The Sat Diver

Steve .. Just watched your video attachment .. very informative indeed .. thanks ! M

Steve .. Well that's a great start thanks a lot .. unfortunately my Q7 has cost me an awful lot in repairs .. but I just love this car and as you say with a flagship model repair bills are going to be sky high I think a second look over and a test drive this time then make my mind up Thanks a lot for the input Malcolm

Hi guys .. Been a while since I was on here last but .. I am now looking at the purchase of a 2012 LWB A8 HYBRID with 54k miles on the clock .. only been to look at it no test drive as yet .. and it's gorgeous I'm sure you have been asked this same question lots of times before but forums are full of knowledge and advice .. apart from the tiny boot space no spare wheel and 4 cylinder engine are there any major downsides to this model ?? My main concern really at this mileage with a Hybrid is it coming close to a "major service" ? .. for instance the Lexus RX450 hybrid is an £800 service after 60k miles or 6 years and i'm thinking this A8 may be similar .. I would rather not be buying a £20k car then finding out it needs a further large sum spent on it after the deals done Any advice would be most welcome as always Malcolm

Flap motors behind the dashboard could be at fault .. about £90 each and there are 3 of them I beleive so get them all done at once but a main dealer will tell you the dashboard has to be removed at 12 hours labour .. however a competent mechanic will do the job without pulling the dash

Just replied to "The Count" on page 1 of this forum in more detail.. Owned a 2006 Q7 for a couple of years now and I have to say my X5 was far more reliable and simply never went wrong.. this Q7 in my ownership has had 6 new injectors.. all aircon flap motors behind the dashboard replaced and as I type is now in for a replacement alternator plus there is a compressor fault showing on the suspension side ... all this has amounted too several thousand pounds in repair bills so make sure you get a comprehensive warranty and fully stamped up Service book

Owned a 2006 Q7 for a couple of years now and I have to say my X5 was far more reliable and simply never went wrong.. this Q7 in my ownership has had 6 new injectors.. all aircon flap motors behind the dashboard replaced and as I type is now in for a replacement alternator plus there is a compressor fault showing on the suspension side ... all this has amounted too several thousand pounds in repair bills So.. what should you be looking for .. a late as possible model with 65k miles and preferably with the improved milage and lower tax band.. FULL service history and stamped main dealer book.. with a years warraty thrown in at the very least.. Panoramic Sun Roof (use mine all the time) a Tow Bar .. (occasionally comes in handy) ... Bluetooth phone system (must have).. 7 seats makes for a massive carrying capacity.. but in my opinion ( not all will agree) Keyless Go / Keyless Entry (is a nice to have) but can be dangerous with children around unless the key is well away from the vehicle sensor.. and the MMI unit is not as complicated to fathom out as some will have you believe but the Sound System is great ..plus tales of severe front tyre wear I don't understand as mine are as good as new after 15k My Q7 engine has a Tunit Chip which definately increases mid range punch and improves consumption slightly but a slightly mute point as there is plenty of grunt in the 3 litre TDI anyway .. but straight line stability is superb and the vehicle is so comfortable for long distances aided by the seat height.. plus Sports Mode on the box combined with the Dynamic Suspension setting will have your wife smiling all the way around the twisty stuff.. i've threatened to go back to an X5 .. but for all it's faults I still have this machine.. but also lucky enough to own an AMG 63 Merc too.. find a good Q7 and you won't go far wrong

For what it's worth .. had mine replaced 18 months ago and bought top of the line Rotors and Pads.. by coincidence looked at them all this morning.. minimum wear on the fronts and still lots of life feft in the pads ... don't skimp on this area .. this is a heavy car and needs really good anchors

You don't say how badly neglected.. faded cracked .. split / holed leather or just looking worn out.. I have in the past week refurbished the 2 front seats and the centre Arm rest in my 2006 Q7 which both had bad dirt filled cracking in the leather and the colour had simply been worn away in numerous areas showing the base leather so they wern't very pretty to look at After sending in photos of the damage.. I bought a refurbish kit from Furniture Clinic ( http://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk/ ) for around £85 and spent approximately 5 hours following the detailed instructions .. the results I have to say are stunning.. no really I mean that good.. and i'm a complete novice You can have a real time chat on the website .. see what they suggest ?.. B)

Hi all.. Just to enlarge on the heating problem with my Q7... took it in to the Audi Main Dealer for a diagnostics check.. and yes your correct it is the Flap Motors.. 2 of them on the passenger side which are the temperature & air recirculation... Audi are qoting me £90 + VAT which I can easily live with however the sting comes when Audi need 12 hours to do the job at £120 + vat = £1,728 plus the motors = £1944 so I may as well get all the flap motors done at the same time just in case another of them go down and I have to dismantle the dashboard again Now I know some of you might say.. well big car big money serves me right and I agree.. however the point I am making is that this motor only has 80k on the clock and it has just been in to the same main dealer 3 months ago for 6 new Injectors which cost a fortune ... this isn't quite the Audi experience I expected .. so i'm defecting.. I've had two X5's in the past and they were faultless so i'm heading back in BMW's direction..

Thanks for the input.. queried it with Audi main dealer and he quoted so many things that it could be but now winter is here it is a case of bite the bullet and just get it done I guess Thanks again

Hi Guys.. Can anyone assist with this .. On starting and initial 30 minutes driving.. the passenger heating system works perfectly .. but after that the whole passenger side reverses itself and when I turn the heating to Low it blasts out very hot air from the middle dashboard vent and if I turn it all the way up to Hi max heat it blows cold ???? .. anyone any ideas Had a similar problem on a Merc that was a temperature sensor Any help would be appreciated and hope you all have a great New year Cheers

Bit late posting this but try Winter tyres.. they are amazing compared to regular ones.. living in the Lakes I bought them for my X5 and it was transformed so using them on the Q7 now

Ahhh.. got a bit carried away there .. forgot to tell you had a chip fitted to the engine too .. but also had a raft of unreliable Range Rovers .. lovely tho' they may be a Q7 would always be my choice now..

Had my 3ltr 2006 Q7 for a year now and had 4 new tyres fitted as part of the deal.. 12 months on and 12,000 miles these tyres still look new with very little wear and i'm more than pleased with the fronts.. most of the time i'm sane and steady.. then I get onto the A686 from Penrith over the Pennines ... a red mist comes down .. supension goes Dynamic & Gearbox in Sport mode and for the next hour at least i'm in heaven.. so moral of the story is don't let the tyre horror stories put you off .. it'll never beat my GTR but trust me this is a great motor :P

Enjoy the experience and hope you bought a good one B)