[V8] For Sale, 1 Soul

d saad dsaad at icehouse.net
Thu Feb 8 10:44:12 EST 2007


I would re-think your fear of repairs on the S4 Kent.
Remember that
the V8 was/is considered to be a complex and difficult to repair car. We
all know that with a little knowledge, and a little help from your
friends, that just aint so.

You would probably have to invest
in a serious VAG-COM type product, and get the required tools and service
manuals, but that is the case for any car on the road these days.

My experience with Audi's - and any German cars for that matter, is that
they are built well enough that you can take them apart. That might sound
odd - but as an example, Ford recommends that you PULL THE BODY OFF THE
FRAME (yes - I am shouting) to change the %&*# spark plugs. Or
fasteners and connectors used on lesser vehicles break when you take them
apart where on the Germans you can re-use them. Maybe that is less true
for cheaper models or newer cars - my 1991 is the newest German car I have
torn into but my past life as a stereo installer taught me that the
Germans were by leaps and bounds better built than anything on the road.
This includes Japanese cars.


I say go for it. 

Dave


> I drove an '05 S4 Avant yesterday.  I
want.
> 
> My boss and I had to drive from Manchester NH
to Moosehead Lake in Maine
> yesterday.  I drove so he could use
his cell phone and laptop. We took
> his S4 - a black-on-black
Avant. Call it a 12 hour test drive. :) Here's
> my opinion of the
car.
> 
> Since it was 9dF when we left, I found the seat
heaters really work. The
> ones in my '94 100S make my buns warm.
The ones in his S4 make them hot.
> 
> The 4.2L 340 HP V8
rocks. Power. Lots of it. Any time. Any gear. You put
> your foot
down and there is a shove in the back. No waiting for a turbo
> to
spool up.  Without doubt, it's the most impressive feature of the
> car.  On the numbered back roads between I-95 and Moosehead Lake,
we'd
> come up on traffic doing 60. Even in 6th gear, I'd just
press the
> accelerator, pull out and around. The pass was quick,
efficient, easy.
> By the time we pulled back in, we'd be doing
80+. We passed a lot of
> cars yesterday.
> 
> I
got to test the quattro, too.  The last 10 miles of the trip were on
> a dirt road covered in snow and ice. We were following a new
Chevy
> Tahoe. He had ground clearance and all-weather tires. We
had no ground
> clearance and Z-rate high-performance summer
tires. On one sharp turn,
> I could feel the car lose grip and
start to plow to the outside. The
> boss, unconcerned, said,
"Give it some gas."  Which I did, and which
> pulled us
out of the corner.  The next time we hit a slippery patch, I
>
gave it gas, and dang, if it doesn't work. The third time, coming
around
> the air strip (privately owned), it plowed in the inches
of snow. I gave
> it some gas. Too much, apparently, as the car
came around too far, and
> I had to correct. Wheeee! I'll have to
save my pennies so I can take a
> Winter Driving School.
>

> The Navigation system works. The boss fiddled with the controls
in the
> center panel. I got to watch the display between the
speedometer and
> tach -- it tells you miles to the next turn,
miles to you destination,
> direction, and a mini-map of the road
showing side streets, etc. When
> you approach a turn, a voice
comes out of the audio system to let you
> know. "Turn right
in 200 feet." There is also a little red bar that
> indicates
how close you are to the turn. It shrinks as you approach the
>
turn, and disappears at the turn. It is spot on.  If there are two
roads
> next to each other at your turn (the two we saw were about
20' apart),
> it is accurate enough for the bar to disappear at
the correct turn.
> However, it didn't have the 10 miles of
private road in its database.
> I can live with that.
>

> The HVAC system did its job, too. His temperature set to 68dF,
mine
> to 70dF. I never felt the need to adjust it. It brought the
car up
> to temperature quickly and kept us comfortable. I just
wonder how it
> will hold up. :)
> 
> After
getting up at 3:30AM, driving 12 hours in the car, and another
> 4
hours on the job, we got back to his house at 8:30pm. I was tired,
> but not from driving.
> 
> I would love to own that
car.  I would hate to pay a mechanic to fix it.
> I would hate to
be the DIY home mechanic facing a repair task.  But what
> joy on
the road.
> 
> --
> Kent McLean
> '94 100
S Avant, "Moody"
> '89 200 TQ, "Bad Puppy" up
in smoke
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