Re: Beware of VRC and VRE

[JustaxPHX@aol.com]

> You don't have to see the logic - they aren't trying to convince you. 
>  they just don't stock them.

Good point.  What seems perfectly logical to one person -- say, owning and
driving a 13-year old Audi -- might strike another person as something that is
completely insane.  ;^)  

>  But consider.. I have a camera made by a
>  major mfr from the same year as my car.  the autowinder no longer
>  exists, and parts are not available.  Period.

Sure ... but on the other hand, I have a camera (Minolta XK) that is 25 years
old and I was able to buy parts for it just last year.  Still, I'm more
forgiving about a lack of parts for what was originally a $900 camera than a
$40,000 car...
  
>  Remember that the auto industry is not about used cars except for the
>  first resale value.  It's about new cars.  And we are dealing with a
>  marque that suffered a massive sales and reputation setback since our
>  cars were built.  Again, consider ourselves lucky to be able to get
>  *anything* that only fits cars this old.

I'll concede your point.  But if I can walk into a Mercedes dealership and buy
parts for an ex-girlfriend's '71 280SE from stock, it doesn't seem
unreasonable for me to expect that an Audi dealer can sell me a consumable
part that is pretty much universal across several different models, all of
which are anywhere from 10 to 16 years younger.
 
>  I guess I'm a little closer to some reality checks on this, my neighbor
>  runs a foreign car garage and is very straight with me about what I am
>  doing.

And I've been known to tilt at windmills on occasion ... hope you enjoyed your
party.  ;^)

JG