Photo from the online ad

This is the photo which was used online to original spike my interest

The drive home

The first thing that I noticed about the car was the noise. It was not the raucous, motor yacht type noise, which I get from the Bowler, but it was more of a howl coming from the W12 engine. From inside the engine it’s quite muted, but with the windows open and heading under bridges, I could tell I was making some noise. I haven’t yet formed an opinion as to whether I like the level of noise which the car is making, but as I am not going to be changing the exhaust system anytime soon…….I suggest I get used to it! The engine is amazing. It’s incredibly smooth and the gear changes on the auto box are a silky smooth as anything I’ve experienced. I also discovered that the car is equipped with ‘flappy paddles’ on the steering wheel which is something I was not expecting on a car of this type. The second thing I noticed was that I had no fuel left in the tank. Now, having driven 3 miles by this point, I wasn’t sure if this is how things had started, or whether I had had a quarter of a tank which I just used up! I was quietly confident that it was empty when I started so I stopped and filled up. My next ‘exciting’ aspect of a new car……how many litres does the fuel tank hold? Now I know that there are those of you reading this that would say “Well you should have checked that before you bought it” but my view on life is that you’re unlikely to change your car purchase based on if it has a 70, and 80 or a 90 litre tank. It’s just interesting I think!

A full 80 litres of fuel later, and the trip set to 0.00 and I’m on my way to Newbury. I’m really comfy in my surroundings, I adjust all aspects of the seat a) to get comfy and b) to see if all the motors are working, which they are. I noticed that the rear windscreen was misted so hit the rear demist button. As I was looking at the window clear, I noticed that the rear screen doesn’t have the normal demist pattern based around the heated filaments which run through the screen. “That’s weird” I thought, but then saw that it was completely cleared. Turns out there is demister fan which sits on the rear parcel shelf and demists the screen…..nice touch!

It’s now that I start thinking about all the electrics on this car that I haven’t checked. Mirrors, rear windows, interior lights etc. So with 70mph dialled into the cruise control I have a quick check of all the things immediately to my touch. Everything works so far. I’m pretty keen to see what the mpg is on this 6.0l engine at a simple cruise so reset the on board computer and wait. 27.3mpg at 70mph…..I’ll take that, as it’s far better than I thought it might be. An hour or so later I’m coming off the M4 at J13 feeling very pleased with myself having had an uneventful maiden voyage, all phone calls to required petrolhead friends made, and back through the last 5 miles of country lanes to home.

Now comes the real test of your purchase. You are feeling like a kid at Xmas, but your partner’s opinion, and more telling, your children’s faces are yet to come. If you get the “don’t think your ever dropping me of at [insert embarrassing location] in that” you’re in trouble. If your partner gives you the “It’s quite [insert anything in here]” you’re in trouble. In fact anything other than “That’s nice, or that’s cool” you’re in trouble.

For me, the first greeting I get is from my Black Labrador. Tail wagging, a grin from ear to ear and I think I’m on to a winner. With the door open and engine still running, I’m thinking a quick rev is in order to check out the sound, within seconds, the dog has her tail between her legs and has scarpered back inside. Oh crap! Stood in her place is Mrs A. Passenger door opens and in she gets. “Well it’s a lot better than I expected” I’m grabbing that with both hands and stuffing it into the ‘Approval’ drawer. Suddenly the rear doors open and 2 of the 3 little A’s jump in. “Oooo TV screens” “What does that button do?” “Can we go for a drive?”……..my job here is done!  A quick blat to the end of the road and back and it’s confirmed that I’ve got approvals all round.

The next thing which I always do is go through the service record. Stamps are useful, but receipts are better, and this this car has got more receipts than I can fit in an Avery folder. From what I can tell, every purchase, service and even polish is documented, dated, mileage noted and filed. The most important thing to look for here is information about dates and mileage and also for any major work which has been carried out.

There’s loads of work that has been done over the last 4 years all in order to try to make a brilliant car that tiny bit better, which I question whether was necessary or not. Things like better hoses al round, the brake calipers have been upgraded to RS6 calipers and the exhaust system replaced. None of these are a problem and in all likeliness all of these are positive things…….only the next few months will tell.

 

So what’s the plan from here? Well firstly I am going to keep track of my mileage, keep track of my fuel consumption and running costs of the car and keep track of the reliability. I’m going to post all the things I can on this blog, so that you can all make some decisions around your own car choices and if it makes one or two of you look at a car which is ‘outside the norm’ then I will feel it has all been worthwhile.

The purchase

I’ll start by saying that inherently I trust people. I believe that the vast majority of people are not out there to screw you over, or to rob and steal from you. That said, every time you part with your money for a purchase of wny goods, there is some risk involved that it may not be described correctly, or the person may be trying to scam you. In 22 years of buying cars, I have never been ripped off, cheated or robbed……but, every car, or boat I have ever bought has had something which I found which was not described. This could be as simple as a scratch or a ding, or more major such as a chequered past, but I nothing has ever been an issue and I would like you to come to understand my way of thinking.

