What mileage do you draw the line at?

[Mike K]

I have the opportunity to acquire a higher mileage Audi S8. This is the last generation. Fully loaded, leather wrapped dash, detuned V10 Gallardo engine, Bang & Olufsen sounds system, etc. Basically every option you could get it has.

The price is unbelievably low and I would buy it with the intention of listing it for sale nationally to make some money on it and driving it in the interim. Either that or convincing my wife to keep it as her car and get rid of the FX35.
Aside for our move I think we've put less than 1000 miles on the FX35 in 4 months.

But back to the first idea: re-selling it. It has 143,000 miles on it. I looked at it and I drove it and my A8 with less than half as many miles wasn't in as nice condition as this car. It's near mint, regardless of mileage. It was clearly taken care of and is a one owner car.

I spoke to a buddy of mine who's an Audi tech and he says it's a nearly bulletproof motor and I know the rest of the car so no worries there. I guess let's say if you were in the market for an S8 and the cheapest ones were around $26,000 for about 100k miles (over $30,000 for most though) and you found one with say 150k miles on it for $20,000 would you consider that car or would you immediately write it off?

I applied for my California dealer's license so these are lessons I'm going to eventually learn on my own but I'm curious as to what people think for this particular car.

Possible downsides I can see:

- Buyer has to pay cash - nobody will finance a 143,000 mile car on a private party sale.

- Car is "exotic" and high mileage. People that can afford to pay cash for this car probably can afford to buy one that has less than 143,000 miles

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[wolfe]

One of the big things I worry about with mileage is the suspension. Most makers can build a drive train that lasts now, but suspension components do wear as they are "wear" items. But if everything is in good shape go for it.

Like you said though, may be hard to finance.

 

[OffshoreDrilling]

Just doesnt seem like something thats going to be easy to get rid of. If ive got $20k cash to spend on a car, ANYTHING with that many miles isnt going to be on my radar.

 

[serb82]

Out of warranty don't want, to expensive to fix..but nice status symbol, me personally I would pass on it on unless getting if for 1/2 current value.

 

[Mike K]

Just doesnt seem like something thats going to be easy to get rid of. If ive got $20k cash to spend on a car, ANYTHING with that many miles isnt going to be on my radar.

I see your point; I'm just not sure I agree with it because I have the cash and it is something I'd consider. Maybe I'm an exception. If we didn't have the FX35 I'd buy it in a jiff even if I saw it at 20k. So I have to assume there's others out there like me.

There's other S8's going for $30,000+ that have 60xxx miles on them, high $27,000+ for about 100,000 - 110,000 and one other one with 130,000 miles selling for $24,000 with less options. At $20,000 it would be so far below what other cars are going for it would literally be the cheapest option in the country by thousands of dollars. Plus with features like the B&O sound system and it's overall condition playing in it's favor I think someone might consider it as a low use option.

To buy it as a commuter car, yeah it's up there and I'd probably pass but considering how often my wife drives it would basically be a luxury car for her and a second toy for me and if we continue at our current 3,000 - 4,000 mile a year pace on her car we could have it for a couple years of normal use before it hit 150,000 miles. So I have to think there's someone else out there like me.

Out of warranty don't want, to expensive to fix..but nice status symbol, me personally I would pass on it on unless getting if for 1/2 current value.

I'd be buying it for less than half of book value, miles taken into consideration. The only thing I'd worry about is the engine which I was told isn't a problem. Everything else is standard A8 parts and it's not a difficult car to work on. It doesn't scare me. But yes, the average person I think might consider that so for selling it it's something I have to consider.

 

[boostedguy05]

if you feel comfortable

 

[TCG Member 5219]

IMHO depends on the car, but with any car more than 100k is a pass no matter what it is.

 

[1quick]

I wouldn't buy a car with more than 50-60k on it for a every day car, but I want to make them last for quite a while and my every day cars are not really toys at all they just get me to work and back so I need them to be reliable, I also like them to have a little power train warranty left on them when I buy

 

[Turbocharged400sbc]

that thing is probably in dire need of suspension components

 

[Yaj Yak]

Depends on what it is... I wouldn't consider that s8 cuz of those miles... but that's cuz I'm not a [MENTION=396]Mike K[/MENTION] baller with stacks on deck to fix it...

My sierra has a shit ton of miles... and had a shit ton when I bought it... but no fucks given and I would drive it anywhere tomorrow... and do.

 

[ktraver97ss]

Yeah for $2000 you could put all brand new suspension on your truck. That would prob cover one shock for the S8. Fuck that, too many miles Mr. K.

 

[sickmint79]

i automatically draw a line at 100k being one i don't want to personally cross, since demand i think takes quite a drop after that point, as finance companies put much less favorable terms on loans. i'll buy a car over 100k and i'll sell mine before 100k but i have always stayed away from being the one in it crossing over...

i'll buy a car over 100k if i trust the owner and maintenance.

 

[Yaj Yak]

i automatically draw a line at 100k being one i don't want to personally cross, since demand i think takes quite a drop after that point, as finance companies put much less favorable terms on loans. i'll buy a car over 100k and i'll sell mine before 100k but i have always stayed away from being the one in it crossing over...

i'll buy a car over 100k if i trust the owner and maintenance.

