of course, both are AWD-only now.
![]() 08/10/2015 at 00:12 |
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Intersting. It would seem that they very briefly sold it here with the 3.7 V8 and FWD. I say this because I can’t find any evidence to the contrary, but it would seem nobody actually bought one.
![]() 08/10/2015 at 10:41 |
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I’ve seen them on Craigslist for $1-2000
![]() 08/11/2015 at 21:51 |
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Well, it’s certainly less interesting.