Wife's 4kqcs may have to be taken away

[Michael Riebs / AudiV8]

Wohoo! How great (and helpful) to hear a woman's perspective! (and here I thought my seeming male-chauvinist "let me take care of the car" attitude was going to get me flamed).

Jenny, please - any time you have insight to share about how women think or behave that would be helpful to us wood-headed males, PLEASE - do share! I know that I, for one, and probably (or definitely) Lee for another - and most certainly several other males on this list - will welcome and benefit from the insight you and other female listers can provide on the proper care and maintenance of the marital relationship - even it it's "only" from a "take care of the Audi" standpoint!

How wonderfully refreshing to read a post from a woman who is strong enough to speak out with the purpose of lovingly educating the single-minded male half of the population - myself included. I know I need ALL the help I can get, to keep MY wife in that warm, fuzzy feeling that I'm "her one and only", and she deserves every bit of TLC, coddling, care and respect I can muster!

Sure, as men, we joke about things like what one lister posted from an Audi board yesterday - as a matter of fact - it's actually pretty true to our nature. That's EXACTLY why we need so much help in understanding our women. Likewise, many of our women would be more open-minded to attempting to understand US, if we FIRST attempt to understand them (right?)!

So, guys, listen up! She's trying to help us!

Michael L. Riebs
Grand Rapids, Michigan

'90 V8Q
'98 A6QA

www.1stchoicegranite.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jenny Curtis" <jenny at physics.umn.edu>
To: "qlist" <quattro at audifans.com>
Sent: Monday, January 27, 2003 1:44 PM
Subject: RE:Wife's 4kqcs may have to be taken away


>
> She's your wife.  Of course she deserves to drive the 4kq.
>
> It sounds like your wife let a few tankfulls of gas get by without
> checking the oil.   I'd wager a guess that on occasion you might have
> forgotten or blown off doing something your wife asked you to do.
>
>   Before I had the lifters replaced, they clacked towards the end of my
> 3000 miles and once my mechanic gave me a stern lecture about it.  My
> mechanic-- a subjective professional who's opinion isn't loaded with
> baggage. A husband's lecture is probably not going to be taken as
> graciously or seriously.  Sorry, but that's the nature of relationships.
>
>  As a female who drives the same car, perhaps I can give you some
> insight into your wife's psychology.  I sometimes forget to change the
> oil because I hate doing it at the service station when I fill-up which
> is most people's reminder.   I think I actively repress it, if I do
> remember because I hate doing it so much.  If I pop the hood open in
> public some oily guy has to come help lil old me check the oil.  Grrr.
>  It doesn't help that the dip stick on the 4kq is a POS.  It's really
> hard to tell much at all from it.  So if I'm standing there thinking
> about it for a second or two, then the oily guy takes this as a sign of
> my incompetence and tries to take over. This even happens in the winter
> when I'm so bundled up it's difficult to tell whether I'm a girl or a
> bear or what.  The other thing that's kind of a pain about adding oil to
> the 4kq is that the engine is at a slight slant.  It's really hard to
> get the oil bottle up to the hole without making a mess, especially when
> you are in a hurry. You need one of those funnels which never seem to be
> in stock at a service station.  Getting oil on your engine block and
> your coat sleeves sucks.   My guess is that your wife has probably tried
> to follow your advice at a service station and had a bad experience in
> some way.  Not wanting to admit incompetence at something so seemingly
> simple, is not something wives are likely to  do with their husbands.
>
> I would either check the oil myself, or encourage her to check it once a
> week when she get's home in the warmth and mental comfort of your
> garage.  If you've got the oil/funnel/rags on hand it will be no big
> deal for her to add a bit, if necessary, especially after a few
> sucessful times of doing it.  She will feel confident and comfortable
> doing it.  She might even start checking her tire pressure and washer
> fluid, while she's at it.  Ok, I'm getting carried away now.
>
> Finally, remember it's one thing to give someone a lesson.  It's
> entirely different for them to actually deal with it in the real world.
>  The tire changing is a great example.  Get your wife a decent jack for
> her car (the one that comes with the 4kq is junk on anything but
> perfectly dry even pavement) if you expect her to change a flat.
>  Otherwise AAA might be a good idea.
>
> Jenny
> '86 4kqcs:The Eurotrash Princes
> '84 Ur-Q: WOOOHOOO!
>
>
>
>
>
>
>