'Ex Audi Fleet' A8 for £1300? JUST HOW BAD IS IT?!

In today's video we take a look at an Audi A8 that I bought cheaply a little while ago. Shockingly, the 20 year V8 barge has a few issues! Join me as we check the car out and see if you can buy a big luxury car on a budget!
I hope you enjoy, please drop it a like and a comment!
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[@jackjones6748]

Still looks smart for 20 years old. Can waft around being clarkson on a eco run 😂

[@kylewhisman]

Love the front on those before the facelift

[@henrykravitz468]

Still looks great 20 years down the line, just a shame it has all the small niggles plus the suspension to be done

[@owensteele1645]

Pre-facelift front looks really understated, far better than the post-facelift grille which looks like it came off a Rover 45.

[@pdglisa9087]

Hi Joe. You are fast becoming one of my favourite channels. I love the new cinematics and music. Really interesting to see the inner workings of a car dealer. Keep it up, and thank you.

[@ShiftingMetal]

Thanks, really appreciate it! 😊

[@julienwill3284]

If you want to look like Russian Mafia, this is the car for you. When you think what it cost in 2003 absolute bargain. Cannot understand why it's still not sold Joe. Another great video of a great old motor well engineered for the price of a Ford Focus!

[@TJC156]

You videos have come on a huge amount in the last 6 months or so. I love the weekly updates as it’s very insightful- please keep it up!

[@ShiftingMetal]

Thanks, much appreciated!

[@martinbardiovsky7698]

I bought face-lift version for 2K 3.0D with almost 180k on clock changed both intake manifolds , driver side suspension airbag, lower pasanger suspension arm, both track rod ends, new battery, fluids and filters and of course cleaned windscreen drainage + changed passenger seat module...amazing car now driving like a dream. Love to drive it on long journeys all over the UK... few hundreds pounds spent but lot off saved by doing all repairs my self just watching KZbin videos

[@Vehiclescore]

Great video!

[@mdwroblewski]

I've seen this car on the website for a few months. It's good to see a summary video about it.

[@richardwigley4942]

Thanks lam Richard thanks for your honesty

[@alundavies5171]

Totally agree with ur final sum up of the car Joe no such thing as a cheap Luxuary V8

[@d.b.cooper1]

Looks great, really reminds me of the Transporter movie with Json Stamtham rocking about in one of these. Hard sell in this environment, but kinda thing you'd see still around continental Europe. They love these things

[@davidclarke9767]

I put Pirelli P Zeroes on my Range rover and it made a big difference to the road noise now it's considerably quieter all round.

[@joeyontheblock]

The 'last legs' infotainment opening panel cracked me up 🤣

[@christopherwhite9146]

Just bought an Audi A8 D2 3.7L for £1550. It’s a lovely car. Surprised it is only 68,000~ miles

[@Kingdonnerkebab]

Ah at last the video I have been asking for for a long time. Sadly not what I was expecting, such a shame its been meticulously looked after then not at all in its later life. Hopefully you get most of your cash back Joe on this one. I would have loved it but too many faults for me to deal with now. Be a great project for someone though.

[@Jimbo8012]

Yeah, I think there's definitely a good car lurking underneath. It's just a 20 year old A8 D3 that was impeccably maintaned until 2021 and then did a tonne of miles in 2 years and probably didn't have the same level of maintenance during that time. Did it have 4 services in 2 years? Probably not. Did it have 8 oil changes in 2 years? I highly doubt it but this is what a car really needs if it's doing over 20k miles a year especially if it's a 20 year old A8. I agree that it'd be a great project for someone. A couple of grand would likely sort this.

[@chrisharraway1425]

I'm avid watcher of your channel, but this is the first time I think I've comnented. I've just started watching this episode and I'm going to make a prediction in answer to your question: No, you cannot buy an aging luxury car like an A8 for cheap and expect it to be a cheap or reliable car 😄 I will as always watch until the end to see how things go though

[@ShiftingMetal]

Thanks for watching!

[@chrisharraway1425]

Seems I was clairvoyant! @@ShiftingMetal

[@pit_stop77]

Still be a good car especially if you can resolve the power drain, or. Alternatively buy a topdon 😂

[@Jimbo8012]

I saw this on your website and thought someone had bought it. It's tempting tbh. Probably a money pit but my god, an A8 D3 has aged so much better than an equivalent BMW 7 Series and Mercedes S Class. This still looks like a modern car and the body work is in pretty good nick for a car that's 20 years old. Beautiful inside. I'm surprised no one bought this. I do wonder whether the 43,000 miles over the last 2 years sent this car a little over the edge tbh? Looked like a very low mileage, incredibly well kept car before that 2 year stint. The MOT history before the 43k miles in 2 years was utterly impeccable. Just needs someone to fall in love with it and throw a grand or 2 at this. It'd be a cool luxury barge again.

