Buying Used: Audi S8

The Audi S8 represents a lot of vehicle for your money, being thousands cheaper than a competitor like the Mercedes-AMG S63. That partly is a reflection of the fact that it never quite took off like some of the opposition, even though, with the D3 generation of 2006, it came with a 443bhp V10.

Lamborghini liked it so much they breathed on it to extract 552bhp and then, in 2008, they added it to the Gallardo. But the engine in both cars produced 398lb ft, with that arriving at 6000rpm in the screaming Lamborghini. As befits the longer legs of a luxury saloon, the S8 managed that from exactly half those revs.

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But this is a far from entirely sensible choice. Despite the aluminium body, which will be more expensive to repair than steel panels, this is a weighty car. In the front is a huge engine that fills the bay. It’s thirsty. If you’re going all Jason Statham, then you could be looking at fuel consumption in single figures. Maybe you’ll see 25mpg or so on the motorway when cruising. The four-wheel drive system accounts for some of that, and adds more complexity. And of course that engine needs to be either removed or partially dismantled to get at a lot of stuff, and there are ten spark plugs and so on to keep on top of.

But you might forget that when you sit in the luxury leather cabin that is fitted with just about everything they could think of when this was new. Parking aids, infotainment, keyless go, sat nav, soft-close doors, double glazing, heated memory seats, solar sunroof – they’ll probably all be there along with desirable extras like the B&O sound system and Carbon Pack.

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This is a bit of a street sleeper, a hugely powerful, charismatic luxury saloon that doesn’t shout about it, until you get that V10 singing. With prices starting at £7500, it’s a tempting bit of kit, but consider a few things before you leap.

You need a full service history for sure, and consider getting a professional in to look it over as it’s a complex car. The engine is good for about 100,000 miles but then check for oil pump seals and leaking cam cover gaskets. Don’t forget that to do things like replace the starter motor you have to remove the whole engine.

Its Tiptronic transmission can get tired if it’s been used too aggressively and can have problems shifting.

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The S8 sits lower than the usual A8 and has complicated suspension that is expensive to repair, although it’s usually the front that goes. Brake discs are about £460 a pop and a set of pads £430. If the electronic parking brake fails you could be looking at a £1000 bill.

Some original equipment parts are now getting hard to find, so keep a note of parts suppliers like Prestige Motor Services (www.prestigemotorservices.co.uk) who can supply new and used parts.

In the £7500 to £11,000 bracket you’re looking at an early 2006 era car with over 100k on it. First price is private, second price is dealer.

In the £11,000 to £16,000 range you can get one of the earlier cars with lower mileage.

And if you have £16,000 to £19,000 then you’re looking at a low-mileage early car or say a last-car 2010 model with anything from 60k to 100k on the clocks.

Graham Scott is a writer for AutoCar