hello all.
i have recently purchased an audi assured ming blue 99 a6 2.8 quattro (automatic) with 33k miles. besides being a beautiful, great driving car, it seems to be accident prone (door dings, rear bumper scrape, etc). the latest trouble occurred this morning.

my wife and i live in nyc and must garage the car. we left it at the garage for the first time this morning. although the car is empty, being paranoid, i locked up the glove box, seats, trunk etc, and left the valet key with the lot attendant. about 30 minutes later, my wife calls telling me that the key did not work for the attendant. so, i run out of the office and across the street and much to my surprise the car had been moved about 3 car lengths. i immediately asked the guy how he moved the car without turning it on. he mentioned that they put it on wheels and moved it. being that i have only had the car for a couple of weeks, i had never tried the valet key. i got in the driver's seat and gave it a try... as he said, it didn't work. so, i left my key (fob) with him and hurried back to work. after a few minutes, i started thinking about how the car was moved and if this could have damaged the quattro system.

i have done lots of research on the forums about towing damage. however, i have still have a couple of questions. first, in a worst case scenario, would towing the car 30 feet be enough to damage the differential or any other components of the quattro system? also, if it is the case that the car was damaged, what symptoms could i expect to see/feel/hear/experience? also, has anyone else experienced any similar problems with the valet key? although it would slide into position, it would not turn in the ignition.

i am going back to the garage tomorrow to inquire further about the method in which the car was moved. in the meantime, i'm hoping that it was put on dollies and pushed (my best guess as to how it was moved without being put in neutral).

any information/advice would be much appreciated. thanks. j.

ps. we have put 3500 miles on it in 20 days. what a joy to drive on long trips.

Only moving it a few feet with the one set of wheels up in the air and the other on the ground is not a problem. The torsen can handle it. It is if you go long distances at speeds greater than 40 MPH when you have a problem.

Check out this thread that recently happened to a guy with an A8 that had his car towed 40 miles.<ul><li><a href="http://forums.audiworld.com/a8/msgs/16583.phtml">http://forums.audiworld.com/a8/msgs/16583.phtml</a</li></ul>

your wheels never rolled an inch. No harm.

hello.
thanks for the info. i feel a lot better about things now. i assumed the car was moved on wheeled jacks, but once i start stressing about something, i can't let it go. thanks again. j.