'95 A6QW questions

[Mark Gajewski <mgajewski@manvillerubber.com>]

Hello all,

I'm new to the list and am searching for a '95 up A6Q wagon.  I found
one that seems nice, but have a few concerns/questions about it and Audi
quattros in general.  Here goes:

The front tires on this particular vehicle are really chewed up.  Chunks
of rubber are are actually "pulled" off of some of the tread blocks.
This combined with a tire-grinding-on-pavement kind of noise that occurs
when turning very sharply at slow speeds (like when doing a u-turn)
makes me suspicious about the front differential.  The dealer says no
way, that it has a viscous differential and therefore there is no way it
could be locking up slightly or whatever.  On top of this he claims to
have never had Quattro AWD system problems in the 15 yrs. he has been
dealing with quattros.  Does this sound like he is trying to dodge a
problem and a potentially expensive fix, or are problems with quattros
really that uncommon?  Is the tight turn tire scrubbing on pavement
noise normal?

Do the door mirrors on the A6's tend to make lots of wind noise at
speed?  In this particular vehicle there was a lot of wind noise, but it
didn't sound like a bad door/window seal...just outside wind noise.

A mechanic acquaintance is advising me to stay away from Quattros due to
extreme cost in maintaining/repairing the drivetrain.  He claims the
auto tranny alone is something like $7K and must be shipped in from
Germany?  Sounds like balone to me, but could it be true?  I know this
is the Quattro list so I don't expect a totally impartial answer, but
are the Quattros troublesome?  I prefer to work on my own vehicles, but
after poking around under this one, I do feel somewhat intimidated.  Are
these cars repairable by a decent backyard mechanic or are we talking
dealer visits here?  What sort of mileage can I expect to put on this
car before major trouble/rebuild time?

Anyone in the Northeast selling and A6Q wagon in case this one doesn't
pan out.  Thanks in advance for any info/recommendations you might
have.  Coming from a long line of VW ownership, I love the way the Audi
feels...but it's a lot of money and I'm just trying to make sure it's a
wise move.

Mark