RE: Hello and some questions..

["Buchholz, Steven" <Steven.Buchholz@kla-tencor.com>]

Greetings Mike!

I get a chuckle every time I see someone who is an Audi fan advise against
getting an Audi because they are too expensive to maintain ... if you are
able to do your own minor maintenance on a car and know where to get good
prices for parts an Audi 4000 Quattro is an excellent choice (IMO).  The
thing that you do need to realize is that the newest 4kQ is 13 model years
old ...

I'm not so sure that I would agree with the statement that the 4kQ is a
"fancy" car ... it has a plain old manual climate control system and no
power seats.  Perhaps the "fanciest" parts of the car are the pwere windows
and mirrors.  The drivetrain on the 4kQ is well known for its robustness,
and it should be easily possible to find one that is in pretty good shape
within your price range.  I got my car for $1200 a coupe years ago.  It is
in beautiful cosmetic condition and the reason I got it for $1200 was that
it needed a clutch (original clutch went out at 206K miles).  Yes, I bought
a 4kQ with 206K miles without even thinking twice.  Since I've had the car
I've replaced the clutch, coolant hoses and heater core, spliced some broken
wires in the trunk and given it the other usual maintenance.  One other
thing that my car will get soon is a new vacuum advance unit for the
distributor (another fairly common problem for these cars IME).  It is a car
that I have full confidence of being able to hop into any time and knowing
it with start and drive away ...

The funny thing is that for a long time I had overlooked the 4kQ.  I got a
chance to drive one at one of our local q-lister get togethers and saw how
much fun one was to drive.

I hope this helps you make up your mind for that 944 replacement ... 

Good luck!
Steve Buchholz
San Jose, CA (USA)

> -----Original Message-----
> 
> > I want a Quattro.
> >     I am on a short budget, as I said I'm a college punk...
> >  I'd like to spend
> > under $2,000.  This will be my daily driver car.  I dont 
> really need a money
> > pit
> 
> I sense a contradiction in terms here.
> 
> fancy cars cheap will always soak up some cash to make them good.
> 
> an Audi 4000 quattro is a fancy car.  under $2k is cheap.  You may get
> lucky on the purchase but the repairs will still be expensive for a
> college punk budget.