92-93-94 Quattro V-6

[David Torrey]

Roger -

I pretty much agree with your analysis of the 100 CSQ Wagon.  As you know,
I have a '93.  I bought the car with 44K miles.  I now have 150K miles.  I
did the timing belt job myself with tools from Blau.  Included timing belt,
water pump, thermostat, serpentine belt, idler rollers etc.  I found this
job to be very straight forward and easy to get at.  Lots of room up front.
Radiator remains in place unlike earlier models.  Cost was around $500.00.

I, too, had the hydraulic pressure hose fail.  The one to the rack.  This
can also be replaced without removing brake booster but it is a real pain.

Driver's side window regulator failed.  This job was a pain as well.
Especially reconnecting the lift arm clip at the bottom of the window glass.

Heater blower started squawking and I replaced that last fall.  I found out
after the fact that I didn't have to remove the entire console.   Oh, well I
now know how to remove the Climate Control unit.  My heating controls have
been flawless (knock on wood).

I have one electrical problem.  When I turn on the rear window defogger the
rear fog light comes on.  Haven't had a chance to look at this yet.

Seeps oil around the head gaskets and maybe valley pan but only consumes 1
qt. in 3K miles.

That's it.  I would say this car has performed very well for 10 years and
the body is tight with no rust.

You are right on when it comes to shifting early.  However, if you want to
accelerate rapidly,  you can always put your foot in it and avoid those
early shifts.  While the car runs fine on mid-grade fuel I have found that
the mileage is a little better and the shift points come later when using
premium.  I think that is because the timing is advanced with the higher
octane fuel.

This is my first Audi so I have no frame of reference, but I have been very
satisfied with this car.  I hope to get another 150k miles of enjoyable
driving.

David Torrey



> Hi Steve:
>
> I too made the same kind of jump that you are contemplating.  I sold my 89
> 200 Quattro Avant and bought a "new" 94 100CS Quattro Avant, that had
39,000
> miles in its eight years of service.  Here are my impressions:
>
> First of all, the newer cars will most certainly have an automatic
> transmission.  The automatic transmission is adaptive and I find it less
> than satisfying, especially when I compare it with the automatic in my '93
> V8, which has a lockup torque converter.  The Automatic in the CS is
> programmed for economy, and therefore dumps into the highest gear possible
> as soon as possible, and with only 170 horsepower or so in this heavy car,
> the transmission shifts quite a lot, or so it seems to me.
>
> Secondly, the V6 is quite underpowered for traffic conditions commonly
found
> in US urban driving.  For travel over the road, however, the car is has
> impeccable road manners, and adequate power with excellent fuel ecnomy and
> comfort.  My wife and I drove to Florida a few months after I bought the
> car, and got to drive in and around Boca Raton around Thanksgiving, and
> found that I was using heavy throttle a lot in the traffic of south
Florida.
> This is not a problem at all here in rural Maine, where the car seems
> perfectly suited, and for our purposes, is just perfect.
>
> The interior of the newer body is much superior to the older style Type
44s.
> More foot and hip room, and the heater/ac controls are much better and the
> system WORKS a lot better.  I think the 92-93-94 100CS is a significant
> improvment ergonomically, over the older model.
>
> Our 100CS gets marginally better fuel economy than did my 200 Quattro
Avant
> (turbo).  I NEVER got better than 23 miles per gallon with that car no
> matter what I did, whereas the 100CS will get 25-26 easily on a trip.
>
> The V6 engine is a LOT more expensive to service than was the inline 5 of
my
> 200.  I just did the timing belt and waterpump, with all rollers and
> tensioners and assorted stuff that needs to be done at 60,000 miles, and
the
> bill was nearly $900 (authorized dealer).  Previous to that, the only item
> that I had to have repaired was a leaking hydraulic line, which in itself
> wasn't expensive, but the necessary removal of the garbage on the top of
the
> engine as well as the brake booster and assemby drove the labor cost up
> pretty good, and this was at the independent garage....that was $400 or
so.
> Otherwise, in 22,000 miles the car has been perfect.  Recently I have
> developed a fault in the HVAC controller, and the car will have to return
to
> the dealer for that problem a bit later on...perhaps late February.
>
> The reason that I bought this car was that my new wife cannot drive a
> standard transmission car.  The 100CS is superior, but were it not for the
> need of an automatic transmission, I would probably still have the 200
> Quattro.  It took six months for me to locate this particular car.  It was
> at a BMW dealer in Kansas City, who had taken it in on trade.  The car was
> one owner, and all services had been performed at the authorized Audi
> dealer, so the service history was complete from new.
>
> As everyone else will tell you, find the BEST car with the BEST service
> history that you can, and paying a qualified service technician for a
> pre-purchase inspection is a terrific idea also.  Some of the early '92's
> had some "issues" with transmissions and electrical systems, but the
later,
> 1993-1994 cars were pretty reliable, which is why I wanted a '94.
>
> Good luck!
>
> Roger