[s-cars] Am I crazy ? Aero to S4

Thu Jul 13 22:01:19 EDT 2006

I totally agree on the complexity deal, Taka!  That's why I love the UrS so
much...in my opinion it's just about the right amount of creature comforts
without the annoying crap like headlight motors, auto transmission
programming that sucks worse than just using  vacuum modulator, no
DVD/navigation, no climate control "zones" (what the hell is that about in a
space roughly 40 square feet anyway?).  Ahh well, these are the reasons I
look at the auto show every year and always drive my UrS back home with no
intentions of buying something new.
---Calvin

  -----Original Message-----
  From: Taka Mizutani [mailto:t44tqtro at gmail.com]
  Sent: Thursday, July 13, 2006 4:42 PM
  To: calvinlc at earthlink.net
  Cc: Quattrohead; s-car-list at audifans.com
  Subject: Re: [s-cars] Am I crazy ? Aero to S4

  Calvin-
  I understand your issues, but it sounds to me more like you're having
problems with
  the dealership fixing your car correctly- the ECU issue and the headlamp
aiming issue
  should be no-brainers if the techs actually know what they're doing.

  The most reliable car that I or my family has ever owned was probably our
'92 Nissan
  Maxima- there was only one issue in 7 years and 100k, everything else was
simple maintenance
  stuff- tires, brake pads, alignment, oil changes, scheduled periodic
maintenance, etc.

  No european car we've owned has been all that reliable- two VWs, four
Audis and a Volvo- a combined
  22 years and 255k miles on them. Except for the Volvo, every single car
has cost quite a bit
  to maintain ('85 Jetta GLI, '01 New Beetle, '85 4000S, '86 5ktq, '91 200q,
'99 A4 1.8T, '04 V70R).

  Two Nissans, two Mazdas and one Subaru, all have been trouble-free with a
combined 33 years
  and 365k miles on them. ('87 Pathfinder SE, '92 Maxima SE, '79 GLC, '90
Miata, '04 STi)

  The Volvo and the Nissan dealerships have been the best to deal with, the
VW and the Audi dealerships (all 7 of them)
  have been the worst to deal with.

  My '91 200q was the best European car besides the Volvo- I spent more on
upgrades than maintenance, although I did
  have to do a fair amount of maintenance (replaced alternator and radiators
unexpectedly, failed temp sensor, failed temp
  gauge, failed instrument cluster, altitude sensor, bypass valves-
everything else was routine- brake pads, tires, timing belt, etc).

  I think the cars these days are simply too complex- there are a million
things to go wrong, very difficult to fix a wiring fault, for
  instance. The appeal of a car like the Miata (it has A/C and power
steering, but no auto climate control, manual windows and
  locks, no ABS, no traction control, no power seats w/ memory or heaters or
ventilation, nothing but the basics and thus very
  easy to service.

  Taka

  On 7/11/06, calvinlc at earthlink.net < calvinlc at earthlink.net> wrote:
    I slightly disagree with Taka, since over the last 2 years I have owned
an
    A6 2.7T with less than 50k on it (28-46k) and a 1992 S4, with between
125k
    and 160k on it...the A6 spent more time in the shop.  Two repairs on the
S4
    in that same period of time, a CV joint and a radiator temp sensor.  The
A6,
    on the other hand, I had to fight with the stealer to gte an updated
flash
    on my ECU because the damn thing stumbled when you first got on the gas
    before about 30 seconds of driving...numerous other 2.7Ts had the same
issue
    and the stealer told me to put in mid-grade instead of premium...after
he
    figured out I wasn't going away they finally agreed to re-flash the
    ECU...why in the hell they didn't do that first I don't know, since
that's
    what I suggested to them.  The Xenon headlights still don't work right;
    after multiple trips to the stealer they still point down after a few
    minutes of use to where they look like Audi 200 US Headlights.  Climate
    control issues as well.  The '92 S4 that I have owned between 80k and
160k
    has been far and away the most reliable car I have ever owned.
    --Calvin

    -----Original Message-----
    From: s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com
    [mailto:s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com]On Behalf Of Taka Mizutani
    Sent: Monday, July 10, 2006 8:39 PM
    To: Quattrohead
    Cc: s-car-list at audifans.com
    Subject: Re: [s-cars] Am I crazy ? Aero to S4

    Yes and no on ditching the '01 Saab 9-5 Aero and getting a '93 S4.

    Yes, you should ditch the Saab.

    No, you shouldn't get a '93 S4- you've mentioned a critical piece of
info-
    you say you don't have much time, even though you're capable of doing a
lot
    of the service of the car. You will spend quite a bit on labor if you
have
    to ask
    someone else to do the work for you- my mechanic is $75/hr., dealership
    is around $100/hr.

    I would personally look for something newer if it is going to be your
only
    car
    and you don't have time to maintain it, fix all the little stuff and
keep up
    with
    the maintenance.

    My suggestion- '00-03 A6 2.7T 6-speed with sport package. Beautiful
interior
    (my favorite combos are Vanilla/Navy or Vanilla/Onyx two-tone, black
being
    the second choice), very good power, potential for a lot more (RS4 bits
will
    yield 380-420hp, depending on how far you want to go). I say '00-03
because
    the '04 only came as a slushbox in S-line form.

    No, the engine is not as bulletproof as the I-5, but a much more modern
car
    and more sensible unless you're a fanatic. :-)

    With RS4 turbos, intercoolers, airbox, injectors and software, you have
a
    ready 380+
    hp. With H&R or equivalent coilovers, you have an excellent suspension
    setup.
    With BIRA system 6 or ECS stage III, you have an excellent front brake
    setup. RS4
    or similar clutch to handle the additional torque. 17x8 wheels to fit
    245/255s and
    that's quite a package. Euro-spec bixenon projectors would be the icing
on
    the cake.

    Taka
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