[@dominykasgerd291]

i heard from owners bmw 7e e65 is cheaper to maintain

[@TheWhiskeyMan-rk7qv]

Would be good, but sad reality is it’s likely going to be scrapped instead. There’s just not a big enough market for old cars.

[@markfoden765]

Thankyou for showing us a video of how to buy a car,have the wheel's refurbed etc then send to auction or something to probably loose money🤔🤣🤣👍

[@ShiftingMetal]

No problem at all, I have loads of tips like that, make sure to follow for more! 😂

[@DaleSteel]

My E92 m3 bmw has those folding out things on doors. They are the best thing I ever did see

[@HugoJunkers-lc4kk]

A very good car that lasts a very long time and can be passed on to children and grandchildren without rust. The rear axle support is a work of art made of aluminum welded with a laser. It will last longer than most new ones offered today.

[@mrd64]

It's a shame you couldn't fix it. Compared with the contemporary BMW and Mercedes of the period, it still looks like a modern car.

[@pauld7861]

Should do the cinematic drive bys & dramatic music at the very beginning Joe, showcase the car until you hit us with the things not working & dodgy suspension

[@split_pin]

Im just starting this journey with a 3.0 TDi example. It was very cheap though so I can live with its foibles. The suspension doesn't seem right on the featured example. I can hear the shocks coming through to the cabin. Mine is like driving on a cloud.

[@ZAF_VIP]

Definitely something wrong with the suspension judging by how bouncy the ride is - it should be absorbing those bumps - you'll still feel them in an A8 from that era but it shouldn't be as bouncy as that. All in all they are a nice car - I'm currently considering a cheap one (2006 3.0 TDI Model) just for the fun of it as a run around car that can just be used up without any worries about the condition.

[@tomwall7966]

Animal❤ of a machine

[@ianhaynes5898]

This type of car may seem cheep when 10 or so years old but that is because the people who like that sort of thing generally have the money to buy new ones and not 10 year old cars. I had a Mercedes E class for 18 years and the only problems I had were things that just wear out - every exterior bulb went except the driver’s side head lamp. In the end I gave it away to a friend. It was still in decent condition with everything working, including air conditioning, but I did not think it worthwhile to try and sell it.

[@BrearleyTV]

Raffle it? I’d buy a ticket

[@allan4787]

I had a 4.2 version of this I forget the year possibly the same age as this. At one point had battery going flat issue which turned out to be due to seat motor continually on

[@allan4787]

I was a fabulous car I think 6 years old when I bought it. Quattro used to click occasionally Audi never found the cause.

[@chriswilkinson7431]

Hi, how did you narrow it down to the seat motor? My 6 month old battery is going flat quick but not found the drain yet

[@prckata]

​@@chriswilkinson7431 how quick?

[@prckata]

​@@chriswilkinson7431and did you found problem?

[@tomwall7966]

Must visit this guy and his motors where you based up north or down south😊

[@ukultimaterc]

Friend did similar with a stupidly cheap Maserati 3200Gt, its nearly bankrupt him!! Sold it and lost 4k in 3 months but what fun it was on the day almost everything worked.

[@Jimbo8012]

The problem with this A8 was that it was obviously very well looked after until 2021 and then someone bought it and put 43k miles on it in 2 years. Just sent the car over the edge. Prior to 2021, it had 15 years of impeccable MOT history (not a single fail). Hardly any advisories. There's good car hiding in there. Just needs someone to fall in love with it and spend 2-3 grand to put it right again. As for your friend with the 3200GT, well he kind of got what he deserved. 😆Beautiful car and I think they're going to go up in price but you can't buy them cheap! Firstly, they were never the most reliable car out of the factory. Even good ones are money pits and they cost a fortune to service. It's the same with any 20+ year old Italian sports/GT car tbh.

[@ukultimaterc]

It was bought for a laugh out of a car auction at a price that was ridiculous quite frankly, he made the mistake of falling in love with it before his wife took his credit card away!!

[@Jimbo8012]

@@ukultimaterc- The 3200GT is a lovely looking car and brought back Maserati from the brink. It's easy to see why people, like your friend, buy without thinking rationally. Even good ones are money pits though. Well, if you look at this A8 objectively, it's an ex fleet car that has never failed an MOT. It had 16 years of near perfect MOTs with no or few advisories. Obviously very well looked after until its 43k mile stint in 2 years. It was only the last MOT that had 8 advisories on it. It was worth a punt based on the above. Sometimes you win some and sometimes you lose some.

