[urq] What is everyone's opinion about Audi's parts

[James Bufkin]

The intriguing thing is that Audi plans to simply abandon the urquattro 
and sport quattro to the aftermarket world.  These cars define what Audi 
is now.  A performance oriented all wheel drive car.
And more importantly the SPORT QUATTRO which is the embodiement of their 
rallying heritage.   lets talk about that for a minute or two.

The Sport Quattro essentially defines Audi as far as I'm concerned.  
They are worth roughly 75000 dollars if in original good condition.
A very pricey car even by todays standards.  A car of that worth being 
only 25 years old or so DESERVES better from the manufacturer than to be 
abandoned to the aftermarket.
There are 1955 mercedes in excellent condition that fetch 80,000 dollars 
and one can still get parts for that car.  So the bigger travesty here, 
dare I say a Monumental Travesty is the treatment of Sport quattro 
owners.   To sell off all the Sport Quattro parts to the general public 
without at least offering them to actual Sport Quattro owners is 
RIDICULOUS to an Extreme.   What if a Sport gets into a minor fender 
bender or a breaks a driveshaft.  The owner has to scrougne for parts 
and many of these might actually be on copy cars, conversions and other 
vehicles.   Is that the end to a very rare machine that represents what 
Audi is all about?     To use these cars in advertisements such as the 
new Q7 commercial while at the same time dropping all factory support to 
keep these car on the road and in tenable condition is DESPICABLE.    To 
see the quattro logo on all their new cars while dropping support for 
the original car that started the whole trend is beyond Belief.   
Incomprehensible.   

So regardless of how new Audis are so great where one has to pay 500 
dollars for maintenance, I can find plenty of other car makers who offer 
similar products at better value.   If Audi is going to treat some of 
its most DIEHARD customers this way, I do not want to stick around to 
see how they treat their average customer.   I get the impression that 
they think The urquatto is like Jars of Expired Mayonaise that need to 
be throw out.   I have a 2001 A8L that will be replaced soon,  I will 
not be another Audi.  I have persuaded my mother to pass on a Q7 in 
favor of a Mercedes Benz.   It will not stop there.   Audi will have to 
realize that in the long term, this move is a bad move and is being 
penny wise and pound foolish. 

Now, I will not sell my Urquattros.  Nor will I sell my Rally Car, I'm 
sure many of you would be willing to buy it.  I am not very proud of 
Audi right now.   I find myself personally in a rather unique position 
because I do own a higher profile car that can be used with considerable 
weight for advertising and promotion.    Last year, things were great.  
Audi was doing the 25 years of Quattro and things were looking up.   Now 
one year later, its a total and utter flop. 

James