In the summer of 1992, about a year after I had acquired last week’s Audi Coupe, we decided to replace Audi 4000 that had been passed along to us by my father-in-law. By this time, I was on a roll with Audi and I was attracted to the Avant station wagons. One Saturday morning I spotted a 1989 200 Avant turbo quattro in the Washington Post classifieds. I drove to the dealer and spotted the pearlescent white wagon with matching BBS wheels. Only three years earlier the 200 Avant had stickered for $40,000 but thanks to the bad publicity associated with alleged unintended acceleration of automatic transmission Audis over the past several years this 57,000 mile five-speed manual 200 Avant could be had for $15,000.
The Audi 200 Avant came fully loaded with leather everywhere, a wood grain dash and all the electronic goodies available at the time.
It would have been irresponsible for me to let such a creature fall into uncaring hands. I resolved to become its caretaker.
While the purchase from the dealer was straightforward, it took much longer than it should have on that Saturday to complete the paperwork and prep the car. My son Josh, nine months old at the time, was particularly incensed by this delay and verbally made his feelings known to all. Eventually we prevailed and drove the Avant home. As for the Audi 4000, I passed it along to my brother Jon who passed it along to my brother Patrick who then passed it along to my nephew Tony.
The Audi 100/200/5000 series cars were first introduced in 1968 and were first sold in the United States in 1970. Between 1968 and 1994 there were four generations of these cars. The model designation was changed from 100 to 5000 in the United States beginning in 1977 and then changed back to 100/200 in 1988 in response to the unintended acceleration scandal. My 1989 model was part of the third generation of the series (C3) which would ultimately provide both the high point and low point of Audi’s United States history up until the present VW/Audi diesel emission scandal. The high point – the car was universally acclaimed including being named to Car and Driver’s Ten Best list from 1984 to 1988. The low point was the collapse of Audi sales in the United States from 74,000 cars in 1985 to 12,000 cars in 1991.
The C3 Audi 100/200 cars were produced from 1982 through 1991. The 100s and 200s were largely the same, but the 200s used a turbo-charged version of the 2.2 liter inline five-cylinder engine. My 1989 200 produced 162 horsepower. With the manual shift it moved along quite nicely, thank you and like all German cars it cruised without effort at high speed.
While the 100 and 200 models were visually similar, the 200 had a slightly sleeker front end, turbo performance and all the luxury goodies. The 200 Avant was a rare beast. Of the one million C3s manufactured less than 6% were 200 Avants.
The Audi’s quattro system was my first all-wheel-drive. The default power split was 50/50 front to rear but it could favor the most connected end of the car with up to 75 percent of the available torque as needed. Naturally it was terrific in the snow, but the feel of the system on rainy pavement and even on dry roads was what really sold it. Before the advent of electronic stability everything, the quattro system kept me safely planted in a way no other car had before and made my Avant suburban kid hauler a real alternative to the BMW 5 series and other mid-sized performance sedans of the era.
I discovered that everything was more satisfying tooling around in the Avant. We added a second son, Peter, in 1994 and the car stood out from the pack when we would pick up our little ones from preschool. It was a great bike hauler as well. I remember the Other Michael and I taking it to a mountain bike race and smugly thinking we had the ultimate race support vehicle. This proved to be temporary solace as, when the race began, we were reminded that most of the other racers were ten to fifteen years younger than we were. Nonetheless, the Other Michael liked the feel of quattro driving experience and would go on to acquire a few quattros for himself over the years.
The Avant was technically my wife Debbie’s car. Now Debbie is a paradox in many ways. She is scared of going fast on a bicycle but was an early triathlete. Frightened of heights, she suspends that fear every winter for ski season so she can ride the chair lift. Cautious by nature, you can’t get her off the double black diamond trails on a good mogul day. She’s equally inconsistent in her approach to cars. She can be so indifferent to driving that early in our marriage before we had children she once went six months without driving and didn’t notice until I pointed it out to her. On the other hand, her funky aesthetics give her a genuine appreciation of the cars we’ve owned as well as those I’ve only so far admired. I guess her approach to cars is analogous to Dos Equis’ Most Interesting Man in the World – She doesn’t always drive cars, but when she does she drives something interesting and fun. The Avant definitely fit the bill and she logged many miles in the cockpit.
In the area of repairs and maintenance the 200 Avant was remarkably similar to our Audi Coupe. David at AutoWerke kept the Avant rolling. Like the Coupe, we put 125,000 miles on it although we managed to do so in ten years rather than the eleven years it took for the Coupe. Also like the Coupe total repair costs over the period almost exactly equaled our purchase price for the vehicle. Many electronic switches were replaced. Shocks and suspension bushings were replaced twice and each time the sensation of driving a new car was restored. Like the Coupe the Avant ran as well on the day we sold it as the day we purchased it a decade earlier.
