A6 questions.

[CTDreher@aol.com]

I'm new to this Q&A chat so be kind....

RE:  Someone asked about extended warranties.  "Rip-Off", is my experience.
First, understand that many extended warranty packages sold BY A DEALER are
NOT from the factory, but instead are just an insurance package resold by the
dealer.   The
markup is huge.  Furthermore, if the insurance company goes under, you're
stuck with nothing.

I bought a $500 50K warranty for my then-new 1986 Dodge Dakota.  When the
carb started leaking at 52K and needed replacing, I tried to invoke the
warranty.  Ha!
Yes, the warranty covered THE ENGINE but NOT the "auxiliaries".  Apparently,
they felt the carb was auxiliary to the engine.  And so forth.  No
satisfaction and Dodge wouldn't help.  Wish I had that $500 back.

QUESTION #1:  I have a 95 Quattro A6.  At 3K miles, during a 300 mile drive,
the engine stuttered and the Check Engine (or whatever they call it) light
came on.  This happened twice more during the trip, once actually shutting
down the engine.  When I tried to restart it, the engine wouldn't crank, all
the lights on the dash came on and the tach sat there bouncing up and down.
 I
waited 10 minutes, tried it again, it started fine and ran the rest of the
way
OK.

The car was taken to Central Audi in Dallas and they replaced the crank
position sensor (sensors? There are three?) and it worked fine.  Then, at
about 4K miles, it happened again.  Same situation:  About 300 miles into a
drive.  This time we nursed it to the dealer in Memphis.  They checked the
position sensors, pronounced them fine, cleaned the electrical contacts, and
put some type of sealer on the contacts.  The car has run fine since, but my
fiancee is skittish about taking the car on any more long trips, and that is
the sole reason we bought it.  Anyone have any thoughts?  Things to note:  In
both instances, I was using the cruise control and the weather was only
moderate, maybe 75 degrees.  (The Memphis dealer wanted to replace the engine
computer but couldn't get one for 10 days.)  The diagnostic system DID report
error codes, by the way.

THE GOOD NEWS:  We killed a day in Memphis at Graceland.  Terrific fun.
Whatever your preconceptions are about the place, they are wrong.  Keep and
open mind and visit the place it all started.

QUESTION #2:  I've moved to Alexandria VA (Washington DC).  Anyone have
good/bad comments about dealers here?  I can offer this to Dallas folks:
Central Audi/Volkswagen treated me like royalty, although I only had the one
incident (above) to test them.

QUESTION #3:  Anyone have any experience in performance parts for the A6 2.8?
I've seen lots of claims and ads in the Quattro Quarterly, but virtually
everyone I wrote to, asking for dyno-charts or some other certifiable data,
merely sent a sales brochure.  Talk (and print) is cheap.  Anyone have any
real numbers?  This engine needs a lot more low-end.

SPEAKING of PERFORMANCE:  Motorcycle Consumer News magazine had a rather
lengthy reprint of an InterNet article claiming K&N filters are bad news for
your engine.  The article was supposedly written by a fleet maintenance
engineer who was trying to save on his company's $30k/month (yes, per MONTH)
air-
filter cost.  He claimed severe valve wear problems on the test vechicles
with
K&Ns and returned to paper filters.  Anyone know any more about this?  And
can
anyone offer REAL NUMBERS about the performance claims of such filters on the
A6?

BAD EXPERIENCE:  I know I'm about to be labeled as completely brain-dead for
doing this, but I was in a hurry and getting ready to leave on a trip and...
I took the A6 to Jiffy Lube for an oil change.  A severe case of cranial-
rectum inversion.  The filter they put on blew apart internally and started
leaking oil.  Also, they didn't tighten the sump drain correctly.
Fortunately, I caught it and there was no damage.  The dealer tells me that
the A6 filter is special and that it has to withstand 90 psi cold-start
pressure.  Hmmm.

Anyone thinking about getting a new A6, feel free to write.  It's a fine car.

- Carl Dreher
CTDreher@aol.com
(Since people are also listing their other cars...  1973 Lotus Europa JPS
Twin-Cam 5-Speed Big Valve Special, 1971 TR6, 1968 MGBGT, 1946 Buick
Roadmaster, 1932 Morgan MX2 3-Wheeler.  How's that for self-inflicted
wounds?)