Tranny "Blooey" & A4 Cost

["Al Powell" <APOWELL@agcom.tamu.edu>]

Part One:

The unfortunate Mr. LeDuc quoth:

> Yes my daughter was driving it to work( imagine violins playing mournfully 
> in the background) and while taking a corner, form a dead stop at an 
> intersection, the car(as she reported it) "BLEW UP".   it seems that the car 
> made a  really big ugly noise, the engine rpm went over 6000 and then 
> stopped.  @$$$!!!&????   [snip].   I put it in gear (3 speed auto) 
and got about  30 feet away when the big ugly noise began again!!! 
it sounded like gears  ripping the teeth off each other it truly was 
UGLY.
> Can anybody tell me what to suspect and how much expense to anticipate? 
>  I'll have to sell another body organ to pay for it uh?  Perhaps I should 
> have kept my brain instead of selling it to get the car.   It has  90,000 
> Miles on it and except for a dent where a tree branch fell on it last month 
> it is in great shape ... well used to be anyhow :-((

I think you heard a very expensive noise, and I would have a 
mechanic evalute it....because I'll bet you're in for either a tranny 
or transaxle.  When you know the story, drop a line to Peter at 
<AUDIONLY@aol.com> and see if he can help you find a used one - he's 
in that biz, but too polite to mention it on this list.  (So I do it 
for him occasionally....'coz he's a nice guy.)

Part Deux:

Andrew Duane (backed up by his estimable puddy tat) sent:

> BTW, they list the A4 as "starting at $26,500". Adding $1500 for
> quattro, and a few other goodies, this should still be under $30K.
> Where are people getting this "well over $30K" idea?

I just looked at an Austin, TX dealership and every A4 ticketed out 
about $31-$32K with the $4K+ of add-ons the ordered.  That's surely 
the only way a dealer will stock one.  To get one without a sunroof, 
etc. you'd have to order it. In that case, you could get one under 
$30K.

> I think Audi has gotten much more affordable in terms of real cars.
> Other cars in it's class have moved into the $40K's and $50K's.

One caveat for me, Mr. Andrew & esteemed list-buds: there's no new car 
on the road worth $30K to me.  I refuse to put nearly 50% of my 
home's value into a disposable item.  I DO AGREE that compared to 
other marques, Audi offers reasonable value for the $$.  I just don't 
think ANY of them are worth that much money.

I'll let "them" buy the new ones and pick 'em up when the lease ends 
for about 50% of the new cost.

 
********** A Washington State Cougar in Aggieland (aTm) **********

Al Powell                           Voice:  409/845-2807
Ag Communications                   Fax:    409/862-1202
107 Reed McDonald Bldg.             Email:  a-powell1@tamu.edu 
College Station, TX  77843-2112
W3 page - http://agcomwww.tamu.edu/agcom/rpe/alpage.htm

"There are two kinds of truth.  There are real truths and made-up 
                    truths."   (Marion Berry)
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