quattro digest, Vol 1 #2934 - 8 msgs

[David C Kumpf]

Kent McLean <kentmclean at mindspring.com> wrote:

> Subject: Dead Puppy
>
> I just got a call from the mechanic regarding the fuel
> leak in my 200 TQ. As mentioned by the list, the most
> common problem is rusted out fuel lines. In my case,
> it isn't so simple. The tank is rusted.
>
> To replace it, according to the mechanic, you have to
> drop the rear end (10-12 hours labor), then you have
> to source a tank (~$500 used, ~$750 new), maybe update
> the fuel pump (which was replaced not long ago). His
> estimate is $1500. As much as it pains me, I may have
> to put her to sleep.
>
> Q. Is it worth $1500 to save a car that's worth maybe
>     $3000? Except for this, the car is/was in great shape.
>     I've put about $3000 into it over the last two years.
>
> This also puts a damper on my thought of a V8. Or maybe
> it just forces the issue. I was hoping the sale of this
> one would help toward the purchase of a V8, but it won't
> help much.

Hmmm...good question. I thought I knew the answer a year-and-a-half ago.
At that time, my '89 200Q had just blown a radiator, and it would have
been the third time for a tow. 228k miles then; I bought the car 5 years
ago at 107k, and put several things into it. I was irritated, and had
been wanting a newer A6, so replaced the radiator, put the 200Q up for
sale, and bought a '98 A6 2.8 with 43k miles.

Fast forward to now. I priced the 200Q below book retail, but most don't
want to look at a car with that much mileage...so I still have it. In
the meantime, the A6 (now at 55k) has spent nearly 7 weeks in the
dealer's shop (under warranty, fortunately!) between two recalls, a
non-restart problem, a leaking water pump, and now complete head
rebuilds because of something gone wrong on the water pump job. It's
been towed three times. I'm still driving the 200Q, which is at 230k
now. It needs, by my estimation, about $800 in parts (the usual suspects
but no serious problems) plus my time. For that, and a few more bucks
along the way, I can probably get another 100,000 miles out of the car
(compression tested fine just a few k miles ago, and no rust problems).
Somewhere along the way, I can give the car to my daughter, who will be
driving shortly, and know that she has a safe car. While the A6 is nice,
the 200Q is more interesting to drive - more of a real sports sedan.

If you like the car, the question is not so much one of "is putting this
much money into a car worth X a bad idea" as "what is my cost per mile
for driving a car I like?" and "how much aggravation do I have?"
Because, in the end, unless you're dealing with collectibles, nearly all
of them become worth scrap value at some point. And they all break. But
these cars can be driven a long, long time as long as you can put up
with the weak bits.

For reliability comparison - we also have an '88 Nissan Pathfinder,
bought new, 194k miles now. Only been towed once for a bad starter.
Never had a clutch changed. Every 30,000 miles, it costs me about 1k in
repairs and tuneup. It's great at what it does, but it's no Audi. And I
just have this feeling that when it reaches its limit, the self-destruct
will be complete and immediate.

On the 200Q, for the time being, my standard is "when they tell me it
needs an engine, then it's time for it to go." Well, we'll see.

I guess I'd just think hard about it before bailing on it. Hope that
helps. Sorry to be long-winded...

Dave Kumpf
mailto:dkumpf at optimetra.com
http://www.optimetra.com