100CS Wagon

[Roger M. Woodbury]

I just returned from picking up my "new" '93 100CS Avant wagon.  The car is
emerald green with black leather and had 39,800 miles or so when I picked it
up at a BMW dealer in Kansas City.  Now, with over 41,000 miles in three
days nearly entirely interstate miles, I can make some comments about this
wonderful car.

I bought this car for my new wife, who cannot drive a stick and at age 57,
has no need nor desire to learn, so the '89 200 Avant is, by definition,
obsolete.  Her commute is 4.5 miles each way, and the V8 just won't even be
warm when shut down in the winter.

First impression was that the transmission is amazingly smooth.  Second
impression was that the car is quite heavy and torque appears to max out at
pretty high rpm, so it is leisurely.  After driving the car in traffic a
bit, though, I found that the acceleration of the car is at least adequate,
and the proper technique is to not be afraid to put your foot DOWN, to make
it go.

But no matter what you do, you will not win any stop light drags with this
car.  It was NOT designed nor buiilt to do that, but was designed to be a
smooth, safe and powerful long distance cruiser.

The car feels like a vault in rain or wind, and cruised comfortably and
quietly on the interstate.  My car has new Continental tires, and they were
really very quiet.  Basically, the car will deliver steady state 80 miles
per hour cruising, although nearly all of my trip home was around 70, with
heavy truck traffic on Interstate 80 and the other routes that I took.  It
was very hilly through PA and up the Hudson River Vally, as well as the flat
Missouri, Indiana and Ohio portions, and the car was truly wonderful.  We
are planning on going to San Diego around Thanksgiving to pick up some more
of my wife's stuff, and I am looking forward to the trip.  The climate
control is unobtrusive and I found the sound from the Audi Bose system to be
wonderful.

I searched for this car for some time, and found it on Auto Trader.  It had
been traded at a BMW dealer in Kansas City, and I was able to be sure that
the service history was complete, and that it had been well taken care of.
Price was $14,000....expect to pay for mileage.

This is the second wagon that I have bought this way.  My '89 Avant was
bought sight unseen (!) from the fourth largest Audi dealer in the country
(Carousel), who had sold it new and serviced from delivery.  It had EVERY
service work order ever written on the car, and as they said:  it was the
"real deal".  62,000 miles.

Now, with 130k on the car, it remains one of the best, if not THE best
automobile that I have ever owned.  Around 8.5 cents per mile for
maintenance, not including tires, fuels, insurance, etc, which would be
pretty much the same for any car.

Hence, my advice and rule of thumb for buying cars:  Buy the best and newest
that you can afford.  I chose the 100CS because an A6 is simply more
expensive for scant difference in the car, before 1997.  The current name is
worth more than the previous model, although there is NO advantage in buying
an A6, if a comparable 100CS is available.

Plan to travel for the right car:  I live in near Bar Harbor, Maine, and
feel that I will travel anywhere for the "right" car.  My last three
vehicles came from Minneapolis, Philadelphia and now, Kansas City.

Finally, buy a one owner car, if possible, with as much service history as
possible.  Don't worry so much about the first thirty thousand miles of
history, if it is a two owner car, but be absolutely certain that you know
who did what to the car in the last thirty thousand miles.  I try to limit
my searches to less than 70,000 miles, unless the car has had one owner.

Oh, yes.  I also try to buy my cars from franchised dealers.  I bought my
'89 (in 1997) from Carousel in Minneapolis.  They asked me why I would come
from Maine to Minneapolis and said that  I was a "trusting sort".  I said
that the Audi Quattro ownership was a fairly small group,. and through the
Quattro Club, their reputation would go a long way.  They laughed and said
that they were a founding member and wanted to guard their reputation in the
Quattro community.

My V8 Quattro came from a huge Audi dealer outside of Philly....same deal.
Good experience.

The Kansas City deal was from a HUGE BMW franchise that has an amazing new,
12 million dollar facility JUST for BMW.  It's modeled after the BMW museum,
and is truly amazing.

All of these dealers recognize the power of the Internet, and they have huge
amounts invested in their franchises and their facilities.  They know well
that a screwing can yield great damage to their reputations, so they might
as well just tell the truth as they see it and let the buyer make the
decision.

Of course, for those who live in major market areas, the buying options are
simpler.  My nearest AUdi dealer is 30 miles away, and there are three in
the whole state.  NONE of them deals in quality used Audis, except for the
one dealer in Portland, which is 150 miles away.  But basically, the "RIGHT"
car may not be just down the street anyway, and I advise you to look on the
Internet and be prepared to go some distance for the right car.

Roger