Long Term Update – Summer Loving
It seems like we just published the May update, and here we are working on the June update. Clearly we’re having way too much fun with the allroad, and as they say, time flies when you’re having fun.
We didn’t take any long trips the whole month of June, but we did use the allroad to haul our mountain bikes to the trailhead every chance we got. The most recent time we toured the Killington VT area, far far off of the beaten path, to explore the area and view the remnants of the damage done by hurricane Irene. Amazingly there are still massive areas of land which just aren’t there anymore, and places that are still cut off due to washed out bridges.
We played on some of the class 4 roads in our area as well, but given that the allroad really doesn’t have any underbelly protection as it turns out (just the basic underbelly aerodynamic and sound control device), we were not going to explore the rock crawling prowess of the allroad at the risk of breaking something expensive.
While the allroad may not be ideally suited to off road driving, it is more than useful for hauling bulky items. We were able to load up a complete 5 piece drum kit in the back without folding the seats down, and the allroad will happily swallow the car’s winter tires. The allroad is in our opinion the best of both worlds – SUV rugged looks and utility, with the handling, seating position and comfort of a car.
Keeping it healthy-
In June we rolled over 15,000 miles on the allroad, which meant we needed to make another trip to the dealer, for the scheduled service.
This time we brought the allroad to Kinney Motors in Rutland Vermont, because they were able to take our allroad on a Saturday morning, nicely fitting our busy schedules. The 15,000 service is falls into the “not covered by Audi” category, so we paid close attention to what was actually called for by Audi’s guidelines.
Included in this service are mostly visual checks, of important systems:
- Engine oil/filter change
- Wiper Blade check/replace if necessary
- Wiper/Washer/Headlight washer check/adjust
- Tires – all 5 of them – check for wear/damage
- Reset Service Reminder
- Check Brake system
- Check Cooling System
- Check Exhaust System
- Check Engine Bay for any leaks
- Inspect/clean battery terminals and mounting
- Replace cabin pollen filter
- Check transmission and final drive for leaks
- Front/Rear axle inspection
- Driveshaft boots inspection
- Lighting inspection
Our allroad received a new oil filter and fresh oil, a top off of the washer fluid, and the cabin filter for a total of $47.04 in engine oil, $36.24 for the filters, and another $136.50 in labor. We also paid a $3.30 fee presumably for the recycling of the old engine oil and filter.
They also included a hand wash and vacuum(the car was spotless when we picked it up, no mean feat for a black car), as well as a complimentary loaner car, which is something unexpected for such a short service visit, but is very nice.
In our 2 dealer visits with our allroad, one for a repair, and one for this service visit, we’ve been incredibly pleased with the experience, from 2 different dealers. It’s clear to us that Audi are investing time and money into improving the dealer network, and this can only help build the brand.
Keeping it clean-
Thanks to some very wet weather this summer, we’ve spent an inordinate amount of time trying to keep our allroad looking perfect at all times. One tool we’ve found invaluable is Adam’s Polishes Detail spray. We don’t know what’s in this stuff, but it works better than anything we’ve tried to date. We picked ours up from our sponsor Detailer’s Domain, and we’d highly recommend this product to anyone with any color car. It cleans and shines better than any other detailer spray we’ve tried.
At just over 15,100 miles, our allroad is averaging upwards of 27mpg in mixed driving, and is amazingly fun to drive. This is a car that gets better the harder you push it, and it always has enough grip in reserve for when the going gets nasty. Bumpy broken pavement doesn’t faze this car in the least.
We truly love driving the allroad, and we’re looking forward to July, when we bring the car to New Jersey, for Waterfest. We hope to see many allroad fans there!
Resources-