1993 Audi V8 Quattro six-speed from Germany - Comments

Replaced parts so far: Oxygen sensor, front brakes, left rear brake caliper, rebuilt alternator, left distributor, battery for auxiliary heater and lots of suspension bushings. Nothing extraordinary.

Other worries:

- both front BOSE amps dead.

- Brake caliper mounts are somewhat worn and need to be replaced soon.

- some lights in dash and switches are out.

- rear power sunshade drive is missing a few teeth in gear drive - makes grinding noise when closing.

- original exhaust still under the car, front muffler will go soon.

- biggest gripe: replaced valve seals at 150k, still burns 1qt of oil every 800 miles.

The car is generally a blast to drive and goes like a bat out of hell no matter what (I have the Euro-only six-speed manual transmission). Average mileage is around 19 mpg.

Maintenance and repair costs are high, even compared to other vehicles in the same class. The 150k scheduled service which includes a timing belt change ran a whopping $2000. Parts pricing is outrageous, with availability becoming more and more of a concern - already there are some trim pieces that are no longer obtainable... this will make this car a hard-to-maintain classic in the future.

Good things: interior still looks like new. Superb build quality, perfect fit and finish. Good reliability record - never left me stranded. Also never had any electronic gremlins in both V8 I own (ed).

The UFO front brakes are a little overburdened by today's traffic though - I encounter considerable fade in high-speed autobahn driving conditions.

That six speed must be a blast to drive, however, UFO's were eliminated by the 1992 model year. Unless, of course, they were still offered over the G60's in Europe after 1991.

This is to clear up some brake related points:

All V8s sold in Europe (and elsewhere) left the factory equipped with the UFO brakes until the very end of that model. Absolutely no exceptions. I`m the author of this review, my car is one of the last ones built. For model year 1992, Audi indeed made some changes to the front suspension components (mainly to be able to use the same parts as on the then new C4) but the UFO brakes remained on the car.

The Girling G60 brake from the substantially lighter and less powerful 10V Audi 200 used to be dealer-retrofitted (with factory backing) as an "emergency quick fix" to some 1990 cars in the North American markets (US/Canada) when and after owners complained about warping (and repeated rotor changes did not fix the issue) ONLY. This conversion was done solely to pacify select angry customers who otherwise would have dumped their $50k cars and shopped elsewhere, leaving Audi with another PR disaster just after the corporate image barely recovered from the 'unintended acceleration' media nightmare and tried to tap into the big-prestige market for the first time.

The G60 brake is absolutely inadequate and totally overburdened by the power and weight of the V8 except maybe for the most sedate driving styles and environments - spirited driving is a no-no as is mountain driving...Remember, we`re talking about a two-ton car that goes 159 mph (257 km/h) - at least that`s what mine is capable of according to the GPS - much to the chagrin of some owners of much newer big-horsepower cars, the majority of which being electronically limited to 155 mph :-)

(European) V8 owners dissatisfied with the price and performance of the UFO brakes today mostly convert to the "HP2" front brake setup found in the V8-powered "C4" S4 and the later S6 (1992-1996) as well as the D2 A8. If you are in the US, the strut/brake assembly from a 1995 S6 would fit right in.

In Europe, used components for this HP2 conversion are plentiful and cheap to come by; replacement rotors cost only a fraction of the UFO parts and every parts store carries them; warping is no longer an issue even on the track and fade resistance is improved somewhat compared to the UFOs. And when opting for the smaller of the two available sizes (there are 314 and 322 mm diameter versions around, the latter being used in the S8) some 16-inch wheels still fit.

I`ll keep my UFOs, though. They last long (pads ~45,000 miles, rotors double that) despite heavy use and allow me to keep using the stock 15-inch winter tires.

Does anyone know what a good price on a 93 would be with around 200km on it???

Thanks.

That depends on where you live.

In general, prices for these cars have all but bottomed out. In (western) Europe, especially Germany, well-maintained late-model ones can be found in the EUR 3000 range, maxing out at EUR 5000. Long wheelbase versions (of which only 260 were ever made) and manual transmission models with the 4.2l engine are sought after most and therefore a little more expensive.

Germany`s the biggest market for these cars by a wide margin.

But these low prices have one reason: Owning a V8 is expensive. VERY expensive. Expect to pay around EUR 0.40 per Kilometer in running costs if you work on it yourself. If you can`t afford that, stay away.

Have a look at www.autoscout.com for a market overview across western Europe and www.mobile.de for prices in Germany. And check out www.audiv8.com - there you'll find an excellent buyers guide as well as classifieds and the best Audi V8 forum on the 'net (speaking German a plus for that one...).