Ack! Questions about pro maintenance...

[Benjamin Weste Pearre <ben@marimba.com>]

Ok, so I bought a '90 200tqw at great trouble and expense.  It had 
been maintained for the last 5 years at Reitmeir's Werkstatt (owned by 
Joe Reitmeir), in Los Altos, California.  Because of that shop's 
location, it would be cool if I could keep maintaining it there.  I've 
heard from many knowledgable people that Joe Reitmeir is really good, 
though he does not specialise in Audis.

According to him, the car was in good shape (as of the last time he 
saw it), and needed nothing more than a pressure accumulator 
replacement and a new battery (the car still had the original 
battery).  The battery has apparently been checked at every major 
service (every 15000 miles or so) for ages, and Reitmeir's has always 
said "it's fine".  The bomb got replaced, but I forgot to ask him to 
do the battery.

I went to Tahoe for a week, and the battery duly died.  I went to 
German Motors (George Richey's shop) near Tahoe City.  He impressed 
me.  He does almost nothing but Audis and some VWs now, and he seems 
to really know what he is about.  He spent quite a while after closing 
time explaining things to me.  Anyway, he replaced the battery.  It 
was down to half its normal fluid level.  He claims that this kind of 
problem could not happen over a short timespan without making the 
cabin stink to high heaven.  Why didn't Reitmeir's catch this problem 
on their numerous battery checks?

He also did a full charging system check, and replaced the alternator 
belt, which had cracks visible on the underside.  The other belts that 
I can see look just about as bad (yes, I didn't do nearly careful 
enough an inspection when I bought it, sigh).

He reported that the brake fluid was "black", although Reitmeir's 
claimed that they replaced it recently, and there doesn't seem to be a 
leak.

George called my attention to the fact that if the timing belt is in 
the shape that the other belts are in, I could be in big trouble (is 
this really a turbo interference engine?  He said it is).  I don't see 
any timing belt replacement in the service records (after 126500 
miles) but I could have missed something.  I sure hope so!

The fuel pump is making quite a loud whine.  George said that it's 
probably OK for now (it's been replaced once).  His assertion is that 
the fuel pump can die if you just let it suck on air for a short while 
(running the tank empty, or even running on a quarter tank if you go 
over really steep hills, because the fuel can slosh away from the 
intake).  Is this really true?  It seems inconceivable that anyone 
could design something so ridiculous as a car that self-destructs if 
it runs out of gas.

So, my question is this: should I try to find a better mechanic?  Has 
Reitmeir's been lying to me and to the previous owner?  Everyone who 
knows the shop at all says good things about Joe and his son Jeff.  
Perhaps they're just not good at hiring help?  Honest mistakes?  No 
mistakes at all, but simply old information, perhaps?  Could the 
battery have suddenly lost half its juice all at once?  Could the 
brake fluid he put in be _meant_ to be black?

More and more I get the impression that if you want something done 
right you really have to do it yourself.  Does anyone know if I really 
have to spend  $169.95 for the Bentley manuals?  Can I get them for 
less?  I don't suppose that there's much of a secondhand market for 
them...

Just for the record, I _LOVE_LOVE_LOVE_ the car.  It's a great 
skimobile, and despite the almost total dearth of snow this holiday I 
had a chance to test its traction (I'm just that good).  It's 
comfortable and roomy.  In celebration I finally bought 8 large potted 
plants for my apartment, which never could have fit in my wretched 
Integra.  Now if only I can get the switches for the windows and the 
sunroof and the defroster and the antilock brakes working reliably, 
and the cabin air fan to turn on whenever I want, and the driver's 
side seat heater to heat more than just my back.........
-- 
ben@marimba.com                 http://www.marimba.com/people/benjamin
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