[@bassicuk1986]

Looks decent but shocking how nothing works well inside. If this was a same year Lexus LS. EVERYTHING would work flawlessly.

[@leeallen1407]

My sort of car that....but then i also like the smaller car........basically i like old cars

[@jonathanfrankel6787]

Still looking modern after 20 years! £1300 bargain . Stick a private plate on there and nobody would have a clue it was 2 decades old.

[@LCOF]

Apart from the suspension, a lot of what's wrong could have been sorted out after an afternoon on ebay hunting down bits. You could update the infotainment with an aftermarket solution. But I understand all of that would take time.

[@Jimbo8012]

The aftermarket Apple Carplay/Android Auto solution costs quite a lot of money. Usually about £650-700 with labour. Some of the other bits are cheap enough but I don't think it's worth Joe's time to fix. There's a good car lurking here judging by the MOT history which is largely impeccable. Someone needs to fall in love with this car and spend a couple of grand on it.

[@user-sf7kl9uh7k]

Nah, too many issues, breaker.

[@Jimbo8012]

@@user-sf7kl9uh7k - Well that depends on what the budget is. The car probably needs 2 grand worth of remedial work. Maybe 3k at most. Even the last MOT wasn't that bad. 8 advisories, most of them pretty minor. Prior to the 2 year 43k mile stint, the car had 15 years of near flawless MOT history. The car has never failed an MOT. This is highly unusual for a 20 year old car. There's a pretty good car lurking underneath. If this was an S8 D3, the remedial work would be done in a flash. As this car is only worth £3.5k, it's probably not worth doing from a purely logical sense. If someone falls in love with the car however, then it may be worth bringing this back to its former glory.

[@user-sf7kl9uh7k]

@@Jimbo8012 Well you've just done a full 360° and come to the same conclusion as me. It's worth about 3k at the most, and requires that and probably more to bring it up to retail standard. So off to the breakers it goes.

[@Jimbo8012]

@@user-sf7kl9uh7k - Off to the breakers if you're not that bothered about A8's. Some people are. Also, this A8 doesn't require 3k worth of work to bring it up to retail standard. 2k-3k is what it would cost to bring this car back to the immaculate standard it was 2 years previously when it passed its MOT with no advisories. I've seen far worse cars saved. In fact, my Dad had a 1996 XJ Sport that he bought from new. Only had 46k miles on it after 23 years of use but it had a fair bit of rust and wasn't running (autobox had seized). He ended it up giving it away to a mechnic friend who could and should have sold it off for spares. It was worth 2 balloons. Instead he fixed it in his own time and spent another £3k on the bodywork/paint. It made no financial sense for the mechanic to do this but he loves the car. Still on the road and cherished.

[@lucythemoggy1970]

Joe, you would love my car! mine scored 999!

[@zzhughesd]

Never had anything much respect for the ‘8’. Loved an S8 had for 12 months but torque converter slip so ended up being part exchanged.

[@volt8684]

I’d love something like this but the road tax and maintenance makes it impossible

[@duljmadahar414]

How much is it advertised for

[@skodakatie7341]

This must have been some car in its time, sadly though, as with all prestige cars, when they become old enough to be affordable, the parts prices remain the same as if they were new. It’s the age old problem, they are affordable to buy, but not affordable to run.

[@Slikk750Blokk]

Not true at all

[@chriswilkinson7431]

Hi, how did you narrow down the battery drain? My 6 month old battery is going flat quick but not found the drain yet

[@ShiftingMetal]

The mechanics used a multimeter and pulled fuses until the drain stopped

[@chriswilkinson7431]

Thanks for the reply

[@prckata]

​@@ShiftingMetalwhat is normal power drain for a8?

[@SportFury1966]

Almost had a full moon incident.

[@clairebroughton3244]

Make sure you get to spec savers 😅

[@AshRowland]

What's the crack with the Merc in the background at 9 minutes?

[@ShiftingMetal]

That’s Josh’s 190E, there’s a video in the channel. It’s up for sale at the moment 👍

[@AshRowland]

@@ShiftingMetal must have missed that one! Thanks 👍

[@F4Insight-uq6nt]

Price reflects condition. Agenda noted.

[@smithy5271]

Need deep pockets for maintenance

[@DaleSteel]

I never knew they did a 3.7 v8. Ha ha that cars bouncing Round like a mating kangaroo suspension def needs attention

[@Jimbo8012]

The last MOT raised a couple of suspension issues.

