i know i've mentioned this before, but i just moved to vermont from texas....(still a little bitter) at my current residence, i have NO garage and NO covered parking available... any suggestions?? i don't want my new baby (6000 mi) left in the cold!!!

Vermont is Audi land. When I go up to Stowe to go skiing there're Audis everywhere, mostly with VT plates and snows on steel wheels. I haven't been up since buying my A4, but am looking forward to it. As for caring for your baby, talk to some of your new neighborsand ask for advice on protecting your car in the winters, they ARE hard on cars. Good luck, and enjoy the skiing, you DO ski don't you ;-). If not, learn...it'll make the winters a lot more fun.

Regards,
Rodney

'99 A4 1.8tqms

PS if you get a car cover, spring for a good one (good liner to protect finish, breathable, and strong protective outer shell)

If you car has ANY dust/dirt and you put the carcover over it, you're asking to have all that dirt scratch up your car.

If your car cover has any dirt already on it, you're asking to have all that dirt scratch up your car.

It can be pain in the butt to put on and pull off the carcover especially if your A4's a daily driver, not to mention the additional pain if you want to lock up the carcover over your A4.

Drew

98 2.8 sold
00 S4 somewhere in the Atlantic

putting an ad in the local paper stating your need for a covered garage spot. I'm sure someone (who needs a little extra cash) will bite. Advertise, otherwise no one will know .

Al
99.5 1.8tqtsc

There's a very interesting carport structure manufactured by Kyner Shelters, using Geodesic design techniques. The appealing thing about it, from your point of view, is that it will withstand a very significant snow load. There's a pic of one at the link below, and another link at the site showing the same structure with what they call a "heavy snow load". Worth seeing just for that pic! Prettty amazing! No idea what these things cost, but worth checking out in your situation.

Rick<ul><li><a href="http://members.aol.com/kynerusa/carport.htm">Kyner Shelters "Quadragon"</a></li></ul>

Plus shipping of course. Btw, I have no affiliation with this company, I simply find their products interesting.

Rick<ul><li><a href="http://members.aol.com/kynerusa/pricing.htm">Kyner Pricing Page</a></li></ul>

bwhahahaha

One more thing to consider is if your going to use a cover and your worried about dirt, well they also salt the roads in the winter which can rust things very quickly especialy a good scratch so be carefull on you your decision. Personaly I think you should just buy an old suburu beeter to run through the snow with. Let you new audi have the winter off.

i really appreciate all your suggestions, but $1000+ is really out of my current budget (unfortunately)... i'd love to give my car a rest for the winter and get a clunker, but--again--the cost of a beatup something-er-other and storing my car would end up being pricey. the other big problem is that i am in the STICKS...literaly. i live in central vermont (specifically, south royalton) and as i've looked around, garage space seems pretty limited for everyone. not likely i'll find space for mine as well. plus, how do i get home?? my a4 is my regular transportation and, while i am working from home, a car cover seems impractical. sorry for all this complaining.... didn't expect to be in this predicament!! UGH!!!

With all the galvanized steel that they use in these A4's I honestly wouldn't worry about a little snow and salt. Just try to wash the car when you can paying particular attention to rinsing the wheel-wells and spraying underneath the car. The A4 with Quattro is truly a fun winter car and I can't imagine not driving it in the snow (although down here in Philly area we don't get as much as VT obviously). My $0.02...

<A HREF="Mailto:andy_hedin@hotmail.com">Andy Hedin</A>
'97 A4 1.8Tqms, Garrett 1.0 Bar, ABT Filter, APR/Borla Exhaust, Euro Headlights, more...

I have had to leave my car out of the garage the last 3 or 4 nights and though it's not fun to get into a cold car, the A4 handled it nicely, especially nice with the butt warmers, which make it toasty really quick!

A good coat of wax, regular cleanings, snow tires (just got my Pilot-Alpins), and a little extra warm up time is all that is needed. Audi Quattro & Winter = Harmony!

....don't even think about buying a winter junker. Between initial cost, insurance, and potential repair bills, you could end up finding yourself worse off financially than if you'd bought one of those Quadragons for protection. And then spring will roll around and you'll want to get rid of it because you won't want to use it. Or you'll end up paying to keep it up and insured even though you aren't using it. So forget that. Besides, you WANT to drive that Audi in VT in the winter! So Ok, the Quadragon is too expensive. Needless to say any prefab shed or carport is gonna cost you the same or more. Parking elsewhere is out of the question. So you need to improvise. You're in the sticks...so there are many trees...get a LARGE tarp and suspend it a good 7 feet or so off the ground, with each corner attached to a tree. Four trees conveniently located in a perfect square formation would be nice. :-) 6 or 8 trees would be even better (more support lines). If you don't have trees in anything close to that configuration at your present parking area, maybe you need to create a new (winter temporary) parking area on your property just for this purpose. Cut down trees or move shrubs if need be (how badly do you want to provide protection, hmmm?). Bear in mind, this thing will catch snow (and rain) like crazy so you'll have to be religious about getting the snow and rain off of there. And you need to suspend it well above your car because it will sag of its own weight, not to mention what falls upon it. Needless to say use strong nylon rope, the heaviest tarp you can find, and very sturdy trees. No saplings. Get someone to help you tighten it up real good. It won't be pretty but it'll at least provide some measure of protection from snow, ice, etc. . And you can put it away come spring if you want. All of this shouldn't cost you more than $50 or so at a hardware store. If even this doesn't suit you, I have one final suggestion: Move.

