Re: Considering an '86-'88 5kcsq

["Fred Munro" <munrof@isys.ca>]

-----Original Message-----
From: Wallace White <whitew@leland.Stanford.EDU>
To: quattro@coimbra.ans.net <quattro@coimbra.ans.net>
Date: Sunday, May 03, 1998 8:30 PM
Subject: Considering an '86-'88 5kcsq


>I'm a relatively new lister and soon-to-be college graduate, thinking
>about buying a 5kcsq. I've always loved those cars and I'm pretty happy
>that their resale values are so low (sorry to those who bought them new).
>I finally got to test drive one recently--with 212k miles and going
>strong--and I look forward to owning one.
>
>I've been looking at '86-'88 cars, since I like their prices, but I've
>also considered the '89-'91s.  Other than the obvious cosmetic changes and
>the 20V/UFO in '91, were there many improvements to those cars? I'm a
>little worried about maintenance costs; would you expect an '89-'91 to be
>any better in that regard?
>
>I've seen some '86s with 5-spoke wheels, which I also remember in the Car
>& Driver review way back then. Were these part of an option package, and
>how many years were they available?
>
>Thanks!
>
>- Wallace White
>  looking for a good 5kcsq
>
>P.S. I have an AutoCAD drawing (and DXF) of an UrQ that I did a long time
>ago. All 3D surfaces, not a 2D drawing, so you can take it into 3DStudio
>and such. It's not perfect, but I was in ninth grade at the time! Let me
>know if anyone's interested or if there's a web site where someone would
>consider making it available.
>
Hi Wallace;

    I owned a '86 5ktq which was totaled at 180k km and now own a '91 200q
with 251k km.
    IMHO the '91 is a superior vehicle from the reliability and maintenance
standpoint. In the '89 redesign Audi fixed a lot of problems with the
earlier cars; I remember somebody saying they made around 800 engineering
changes to the '89 models. The hydraulic pumps and steering racks are more
durable and my '91 is a lot tighter at 251k km than my '86 was at 180k km.
My buddy's '87 5ktq was a rolling wreck at 260k km, primarily because he
stopped maintaining it in the last year he owned it. He often comments on
how much better my '91 is than his '87 was with similar mileage
(kilometerage?)
    The new steering and braking systems altered the driving feel of the
car - I preferred the early models from this standpoint and other qlisters
have made the same comment.
    On the whole, though, the '89 - '91 models get my vote.

HTH

Fred Munro
'91 200q  251k km