Once upon a time...
I needed a new car. When I started shopping for one, I was hell bent on getting a Saab convertible. Having driven a convertible for the past 4 years, I was convinced that a sunroof wasn't going to do it. My husband had heard a lot of negative things about Saabs and begged me to explore other options.

My main criteria for a new car were that it had to be "fancy", it had to be a convertible and it had to be around $20k. I set this budget based on the MINI Cooper that I came thisclose to getting, but that's a whole other tale.

I really think that used cars provide the best value around. It's no secret that new cars depreciate faster than you can drive them off of the lot, so my philosophy on the matter is, "let someone else take the hit on it".

I thought about Volvos, BMW's and Mazda Miatas, but none of them felt "right", then my husband suggested an Audi A4. Not a convertible but...

Shopping
When we went to start test driving, I told myself that I would humor the old man. I'd "entertain" the Audi proposal, find something that I didn't like about it and shimmy my way into the Saab.

The Saab and Audi dealers shared a lot. When we arrived at the dealership, I told the salesman that I was looking for a Saab convertible in the $20k range. He showed me a '99 that was priced at $24k. I test drove it and to my horror, I wasn't impressed! It didn't feel all that much different from my '91 Volkswagen Cabriolet.

Then, we perused the Audis. Not knowing one from the other, I pointed to a '99 A4 1.8. I drove it, but I couldn't get past the feeling that I was driving an overpriced Volkswagen.

We were almost off the lot when I found it...a beautiful black '99 Audi A4 Quattro 2.8.

Love at First Sight
There was something special about the car that made it better than the one I had driven. It was classier, more substantial, more stylish.

After plunking down a $2k deposit, I went home to do my research. I know, I'm supposed to do that before I part with my money, but I was excited.

My research determined that it was a different model from the one that I had first driven. This one had the pricier 6 cyl engine, not the entry-level "gotta have a luxury car on a budget" 4 cyl engine.

The Interior
Unlike the first Audi that I drove, this one felt like a luxury car. It might have been due to the option packages, or the fact that it was the 2.8, I'm not really sure but it was a whole different car.

The dash is wood. Nice wood. The dark, rich wood that you only see in luxury cars. The front bucket seats are beige leather and big with lumbar support. They're like car La-Z-Boys and they are heated with 6 different temperatures!

The control panel lights up red which took some getting used to. My VW had an issue with the cooling system so the red temp light would blink quite frequently.

The back seat is a little tight. Luckily, I'm only 5'2" so I drive with my seat as far up as it will go, freeing up some room for the back seat passengers.

There are 2 cup holders that are only accessible in the front seat when the center console is flipped up. This is an awkward location for them and they're too shallow. A few weeks after I got the car, I was driving in heavy traffic and had to brake suddenly. The cup flew out of the holder and spilled Coke all over the shifter, dash, seats and floor. I will never use the cupholders again.

A really cool aspect of the interior of my car is the black carpet. Often in cars with beige seats, the carpet is also beige and impossible to keep clean. The black carpet is not only smart, but very attractive as well.

Overall, the interior is well designed. All of the controls are easy to reach and it gets an A for comfort.

The Driving Experience
Having driven 4 cyl cars for most of my life, the 6cyl is a whole different experience. It accelerates quickly and flies, you don't realize speed in this car. The ride is smooth, it seems to glide over the road and lean into turns. It's a quiet ride.

I have the Tiptronic transmission in my car which means that I can drive it either as an automatic or as a clutchless manual. Since I've never been able to drive a stick, I just leave it in "automatic" mode. One of the coolest things in the car is the gear indicator on the control panel. When you're in automatic mode, it shows "D-N-R, etc." but when you switch to manual mode, the indicator shows "1-2-3, etc.". If you were to drive in manual mode and were used to a traditional manual shift pattern, you might be thrown off by the straight vertical layout of the gears on the A4.

I'm not sure whether this is related to the Tiptronic transmission or not, but sometimes, it seems like it takes longer than it should to shift gears in automatic mode.

The brakes are awesome. It really does "stop on a dime", the proof is in the soda incident.

I'm not thrilled with the gas mileage. It only gets about 17 mpg city. I'm usually pretty eco-conscious and have beaten myself up for not taking this into account when deciding to buy the car. My one major beef with my A4 is that it's a gas sucker. Thankfully, it's only 4.5 miles to work.

Other items of Interest
I still haven't figured out the climate control. It has "manual" and "auto" modes and I can't figure out how to switch between the two. I thin that the "auto" mode will be of limited use to me because I'm impatient and when I get into a freezing cold car I want the heat to be cranking, not methodically rising to a comfy 72 degrees.

I don't have the Bose stereo system in my car and I'm not a stereo expert, but it sounds pretty good to me. It has an am/fm radio and a tape player, but no CD player. I will most likely have a changer installed in the trunk, but Audi wants $500 so I will have to shop around.

It's the little things that add to my enjoyment of this car.

The interior lights come on when I enter the car and remain lit until I start it. When I turn it off, they remain lit until I open the door.

I like the remote keyless entry. It's easy to operate and I like pressing a button to unlock rather than fumbling with keys. The ignition key flips out of the remote, switchblade style when you press a button.

The gas tank automatically unlocks when the car is unlocked, so there's no key to keep track of or fumble with.

On top of all of this, it has a good size trunk!

Negotiation
Kelly Blue book puts the value of my car at around $25k. With 49k miles, it was priced around $23k and I worked him down to $20k. The car is "Audi Assured" and under warranty for 2 years. I was able to get 4.9% financing through the dealer which even beat the rate being offered by my credit union.

The original window sticker was in the glove box when I picked up the car. New, it sold for around $35k. I snagged a fancy German car for a little over 1/2 price all because I let someone else take the depreciation hit. Not a bad deal if you're smart with money or want to drive a slick car on a budget.

I hate to say it, but my husband was right. I feel a little guilty about driving his dream car, but he'll probably have an A4 to call his own in the very near future.
Amount Paid (US$): 20,000
Condition: Used
Model Year: 1999
Model and Options: 2.8