As the years passed baby and booster seats in the second row gave way to soccer balls in the back. We visited pumpkin patches and amusement parks. Skis and snowboards were loaded on winter weekends and in the summers there were bikes on the roof. The Avant proved its worth allowing us to pack anything and everything. The leather interior held up, but not without some permanent signs of the many hours our boys logged in the second row.
By 2002 when we sold the Avant it was enough of a rarity that I knew it would make a good ebay listing. It generated a lot of interest and was sold to an appreciative Audi enthusiast (ebay name – type44quattro) who could provide the next generation of stewardship.
Next week – Classic Mid-life Crisis Car – Part I.
Last week – 1986 Audi Coupe GT – Influences and Perspectives.
Very attractive longroof, helped considerably by that rear window angle. Cross-fertilise this aero-type body with the pre-war mid-engined racers and you have the DNA that makes the current Audis (and particularly the wagons) some of the most attractive passenger cars on the road. Nice read.
Simply a fantastic looking wagon inside and out. Good for Audi for upping their game on the interior when times got tough instead of penny pinching it to get the price down.
Was the real world mileage as low as the EPA numbers on the window sticker? I would have expected a manual 2.2 liter in such an aero body to do better. We once had the Volvo turbo 2.4 5 with a 5sp auto that would break 30 mpg on the highway.
I’m thinking that real world was 18/19 town, 23/24 highway. Remember, this was a quarter century ago. Those numbers are about equal to the (not necessarily running well) Renault I had in the early seventies.
You’ve got a rare wife. She can go months without driving, but has the ability and willingness to drive a manual. Very rare.
She has always preferred manuals. Special girl, indeed.
These have always both fascinated and frightened me. They were really attractive and held a lot of appeal. And I suppose that $110/mo is not a horrible budget to keep a car like new for a decade, particularly for a car that you love.
Yes, the long term price is good. There’s some inconvenience to unscheduled maintenance, of course.
At first glance $15k in maintenance seemed shocking indeed. But you’re right that, over 10 years of ownership, $1500/year isn’t that bad, considering.
Seeing this front fascia, I feel like I understand mid to late 80s Oldsmobiles more… never thought that would be a connection. Interesting wagon and interesting story, and it’s nice to see someone raise two kids at that age without reflexively moving to something with three rows like so many parents of kids my age.
Nice car, Michael, and perfect for your winters. I’ve always had a thing for the big Audi’s, the key is to just stay on top of the maintenance needs. Let it start to fall behind and forget it, almost impossible to catch up again.
True on the maintenance. We picked up another used Audi a little over two years ago and I feel like we just got ahead of the maintenance/repair curve this past year.
I always thought that the AMC Sportabout must have influenced the wagon silhouette of these.
More likely an evolution of the older Audi 100 Avant (C2). I’m pretty sure VW/Audi wasn’t watching Dick Teague… 🙂
There was a very good looking C1 Audi 100. I saw a couple in England many years ago. I’ve always been a sucker for a coupe.
I’ve seen several as well, they are nice and at least a few are have made their way over here to the US as well. I think they are the absolute inspiration for the current A7…
Yes, I think they were. Very elegant shape, and pretty rare as well. I’ve seen one in about 5 years.
Wow. That looks like a VW Dasher.
The fastback shape reminded me of the 1972 Victor FE estates:
http://www.simoncars.co.uk/vauxhall/slides/Vauxhall%20Victor%201974%202300%20Estate%20rear.jpg
I hadn’t thought of that, but you’re right – the shape is similar. My mother had one of the AMC wagons when I was in high school.
I’m pretty sure Europe (UK at least) only got the 200 as a saloon, but that Avant has long been a favourite shape of mine. There’s something about it that could be described as SD1 for the 80s.
I think this is one of the best looking wagons ever. They are quite rare now! Thanks for sharing the story. The maintenance demands would give me pause, but otherwise it sounds like a great experience that was worth it.
Late to reply, but that’s one of my dream cars, give or take a couple years. (I’d prefer the ’91 for the 20V engine, but I prefer the flat-topped rear wheel cuts of the ’83-’90 cars.) We had an ’86 5000 in the family for a few years, right around the time I received my driver’s license, and even as a FWD non-turbo it was a car I enjoyed driving. It only lasted a few years in our care due to ever-mounting maintenance costs, but I grew to love them in that time. And the Avant still rates as one of the most gorgeous station wagons ever.
Someday…if I can find a clean one…maybe.
Was that strut tower brace in the engine bay photo standard? I don’t recall ours having had one, but again, it was non-turbo and three years older.
This article seems to have some problems. For the majority of the pictures, a 1991 200 Q is shown…you can tell by the mild fender flairs. My 1988 5000 TQA and my 1990 200QA (note…200 implies a turbo so let’s not be redundant:-) would get 31-33 mpg on the highway at 70-75mph. You could safely do 600 miles on a tank of gas.
turiu nuostabia masina audi 100 avant 89 m. reikia spidometro skydelio