Many believe that the German cars of the 90s are reliable and strong, they travel a million kilometers, not like new cars, they break down after 50,000 km. Reliability and trouble-free relate to the Mercedes Kaban (W140) and BMW 7-series in the back of the E38, and not always, they may also have problems. But the Audi A8 D2 is considered more modern, it is no longer as simple as the Mercedes and BMW, so some problems may arise from the Audi of those years.
Aluminum body
It is believed that Audi is the most reliable, resistant to corrosion, body, because it is made of aluminum. If cars were usually made of steel, because it is inexpensive and strong, then in the 90s they started production of all-aluminum cars at Audi.
Audi got into the premium class not so long ago. It was the usual Audi 100, which grew out of the legendary R080, popular in the 70s. Then there was the success of the Audi 100/200 in the body 4C. Then everything went to the fact that Audi decided to become a more premium brand and released the Audi V8, which had the V8 engine installed, and the car was equipped with more options than the Audi 200 Quattro. During the period from 1988 to 1994, not many of these cars were produced, but thanks to the Audi V8, the E-class car switched to the executive F-class, it was at that moment that the large and representative A8 was born. When the A8 appeared, Audi confidently moved into the “big German three”. And before that there was a big German couple.
Audi belonged to the Volkswagen concern, which produced a cheap folk car - Beetle for many years. Now Volkswagen began to produce executive cars with modern technologies: an aluminum body with the ability to make an armored car at the factory. Before that, none of the automakers did this.
New technologies
Before the production of the new A8 in 1982, Volkswagen signed an agreement with the firm Alcoa, which was engaged in the development of technology for the production of aluminum bodies. Aluminum is much lighter than steel, so this transition allowed the installation of an all-wheel drive, and also corrosion is not dangerous for aluminum. Then all was led by Ferdinand Pih, who decided in terms of prestige to bypass Porsche, who was run by Ferdinand Porsche. They had their own games.
Already by 1991, the design of the car and the concept were ready; Chris Bird and Dirk van Brekel were working on the design. In 1993, the Audi Space Frame was introduced at the Frankfurt Motor Show, which made an obvious sensation in public. Since 1994, the car began to produce mass and it was possible to buy.
The car was interesting in that it was made of aluminum, a multi-link suspension was used at the front and rear, and as an option you can order all-wheel drive and a diesel engine. After 1999, a fairly reliable diesel V8 appeared. Audi A8 with a V6 engine and a V8 with a volume of 3.7 liters were equipped with front-wheel drive, while cars with a 4.2 V8 engine initially went all-wheel drive.
In the first generation A8, there was still no air suspension; as an option, a pneumatic system could be ordered that maintains the height of the rear part. But without pneuma suspension and so complex in terms of design. Technically, the Audi A8 was clearly ahead of the W140 and E38. But still it was difficult to compete with these cars.
Today the A8 D2 is very inexpensive and looks like an interesting car, but it can bring quite a surprise. Prices are different, it all depends on its condition. For 400 - 600 thousand rubles, you can take something more or less worthwhile. The main thing is to look carefully at the car during the purchase.
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Body из алюминия, и ржавеет он не сильно, если и появляется коррозия, то она незначительная. Если где-то краска слезет, то появляется прочная оксидная пленка, которая не позволяет кузову дальше ржаветь. Ржавчина может появляться при взаимодействии с другими химическими соединениями, которыми в зимнее время посыпают дороги.
When buying, you should look for possible rust near the subframes, on the hinges of the doors, near the exhaust pipe and in places where the electrical wiring is attached to the body. Problems with the body can occur only if the car was in an accident. But with body repair will be a little more difficult, because aluminum requires a different approach.
But it is almost impossible to cook the aluminum body, because parts are warped during heating. Usually use epoxy glue, putty, special fabrics. The most difficult to restore factory seams. But all the same now there are many services that successfully work with aluminum. Also, when buying, there is plenty to choose from, the main thing is not to find the car in which the handicraft was made.
Checking the body before buying should start with checking whether the car was in an accident, then you need to inspect all the cavities of the body in which dirt can accumulate. And check the places where parts made of other metals are attached to the aluminum body.
Be sure to check the drains under the front glass so that they are not clogged, because the water will flow into the cabin. Also, the drainage holes are small and easily clogged, and the stove seals are foam, so they do not stand for more than 10 years. This should be monitored, because if water floods the wiring or motor control unit, it will not be very pleasant. Be sure to once a year to clean the drainage of air conditioning and all possible drains. And even better at every opportunity to blow the drains, clean the leaves and other dirt from above. And clearing the drain of the air conditioner is also not difficult - it is necessary to cut off the edge of the red hose, then it will rarely clog.
Water can also get into the trunk if drainage is blocked, so you should also clean it there, because if water goes into the trunk, then the end of the wiring, sound insulation and upholstery will come, and the smell will appear.
There is still not very important problem - grilles and moldings. Over time, the glue does not withstand the loads, and the grille may fall off, so in order not to wait for this, you must re-fasten it, you can use aluminum screws, or put them on rivets.
On cars before 1995, the body is slightly different from the cars produced later. Hood, radiators, fans will not fit from younger machines to versions produced before 1995. Therefore, if you have a car of earlier years of release, it is better to avoid frontal impacts, because the repair will then be expensive.