Rick

rick,
thanks much for the advice....you sound like an expert, wanna help me?? :)

not realizing where i'd end up...i didn't get quattro... I KNOW, I KNOW...HUGE mistake. i've been told i'll be fine w/ FWD though. i also would've thrown in that heated seats option... might have to invest in one of those portable ones.... how often would you suggest a wash and wax (and how do i clean UNDER the car??) ???

thanks... :)

...the FronTrak is very capable from everything I've read. Depending on the condition of your tires and which tires you have(all-season "stock" or the "Sport" package Dunlop SP-Sport 8000E tires???) you should either consider or definitely purchase snow tires. The "Sport" package tires are not all-seasons and they shouldn't be used in winter, especially in Vermont with all the snow that you will probably see.

The heated seats would have been nice for you also...I've just started using them again here in PA (38 degrees this morning...brrr!)

As far as washing and waxing...I'd give it a thorough wash and then a good wax job right now. That wax job should take you through till Spring. I've found it's too hard to wax a car in the winter unless you have access to a heated garage (or you pay a detailer to do it). As far as washing in the winter goes, I think I've washed my car down to temps in the low 20's without a problem. I personally can't stand to see salt on my baby so I try to wash it when the weather cooperates and I have the time. If I need a quick way to rinse the salt off the sides and I don't feel like hauling out the hose and turning on the outside water, I'll fill up a watering can with luke-warm water and rinse the salt off the car with the water...works surprisingly well and only takes a few minutes (my neighbors probably think I'm crazy!)

Don't worry about cleaning too thoroughly under the car...I usually do it with the hose and I just bend down and spray the underside of the car the best I can. An alternative might a car wash that has an "undercarriage spray" option, although I never take my cars through car washes (personal opinion).

HTH,

Andy Hedin

Your baby will be fine. Mine has seen 3 winters and has never been garaged at home. (Had one at work).
Piles of snow and ice have melted off of it. Rocks, salt, road debris, you name it.
Still, with all of that 'abuse' my car just won First Place in the A4 category at the Quattro Club Nationals Concours at Road America. It still shines up and looks sweet.
Even the older Audis I see look great up here in the North country. The galvanized steel is key.
I usually wash it whenever we have some bad snows and there's a coat of salt on it. However, if temps are below freezing IT IS WORSE to wash the car. You could freeze door locks and seals. If temps are below freezing, the salt will not cause damage anyway (only works above freezing, I'm told). So leave it on (yuck, I know) until it's warm enough to wash off safely.
Also, another word of advice. Do not use your parking brake in winter. Always park it in gear and avoid using the parking brake AT ALL.
My sister-in-law did this a couple times with their Ford Explorer and the parking brake was frozen solid for days on end. She had to get another car to drive until the temps warmed up and the car defrosted.
Also, same person put my Dad's A4 parking brake on and left it for two weeks straight, last winter. The parking brake froze solid and actually caused some damage.
If you think you may forget, you can always take some tape and tape it across the P-brake lever....to remind yourself.
Good luck!
-Cathleen

thanks cathleen!! great advice and very consoling..... i appreciate it! :)

thanks andy... good advice... i will definitely be getting some snow tires...and probably soon. right now i have stock all-season. any recommendations??

...on the Wheel Forum.

Just like regular tires, there are different snow tires for different types of winter. The Pirelli's are more of a performance-oriented winter tire and give up some snow/ice capability for better dry-road handling. I would categorize the Dunlop Winter Sport M2 and the new Michelin Pilot Alpin as the same sort of tire.

I'd say that you'd want something a bit more "hard-core" and better in constant snow. Or if that area sees a lot of ice, there are special winter tires for those conditions too. The Michelin Artic Alpin (not the Pilot version) was highly recommended last year.

Anyway, you can check the archives and/or post a question over on the Wheel/Tire Forum.

Andy Hedin

did it anyway! Just move back! I mean, whattya gettin' outta dat deal anyway!

Your friend,your pal, your ex-president since you moved,

Chris xoxo :)

Im glad to see youll be driving your Audi in the snow youll still have fun with it. For snow tires Id suggest some studded (forgive the spelling) Hakkapalitas. They will drive rough on pavement, but they wil defintly pull(and stop) your vehicle over snow and ice with little difficulty.Matt(lived there for 19 years in Vergenes and Burlington I know what Im talking about)