Teenager seeks first car and buys Audi S8: It’s not the conventional way to do it, but Cameron loves his 15mpg V8
Among the many surprises Cameron Peters has up his sleeve is that although his 2002-reg Audi S8 is classed as Euro 3 for emissions purposes, it is, he tells me, exempt from London’s ULEZ charge.
Generally speaking, only petrol cars certified as being Euro 4 and above (the classification was introduced in 2005) satisfy the NOx emissions standard used to determine the charge, making them exempt.
However, so long as it meets the NOx standard, a Euro 3 car is also exempt. Cameron’s 23-year-old Euro 3 S8 is just such a vehicle. Transport for London’s ULEZ registration checker confirms it.
Cameron, who is a year younger than his S8, bought it three years ago as his first car. He was just 19. So why did he buy a high-performance saloon and not something more practical like a run-of-the-mill Vauxhall Corsa?
“I wanted a V8,” he replies, matter-of-factly. “I could have had a Corsa like everyone else my age but an S8 is more comfortable. Insurance was £1600 in the first year, which seemed reasonable, and has since fallen to £700. And, of course, it doesn’t attract the ULEZ charge!”
So that’s the big surprise out of the way but there are others, including the time Cameron whipped the big S8’s engine and gearbox out on his driveway. “I had to rebuild the gearbox myself because to pay a garage to do it would have bankrupted me,” he says.
“It weighs around 160kg and had to come out along with the engine. The fault that the five-speed Tiptronic gearbox had a failed bearing in the clutch pack is shared by most older S8s. Fortunately, parts are easily available.
“It’s supposed to be a sealed-for-life gearbox filled with lifetime oil but, in reality, it’s good for only around 100,000 miles. The way to avoid the problem is with 60,000-mile oil changes.”
With the engine and gearbox out of the car, Cameron also took the opportunity to replace the original shocks with Bilstein items (“they’ve sharpened the handling”) and renew the front subframe. “
The S8 is aluminium but the subframes are steel. I’ve since restored a replacement rear subframe and axle for the car, which I’ll fit next spring,” he says. Naturally, Cameron also carries out routine servicing, although, as an indication of his dedication to the car, he’s careful to keep the drain holes around the body clear too.
“Given the time and effort I’ve invested in it so far, it’s destined to be my forever car,” he says. “In any case, it’s a future classic and so worth preserving.” Cameron’s S8 Quattro is a late D2-series model with the uprated 40-valve 4.2-litre V8 producing 355bhp.
He says: “I’ve been to Cornwall a lot in it and also to the Alps but the most enjoyable thing is cruising around London, calmly and smoothly. Outside the city, I’ll occasionally give it some beans on country roads. The steering lacks feel around the straight-ahead, though.
“It’s not scary but then when you wind on more lock, it gets much better. It will pull first all the way to 40mph if you floor it, but driven like that I’m lucky to get more than 15mpg. Otherwise, it will do 30mpg on a long cruise, which suits me.”
