Most likely buying a 5.2 V10

A6 All/ S6 All
#1

Hi everybody,

My name is Max, located in France, might very soon become an owner of a 2007 S8. Yes, I know this is the S6 section of the forum :slight_smile:
I am going to fly 2.200km (1.300 miles) to check it in person. Then I’ll have to drive it back home, so quite a journey ahead.
We have audi forums in Europe and France, but there isn’t quite as many people as there is here. Or it feels so at least.

Here’s what I know on the car :

  • from May 2007, around 152.000 km on the clock (95.000 miles)
  • oil changed once a year (more or less every 10.000 km or 6.500 miles with 5W40)
  • the car is quite nicely spec-ed : double glazing, heated/ventilated/massaging front and rear seats , 4 zones climate control, B&O, ceramamic, sunroof (that doesn’t open, the owner told me right away), auxiliary heating, electric blinds…
  • battery is 2 years old
  • at 141.000 km (88.000 miles) were done/replaced : ceramic brake pads front and rear, radiator, AC compressor (engine out job if I’m correct) and radiator, front air suspension bags, steering axles (gimbles I think they are called), all round oil changes (engine, gearbox, differentials), sparkplugs, oil filter o-ring and rocker cover gaskets, right throttle body.

So I am here for advices, because some of you obviously know these cars better than I do like @justincredible (he already gave me advices), @CountVohn , @v8a6 (already gave me advices as well)… What should I check or pay attention to ?
Also, I am quite new to VCDS, how to get O2 sensors values when driving the car and what are the normal/admissible values ? (don’t want to buy the car if the sensors are dead, unless substantial discount)
What I know that has NOT be replaced : coils, intake manifold, MAF sensors, low pressure and high pressure fuel pumps.

Thank you in advance,
Max

#2

S8 or S6. We all use this section no issues there.

When you show up request that the motor itself is cold. You want to be able to pop the hood and have the intake be cold to the toutch. From there start the car and listen. This is a good first test on the car. a lot of times you can hear the chatter of the intake flaps as well as get a good idea on the overall care of the car.

The pumps are most likely good. Your worry is the intake and injectors. I would say almost everyone has changed their injectors. So there is going to be an initial cost for some maintenance stuff. I would keep that in mind.

#3

Justincredible,

Thank you for your answer, once again. Great advice.
I had already requested that the car be cold upon my arrival.
Though, I admit I do not know what would be considered unusual noises on this type of engine (if they are “subtle”). If you only fire up the electronics - so without starting the engine - do you hear the intake flaps doing their chatter ?
From the videos, the car is well taken care of, minimal wear considering its mileage, engine in its juice, the owner is not the type of person to clean the engine bay.

Injectors are my biggest concerns alongside the coil pack (which is original). Intake is expensive but if it was to fail, I’d have the runners locked in long. It is more time consuming than expensive.

Cheers !

#4

I think generally if the car looks good it was probably good maintenance wise. Either way injectors are something almost nobody non enthusiast wise is going to change. So that should be on your list for sure. Coil packs should be changed with plugs but generally that’s only if missfires start.

#5

Well, just a little heads up.
The car did not meet my expectations. According to the receipts, the car was well taken care of in regards of the engine, suspension, etc… But the bodywork needed quite some work in different spots, which I had not been warned of :
_front left wheel arch. bent and needed some paint, it obviously had been repainted before but poor quality work as the paint was not chipping off in a few different places
_the whole front bumper assembly was twisted. Accord to the owner, due to the mechanics not sliding it correctly into place the last time the car visited the shop to change a headlight motor… Barely chipped in different spots by rocks and ice during winter time (2 major impacts) and cracks around the license plate holder
_under the driver’s door, the plastic trip that slides into place (that becomes the very bottom of the door) was dented and needed to be replaced
_rear bumper had taken a hit as well (I actually missed it the first time and no wonder the owner really missed that one), probably from someone who parked with a tow hitch
_thr plastic bit just before the right rear wheel arch, that is both the very bottom and side of the car had obviously been badly repaired and I noticed from far sign of work being done on it. It touched it and “paint” fell off

This is not a car I would qualify as “mint” or in “mint condition”. If I had been warned, I would probably have bought it (and I still almost did) as the interior of the car was too notch. Rare options and all worked ! I like the “comfort” seats with ventilation, both front and rear seats. All four came with a massage function as well (the function is not great but well, pretty rare).

I have one last question, when you cold start the car, go outside and face it (so facing the bonnet), is it normal that the left HPFP gets do noisy with a knocking sound that is well louder than the one on the right ? Again, left and right when you face the car !

Cheers !

#6

The FSI injectors and HPFP pumps are quite noisy. I don’t know if you could say one is louder than the other. If you did notice that and that was in fact accurate. Then the answer to that is no. Both pumps if functioning properly should have the same amount of mechanical noise.

sorry to hear this wasn’t the car for you. Keep looking, they’re great cars when running as they should

#7

Hi CountVohn and thank you for the answer.
That is what I thought and what told the owner : the left one (when facing the engine) clearly was louder than the other, which in my opinion was not normal and probably on the verge of failure.

Once again, the car was running great as far as I could tell, we drove it for like 40 minutes and the interior was magnificent. Though, with the exterior defects, he lost my confidence, having told me that the car was in mint condition several times. One could wonder if something wrong was not hidden behind all that…

I’ll keep looking !

#8

Max, good you trusted your instincts. You’ll find one.

#9

Thanks mate. It’ll take time but there is no rush to find one :+1:

#10

Good evening (or morning depending on where you are located in the world).

I changed job since we the last time I have posted on here. Still looking for an S8 as well. Speaking of the devil I might just check on one in a couple weeks and was wondering what to check with VCDS software :
_ errors or faulty codes
_ I think there’s a way to measure the “wear” of the chain, but I wouldn’t know in which menu nor the values (between 1 and 8° ?)

I’ll appreciate your inputs. See you around !

Max

#11

There is no real way to measure the chain wear as there rarely is any. The chains almost never stretch and about the only thing you might see is from time to time a cracked guide. From a chain and guide system point of view these motors done tend to have issues like other cars.

#12

I just had my mechanic pull the timing covers off my car with 107k… the guides and chain were all fine, and needed nothing (for that specifically).

#13

Thank you for your answers.
Anything else worth checking with VCDS ?

Tickets booked for 11th, June ! Flying to Austria this time (I am located in France)