re: Don't Buy New Audis

[Dwight Varnes <xmxbreed@lancnews.infi.net>]

> The existence of many old cars in excellent condition driven by
> satisfied owners is great, free advertising. If you talk to a Mercedes
> official, he will be proud of the fact that many 20 years old MBs are
> still hitting the road. Audi seems to be ashamed by the existence of old
> Audis.

I read not long ago in European Car that Mercedes-Benz finance will
finance ANY used M-B regardless of age, and not necessarily one
purchased from one of their dealers. Seems they are so certain of the
value and desirability of their products they can do this. I'm sure
there are limits, but this is still inspiring.
Saab and Volvo are also good at exploiting the longevity of their cars.
Volvo in particular awards their owners with mileage awards which you
sometimes see mounted to the grille of one for high mileages like
500,000 or a million. (I think Saab should offer badges for cars with
original transmissions still in use, but that's another story).
I think a lot of the blame rests on the shoulders of VW and Audi NA.
They have a surprisingly poor parts & accessories division that doesn't
seem to do much but charge a lot for parts. $600 for a CQ muffler? Get
real. I'll make my own. Price a Corrado headlight sometime, or a 16v
Jetta clutch cable. 
I learned long ago from Fiat that they charge low prices for parts
because they want you to buy from them, and it helps keep the
aftermarket at bay. With VW considered an "economy" car here, and the
plethora of aftermarket vendors, they need to wise up. The problem with
Audi is there is little competition for them, and the owners are
generally the type to take it to the dealer and suffer the consequences,
probably under the assumption the WMB and SUXEL owners have to do the
same. 
-- 
Dwight Varnes                              "Life is too short to drive a
70 Fiat 124 Spider (restored)			   minivan." 
86 Audi Coupe GT (waiting for more HP)			   	   	
89 VW Jetta GLI 16v (The wife's car)			   
67 Fiat Dino Coupe (trading for 65 Skylark convertible)
98 Ford Contour (company car, got to pick the color)

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