are they really THAT bad???

[MHLIGGINS <MHLIGGINS@aol.com>]

<<And no one EVER drives a K-car as hard or "enthusiastically" as an Audi.
(Yes, it was an unmitigated sh*tbox - but it ALWAYS ran.)>>
Well, let's say your batting .500 here.  I agree with your parenthetical
statement.  My K-car had the big Mitsubishi engine in it and I ran it as
spiritedly as I do the quattro (didn't get the same amount of performance,
though, but I did use the same amount of effort.)

On the whole, the cars do have some trouble spots.  That's the bad news.  The
good news is the q-list.

Generalization:
     European cars, generally, are designed with maintainence in mind.  They
are supposed to be pampered and watched after on a regular basis.  This is so
they'll last a generation or two.  The U.S. market car is typically set up
around people owning cars for no more than 2-3 years at a time.  Cars here are
commodities, not heirlooms.  And the owners treat them as such, while euro
owners tend to be more interested in keeping their cars maintained.
     The joker in the deck is some of the Asian cars, notably some models from
Japan.  They were designed around long life with relatively low maintainence
schedule.  This has had an effect on the market.  Now ALL Japanese cars are
perceived as having long, trouble-free lives.

     From my perspective, the question is not are they that bad.  The question
is whether we are willing to accept them for what they are.  They are
relatively well appointed German cars designed for a relatively high
maintainence schedule (that currently lose resale value faster than someone in
the White House is rumored to be able to drop his fly).  Are you willing to
pay to play?  With a few major items it is easy to have repair bills that
exceed the resale value of the car.  Is that a good value?
     As far as my answer, I just bought a late model engine and a lot of
parts.  The total of which will exceed half the current estimate retail value
of mine....

     Later.
     Marty Liggins
     Imperial Potentate, Bucksnort Quattro Club (Un-Inc.)