Re: Advice needed: Quattro Hiatus Options

[Aleksander Mierzwa <alex@matrix.pl>]

At 12:16 12.11.98 -0500, Osman Parvez wrote:

>2. What vehicle to Lease/Buy while I am in graduate school. My choices
>are very limited. The vehicle must have low mileage, or be brand new. It
>also has to be in the mid 15's range for purchase, a bit more for
>leasing. 
>My #1 choice is the Passat, which is outside of the range of
>affordability right now. The Financial Backer (my old man of course) is
>pushing for a nice Toyota Corolla or Camry, i.e. an appliance on wheels. 

Osman, what about the Golf? It's reliable, cheap to buy and maintain, but
fun to drive and feels quite Audi-like. I have been wondering what car
would I buy if I could no longer afford fixing my 5KT as well and came to a
conlusion that I would definitely go with Golf, preferably a GTI 16V.

>This is a very painful process for me right now as I am certainly
>emotionally attached to this 200q. 

Yeah, I sure know how you feel. 

>I have replaced many major components
>of the car, including the entire Hydraulic system (clutch MC, Clutch SC,
>Bomb, Rack, Pump) as well as the Clutch, the suspension, and now
>recently (thanks to Igor's help) my brakes. I have Eurolights (still
>without harness) and am running Hak 1's in the winter. I also replaced
>the stock stereo head unit with a Cd player. The Oil cooler lines were
>replaces as well as the Fuel Lines. The starter and alternator were also
>replaced recently. I think I have hit every major failure mode except
>for the EM and the LIfters. 

Seems like you really have most expensive problems worked out. One may hope
that it will provide reliable and inexpensive service for next several
years. The turbocharger oil supply and return lines usually fail soon after
oil cooler lines, so you should keep an eye on them, though.

Aleksander Mierzwa
Warsaw, Poland
mailto:alex@matrix.pl
87 Audi 5000CS turbo (mine)
88 Renault Medallion wagon (mom's)
91 mountain bike (just in case both cars broke at the same time :-)