Cars & Coffee experiment

"Desu-San-Desu" (Desu-San-Desu)
02/28/2015 at 12:13 • Filed to: Cars and Coffee, ReadersRides, C&C

I've been to Cars and Coffee almost every month since about June. I've always taken the Audi while it was nice and clean and invariably, it would be almost completely ignored, except for the occasional rally geek and classic German car aficionado.

So, I decided to pose an experiment. I'd planned on washing the Audi yesterday, but since Cars and Coffee was today, I thought I'd leave it dirty and take it to C&C like that, just to see what happened. The result?

It was a smash hit.

As I pulled in, everyone was looking and pointing, smiling and giving me thumbs up. I originally parked because some M3's and VW's, because I liked the contrast of all that shiny German metal lined up next to my mud-splattered old Quattro. I spent most of the first part of the morning fielding questions, accepting compliments, and having conversations with people who loved the car and wanted more information about it. Everyone thought it was awesome how I'd left it dirty.

Later on, I was invited to park next to the Jeeps, because they found it hilarious that theirs were cleaner than my Audi. I gotta admit, it was pretty hilarious.

So yeah, my advice is that if you have an old-school Quattro and it gets ignored at your local car meet, go hit up a mud-pit first and go enjoy the newfound spotlight, lol.

DISCUSSION (21)

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Desu-San-Desu
02/28/2015 at 12:19

Love it!

Textured Soy Protein > Desu-San-Desu
02/28/2015 at 12:37

I have so much seething hatred for that white Jetta next to you.

TheHondaBro > Desu-San-Desu
02/28/2015 at 12:38

I need an 80 Quattro.

DavidHH > Desu-San-Desu
02/28/2015 at 12:46

You should take a better Audi Quattro next time, but Inky won't let you near my wife's 4000Q:

DavidHH > TheHondaBro
02/28/2015 at 12:47

The older ones are better, regardless at least Audi AWD are not actually FWD like Hondas are.

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > DavidHH
02/28/2015 at 12:49

Rude! And Kinja'd.

Desu-San-Desu > DavidHH
02/28/2015 at 12:52

I'd rather have the 80.

DavidHH > Desu-San-Desu
02/28/2015 at 13:00

Because you have not experienced the original, apparently. Think of it as the Audi that does not nickel and dime you to death, like the 80 does. My 84 4000q has about 300k, and I need to replace the original valve cover gasket soon, just like a while back I had to replace the original clutch. Seriously, you don't know what you are missing.

DavidHH > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30
02/28/2015 at 13:01

WTF ???

Desu-San-Desu > DavidHH
02/28/2015 at 13:03

I may not know what I'm missing, but I know when someone is being an elitist. :-P

Why not just be glad I'm a fellow Quattro owner instead of making if a competition of whose is better? I don't care about the nickel-and-diming- I prefer the size, styling, and chassis rigidity and balance of the B3 sedan chassis. I've been in older Quattros and while they're nice, they're just not....me. They don't feel like home.

r_g_r > Desu-San-Desu
02/28/2015 at 13:06

Sweet!

DavidHH > Desu-San-Desu
02/28/2015 at 13:13

I understand your affection for the newer ones. I'm just pointing out that with the "progress" you get repairs and more repairs. Instead of calling me rude, perhaps you could learn a few things. Like the faster 4000Q's have the 20V I5 and drive train from your car. If you really enjoy the 80, may I suggest a parts car and a sawzaw. I've already had to go there due to VW Groups EVIL policy of destroying their New Old Stock Parts. You will be there soon too, as they are still scrapping said parts rather than selling them to a parts distributor.

Desu-San-Desu > DavidHH
02/28/2015 at 13:22

My 1991 uses a 10v inline-5, with an almost identical set of accessories and fuel injection system. It's basically one cam and 10 valves away from being the same drivetrain in your car. In fact, I've already purchased to 20v to rebuild and drop in once the stock 10v eventually kicks the bucket. As for repairs, please, do educate me. Because the only repairs I've had to make were issues causes by the previous owner being lazy on maintenance, plus one window motor with rail assembly, which took me $140 and a lunch break to replace.

As for parts, a large majority of mechanical parts for your car are interchangeable with those on mine. They're really not that different. Multiple pick-a-part runs have confirmed this.

And I don't bother with VW OEM parts. The aftermarket makes better parts for less money, with more options. I'm not an 'OEM Stock' snob and I don't care about my car being in mint condition- obviously. I care about function, versality, and potential. I prefer the design and engineering choices made on the B3 chassis and I see no way, aside from weight, that it isn't an objective improvement over the B1 and B2 cars.

DavidHH > Desu-San-Desu
02/28/2015 at 13:39

When the switches, power windows and other crap fail, the "aftermarket" won't have what you need. That is why I suggested taking a sawzaw to a dead one. I assume you know about these people: http://www.shokan.com/ for the bits you can't buy new.

"It's basically one cam and 10 valves away from being the same drivetrain in your car." ours are still stock 10V motors. The reason the 20V often ends up in the 4000Q is that the later Audi's die long before their drive trains do. The other being speed, but then my wife's 87 is not exactly a slow car.

Desu-San-Desu > DavidHH
02/28/2015 at 13:48

Yep. I've worked with Shokan before. Nice folks. As for switches, I'm not concerned. I can solder and repair circuitry just fine and have done so in the past with other cars. Nice side effect of having a dad who is an electronics engineer and showed me the ropes growing up. The rare times when something happens that I can't repair and I don't already have the spare, that's when I hit up parts yards and dismantlers.

And I'm aware yours was 10v stock, but you mentioned the 20v, so I assumed you'd done the swap already. Most 4000/80 owners do. The...not-so-wise ones go the 1.8t route, lol.

All of the issues you're bringing up are things I already knew before I bought the car. I knew what I was getting into and it didn't scare me. I've owned worse and relish the challenge. I like getting my hands dirty. It's also why I bought a red parts car with the white one as part of the deal. I towed it home, stripped it as far as I could, and then sold it for scrap. I have a dozen boxes of parts in storage that are there 'just in case'.

I didn't get a B3 80 for the prestige and I didn't get one because it's easy. I got one because it's weird and unloved and resonates with me on a very core level.

It was also dirt cheap. XD

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > DavidHH
02/28/2015 at 14:09

and the 200s have the faster still 20v turbo 5 which ended up in the S4 and S6

Please be civil. You're being an ass for no reason other than jealousy as far as I can tell. Old 4k and 5k sedans are awesome. Same with the 80/90/100/200 sedans that came after them.and if you've followed desu, he does a lot of his own work and really enjoys his Quattro.

As a 200 20v TQ owner, your cute little 4k has nothing on mine anyways :p

DavidHH > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
02/28/2015 at 14:39

I have spoken about the quality of the cars, not the quality of his work. If you knew the quattros from a service perspective they just kept getting worse after the 4000q and turbo quattro coupe. It's also harder to keep an 80 on the road, or even to find a running 80 as compared to the 4000q.
So you are being a total douche bag.

CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) > Desu-San-Desu
02/28/2015 at 15:07

Probably because no one takes their Audis off roading.

jkm7680 > Desu-San-Desu
02/28/2015 at 16:36

BRB, going to drive my A4 through a swamp.

Axial > Desu-San-Desu
02/28/2015 at 18:55

Ha, love it!

I've always wondered what would happen if I left the ZR-1 muddy and parked next to all the Ferraris and NSXes at Katie's Cars & Coffee.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Desu-San-Desu
03/08/2015 at 14:49

Kinja'd!!!

That's awesome, if there's anything the Jeep guys will support it's the dirty car.