By the way, the hood of the old versions will not be easy to get; they were just a little released. So you have to alter the car a bit and get a restyled version. By the way, Volkswagen, strongly does not support old cars, unlike Mercedes or BMW, even despite the fact that this is a representative class.
Salon
Inside, everything is expensive and of high quality, but Mercedes is still better. The condition of the cabin depends on the previous owners. After long runs, the wear and tear on the passenger compartment is visible, the skin becomes more worn. Seats are usually overwritten, steering wheel and lining in the driver's legs. In general, where contact occurs most often, everything is erased there.
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After many years of operation, the inscriptions on the instrument panel begin to fade, the buttons break, everything can be changed, the prices for the buttons are not high. There are cases that the lights on the dashboard go out, it can be either fuses, or just one of the elements in the central locking unit has blown.
The armrests also break down over time, but the climate control on dorestayling machines is a real problem, the fan doesn’t serve it for a long time, the air damper actuators break, and the controller also breaks. In general, the climate problems may be different, so who does not want to bother, it is better not to touch it and not to bathe, ride without climate. In order to change everything, you need to allocate a lot of money for these things, you can take used parts, but they can also break down, as lucky.
In addition to the climate in the cabin there is still a lot of various trifles, which also eventually fail. Therefore, to fully restore the salon may require serious investments - several tens of thousands of rubles. And for those who buy these cars - this is a lot of money. And those who have a lot of money, better buy a new Audi A8.
Electronics and everything connected with it
Wipers have a weak electric motor, so wipers can stop working. But this is not a problem - there is an anti-rain, it is enough to put it on the glass and the water will drain, the visibility will be excellent, and there will be no need for wipers. Also, door wiring can suffer, especially on the driver's door. And if water often gets into the cabin, then the main wiring harness may suffer on the right side, and then the taillights, music and other devices that are in the cabin will stop working. But this harness is inexpensive and can always be changed.
By the way, when doing dry-cleaning of the cabin, you need to be careful, because the memory blocks of the seats, steering wheel and mirrors are not very tight. And if the trunk is poured, the blocks of the immobilizer, anti-theft system and control of the autonomous heater will suffer. If you drive fast on bad roads, the body level sensors of cars with xenon will break. Also, the ignition units are not reliable, and on almost all cars they have long been replaced by a non-original.
On all-wheel drive cars, the fuel level sensor in the gas tank may be damaged. Also fail the fuel pump and fuel transfer system from one half of the tank to the other. Therefore, it often happens that the car drives half of the tank. In general, the electronics in the car is full, so the malfunction happens to it quite often. Therefore, you need to be able to deal with the electrician yourself in order to drive the old Audi A8, because on the road something will fail and will not be very convenient.
Steering, brakes and suspension
For the first time, a multi-link appeared on the A8 in a front-class car. Therefore, comfort at a very high level, the wheels have excellent grip. But there are lots of knots that wear out quickly, especially if you often drive on a bad road. Aluminum levers are used in the suspension, but they are not particularly durable. Anyway, this design is quite complicated and it is also expensive and not convenient to repair it.
Recommended article: Tuning Volkswagen Golf 2: optics, bumpers, skirts and grilleOf course, over the years, the service station has already learned how to repair the dorestayling and after-styled Audi A8 suspensions. You can even put a non-original (Lemforder or HDE), the price of which is much less, and the quality is generally normal. You can also put parts from the newer suspension Audi A8 D3.
If the suspension will have to be repaired, then it will require substantial expenses, it is necessary to do a comprehensive repair, if one part fails, it will pull along other parts in the suspension. The suspension must be monitored because it affects the safety on the road. If you drive carefully, the suspension will last about 150,000 km.
The most expensive to repair is the system supporting the level of the height of the body on the long versions. As a rule, these systems have long been disconnected, and instead they are ordinary springs with shock absorbers. Also expensive are the rear arms. Sometimes it happens that the aluminum subframes begin to be covered with corrosion, so you need to watch them.
Since the machine is large and heavy, the brake system is heavily loaded, so quite often it is necessary to change the pads and discs sometimes. On cars released before restyling, there were problems with the calipers on the front wheels. Also, the ABS unit often fails. But ABS is also not a very important system, you can score on it.
Some tuning enthusiasts install brakes from the charged version of the S8 or newer A8 D3. The main thing is to make sure that they fit. The steering wheel is generally reliable, with time it may appear at the lath of play or tapping, but the working fluid will not flow for a long time. But the nozzles can leak, so they need to monitor and sometimes check the fluid level.
It happens that the system that regulates the force of the steering depending on the speed fails. This is an additional option for cars with a 6-cylinder engine, and the base for cars with V8. When the sensors of this system stop working, the steering wheel will become very light, which means that the steering booster may also fail. Usually GUR is up to 200 000 km. by itself. You also need to periodically change the power steering fluid, but no one will ever do that. Usually they drive it until it completely breaks down, and when it becomes very expensive to repair the car, it is handed over for scrap.
And in general, buying such an old car, you should not go there very often, because it will quickly go out of order, problems will start to come out everywhere. This is a weekend car. Go to the disco or go for a weekend ride with a friend. That is 50-100 km. a week if she goes, it will last for a long time. If you need a car for every day, and there is a need to drive 200-500 km. per day, it is better to take a new or 3-year-old Ford Focus or something else like that and fry it in the tail and in the mane. Spare parts for it are cheap, and while it is new - it still trains.
Next, a short video about the Audi A8 D2 1999:
