selling 2 Avants, a 1989 200TQ Avant and a 1990 20V TQ

[Einhorn Hofmann]

As an owner of a 1990 Audi 100, it saddens me to see 3 of these cars (or
similar) being retired, although I fully understand that everyone has their
limits in terms of time, patience, or repair expenses.



I’ve often wondered what form “death” would take for my Audi.  I used to
think it would come when the automatic transmission went, as that would
certainly be the repair that cost more than it was worth doing.  But that
milestone came and went last year, as I opted to get the AT replaced.



So it seems to be more that death comes by way of a thousand small cuts, or
repairs, one of which becomes the repair too many.

*Scot:*

It seems surprising that the hydraulic hoses would be that impossible to
replace, as with the 89 200TQ, especially after replacing the steering rack
and all that brake work.

Also hard to understand leaving the 20V TQ sitting for a few years because
it needs a fuel pump.  I picked up a brand new Piersburg fuel pump a few
years back from Shokan for just over $100.  It was one of the easier
repairs I’ve had to do.  Does the 20V use a radically different or more
expensive fuel pump than the 10V ?



*Kent:*

You said, “I won’t own another Audi. Love the cars, hate the repairs”, and
you mentioned you lived close to Force 5.    Did you actually run into
repairs for which it was impossible to get parts, even from Force 5?  I’m
wondering if there’s anything that I should be stocking up on.  Living in a
condo, I don’t have the space for a “parts car” or even a huge inventory of
spare parts.   But it’s sad if you have to let a car go because one or two
parts couldn’t be found.

If I understood correctly, you’d been owning and driving Avants about the
same generation as Scot’s.  Were they really that much more expensive to
repair than other cars?  For example, the I5 engine is pretty bullet proof.
If (god forbid) you ever needed to have the automatic transmission rebuilt,
the cost of a rebuild on one of those very basic 3 or 4 speed transmissions
is nothing compared to the cost of a transmission rebuild on some of the
newer model cars with 6,7,or 8 gears.



*All:*

Forgive me delving into this, but I think it’s a critically important
subject worth sharing our insights on.  We’ve all shared this hobby of
owning and maintaining an older German car well past the point where it was
practical.  We’ve all had that joy when we pull into that friend or
family’s driveway after a long read trip and everyone marvels at the
reliability, for its age.

And then sooner or later we each reach that point where we decide that the
time has come to part company with our old Audi.  Having not experienced
that yet, I’m curious to hear as much as I can about the decision, from
those of you who have parted ways with your classic Audis.



Thanks for any insights,

MC



On Tue, Jan 30, 2018 at 4:13 PM, Vincent Gelinas <vrgelinas at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Though, now that the OE parts are NLA, would a clean Avant shell be worth
> having fun with for an LS swap or something of that ilk?  Tuned ALH swap,
> perhaps?
>
> VM
>
> On Tue, Jan 30, 2018 at 3:10 PM, Kent McLean <kentmclean at comcast.net>
> wrote:
>
> > Cody Forbes wrote:
> > > There was a time when I would have driven the 14 hours and been
> knocking
> > at your door last night.
> >
> > I’m with Cody on this one.  I have owned a few 200 Avants, including one
> > with a transplanted V8. I’m a wagon kind of guy, and the Avant is the one
> > Audi that still tugs at my heart strings. But even though I have good
> > support locally (Force 5 and a choice of independent Audi mechanics), I
> > won’t own another Audi. Love the cars, hate the repairs, doubly so with
> the
> > dwindling supply of parts.  I hope yours finds a good home.
> >
> > -
> > Kent McLean
> > lots of ex-Audis, now a ’06 Grand Cherokee, a V8 Quattro wagon that works
> > for me
> >
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