A4QM Avant 100k report

[Mullen, Shaun]

My 98.5 A4QM 2.8V6 has just turned 100,000 miles.  Some observations:

Reliability: Like a real rock.  Aside from scheduled servicing and
maintenance, I have had to replace three low-beam bulbs.  This probably is
attributable to the fact that I keep my low beams on during daytime driving.

Mechanical problems: None.  Zero.  Zilch.  

Gas mileage:  Slightly better now than when the car was new, about 18-19 mpg
city and 24-25 mpg highway.

Oil: Mobil 1 15W50 installed at 1k service; changed roughly every 5k.

Peeves: Window controls are a bit too far back for easy access.  Tailgate
struts are losing their bite; tailgate has a tendency to fall on my (bald)
head when the weather falls below 40 degrees F.

Servicing and dealer interaction: No problems.

Wow factor: The A4 sedan is loverly, but the Avant is a design masterpiece.
Given availability and the relative rarity of the 5-speed manual in a 2.8V6
Avant at the time I ordered the car in 4/98), I was "stuck" with santorin
blue.  Not a color I would have otherwise chosen, but it has grown on me and
I frequently get compliments.  ("Hey bald guy, that's a gorgeous car.")

All-wheel drive:  This is my second quattro after a half dozen rear-wheel
drive Volvos and an equal number of rear-wheel drive VWs dating back to the
late 60s.  The Avant has handled virtually all conditions, including ice,
with aplomb.  The only exception has been fresh, unplowed snowfalls in
excess of 7 or 8 inches in depth, a relatively frequent occurance on my
winter rounds.  It is, after all, a car and not a plow.

CDs in changer at 100k: "Giant Steps" (Taj Mahal), "Time Out of Mind" (Bob
Dylan), "Talking Timbuktu" (Ry Cooder-Ali Farka Tore), "Money Jungle" (Duke
Ellington), disk one from "Dick's Picks Volume 10" (Grateful Dead), "Live in
Paris" (Burning Spear).

Next car: A no brainer.  Another Avant.  Only question is whether I keep my
Avant until it's ready for the glue factory (I ran my previous quattro up to
217k before letting go of it) or sell it in the near term while it still has
some value.

Shaun Mullen
Wilmington, DE