83 urq daily driver

[qshipaz at juno.com]

Chris-
On this subject, I will first insert disclaimer: My Audi-owning experience =
consists of first an '87 5000t, traded on a nicer '85 Coupe GT, followed up=
 after a two-year hiatus last month by my current '86 5000tq. My roommate a=
lso drives a Coupe GT daily. Ur-q experience is in my case only a matter of=
 interpolation between my experience with Audis of similar vintage.

I, too, am smitten by the mystique of the ur-q. One will have a place in an=
y dream garage I conjure up, and I hope to own one as soon as circumstances=
 might allow. However, I can't in good conscience recommend one as an *only=
* car... and here's why:

Both my prior Audis were my sole transportation. Having now almost complete=
d restoration on a 1972 Datsun 240Z, I gave in to a long-standing Jones for=
 another Audi. I drive the Datsun to work, the TQ is currently a hangar que=
en. I intend to eventually reverse that arrangement, but I will retain seco=
ndary transport as long as I work a job which requires a 10 mile commute an=
d field visits during the work day. (I'm in property management). Both past=
 Audis were down waiting on parts one some occasions- I had work (or school=
) which allowed me to take the bus. If I were without a car solely because =
of parts availability, this would put me in hot water with the boss! If you=
r situation does not necessitate daily commuting by car, this may not apply=
. However, I think it's something to consider.

If it does apply: I would think even a 5000tq, in 2002, may be handicapped =
by the parts pipeline. A Coupe or 4kq, not quite so much. But the ur-Q is a=
s complex (IME) as a 5ktq, and the total sales number for the US ran only i=
nto the few hundreds (please correct me, urQ experts, if I am wrong on this=
)=2E Where do you think this puts you when the (fill in ur-specific piece h=
ere) breaks?

WRT reliability: I don't think the urQ is inherently any less reliable than=
 any other '80s turbo Audi. And if I had one, it would likely receive a lot=
 of use... so yes, probably it could serve you as a daily ride. Just not li=
kely as your sole ride. Even 5000tqs seem, with the list member's cars as e=
vidence, to be part of a fleet of cars usually.

Just my thoughts... I welcome any counterpoints, and if there's a great sec=
ret to finding ur-parts cheap and plentiful, let me in on it- I'd love to o=
wn one too!

HTH,
Rob




________________________________________________________________
GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO!
Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less!
Join Juno today!  For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/.