The only time you will ever be disappointed with a purchase is if you feel that you paid too much money for the object in question. If you come away from a purchase thinking……that’s a good deal, then it’s the best feeling in the world. You then get home and find that there is something wrong. A scuff on the bumper you didn’t see or the rear tyres needing replacing as examples. All of these can be fixed, but all of these will cost some money. What do you think now?? Is it still a good deal?

If it is still a good deal then, well done. You bought the vehicle at the right price and you are on you are on your journey. If, however, you are thinking that you have been stitched up in some way, then a) due diligence comes into question but more importantly b) you paid too much. If you’d spent £1,000 less you’d be thinking…..despite these, it’s still a great deal! So my first lesson is always pay less than you should. If you can’t get the car cheap enough then go buy another car. With over 100 Million cars which have been on the road in the UK, there are plenty to choose from.

Don’t worry about buying the best car! It may sound strange but buying the car with the least number of owners and the car with the lowest mileage and the car with best service history may see like the sensible option, but you will have to pay more for the car than a higher mileage one. It still may be that you are more comfortable with this, but again it comes down to buying at the right price. I would rather buy a car with 2x as many miles for £5,000 less and be prepared to spend £1,000 pounds on it than buying the low mileage car which you will pay more for and may still have to spend a £600 on.

So…..what have I bought this time.

I wanted a nice comfortable car, which would easier take my family of 5, and wanted to buy a car that other people would just ignore. Life is budgeted, but not restrictive, and I was not prepared to take out finance. Running costs of the car are important, but I don’t feel I have to have a massively economical car. Most importantly I want a car that is nice to drive, is reliable and is a ‘good deal’. I’ve always liked bigger cars (most people steer clear of them) and I have always respected German engineering. I have owned VWs, BMWs, Audis and Mercedes across all aspects of their ranges and felt that an executive saloon with a large engine was probably where I would end up. So I was considering the 7-Series, S-Class, Phaeton etc but in the end I decided to plump for an Audi A8. We had had an A8 in the past and I appreciate the fact that it is not an ‘airport transfer’ car and it is not a ‘look at me’ car. It is quite unassuming and as such I feel is it relatively ‘classless’. That’s not to say that they lack character, as they are normally great to drive and they are superbly comfortable cruisers. When considering my engine options there were both the diesel and petrol options, and whilst the diesel gives better fuel economy, they are significantly more expensive to purchase. In the end I plumped for a 6.0l W12 SWB A8!

This was the biggest engine which I have ever owned in a car and even I was starting to question my judgement, but I looked through various forums, various review sites and various classifieds sites. The typical prices for a W12 varied the cheapest which I had seen on the market was £11,000 the average was £14,000 and the top was £17,000 for a 7 year old W12. I found one which looked as though it would meet my requirements with 79k miles on the clock and a pretty comprehensive service record. The only issue which I had with it is that it had an aftermarket stainless pipe system on it from manifold to tips and had 19’ MTM Bimoto wheels on it which were not necessarily my taste. Nevertheless I went down to Horsham armed with the ‘right’ level of cash and after the necessary checks on the status of the vehicle agreed on a purchase.

I will point out at this moment that on any vehicle of substantial value, and I will let you decide your own level of value, I will always pay for an Experian or HPI check. It is not worth skimping the £20-30 in order to make sure that you are insured against loss if the car turns out to have credit against it etc.

So….I now find myself in Horsham, with a new car a lighter wallet and an 80 mile first trip home. This is always the worst bit about buying a new car, but at the same time it’s the best bit. You have the excitement of your new wagon, the fact that you don’t know where all the switches are you need for lights, cruise control, windscreen washers etc and the overwhelming apprehensiveness on not knowing if it’s going to get you home or something go wrong. I have found in my experience that it is only after this shakedown drive, and after you’ve got it home, and sometimes only the next day that you can say……..”that’s a good deal”.

Introduction

Welcome to this blog which I am writing. Firstly I’d like to make a bit a bit of an introduction about myself, and about the reason why I decided to produce this.
My name is Phil and I have always had a keen interest in cars/motorcycle & boats, nothing obsessive, just a healthy interest. I have spent some time on track with a Superstock spec CBR1000RR and have spent some time offroad with a TVR powered Bowler Tomcat, but mostly my cars have been pretty unassuming. I have however always tried to steer away from ‘mainstream’ cars. By this I don’t mean the outright bizarre cars which no one will have ever thought of, just the cars which tend to be in a minority. Lots of people have lots of different reasons why they buy a car, for some its practicality, for other’s it’s status, some prefer performance over economy, or whether safety is your primary concern, there is always a balance of head versus heart when it comes to buying a car. What I will write about over the coming months is, in a way, a long term test of a car……a minority car, and I hope that this will share some of my thoughts and experiences which will allow you to consider cars that were typically not ones at the top of your list of things to buy. It will hopefully bring you some laugh’s some shocks but most importantly help you realise that you don’t need to pop to your local dealership and buy a car with a 70,000 mile warranty and tie yourself into the ‘mainstream’ game!