Dee's Post...

["Al Powell" <apowell@agcom.tamu.edu>]

From: DOUBLDz <DOUBLDz@aol.com>

...[snip] What I really love reading about is your passion, respect 
and appreciation for this automobile. The more of that I read, the 
happier I am with my decision to own one. 

**Welcome to the list!  I suspect many other women also "lurk"....

About a month ago I purchased an 95 A6q in pearl. Let me just say, its a thing
of beauty. I'm afraid to admit that that was probably the biggest selling
feature for me, (aside from reputation) its a drop-dead gorgeous car. I think
my favorite view is head on. Since thats a view I don't get to see very often,
I've taken to backing into parking spaces just so I can walk up to the front
of it and have my moment to admire it. 

**Be proud.  I have the same reaction to my 1990 200 in Pearl.

I don't plan to actually work on the car myself  but I would like to be a
knowledgeable owner so I can keep it running in top form, albeit with the help
of a trustworthy mechanic. Of course, the car has the remaining warranty still
which amounts to over 40K more miles or 2 years. That in itself presents a
problem. Ever since signing on the dotted line, I am less than impressed with
my treatment at the dealership. Too much to get into here, but there is one
thing  that I would like to get some feedback on.........I was given the
maintenance record book and only glanced at it the night I bought the car (I
hope that doesn't put me in the dumb blonde category). It appeared to have all
the stamps in the proper places and so forth. A couple of days later when I
took it out to see about the next scheduled maintenence I saw that there was
already a stamp saying that the service at 37,500 had been done. Since my car
had only 31K miles it was quite apparent that something was amiss. A quick
check of the VIN numbers proved that this was not the maintenance record for
my car. Long story short, the dealer said he had the right book, promised to
mail it, etc.etc. Guess what, I still don't have it and the dealer didn't
return my call today. Any thoughts on my recourse, if any, would be
appreciated.

**First, you can't undo what has or hasn't been done in the past.  
If you are just past any services, I would see if the dealership will 
do them.  Regardless, begin doing all scheduled maint. procedures as 
scheduled.  Audis are CRITICALLY different from American cars in one 
respect: preventive maintenance (before it breaks) is highly 
important, because corrective maintenance (after ibt breaks)  is MUCH 
more expensive than a US-made car.  The moral: DON'T skip any 
services.

**You will want to make sure they check fluid levels, including the 
transaxle (front wheel drive mechanism) gear oil, as this is vitally 
important.  it's also a PITA rto reach the filler plug, so it often 
goes unchecked.

**As far as the manual, keep after them.  If they don't have it, they 
don't have it.  HOWEVER - Audi keeps complete national records 
(computerized) on services done at dealerships.  Go to the service 
department and ask them to give you a complete printout of all 
services performed on your car which are in their database.  They 
should have no objection, especially since you can explain that they 
gave you the wrong service record book with your purchase.  Problems? 
...go to the owner or manager.  Once you have this record, carry it 
in the car.  You may need it later.

**Post any questions to this list.  The members are super people and 
will help.

The car also has infra red keyless entry. The manual gives a 12 foot range of
operation but I have to be practically on top of it to get the door open. When
I told the dealer that I thought I needed new batteries for my key (priced at
$8.00 a piece, needs 4) he said no thats the way it works, you have to be
close to the sensor. Is this true?

**Change them yourself!  In the side of that key, there should be a 
slot - slide a coin into the slot and twist, and the halves will 
separate.  Go to Radio Shack and get the equivalent batteries for $2 
each or less.

**THERE IS AN IMPORTANT LESSON HERE.  DEALERS WILL PERFORM UNNATURAL 
ACTS ON YOUR WALLET ANY TIME YOU HAVE NON-WARRANTY WORK DONE.  
Anticipate the end of your warranty and find a good independent shop, 
as you will never want to visit the dealer again - or buy parts from 
them - once that warranty is gone.  Also, dealers will not REPAIR 
anything.  They will replace old parts with new parts, and that's it. 
 If you have a problem with a rebuildable part (starter, 
alternator...) you can have a local shop remove it, have it rebuilt, 
and re-install for less than half the cost of the new part alone.

The other thing I am wondering about is gas mileage. Admittedly, I didn't give
this a whole lot of thought while I was being a love-sick lass lusting after
this car, but now that I have to feed it, I'm noticing that I only get around
14 miles to the gallon. Is that normal? I'm coming off of a car that filled up
for about 12 bucks and then ran and ran. Now I'm buying supreme and filling a
20 gallon tank kinda often, ouch!

**Group, this does not sound right, even for in-town driving, unless 
she has as  heavy a foot as mine.  Comments?  

Sorry to take up so much space. I know these questions are way below your
level of expertise, but I'm hoping someone will take pity on me and help me
out. TIA

**I believe you can expect consistent and courteous help from this 
list.


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Al Powell                        Voice:  409/845-2807
107 Reed McDonald Bldg.          Fax:    409/862-1202
College Station, TX 77843      
Http://agcomwww.tamu.edu/agcom/satellit/alpage.htm
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