tubey

Yes, April, I would agree. And, in CR's defense, I would cite the October '98 edition wherein they raved without qualification about the A6. Same in the quick summaries in their '99 Auto Issue. In fact, so positive were their remarks in 10/98 that it compelled me to go out and (finally) buy one. My '99 hasn't been perfect, but my '96 Subaru was much worse during its "teething" days.

I go off Audi Advantage on 8/6/02 and I'm getting together the list of items for them to check at the end-of-warranty service and inspection. So far all I have on the list are 1. check for any oil leaks in the usual spots; and 2. what's with the A/C fan that sounds like a WWII London air raid siren (kind of embarrassing actually)?

So far I've had a coolant temp sensor replaced, the fuel senders change (although mine were working fine), and the auxiliary fan replaced. And, oh yeah, the front pads and rotors (the joys of too much city driving; at least the Audi Advantage paid for them). Oops! I almost forgot about the window guides on both front doors (they always broke in the rain, natch!) Otherwise, it's a wonderful car that I am buying from the Bank as we speak. And, of course, I will not go naked; I've already bought the extended warranty.

I could have taken the dough for the buyout and bought something new in the Camry/Accord/Passat genre. But we decided that we like this car so much that we'll take our chances on her when we go into retirement end of this year.

Which is a longwinded way of saying that CR brought me to the brand in the first place, so they can't be all that bad. I do agree, however, that their questionnaire is too black and white and allows no shades of gray in its responses.