[200q20v] Introduction (long)

[David Priebe]

I wanted to write an e-mail to introduce myself to the list and to ask a
couple of questions. As of a week ago I am the proud owner of a '91 200q
wagon. I picked it up last Sunday down in Nevada City, California and
proceeded to drive it back to Kirkland, Washington. It did great on its
first day with me as its new owner, and put about 900 miles on it with no
troubles at all. I had been looking seriously for a '91 wagon for about 2
months until this one popped up. Actually I had started out looking for a
Urq about 8 months ago (I've been looking for one off and on for the last 8
years but never very seriously), but when push came to shove and after
having seen and driven 3 Urqs in the Seattle area I decided that the 91 20v
wagon would really fit my needs much better than a one of kind (well one of
250) sports coupe. I've been lurking on this list for a couple of months as
well as the main list for about about 8 months, so I've had some glimpse
into some of the issues that may arise with these cars. I haven't owned an
Audi in quite some time so I'm trying to get used to their idiosyncrasies
(no cupholder). A couple of my recent cars have been a '73 VW Thing (should
have kept it) and a '95 Subaru Legacy wagon. I loved the all wheel drive of
the Subie and the cargo area, but the performance left a lot to be desired.
So the main reasons for deciding on the 91 20v wagon is the performance
(incredible), cargo space, all wheel drive and the luxurious accomodations
all for a rock bottom price. I really couldn't justify to my wife the
expense of a '95 S6 wagon, even though she has been lobbying hard for new
Isuzu Trooper (no SUVs in my driveway!). During the winter I work on the
weekends as a ski/snowboard instructor at one of the local ski areas so all
wheel drive is a must. This past weekend the wagon did great in the snow,
but there wasn't as much as I would have really liked to test it out in.

The car is pretty much stock. The previous owner did regular maintenance as
all the receipts have shown. The car does have 135,000 miles on it. But it
really is in good shape. The mechanic who I had check it out seemed to think
that the only things I would really have to watch for in the next 2 years
are the clutch (its still on the original), steering rack and brakes
(rotors). The brakes aren't the original UFOs, but something else that was
installed by the dealer before the previous owner purchased it (June of
'91). The PO didn't know what the dealer had installed and I haven't had a
chance to pull the front wheels off yet, but I'm assuming it has the Girling
G60s. I haven't been too impressed with their stopping so far, so I might be
looking at upgrading to the BIRA, some other system or at least putting some
slotted rotors on. Other things I need to change include getting rid of the
Panasonic tape deck. The PO mentioned there is an amplifier under the rear
seat which is not being used by the current head unit. I'm assuming that the
rear speakers in the wagon are different than the self-igniting units in the
sedan.

Now some questions:
The front windshield has fogged up suddenly twice now. Once when it was
humid (rainy) and once when it was dry. Both times it was fairly cold out.
This sounds like to recirculation flap spring that is mentioned on Chris
Miller's site. If thats the case it sounds like I need to get the
replacement spring and pull the glove box out to get to the flap. How long
would this take for a newbie? It sounds like a contortionist exercise.

The rear hatch doesn't stay up. The previous owner included a dowl with the
car to hold it up. He said that he had replaced the cartridges once before,
but they still didn't hold the hatch up. He said it works fine in the
summer, but when its colder they don't work. Any thoughts? The Parts
Connection has these on sale this week. Also I don't have the Bentley yet.
I'm waiting unit the CD-ROM version is released on 2/19

Any recommendations for mechanics in the Kirkland area? I have heard that
Redmond European is good. Anyone have any good or bad experiences there? I
plan to do as much work on the car myself as possible, but there are those
occasions when I simply don't have the time (or the skills) to do things
myself.

I'm taking the car into University VW/Audi to have the airbag sensor recall
taken care of there. Is there anything else that I should have them look at
that only a dealer would be the appropriate place to have checked?

I need to get a bra to protect the front end of the car from all the
sand/gravel on the mountain passes. Any recommendations? I've seen the name
Colgan pop up a few times as a good bra.

Thanks in advance,
Dave Priebe