On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 21:43:20 -0500, Subba Rao
> wrote:

>Hi,
>
>I do not own an Audi yet but have wanted one since I have first set my
>eyes on them 20 years ago. Now I am planning (pretty close) to buy a
>car. Over the years people have told me that Audi is a problem car with
>stories such as: You tend to spend lot of money on repairs. : They
>have bad performance : Audi's quality is less than mediocre (sp) and
>they charge a lot to fix the problem ....etc etc. Such stories kept
>coming at me, yet I still want to have an Audi.
>
>If there are any owners (and non-owners), could you please share your
>unbiased opinions and experience with Audi ownership?
>
>PS - I am middle aged man and am considered middle class. Don't know if
>this will help.

My 1987 Audi 5000 runs and handles like a brand new car.

The are some weak spots, like doorhandles, window power switches.

The timing belt, a maintenance item, broke after after 17 years.
Blame myself on that one!

The car body has no rust whatsover. (it is galvanized)

The handling and driving is smooth. Very enjoyable!

I bought the car when 60 minutes ran a special about the
so called "un-intended acceleration"

I figured that was a hate campaign against an upcoming success
of the Audi 5000 in the domestic car market.

Many dealers went out out business due to this massive propraganda.

I figured that was a good opportunity to make the purchase,
took advantage of a $5000 discount.

And, guess what, the whole thing was a hoax, but surely caused a lot
of collateral damage.