Considering a 2008 A5 3.2

[hevak]

Hi all, I am looking at a 2008 A5 with 25k miles.

I have been some digging around to see what common problems might be and so far I have found Carbon Buildup issues and Control Arm issues. Also I have seen very few people mention anything about the 2008 A5, Almost all the A5s seem to start around 2009.

If anyone has experience with the 2008 or has owned one can comment on ownership i would appreciate it, thanks.

Art

[Audiforumuser]

Waiting for Mops to find this thread. He just sold his '08 but I know he loved it. The 3.2 is a reliable motor.

For what it's worth, my 2009 3.2 has over 100k KM's on it. No oil consumption and no issues. No carbon clean either as it runs like it did from new.

A 2008 with only 25k miles is extremely low miles. Seems like a good find to me.

[Mops@Nemesis]

25K, wow! Can we get a pic. I had 3.2 '08 for 6 year. Only issues ever were motor mounts, and lower arms. Super solid car, and I beat on it hard.

Good read, don't judge :P

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...ild-Pic-Thread

IMG_2595 by Audiyos, on Flickr

Tons more pics in my Flickr link.

[aboone]

FWIW...my 09 3.2 with 115,000 miles has not given me any problems. Do my own maintenance which is probably why. An old, wise mechanic once told me the fewer times a dealership touches your car, the better off it will be. They tend to create more issues than they are capable of fixing.


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[hevak]

Thanks guys,

Outside of mops I've yet to see anyone with an 2008, glad to see you found it reliable, been hard to get opinions on the 2008 model.

This one is owned by an older gentleman who barely drove it. listed at $22k I plan on offering $20k, thoughts on price?

I've found the kb values to be much higher for the earlier a5's not sure why...

[Mops@Nemesis]

Thanks guys,

Outside of mops I've yet to see anyone with an 2008, glad to see you found it reliable, been hard to get opinions on the 2008 model.

This one is owned by an older gentleman who barely drove it. listed at $22k I plan on offering $20k, thoughts on price?

I've found the kb values to be much higher for the earlier a5's not sure why...

That is quite a gem. Ice silver is always a plus, and timeless. Not a common color either. One negative is no S-Line package, but you can at least pick up the stone guards for a few hundred, and the bumpers later if you choose.

At $20K, you're in good. I sold mine for $21,500, with 49K.

The 3.2 cars were more to start with (mine was $52K even without Nav), and the 2.0 cars do not hold quite as well, and could be bought new for just over $40K. Auto or MT?

[Bez]

I think that price is about right based on my recent experience. I just bought an '09 3.2 auto with premium, B&O, xenon and 40k miles for about $22.5k (was actually a trade on a 2012 Jeep JK Unlimited). There were plenty of higher mile 2.0 A5's, but I preferred the lower miles / better condition and was willing to pay a bit more for that.

[hevak]

Makes sense, I really like the s-line side skirts I will probably add those on. This one is auto.

[GeauxA5]

My 09 A5 3.2 has 90k on her and the only issue I’ve had is the water pump went out..

[GeauxA5]

25K, wow! Can we get a pic. I had 3.2 '08 for 6 year. Only issues ever were motor mounts, and lower arms. Super solid car, and I beat on it hard.

Good read, don't judge :P

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...ild-Pic-Thread

IMG_2595 by Audiyos, on Flickr

Tons more pics in my Flickr link.

I miss seeing this car on the forum..

[Mops@Nemesis]

I miss seeing this car on the forum..

Ditto

[dseag2]

I miss seeing this car on the forum..

Yes, that is a gorgeous car.

[hevak]

So I went to take a look at the car, owned by an older retired gentleman, interior was 9.5/10 almost perfect and the exterior was 9/10 small fender rub was about it.

Mechanically the car felt great, except for really unresponsive turns at very low speed, I assume that's due to original 7 year old tires or perhaps low tire pressure?

Things I am hesitant about:

The interior color which I assume was light gray (I think was the only non black option on ice silver), it felt kind of dull, the seats were almost beige looking.
Wood trim which will be promptly swapped with aluminum.
Lack of center console navigation buttons, the area was kind of empty and plastic looking.

Also from everyones feedback it also sounds like I will be in short order of at least 2k worth or repairs (engine mounts and lower arms)

I offered 19k and he is thinking about it.

[Nate B.]

Good place to start I think. See what he replies with.

The stone guards are a fairly simple install. I paid like $300 for mine (bought from the dealer. I could have got a better price elsewhere but wanted to make sure they were OEM exactly.) and they come primed ready for paint. I was charged $90 for a two stage paint with clear coat. A body shop can attach them with just double sided tape. There are few members on here that have had theirs attached with double sided tape only and they are holding up fine. Myself being picky about such things, had the body shop guy install them like they came from the factory. This included drilling into the under panel to install "pins" that the guard slides into. Also they came with double sided tape on the bottom, so there is also that. Long story short, they aren't gonna come off.

I would highly recommend the stone guards. They totally changed the look of my A5 for the better. I also have an S-Line front bumper on the way here in a week or so. It really isn't all that hard to convert a non S-Line car to an S-Line. So if you really want the S style, it is definitely attainable.

Guess I'm getting ahead of myself though. FIRST, buy the car.

Also, ice silver is a beautiful color. I like pretty much every grey that Audi offers. My car is quartz silver, which I absolutely LOVE. It's pretty close to Mops' old car, just a tad darker. The only color I would want more is Avus (Which is what Mops' was). I'm still thrilled with quartz silver though.

[hevak]

Thanks Nate.

He accepted 19k, however, I am having second thoughts because of the control arm issues, during the test drive I did notice a slight vibration at hwy speeds and at the time I just wrote it off as balance is probably needed.

But from reading the forums people have constant issues with no real proven solution, vibrations are one of my big pet peeves and I would be annoyed if I had to live with it.

[Mops@Nemesis]

Great buy. Do not let the mounts and arms sway you. 034 has excellent replacements (improved over OEM) for both. You'll forget about the seat color, trim is cake, and the non-nav is certainly no reason to pass. You could drive this car for a few years, and only lose maybe $5K.