[@aceace5457]

a good buy but as you have said its too much and the age its a no no . 😀

[@Aero93]

In my country, that same car with a hole in the floor instead of seat going around 8k euros...

[@allan4787]

Which country??

[@Kingdonnerkebab]

Must be Portugal, I live there and the prices are ridiculously high.

[@priteshchampaneri5101]

For a ex fleet car you would have thought it’ll be kept in a pristine condition!

[@Jimbo8012]

It was. Look at the MOT history until 2021. It was pristine. MOT after MOT with no or few advisories for 15 years. Then someone bought it and put 43k miles on it in 2 years. Obviously sent the car over the edge.

[@andrewgabbott102]

It's a shame that these once desirable cars just end up with fairly small but hideously expensive things go wrong with them like the gear mechanism on the display and end up as not worth fixing.

[@Kogaion78]

folks...how much should anyone put into this to refurbish it to an acceptable level ???...

[@brenglover72]

First big bill will see it parted out. A shame.

[@williamegler8771]

You can buy it for fish and chips money but can you afford to repair it when something expensive fails or fuel insure and maintain it?

[@carfella7994]

This must have been some car in 2003

[@visionsinblue7093]

19:38 what music is that? Great video of a rarely seen Audi. Shame it's such a dog though 🙄

[@Jimbo8012]

I don't think this A8's a dog. It's a 20 year old car with still relatively low miles that needs some TLC. Look at the MOT history until 2021. It was pristine. MOT after MOT with no or few advisories for 15 years. Then someone bought it and put 43k miles on it in 2 years. Obviously sent the car over the edge. Just needs someone to fall in love with it and throw a couple of grand at it. It'd be a cool luxury barge again.

[@visionsinblue7093]

@@Jimbo8012 okay, it's not a dog. Dogs are cute, warm, friendly and fluffy - the total opposite to the A8.

[@Jimbo8012]

@@visionsinblue7093 - Touche. I don't think this is a bad car though. Just a 20 year old A8 D3 that was impeccably maintaned until 2021 and then did a tonne of miles in 2 years and probably didn't have the same level of maintenance during that time. Did it have 4 services in 2 years? Probably not. Did it have 8 oil changes in 2 years? I highly doubt it but this is what a car really needs if it's doing over 20k miles a year especially if it's an old A8.

[@parvinkukar1259]

It’s a shame to put brand newly refurbished wheels on a car that’s going through auction possibly. Surprise you did not swap them over to a another set of wheels and use these wheels on a car you are going to retail, or is that not possible?

[@johnmurdock3591]

What auction is this? All I buy is mistakes at my auction

[@ShiftingMetal]

BCA

[@Si1983h]

I know what that interior colour is… it’s dentist’s chair! Still a nice place to be though!

[@robloxfan4271]

your mic is way too quiet

[@DaleSteel]

EX audi fleet lol. Maybe from the 2003 fleet.

[@smoothmicra]

Hmm, perhaps too honest? A luxury barge I wouldn't touch with a (luxury) barge pole.

[@keyboarddancers7751]

How much road tax??🤣

[@420somewhereG]

👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼🚘

[@johnthorley8162]

From experience, the A8 does attract females i'm afraid, in that, my last 4 A8's, have been written off by female drivers.... go figure :).

[@toy838]

Shame thanks

[@Sam-vk3tz]

So you bought an absolute dud then slated it for all the issues which are clearly apparent with it…Nevertheless a good spin off from this would be sourcing an alternative to review then giving your 2 cents on how good they actually are even in todays standards when properly maintained? 👍🏼

[@ShiftingMetal]

Not really slating it though

[@iainjackson5107]

Audi interiors when new appear really good design and quality. However after a few years as seen here it’s clear they’re just crap. Not engineered in the same way as BMW

[@Jimbo8012]

Iain, it's a 20 year old car. It's going to have things wrong with it. I've been in plenty of E65 BMW 7 Series' and W220 S Class' of the time and they look and feel like utter shit now. Mercs of that time period are especially bad from a build quality perspective.

[@bunter6]

Yeah because the E65 7 series is praised for it's reliability and having no build or electrical problems 😂

[@Jimbo8012]

@@bunter6 - Exactly. You'd have to be certifiable to buy a used E65. They're a fucking nightmare. As for a W220, it's even worse. I've never seen a W220 that didn't have a fuck load of problems with it (rust, electrics, bits falling off it inside and out). You couldn't give me one, they're that bad.