Pelican Pete

I had a 10am appointment at Bellavia. I actually got there almost on time today (I am traditionally late for service appointments, and end up having to wait. But that's my own damn fault for being late.)

My car was in the shop almost immediately, which I was quite happy to see.
35k service was performed without a problem.
3.5 quarts of Mobil 1. I reminded the technician that my car takes 3.5 quarts, but I don't really think I had to. John definitely knows his stuff.
I switched back to 15w-50 for the summer. I like it better than 10w-30. The engine seems to run smoother.

Air Bag light was fixed. Apparently, the connector under the passenger's seat had come loose. Most likely a result of a passenger shoving The Club under the seat and dislodging the connector. (I usually put The Club horizonally across the floor, in front of the seat, but apparently my passenger was not as careful.)

John inspected the installation of my new APR exhaust, and he said that the exhaust is beautiful, and the shop that installed it did a very nice job. I was glad to hear that. :-)

My clutch was squeaking incessantly. I thought it was a result of the ATE SuperBlue brake fluid, which I recently put in.
But John greased the pedal, and the slave cylinder, and it is nice and quiet again.
Hopefully it'll stay that way, because I really like the ATE fluid for the brakes.

Lastly, I complained about my suspension being noisy. Now, keep in mind that I live in NY.
The roads are terrible. A little bit of noise is normal for a 35k car, or so I thought.
But just as a precaution, Bellavia ordered me a new set of control arms. All I really wanted him to do was check the suspension, and tell me that everything is fine, and that it is normal wear and tear. But to voluntarily offer to replace the control arms ?! That is just plain AWESOME.

Now I have another issue to contend with...
I am planning to upgrade the suspension sometime next year.
But if they have to take apart parts of the suspension to replace the control arms, and then do a wheel alignment, would it be worthwhile to have them install springs & shocks at the same time ? (I'm thinking of H&R Sport or Audi Eurosport springs, with Bilstein dampers.)
How much of the suspension actually has to come apart ? How much would I really be saving if I have them do it all at once along with the control arms?

I can't wait for AoA to call me on the phone for the traditional post-service survey. Perfect marks across the board for Bellavia !
(Unlike my mom's Subaru dealership. Subaru stopped calling us, probably because they didn't want any more negative reports!)

Joe Rios, the service manager, and John the technician are both fantastic !

Oh, lastly, I got a pretty good hand wash too as part of the service. Not quite as good as the detailer in my neighborhood. And definitely not as good as I would do. But for a courtesy car wash, it is more than adequate! Much better than any machine wash would do. The guy even cleaned my Thule roof rack. :-)

As much as I love my car, and I love the deal I got in upstate NY, sometimes I wish that I had bought my car from Bellavia, because they definitely deserve the business!
I told Stan that when I can afford an S4, he's already got a sale. (By the way, Bellavia has THREE S4's on their lot -- a red one, a yellow one, and a PEARL S4. Go see them if you're interested.)


-- Peter
98.5 1.8tqms GIAC 1 bar, APR exhaust, ITG filter, Neuspeed shifter, and a few stereo upgrades

nick n

I plan on having my A4 serviced at Bellavia also. My current service techs/crew are in one word, careless.
I've spoken with Stan at the previous Bellaiva meet. He has assured me the "proper" service will be provided for my car. Anyway after briefly speaking with him, he gave me Joe's business card, I just need to call a scheduele

As far as the suspension goes, you'll need to remove the control arms (front & rear) in other to access the suspension. I figure you'd be saving on labor fees, athough you may have to dish out a little extra since there is a spring/shock job at hand.

Go for the eibach springs and bilsteins dampers. I cant comment on the H&R's but I DO know that the eibachs have a specific springs rate for the A4. When woring w/ the bilsteins you'll have an awsome "street" combo.

FWIW: the NY/CT guys that have the eurospec springs include Keith Owes, JF, Al Pollack (soon) and myself. I may be forgetting some but thats becasue I dont know them!


Regards,<p>
Nick N.
99.5 turbo A4
mods