While over 2.5 decades old now, this 1999 Audi A8 4WD luxury sedan is a nice compromise for folks who are overwhelmingly tired of the level of electronics and other media screens, WiFi nannies, and other often-glitchy stuff in modern vehicles. It can be found posted here on craigslist in Seattle, Washington, and the seller is asking $9,770. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Curvette for the tip!
The seller’s photos were tiny, so my apologies for the pixelated look of these images. Owning a 27-year-old Audi A8 Quattro came with all of whatever was considered top-of-the-line luxury and technology in 1999, a year that brought us NASA’s Mars Polar Lander launch, W. Jefferson Clinton’s impeachment trial, the debut of SpongeBob SquarePants, and speaking of overwhelming technology glitches, whether preceived or real, the Y2K kerfuffle that ended up being as vanilla as this car’s white paint.
Audi offered the top-notch first-generation A8 from 1994 for the 1995 model year until the end of 2002. We got them here in the U.S. from ’97 through 2002. They only came in a four-door sedan body style (either short or long), but I wondered what a two-door sedan might have looked like… That one is pretty quick and sloppy, but I like the look. Audi actually made a concept coupe in 1997, but it never made it to production.
There’s no manual here, but a 5-speed manual and a 6-speed manual are listed on Wiki, but they were for early cars and primarily for Europe. We don’t get to see inside the trunk compartment, but I’m guessing it looks as perfect as the rest of this car looks. The interior looks great; this car really appears to be a gem, condition-wise. The gray leather seats look almost like new, both front and rear. This car appears to have the “warm weather package” (is that needed in Seattle?!), which includes a solar sunroof, manual rear sun shades, and a power sunshade for the rear window. That package was offered on North American cars, and it powered a fan to keep the interior a bit cooler in hot weather.
The engine is Audi’s 4.2-liter DOHC V8 with 306 horsepower and 302 lb-ft of torque. Passing through Audi’s legendary AWD Quattro system to all four wheels when needed, the seller says this has been a two-owner Seattle car since new, which was 80,624 miles ago. For less than 1/4 of what I paid for my current business road trip car, which has been a nightmare of recalls and technology glitches, this A8 would sure be a welcome change, albeit at less than half the MPG.
One of the advanced features of the A8 was its aluminum chassis — which Audi called the ASF, or Aluminum Space Frame — cutting a fair amount of weight out of the car but otherwise hidden under those handsome panels.
Like the Audi V8 before it, the A8 was a pretty special car. It would cruise quietly at 140 mph, with passengers guessing it was traveling half that fast. A smooth-riding high-quality product, as one would expect at the rather lofty price tag. Was entertaining on winding roads, too, with lots of traction (of course) and excellent brakes.
I saw and drove a V8 with the five-speed manual, but don’t believe any A8s were so equipped in U.S. trim. The automatic was a “Tiptronic” so offered “manual” gear selection, but that torquey V8 didn’t really need the driver’s help beyond applying a heavy right foot.
These are vastly underrated. I doubt they’ll ever be capital-C Collector Cars, but they should be.
Luxury Qship for all seasons.
Just hope you’re on good terms with a mechanic that knows old Audi’s. Or you’re a good DIY’er.
Nice to look at BUT like any Audi you need to have fairly deep pockets to drive this car between premium gas and maintenance costs.
Not quite. Audi, like every German manufacturer sucks now, but in the nineties, they rivaled MB for quality. My wife put 250K on a 1996 A6 wagon, with no big repairs, mainly preventative maintenance. This only issue is body work if yoiu get in an accident, the A8 would be totaled. I wish this was closer, but I have a pristine 1999 XJ8, that I am not going to part with!
When I see these older Audis, especially the larger and luxurious ones for sale, first thing I think of is “money pit”. When things start breaking (and they will ), hoo boy! Open that wallet. As nice looking as this is, one has to wonder why this car is up for sale. “Get rid of it while the gettin’ is good?” Personally I wouldn’t give more than half the asking price. That’s just me. If you absolutely gotta have an older A8, who am I to judge?
I picked one up at a Gun Auction in Plant City, Fl for a bid of $1,000.00. Both bumpers were badly cracked (black duct tape didn’t look terrible). Otherwise it looked, ran and drove very well. ICE COLD A/C! Drove it quite a bit for about 5 yrs. Don’t remember changing the oil…. The transmission gave out, was quoted $12,000.00 ! Um No, Donated it.
Dan, you could have saved the $150 a month that it costs for a CarShield warranty for those five years and paid for 75% of that transmission! Ha.
I have one. It’s a wonderful car and worth maintaining.
The ultimate cruising sled!! Same V8 that is in the Touareg, 9 years later…
Very nice Audi. I liked my 96 A4 5 speed for the ride quality.
nothing but problems on wheels just like the land rover posted today.
Not quite.
Audis are no more of a maintenance problem than any other German vehicle, including VWs.
It helps to stay on top of maintenance and above all, replace the timing belt at the scheduled intervals. It also helps to be able to turn a wrench.
I owned a 2000 S4 manual that I bought in 2004 and had no major issues in the 4 years I owned it. I did the brakes and replaced some suspension parts and other regular maintenance items. Timing belt was done at a specialty Audi shop that allowed me to by the high performance parts, including water pump. I sold it to a kid when it had 150K on it and he was thrilled because mine was never screwed with.
Buy the right one, and you will be happy for years.
Great cars! I was a technician at an Audi dealership during that era. I went to 2 weeks of training so my dealership could sell them! Plus the dealership had to buy all of he special tools Audi required for the new D2 A8 model, which was a significant investment. During that time Audi was just starting to sell more cars in the US with the new A4 in ’96. My dealer sold a few A8s here and there, but it was a tough sell at $65-$75 k. One faithful customer bought another A8 after she was t boned at an intersection and it was totaled. The emt’s at the scene said if it wasn’t for the structural strength of the Audi Space Frame her daughter may not have survived the accident!
So the Germans prevail again in some arenas!
Great cars! I was a technician at an Audi dealership during that era. I went to 2 weeks of training so my dealership could sell them! Plus the dealership had to buy all of he special tools Audi required for the new D2 A8 model, which was a significant investment. During that time Audi was just starting to sell more cars in the US with the new A4 in ’96. My dealer sold a few A8s here and there, but it was a tough sell at $65-$75 k. One faithful customer bought another A8 after she was t boned at an intersection and it was totaled. The emt’s at the scene said if it wasn’t for the structural strength of the Audi Space Frame her daughter may not have survived the accident!
So the Germans prevail again in some arenas!