After 204,000 miles, my trusty old Ford Escort GT gave up the ghost on me. Few things compare with driving forty miles down a winding coastal highway at two in the morning unable to top 25mph without blowing the engine...

Determined to follow through on about three years worth of mutterings made while waiting for the mechanic at various times, I've finally followed through on my vow to move away from the bedeviled blue oval. I was in the market from the beginning for something from the former WWII Axis powers, and eventually ended up with a 1997 Audi A4 1.8T. Photos will eventually follow, should it ever stop raining around here.

No intention of pursuing any extroverted "schnitzelrocket" modifications (i.e. attaching the back half of a DC-10), but I might get really wild and put a sticker on my back window at some point.

Now, if I can figure out how to program the digital clock wedged between the tach and the speedometer before the owner's manual arrives in the mail, I'll really be in business...

--Chris

 

Welcome to the forums! Enjoy the new car. Title of the post was great. I just watched that movie last night. I have it on DVD and watch it all the damn time!

 

Chris you are a wild man! Put that sticker in the window.

So a 97 A4 huh? Engine type picked out yet?

Coming from an escort GT I would think you would like a 1.8t (were those available on the 1997 all you a4 buffs?)

But if you want a reliable engine the 2.8 is good. get a 98 and you could get 30valve and really be in heaven.

Color choice yet?

EDIT: Ooops, I read your post but then I forgot it. So you got the 1.8t, what color? Tinted windows or any mods already been done?

 

No idea what the formal name of the color is, but it's a slightly reddish medium brown (think Burnt Sienna Crayon) metallic.

Sunroof, 16" alloy wheels (sport package?), leather upholstery. Everything completely stock as far as I can tell, all the way down to the floormats.

 

16's are a definite bonus on those, I think june of 1997 was the first year they offered the 16" I mean you could get bigger, but starting with the 16 looks good.

How have your first 1000 miles been? And if you have not made it that far, well keep us posted *weird if you did not hit 1000 miles in the first day*

 

Hey welcome to the forums.

 

My commute is long, but not that long. I've got about 200 miles on it thus far. Quite a refreshing change to be driving something that doesn't feel like it was intended to be thrown away in five years.

Still working on the ***** and dials...

 

Did you get the entire owners manual dedicated to how to work the radio? Ha ha that was a total life saver.

Someday you will discover weird things and get really excited for them... like the mini sun visor for the sunroof glare in your rearview mirror.

 

PS I put 3000 on mine the first weekend. But, I did live in Montana and the thought of a 3 hour run to Missoula really appealed to me.

 

I ordered one from Audi, but with Easter and UPS shipping across a continent, I'll probably be blindly pushing buttons for at least another week.