[V8] All the Best Cars have been built: #1

[Roger Woodbury]

My car is back.  Of course, I do not have the garage ready so it is sitting
outside getting cold tonight, but it is back.

I wonder if I have ever expressed how much I really, REALLY like my V8?  I
drove it around a bit this afternoon on some errands. About sixty miles in
total, and I was just as impressed as always by how smooth and secure the
car really is.  It is extremely hard to remember that my car is now twenty
years old!  In truth I believe that all the real, good cars have already
been built.

So, here's the fleet as it is right now.  

First of all is the car that gets the preponderance of driving, and that is
my wife's 100CS Avant Quattro.  It's a 1994 and I bought it in Kansas City
with 39,000 original miles from the dealer who sold it new.  I paid around
$14,000 for it in 1991, flew out to Kansas City and drove it back.  We have
put around $13,500 into the car to maintain it over the past nine years and
108,000 miles.  The car is today pretty much as it was then mechanically,
although I can hear the air conditioning  compressor bearings when it first
starts up.  Otherwise, mechanically, the car is "as new".  The car has had
nine Maine winters, and has been used in the winter extensively.  It is
beginning to look like it.  Both fog lights are out, although one can be
reinstalled but the right side one was a casualty of war, having met a
foolish cat that ran out at precisely the wrong moment.  EVERYthing works in
this car except for the rear washer and one or two of the interior window
switch lights.  The engine uses just about a quart of oil every thousand
miles or so, and the car gets between 21 and 22 miles per gallon of pump
regular.  I seldom goes further than thirty miles one way, and most trips
are to Ellsworth and back, which means around 20 miles in total round trip.
Right now, I am thinking that when the economy firms a bit, and when we sell
some real estate, I will take the car to the Worlds Most Expensive European
Car Restoration Service and get the exterior restored and the interior
cleaned and detailed to "new" condition.  We can easily continue to drive
this car for another 100,000 or more miles, and it is a shame that is
beginning to look like it has had ten Maine winters.

1997 GMC Sierra 2500 regular cab.  This truck was new to me last year at
this time, and I bought it on eBay from a used car dealer in Massachusetts.
We drove down and bought it, and drove it back in the same day.  It had
82,000 miles on it at the time and had had only five or so New England
winters, the rest of the time it had been used to haul a trailer to
somewhere else for the winter.  The truck was clean and nearly as clean as
one that had never been exposed to New England's salt and yukki anti ice
stuff. Best of all, it was as tight a truck as I had ever driven aside from
something new off the lot.  It's fully loaded with all the normal stuff, and
has a big block (454 Vortec) engine.  I put my Boss plow on it, and it plows
the roads here and our properties in the winter.  I went to the GMC dealer
when I first bought it and asked them to pull the bill sheet for the truck.
To my surprise, the truck is very close to a 1Ton, and was obviously spec'd
out originally as a heavy hauler.  Now with 91,000 miles, the truck averages
around 12-14 miles per gallon under me, unless it is carrying the plow and
plowing.  This is very likely the last truck that I will ever own.

1990 Audi V8 Quattro:  white pearl over black.  Odometer shows 62,852 miles
but is actually around 71,000 miles since the odometer was inop the first
summer that I had it and I was doing a fair amount of driving over known
distances.  The speedometer has been successfully overhauled (Thanks,
Steve!), and I have taken the car back now.  The car has been at my wrench's
since early last summer as it still needs some things that he hasn't gotten
around to, yet.  Now with a child-in-law WITH child, moving in from Texas
for a year or so, he will not have time to deal with my car before year end.
Hence, I have it back.

	I bought the car in April '08 and hauled it back from Pennsylvania
on 
	trailer and straight into the shop.  It had the original timing belt

	and John did a complete service and did a bunch of other things just
n
	needing to be done to a 62,000 mile Audi V8 that had not had 
	EVERYTHING but MOST everything done to maintain it since it was new.


	After my folks died, I drove it to Belfast and back on the estate 
	business for about ten thousand miles worth, and then it was time
for
	tires and brakes.  We still have to trouble shoot the ABS and the 
	heated seats, and I need to install a new cruise control module
which
	I have.  The ABS is of most concern, and we will do that around the 
	end of the year.  The car is so clean and NEW looking that I doubt t
	that it will be a big deal...just some time, and I only want John to

	work on this car so that means that he needs to sort out his wife's 
	daughter and her issues first.  No biggie:  I have anew "bomb" now,
	new sticker now, and the car is ready to go for the next year.  The 
	car has had only one Maine winter so it is still much like new.  

	I wonder if this is the lowest mile V8 in the US at this point?  

	Total to date is around $10,000 including purchase price and all
work done to date, all of which was professionally done. What can you buy
for ten grand?  Anything like this?  Nope!

Roger