My brother's lease is just about up on his 2006 Audi A8. It's been a love-hate relationship. The car itself feels/rides great but the necessity of nuisance repairs and the crappy "VW RABBIT" type dealer support is abysmal for an $80K car.

That being said, he has seen the light but needs some lease end tips for the A8. We are hearing horror tales of the VW/AUDI leasing folks measuring paint and bringing magnifying glasses...trying to recoup the horrendous losses versus residual their vehicles are fetching.

Is there an AUDI site or other to help better reveal what to expect. His vehicle has some wear and tear that, under prior circumstances, would have been considered reasonable. I am just wondering what to expect under these "no one is buying these junky used gas hogs" scenario.

 

I have always liked the A8's and am surprised he has been so disappointed. The interior of the A8 is great but then again, so is the LS.

One possibility for him is to take it to Lexus for the trade. I traded my mid lease Porsche for the Range Rover. They took care of the pay-off and a few hours later I had a brand new Range Rover. I will say though that the Porsche was in great condition and it was a desireable car.

If there is damage that is outside what is stated as allowable in your lease contract, there will be additional costs. If they are major then he should take it to a body shop and have it repaired first as it will be less than what Audi will charge.

One thing I will tell you about the Lexus dealerships in Pittsburgh is that they don't negotiate that much (especially since they are tied together). When I traded my Mercedes for the LS I was given well below what it was worth but I wanted the LS (and I wanted to buy in Pittsburgh) so I didn't have a choice.

 

Thanks for the reply but there is ZERO chance that there is anything to gain that way; The lease is up and the vehicle is worth THOUSANDS less than the residual. Turning it in (like a "put") is the way to go. I am just asking if there are any pitfalls that can be avoided as I know that VW/AUDI will try to squeeze for every surface scratch etc,

 

I frequent VWVortex.com, they have Audi sections there. Good luck.

 

THAT'S what I wanted to know. Thanks! I signed up for VWVORTEX.Com and can get the tips there.

 

I have no ides about Audi, but I've done a lot of leases and their end-of-lease inspections range from intense to nonchalant.

Most of them now use third-party firms to do their inspections, and it depends on how thorough the inspector is and how tough the leasing entity is on the inspectors. The easiest we've had was when I returned my BMW's and when we returned the wife's Caddy. The dealer did the inspections and it was just a quick walkaround.

The inspector for Infiniti, thought, spent over an hour going over everything with a fine-tooth comb and taking pictures of the car from every angle. He checked all the panels and under the hood and in the trunk, even though I assured him the car hadn't been wrecked. He went all over the inside, too, looking for any pinholes in the leather or stains or unusual wear. When he was finally through, I was tired and relieved. He gave me a passing score, and I felt like I'd just been through an IRS audit or something.

Audi should have sent your brother a set of parameters the car has to meet (dings no larger than "this", no cracks or chips in the windshield, no torn upholstery, etc.), which he should be able to use to get an idea.

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The Audi 8 is a beautiful car - how many ill fated VW Phaetons has anyone on this board seen in the real world? my total = 1...

 

I can't believe that you have only seen 1! I have seen TWICE as many

 

I have yet to see one Phaeton on the road, the only time I've seen it in person is in an Auto Show.

 

A guy working at a little corporate building that also houses my kids pediatrician's offices has a Phaeton though its just a V8 haha.

 

I actually liked the car but I am superficial in that if I am paying that much, I want a luxury tag on it. Case and point; If the Lexus LS460 was a Toyota LS460, I probably wouldn't own it! I know that is crazy sounding but what can I say, I'm shallow. I know that I am not alone because that is part of the reason the VW was pulled from the US market.

 

I am also surprise that the A8 was a disappointment. It is one of the best luxury sedan I have ever had. I had a 2006 Audi A8L and I put 52,000 miles on it in 2 years with NO problems. I got another 2006 Audi A8L last fall as a certified Used Audi and so far have put 10,000 miles on it with no problems. Audi build fantastic cars nowadays. Hope your brother will solve the issue with wear and tear at the end. They charged me for worn out tires, and I fought to get them to drop that charge since I told them that the 19 inch wheel tires have a lifespan of 25-30,000 miles on them and I got 52,000 out of them with slightly less thread left.

 

Actually, the one I saw was in Pennsylvania, so we could both be counting the same one twice. It was a nice looking car, but who in their right mind would spend $100,000.00 or better on a VW?

Link to the VW Phaeton on Wikipedia -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VW_Phaeton

 

vwvortex is good

but www.audiworld.com is alot better (atleast for the s4/rs4) . It was one of my fav forums. try posting there as well