Audi ownership

[Peter Elias]

Well, I'll continue my Audi ownership for a while.  I know that dealing with 
2  25-year old cars may seem like a hassle sometimes (ie: "unobtainium" 
issues on some parts and outrageous labor costs at the local Audi-stealer, 
err, dealer...) and the closest Audi-specialist is something like 25 miles 
away ...

But, then again, I'm driving something that is rarely seen amongst all the 
new Audi's here in the Dallas area (and there's lots of people with lots of 
money around here that can apparently afford all the latest Audi's):

1) 1990 Audi 100 with something like 349,000 miles (odo stopped at 341,257 
last year...  just don't want to spend the $350 to have the little plastic 
gear fixed...)
2) 1990 Audi Coupe Quattro.   This one with only 70,000 miles on it.

I suppose if I just cared about "point A to point B" transportation, I'd be 
driving something else...  But these 2 cars I primarily use locally ...  I 
do also have a 2003 A6 Avant (also only 70,000 miles) to use otherwise.

So far, the costs to maintain the 2 1990 models is reasonable.   Air 
conditioning seems to be the biggest issue (and it is a big issue as I live 
in the Dallas area).   One is still on R12, the other has been "converted" 
to R134.    Other than the AC issues, both cars are actually very reliable, 
and with one of them only having 70K miles on it, it should last a while, 
and it's a manual, so I won't have to worry about a $2,600 automatic tranny 
rebuilt such as what I had 3 years ago with the 100 ...

The clincher for long trips though is the gas mileage.  All 3 of Audi's seem 
to top out a 23.5 miles-per-gallon of Premium on the highway, while my 
wife's 2014 Passat TDI manages to do about 46 miles per gallon of Diesel, 
which is now also way less than Premium!

My first car in high school was an Audi (1973 Audi 100GL) and my first new 
car (after college) was an 1986 Audi Coupe GT (still exists, my brother has 
it now, if you're in the Seattle area, you might see it as some track and 
show events...).

You can view all 3 of my current (and 3 past) Audi's at 
http://audiphilately.webs.com/myaudi.htm

... hard to put into words, but there's something about owning / driving 
Audi's that I just don't seem to get with other cars.   Having been 
"Audi-less" for a couple of years (1994-2004) when I owned a Mercury Cougar, 
it got the better of me and I had to get back to Audi's...  That's my story, 
and I'm sticking to it!

Greetings from Texas (only 90 degrees right now...)
Peter




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Message: 1
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2015 12:56:34 -0700
From: Andrew Buc <abuc at andrewbuc.com>
To: "<quattro at audifans.com>" <quattro at audifans.com>, nwquattro
<audi-nw at u.washington.edu>
Subject: 15.5 years of Audi ownership comes to an end
Message-ID: <3C929C19-C99B-48A0-8183-351E57660845 at andrewbuc.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252

The new owner of my ’87 4kq just pulled out of my driveway.

I had gotten the car just after Xmas ’99 with 154K, and I put another 110K 
on it. I incurred some depreciation, but that was expected! :)

I had advertised it on the Audifans list and on the Pacific NW Audi owners’ 
list. John Karasaki, whose name I’d seen on the NW list, ended up buying the 
car. We pretty much had a verbal agreement within 3 days after I’d 
advertised it. John Paypal’ed me the money shortly after, and today he took 
the bus up from Portland, Oregon, to Seattle to collect the car. I didn’t 
advertise it on Craigslist at all, as targeted marketing seemed the way to 
go, and I’d say it paid off!

The 4kq was probably the best car I’ve owned (although my new car, about 
which I’ll have more to say in a bit, isn’t bad), but good things come to an 
end. It was definitely the car I’ve owned the longest.

Odds of my owning another Audi aren’t real good, but I’ll probably stay on 
the list for old times’ sake. Thanks to everyone for their good advice over 
the years!

------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2015 23:11:02 -0400
From: dgraber460 at aol.com
To: abuc at andrewbuc.com, quattro at audifans.com, audi-nw at u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: 15.5 years of Audi ownership comes to an end
Message-ID: <14f7c96336e-6237-5094 at webprd-m87.mail.aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8


Wow! We sound like "bothers of different mothers".
I just ended a 20+ year relationship with an 83 URQ, aided by the 
ubiquitous, illustrious, infamous,well-traveled, experienced, renaissance 
man, aka Mr. Karasaki. He is a man of many talents, and deserves thanks from 
many of us on this list.
Like you, I am unlikely to venture further down the Audi ownership road. 
They have not made any efforts to engender repeat ownership. The niggling 
computer issues with the newer cars (I can say that with credibility since 
we own one), and lack of dealer support have unfortunately driven me to 
other brands. Instructing customers how to fill out a "positive" customer 
satisfaction survey, as opposed to EARNING satisfied customers will 
eventually catch up with you.


Dennis
Denver