[s-cars] Ownership dwindling?

Sun Aug 18 17:13:11 PDT 2013

I've been keeping a spreadsheet since I bought mine. Like you do.

I bought it knowing I would need new tires. Counting the tires, I have
spent $1901 on maintenance and repairs, for an average of $158/mo. I only
count $931 of that as repairs for new problems. During this year I have
repaired the wipers (DIY with a pipe wrench), replaced the front left CV
outer & slave cylinder, and ran new windshield washer lines.

I figure you could easily spend more, and have more aggravation, on a car
that is recently off warranty, and that's a heck lot less than a new car
payment. I note my friend's 2012 A7 has suffered two catastrophic problems
during that time and has spent several weeks sitting at the dealership.

On Sun, Aug 18, 2013 at 7:45 PM, Mike Miller <mikemilr at blackfoot.net> wrote:

> As one of the "old folks" (61) (not quite as old as Dave :-) I hear ya on
> the insurance issue!
>
> My UrS6 is maybe 30% more than my 91 200q was - but the '01 A6 4.2 is
> about 60% more than the UrS6! A tad over $1k/yr for the A6 and I have a
> clean driving record. The UrS6 and a 2000 F350 are about the same.
>
> I figure it averages out to around $200/mo to keep an older Audi on the
> road. This list and the forums are invaluable both in finding cars for sale
> and for keeping them going!
>
> --mike in montana (where insurance is expensive!)
>
>
>
> On 8/18/2013 4:27 PM, Alex Witham wrote:
>
>> I don't drive mine much any more mostly because I now have access to a
>> myriad of new or almost new cars that spoil me with all the modern
>> technology these old S-cars don't have not to mention far better handling,
>> fuel economy, lower insurance rates (has anyone else noticed that Ur S-cars
>> are seriously expensive to insure), more rigid chassis, and better safety
>> features.
>>
>> I still love the turbo power delivery and the classic simple good looks.
>> I'd probably drive it a bit more if I could get the suspension sorted out a
>> bit (it has the 2Bennett set up and bangs terribly over expansion joints,
>> speed bumps, or road imperfections), but I neither have the time nor the
>> money to mess with it. With just over 150k on the odometer, of the 3 Ur
>> S-cars I've had this is by far the least reliable and the only one I've
>> ever owned that has had engine issues as well as oil leaks.
>>
>> With that being said, it's the best looking one I've owned and has the
>> best paint job of the three (this one is pearl and the others were silver
>> and green both of which were a disaster paint wise). I still like the fact
>> that it's a sleeper and that every once in a while I encounter someone who
>> gets very excited about it, but it doesn't drive like an older car (say
>> something without power steering with a lot of character) that would give
>> it personality yet doesn't feel like a modern car so it's sort of lost in
>> no man's land.
>>
>> I don't really have any plans to sell it as it's not worth much and is
>> still a lot of fun when it snows. I have two sets of wheels and tires yet
>> keep the winter set on year round. Haha.
>>
>> You might like to know that I bought my first Ur S-car at 23, my second
>> one at 28, and the most recent one 4 years ago at 33. You might also like
>> to now that it's almost always exclusively guys younger than me that
>> comment on the car and seem really excited about it.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Alex
>>
>>
>>
>> Sent from my iPad
>>
>> On Aug 18, 2013, at 11:11 AM, David Forgie <forgied at shaw.ca> wrote:
>>
>>  Paul: I have made the same observation about less and less traffic on
>>> s-cars. The ownership here tends to be
>>> older, e.g. older than 40 and probably a lot older than 50. So many of
>>> us (I'm now 62) have either moved on
>>> to other cars (my DD is a 98 C4 A6 avant) and/or the UrS is now mostly
>>> in the garage and therefore doesn't
>>> break as often. (I used to drive mine a few times a week to work but
>>> since I retired in 2010, sometimes it is
>>> weeks between drives (especially in the winter)). I am trying to drive
>>> it more this summer but sometimes it
>>> is just easier to take the avant to the Home Depot/Lowes/RONA to pick up
>>> project supplies, especiall 2 x 4s
>>> and 2' x 8' blue foam board.
>>>
>>> As for other forums, there are quite a few s-car-list folks who also
>>> used to post on Audiworld UrS (at least
>>> until March 17, 2009 when quattroworld came into play).  Most Audiworld
>>> posters (including the s-car-listers)
>>> moved to quattroworld where an active UrS community exists. I like it
>>> there because of the ability to post
>>> photos in the posts makes writing up info posts or DIYs much easier.
>>>
>>> I still visit Audiworld and the s-car-list daily (or every second day)
>>> to see if there is anything new that I
>>> can contribute to. Sometimes there is nothing.
>>>
>>> The other UrS forum that I am active on is the S2Forum out of the UK.
>>> There are quite a few C4 UrS owners there.
>>> While many of the members are sub-40, there are a few old geezers like
>>> me there too. Even Hap shows up there with
>>> his Monstah project photos. ;>)
>>>
>>> Dave F. (aka "UrS4boy") (Hap is UrS4guy)
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-- 
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Walter R. Moore --  moorewr at gmail.com

"We would rather be ruined than changed;
We would rather die in our dread
Than climb the cross of the moment
And let our illusions die.”
             W.H. Auden