Can anyone tell me how the melange paint holds up to minor scratches? Are minor scratches very noticeable? Does it show the dirt? I really like the color but I'm unsure how well the paint will resist the inevitable scrapes, scratches and bumps. Please let me know. Thanks.

Melange is a "dirty" color, and therefore does not show much at all. It hides spray as well as highway salt residue better than any color I have owned. Silver is also good in this regard, and is my absoulte first choice of color, but my wife has a silver car.<p>'99 1.8QMS Melange,1,300mi, prob. chip soon

I don't have Melange, but my 90Q is Bamboo, which is almost the same, only lighter. After ten years, it is holding up pretty well. Quite resistant to scratching, IMO. As far as the dirt goes, it doesn't really show that bad. You see your car is dirty from the brake dust before you notice anything on the paint. That being said, I don't know how the "new" paints hold up, comparatively speaking. I think there are some Melange owners here that can help.<p>Charles<br>'89, 90Q in Bamboo.<br>'98 A4 2.8 Q-Tip in Europa Blue. This is the color to avoid. Touch=scratch on this one. Paint is very soft. To be expected of a dark color though.<p>PS: If I were going to order a new one, I'd probably get Melange too. It's very classy :-)<br>

I looked at a Melange 1.8TQS, and almost ordered one. The Melange looked darker to me, and it has kind of a rosy tint (I guess rosy is the word). Maybe the more recent version of Bamboo was a little darker than mine, or the lighting wacked me out, or maybe my car has faded :-( Oh well! Perhaps I should shut up now! :-)<p>Charles<br>

The photos in the gallery look like a much darker shade of golden/brown than the Melange I've seen but I admit that evaluating color from a photograph scanned to the internet isn't very accurate. In fact, I wish they would post a Melange gallery!

My Melange Avant is still pretty new (6 mos.), but it's already obvious that it will hold up well. It doesn't show scratches or dirt much. This was one of my reasons for choosing Melange. The other reason was my belief that light-colored cars are MUCH more visible at night (plus I like the color). I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Mine's ~5 months old. It hides dirt & road spray & salt better than any color I've had, including silver. I just got back from a trip from DC to NY & back in rain & snow & spray and the car does not look very dirty, though there's road spray all over it. My first choice was silver, but I decided to go with Melange and am very happy with it. Can't say about scratches, luckily I don't have any, but I had very good luck hand buffing out a paint 'defect' (not sure it was Audi's fault) I noticed after delivery: it may have been sap or something on the door, but it came out very well with careful hand rubbing and now is not noticeable unless you know exactly where to look, and barely so even then...

I have had me melange metallic A4 for 5 months and now that it is winter, I can go for 3-4 weeks without a wash since the dirt just seems to blend in. You need to see the color in person to make an informed decision. I really am glad with my choice of color.<p>Gene