I got 2.75 on my truck with 139k on it... I don't think the credit union I use has ever asked how many miles the vehicle I was purchasing had

 

[jason05gt]

I wouldn’t touch that high of mileage German car, especially a German car with an Italian V10 in it. A8’s are great cars, but as mentioned at that mileage I would be concerned with wear and tear items. Also electronic items such as the window motors, HVAC, power seats, etc. are questionable at that mileage/age. Even my dad’s A8 had electronics issues while in warranty (all of his German cars have). I’d also be concerned with the AWD system and seals, clutches, etc. Additionally maintenance items such as brakes are more expensive than normal cars. Insuring these cars are also more expensive due to the aluminum space frame.

Lastly, you probably are going to get people that are trying to ball on a budget looking at the car. For $20K, there are a lot more reliable options.

I think you are going to have a real limited demographic of people that will buy it.

 

[sickmint79]

I got 2.75 on my truck with 139k on it... I don't think the credit union I use has ever asked how many miles the vehicle I was purchasing had

perhaps yours is less a stickler or even the industry less so now?

not long ago, i believe the threshold was over 100k miles OR over 7 years old, they'd only finance you a certain amount and i think on short term loans like 2-3 years, at least that seemed to be a very widespread policy. was at my local bank branches, a big credit union online, and some others i've seen. all different types of banks and sizes.

 

[bikrboy128]

Why do you think it's listed at half the blue book? Nobody wants to buy a high mileage, high performance German sedan.

 

[Yaj Yak]

perhaps yours is less a stickler or even the industry less so now?

not long ago, i believe the threshold was over 100k miles OR over 7 years old, they'd only finance you a certain amount and i think on short term loans like 2-3 years, at least that seemed to be a very widespread policy. was at my local bank branches, a big credit union online, and some others i've seen. all different types of banks and sizes.

7 years is true for a vehicle loan at most institutions... I have had 6 car loans in the past 8 years, and I think at least half of the vehicles- my vibe, saturn, caddy and truck had more than 100k on them.

my truck was done for 5 years... at 2.75, and had 139k on it when I bought it...

the 7 years thing though can be worked around as well at a few places...

i know [MENTION=22]syP[/MENTION] has had great luck at penfed.org

 

[tinosc281]

mileage

why would anybody in the right mind spend over 20,000 dollars on a car with over 140.000 miles.unless is a collectible car I don't see why.you are looking to have at least that much in repairs if engine goes bad or electronics and suspension fail.german cars not cheap on repairs .reason #1 why you can get an expensive german luxury car at a cheap price.

 

[sickmint79]

yeah i use penfed a lot, i might have first fed the name around here? my bro and i have used them forever. they are great.

 

[Mike K]

Yeah for $2000 you could put all brand new suspension on your truck. That would prob cover one shock for the S8. Fuck that, too many miles Mr. K.

You can be creative with it and get rebuilt struts for $600 each. I've grown accustom to that kind of replacement cost and I think anyone that buys these cars accepts that too. That doesn't change with mileage.

The one thing I think some of you guys might be missing is that this car has already gone through the mileage window where it would have needed a lot of stuff to be replaced and nothing doesn't work on the car which means it was taken care of because you can't find an A8/ S8 where everything works. Either the tire pressure sensors are dead, one of the emergency brake motors has failed, etc. This guy replaced absolutely anything as it was needed.

why would anybody in the right mind spend over 20,000 dollars on a car with over 140.000 miles.unless is a collectible car I don't see why.you are looking to have at least that much in repairs if engine goes bad or electronics and suspension fail.german cars not cheap on repairs .reason #1 why you can get an expensive german luxury car at a cheap price.

I don't necessarilly disagree but I'm not trying to figure out why someone would do it; I'm trying to figure out if someone would do it and there are a lot of people that do. For my purposes I could part the car out at a profit. The B&O system alone was a $6000 option and replacement parts for it are virtually non-existent but one thing to consider on cars like these is that the big stuff generally doesn't break. The transmissions generally last the life of the car as do the engines. It's the electronics that nickle and dime you to death.

Why do you think it's listed at half the blue book? Nobody wants to buy a high mileage, high performance German sedan.

It's not a purchase through normal channels. The person is looking for a very quick sale and I happened to stumble upon them by chance.

 

[Yaj Yak]

buy it


pussy

 

[Turk]

Mike, my biggest worry are about things you just mentioned. The engine and trans typically last the life of the car, but lets face it, this S8 has lived far past it's life expectancy. Is that motor bullet proof, yes, it is for sure. But even kevlar vests wear down after a certain amount of time and unfortunately there are almost no other examples of this engine making it to 200k, simply because nobody has really tried. I wouldn't want to be the guinea pig.

 

[Mike K]

I probably will... I know I won't lose money on it. Just a matter of whether or not I'll make money.

 

[Mike K]

Mike, my biggest worry are about things you just mentioned. The engine and trans typically last the life of the car, but lets face it, this S8 has lived far past it's life expectancy. Is that motor bullet proof, yes, it is for sure. But even kevlar vests wear down after a certain amount of time and unfortunately there are almost no other examples of this engine making it to 200k, simply because nobody has really tried. I wouldn't want to be the guinea pig.

Yeah that was my thought as well... An engine where 99% of it's examples are found in a Lamborghini and of that maybe what... 1% see 100k miles? That was my thought too.

 

[Yaj Yak]

3800 swap it when it grenades.

james probably is whittling an adapter as we speak.