Re. questions...longish

["Matt Rooke" <mrooke@fcpa.fujitsu.com>]

 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.

My girlfriend sez the butt end of my 91 Coupe Q is it's most attractive feature.
Now I wonder what she sees in me.....

> 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.

Deja vu. I regarded the Audi "free" service as more of a burden than a feature:
- I prefer to change the oil more often than 7.5k
- nearest dealer is way across town
- they are skilled but snotty, inattentive, and very slow.

It was always basically a whole day wasted for what would take an hour for myself or a neighborhood mechanic to do. But
since it was free, and the car was (and still essentially is) trouble free, I put up with it until the warranty expired.
Now I have a great mechanic a couple blocks from my house who knows Audis inside and out, having rebuilt several for
racing (including a CQ just like mine but with a 420hp turbo), and seems to be honest and reasonable (it is a lie to use
cheap and Audi in the same sentence).

Anyhow, my point is that you should immediately find a non-dealer mechanic. There are many shops around which, like
mine, are run by honest, skilled enthusiasts.  Just ask this list and you will be flooded with referrals.  You may still
want to use the dealer for the "free" services, but if they can't or won't immediately fix any problems at no charge,
I'd get it to an independant shop.  At some point, it becomes worth a few dollars to make problems go away.

Good luck, in the long run you will not regret your purchase, no matter how many
problems you have to sort out first.  And don't you think it would be even more
gorgeous with fatter tires, lowering springs, European headlights, yada yada....

Matt Rooke
San Jose CA
'91 CQ 116k/ fatter tires, lowering springs, Euro headlights, yada yada...