I am happy to say that the A4 Avant 1.8T is on the short list for my first car. My conundrum right now though is whether there are any overwhelming reasons to go with the MY2000 vehicles vs. the 1999 cars still floating around in showrooms. Frankly, I'd rather not wait until November for a 2000 model on order if they have what I want on the floor now in a 1999 iteration. Is there any feature on the 2000 models that would make this choice a no-brainer? All the info I have come across online about the 2000 models are mostly cosmetic changes, Xenon headlamps, the new naviputer, etc. I still have yet to see the invoice pricing for the 2000 MY cars as well... which makes it tough to bargain effectively with the dealers. =)

Thanks in advance!

-e

PS if anyone reading this has any recommendations for a good SF Bay Area dealership, I'd love to hear it as well!

I didn't care about Xenons, SideGuard and the Nav system, so I went with a 99.5. Also, the dealer had the A4 I wanted on the floor, so that made my decision even easier. I just got higher wattage bulbs for my standard lamps and that made quite a difference. The aggressive cutoff allows us 99.5+ A4 owners to get some pretty damn bright lights without annoying oncoming drivers.

If you get a 99.5 manual, make sure it was manufactured after June, I guess the gearbox was upgraded. Mine has a February birth date, but I don't find the older shifter that bad to begin with.