hi,

i've been reading around the forums for a few weeks, and figured i'd finally post.

i got interested in audis about a month ago. i'm currently looking for an AWD wagon for my wife to drive (i ride the train to work). we live just north of boston, so good handling in the snow & ice is a must. right now, i'm debating between a 1999-2000 a6 avant and a 2000-2001 subaru outback. there's plusses and minuses on both sides, so i've had a hard time deciding. with the audi, i get the benefit of great performance, luxury and one sharp-looking car. however, with the subaru, i get better reliability and gas mileage. and, of course, the subaru isn't really the prettiest car. it's completely functional, but the fact is everyone owns one in new england.

i've been doing all my own car repairs for the last 5 years. however, our current living situation is such that we don't have a garage. so, making any repairs on the audi (timing belt, control arms, etc.) would be fairly difficult, especially from december to march. if i had a garage, i would go with the audi in a heartbeat. but, i just have this fear of getting stuck with a problem during the winter, and then having to dish out the cash for someone else to repair my car (i also don't trust repair shops...i like knowing that the work is done right, which means i like doing it myself). also, all the integrated electronics on the audi scare me a bit. not from the repair point, but rather from the point of view that if one electronic component fails in the car, it's liable to cause failure of the car as a whole, or at least failure in other parts of the vehicle. i don't know how valid this is, maybe you guys can inform me.

anyway, glad to be around here, and if we go with the audi you can count on seeing more of me.

before i go, i had a question about stereos on the '99 a6 (i can post this in the a6 thread if it's more appropriate). it seems that the majority of '99 a6's have the in-dash cassette stereo, with the cd changer in the rear. however, i've seen a couple of 'em here and there that have the in-dash CD/cassette combo. i looked closely at the pics of these different units, and they're not interchangeable; it appears you have to replace both the cassette & climate control units in order to have the in-dash CD/cassette combo. so, i guess i wanted to know if it's possible to do this upgrade on your own, or are you just stuck with the cassette unit once you buy it?

peace,
kp

 

Welcome to the forums.. we are glad to have you join our community.. if you have anyother questions just ask... I say go with the Audi, not becaue im partial but because they are always ahead of the power curve when it comes to technology..

 

welcome, trust me if you go with audi you wont be dissapointed.

 

My vote goes with the Avant. That is a good-looking car! With great functionality, great ride and a good degree of luxury.

I love Subys also (I have a STi) and I am a big fan of the new Outbacks.

Either way you are getting a good car. Good luck.

 

thanks for the nice welcome.

i've had a hard time thinking about this over the past few weeks. both my wife and i love how audis look and drive. however, the issue for me seems to come back to reliability. even today i was reading up on the 1999 a6, and came across the throttle body problem, where at really low temperatures ice will freeze on the 2.8 throttle body and cause the car to accelerate on its own. the thought of my wife driving and that happening to her scares the sh*t out of me! i know they had a recall that fixes the problem, but stuff like that makes me think twice about buying an audi, especially after reading some stories online where this happened to people when they were driving.

i've been watching the local market up here (and ebay), and a 99 a6 avant 2.8 goes for just under $10K (audi1). the only drawback i see to the 99 is that the console only has a cassette player with the optional changer in the rear (i figured out that 99.5 was when they put in the new CD/cassette combo). does anyone know if it's possible to replace the cassette unit on the pre-99.5 audis with a single CD player? will such a CD unit interface with the computer on an audi?

-kp

 

Yes you can install an aftermarket CD player. Only you don't get the thing that will send you subliminal messages (you'll understand when you buy an Audi and go into a big enough city.)

I have a 97.5 (pretty much the 97 body with the 98+ guts) Avant, love the thing to death. And I have never had an acute problem with it. I do all my own maintenance in the summer and drive it from sept to june with out a worry (I go to college in a town with an ordinance against maintenance outside and have no garage). Anything that is going wrong (after the first month or so of ownership) you will know about it and if you schedule your maintenance (something close to Audi's plan) you will be fine. Things to schedule up soon are timing belt including water pump at around 60, 120, or 180. Shokan.com sells a good kit for that. Check your sparkplugs before it gets cold, and then you should make it for a long time. Oh and you may want to have your brake sensors cleaned, I have read about 80 posts of people who cooked their sensors because they got dirty. You can do it yourself too, but not in the snow. It is like 40$ to do it and not really worth doing yourself unless you happen to have the wheels off and want to pull the sensors out and wipe off all the grime. The fuel filters change out every 60K, the plug wires are eternal (which is apparently 170K), it is just a really well built car. Hey mine survived 7 Montana winters, a few California summers, and all the road trips you could ever imagine that could make a car bought in October 97 run up 176K to date. I never fear taking my Audi out.

PS parts are expensive as all get up though so watch out for breaking stuff. Those eternal plug wires 230 bucks for the set.

 

so, in an interesting turn of events, we decided to not go with the 99 a6 avant, but instead ended up with a black 2000 a4 2.8 automatic with sports package. the car is a single owner, dealer maintained vehicle with just under 100K miles, recent timing belt. and we only paid $8K, which i think is a pretty nice deal, given the car's ownership history.

basically, my wife and i decided that while we're still young (mid 20s), we might as well drive a car that we most likely won't be able to drive later on once we decide to start having kids. we can always get a wagon later, but for now thought it'd be nice to have a sportier car.

so, i'm very excited about the purchase. soon enough, once i pick up the car, i'll get out of the new member's area and post a couple of pics in the a4 forum.

peace,
kp