The Beginning of a New Era

On Labor Day, we said goodbye to the CR-V. It marked the end of a 21 year adventure. Today we are at the beginning of what I hope is another long adventure.

For several years, I’ve been interested in a particular car. Something about them always captured my interest. Maybe it was the all-wheel drive, or the German engineering, or possibly the fact that they have the coolest headlights of any car out there. That car is the Audi A4 Quattro.

The coolest lights on the road

Ever since Labor Day, I have been reconsidering my purchase of the Kia Forte. It was not the car I wanted, but it was functionally fine. I found myself thinking about other cars, especially other Hondas. I even contacted and visited a few dealers. The problem with the Hondas was one of supply. No one had the model that I wanted to test drive, and the wait time if ordered was at least 8 weeks. I was not interested in ordering a car that I’ve never driven.

Just for fun, I ran my old query on cars.com; the query for the Audi A4. Surprisingly, a 2013 was available in Vero Beach and the price was pretty good, due to its age and mileage.

Today, after brunch, I decided I wanted to go take a look. Mom and Susan followed me to the KIA dealer in Vero Beach. We parked, asked for the sales rep that I had talked to earlier, and waited for the Audi to be pulled up front.

I knew I was in trouble the moment it pulled up. There was very little chance that I would not buy this car. Something would have to be terribly wrong with it. It was everything that I ever dreamed of, and more. It looked like it was right out of the factory. It had the S-Line sports package, which includes the larger wheels and the 6-speed manual transmission. The car looked like it was ready to take on the track. The previous owner obviously loved this car and took good care of it.

Next up came the test drive. We all climbed in and I adjusted the seat and mirrors. There were so many buttons and levers to investigate, but I stuck with the basics, for now. I dropped it into reverse to get a feel for how hard it is; I really wanted to avoid putting it in reverse while driving. And then we began the test drive. I eased out onto US 1 and slowly worked through the gears. Everything was smooth and silky, as one would expect from a German sport/luxury sedan. I asked about getting up to highway speeds and the sales rep so, “Go ahead”. I hit the gas I we immediately accelerated from 45 to 70… in fourth gear! I was in love.

Back at the dealer, they appraised the KIA and worked up the numbers. I would have liked a little more for the trade, but it was good enough to proceed. We filled out all the paper work and took ownership of my dream car.

David and Susan and the Audi A4 Quattro

David and Susan and the Audi A4 Quattro

I’m looking forward to many years of adventures in this car.