audi future

[no1of consequence]

<< I have an acquaintance that typifies this.  She has a Honda Civic
that has had its share of niggling problems, from failed ignition
coils, to bad tailing wiring, radio problems, gear noise, trims
and bits warping and falling off...  Not to mention that this 5 year
old car rattles worse than my 23 year old 4000.  Yet she thinks that
no other car is as reliable as her Honda, and won't buy anything
but another Honda for her next car.

When an Audi has a problem, one thinks "Argh, these Audis are so
d*mn unreliable" under identical circumstances. >>

AMEN brother. my GF drives a 98 civic and i am so not impressed by it.  its 
SO cheaply made, the interior shows far more wear than my 88 90, and the fit 
and finish and materials quality is much lower. closing the doors sounds 
like slamming the lid on a trashcan.. it hasnt broken down or left her 
stranded [knock on wood] but i have replaced a window crank mechanism and 
seals [on a ROLL UP window - who knew those could break?], the alternator 
[failed], redid some substandard battery / headlight wiring and retermed 
corroded grounds and wiring, new front rotors and calipers [caliper stuck 
and dragging - honda brake parts are garbage] and the car currently needs 
shocks, and a tune up bc its running like crap. overall it is MISERABLE to 
drive. the clutch engagement sucks, the throttle linkage sticks, so you cant 
smoothly accelerate from a  stop but you 'jerk' away [the dealer mechanics 
all nodded their heads when i asked about it, but no recall or fix suggested 
- thanks guys!] and the ride quality is  like driving a dumster with 2x4's 
for shocks on square wheels. hopefully new shocks will help.  i had an 87 
accord 2-door hatchback that was a much nicer car than her civic. fit + 
finish and all. i replaced just about everything that could possibly wear 
out on that car too.. until i could see daylight thru the floors.

did i mention her honda  doesnt have power steering? ok, that not the cars 
fault.. but it doesnt help its case at all, living in SF.

and i get nothing but greif from her because 'my audi is always broken' 
which isn't the cars fault so much as my fetish for preventative 
maintenance. that and im a relatively terrible auto mechanic. =)

my freinds all have the same perception, that when the honda breaks its an 
anomoly, and they all tell me to ditch my silly audi and 'just get a  
honda'. grrrrr.. even my brother, a DUCATI mecahnic [now there are some 
reliability issues] bought a new civic. whatever they have done to massage 
perception in this way is sheer brilliance, and probably has a lot 
[everything] to do wth how the dealers typicall handle the problems 
[recalls, fixes, etc] rather than treating you like a 2 headed leper like 
AOA seems to [based on all of the testimonials from you guys].

1 of my main reasons for buying older cars is to never have to deal with 
dealerships and their bs. well.. that and i'm cheap. ;)

-jim
88 90
98 st2 [quack!]

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