well, guess i'm not going Audi.....

[John Larson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <cobram at juno.com>
To: <j.d.larson at verizon.net>
Cc: <mrmotoguzzi00 at yahoo.com>; <quattro at audifans.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2005 7:56 PM
Subject: Re: well, guess i'm not going Audi.....


> "John Larson" <j.d.larson at verizon.net> writes:
>
>> John, calling the big MB boneyard in LA:  "Hi Daniel, this is John
>> at West Coast Garage!"
>> "What can I do for you, John?"  "I need a price on a 300D non-turbo
>> engine."
>> "Lemme guess.  A rod through the block...................  I don't
>> have any, they're all that way when we get 'em."
>>Makes door handles seem a minor irritant, doesn't it?
>
> WHY is a valid question, I've seen MB diesels throw rods because they
> were oil starved or overheated, sometimes both.  Also, how many miles on
> a CA car by the time it hits the boneyard?  One issue (and Mercedes has
> addressed it) is the problem with the diesels equipped with the trap
> converters, the '87 300TD had the turbo, converter and a bunch of other
> parts changed on Mercedes dime when the trap converter took them
> out.....the car had over 160K miles at the time....lets see Audi do
> something like that for a known problem....better wait sitting down for
> that one.
>
> I'll also take an MB automatic transmission over any of the Audi
> automatics.
>
>> Another fun thing is the 10 miles of vacuum lines for the doors, the
>> climate controls, and the ignition switch cut-off.
>
> Audi has the same thing, the major difference being the vacuum source and
> ignition switch.  I'd rather do dozen MB diesel ignition switches instead
> of 1 V8Q ignition switch any day.  Half dozen MB switches for 1 200TQ
> switch.  Most of the time the MB's just need a new vacuum connector at
> the switch.
>
>> Count me on the wouldn't really want to own a Mercedes side
>
> Removing the rust factor and quattro from the equation, I'd be hard
> pressed to honestly come up with a reason to own an Audi over a
> comparable Mercyless Benz.  Take a spin in an SL55 and we'll see if you
> can honestly restate the above sentence. ;-)
>
> BCNU,
> http://www.geocities.com/cobramsri/

Well, to each his own .....  I have yet to see an Audi with the kind of 
vacuum problems so common in MBs of the same era, and I've been working on 
them steadily since 1973.  Granted, '70s Jag sedans are worse!  I do agree 
their trannies are nice, but they still have their problems.  And speaking 
of ignition switches, 10 % of my customer base is MBs, and most of the 85-95 
ones have needed ignition tumblers.  The local dealer keeps some in stock. 
In fact, several of the Volvos and BMWs we service have as well.  My 90 20v 
is the only Audi I've put one in the last 10 years or so.  As for the SL 55, 
I came up through the Porsche ranks, so MBs are not where my head is.  I'd 
take the equivalent 911 derivative, or even a Boxter, any day.  BTW, MBs new 
cars suffer from QC problems never even dreamed of by Audi, and they're 
getting worse.  That's not just me talking, read the industry analysts 
reports.  John