to audi or not to audi

[rogers@coredump.newjersey.sco.com]

Fellow Q-philes:

I was about to order the new 98 1.8TQ earlier this month, when
a friend of mine forwarded some digest posts from this list to
show me what a great list this is.  My impression: WOW, the
list is amazing; so much collective knowledge and wisdom here.
I'm impressed but it also gave me cold feet.  I'm not at all
mechanically inclined and just want a nice all weather car
that I just fill gas in, change oil and forget about it.
I'm probably spoiled by owning all those hondas/toyotas.
The list gave me the impression that the Q will give me all
I expect from a nice car but will also create a big hole
in my pocket for all of the non-scheduled repair work.

I'm kinda scared of all those stories about rebuilding
engines, changing timing belts and water pumps etc, granted
all of the stories were of older cars and that is precisely
the reason I don't have the guts to buy an older car.
Basically, I want to get your opinions on audi reliability
'cause I love the car but won't get it if there is a good chance 
of getting into lots of additional repairs outside of scheduled 
maintenance.  Along those lines, could someone please give me
some recommendations (for and against) on dealerships (for sale
and service) and independent mechanics in northern NJ.

The car will be used as a general purpose all weather transport
without any mods, well may be just the chip, what the heck..

Thanks for any info.

-r-