Picking up '08 Avant tomorrow. My first Audi, questions...
 

Picking up tomorrow a 2008 A4 Avant 2.0T Quattro, Tiptronic, S-line, Quartz Grey. Looking forward to it very much.

My first Audi, any non-obvious or Audi-specific things to do when at the dealer? Will do a careful inspection before taking delivery. Planning on getting the Audi Care.

Have some questions... (if there are FAQs on these, I'll gladly take links in lieu of responses).

- Break-in period / first 5K - recommendations on how to drive it or things to do/not do?

- Tips on care and feeding? Planning on good gas (I do Chevron or Shell), gentle hand washing and periodic pro detailing. Interior tips?

- Have some questions on oil choice and change interval but will wait until the 5K service approaches.

A lot of questions but want to keep the new ride in top shape. Thanks.

Congrats & Welcome
 

I'm also a new 1st-time Audi owner (car <b>very</b> similar to yours). I think one of the better pieces of advice I could give you is something you've already figured out: make good use of this forum.

I've only put about 8k miles on mine, but a couple other things I could suggest:

- I highly recommend the heavy-duty all-weather floor mats and cargo mat. If you frequently use your car in inclement weather, you'll definitely benefit from the mats.
- If you're feeling up for it, there are a few cool features you can enable with a VAG-COM tool (search the archive for hints). I have enabled the instrument cluster headlight indicator; reduced the annoyance level of the seatbelt chime; enabled window up/down operation from the key fob; set the amber (parking) lights to European mode (function only as signal indicators).

In any case, enjoy your new car!

congrats! i'm picking my 08 up as well tomorrow
 

if you want to go 5k for break in you're welcome to, however traditional break in on Audi's is around 1000 mi. at my last recollection. I don't think you'll find one set standard that everyone follows, but I would recommend varying your revs, not taking it up much past 4k for the first few hundred miles and gradually taking it up more until you hit the 1k mark...keep speeds varied and you should be in pretty good shape. I followed that rule with my 04 1.8t and the car ran like a top during the entire time I owned it. as for care, while I'm told you can put midgrade gas in, I put nothing less than premium (93 octane when I can, 91 when 93 is unavailable)....the soft touch plastics can be funny with detailing products, so my recommendation for cleaning the interior would be to use a mildly damp cloth just dampened with water to clean the dash...use only synthetic for oil changes (though if you take it to the dealer that should be a non issue...dealers have only used synthetic on the turbo A4's since 2004)...at my best recollection the weight was 0w-30...I'd check with your service guy to be sure...most folks I know use either Castrol Syntec or Mobil 1....some also use Motul, but it's up to you....congrats again and be sure to post up some pics!

Welcome Aboard! My '08 avant is now at 750 miles...
 

and I'm very happy with the car. The 2.0T is surprisingly strong (but I'll still chip it at some point!).
break-in: just take it very easy for the first 500mi. or so- I just stayed below 4-5K RPM and avoided WOT. A variety of speeds and conditions is supposed to be good but who knows.

Then spend the next 100K miles driving the sh*t out of it!

Oil/ maintenance- oil/ filter interval is every 10K after the first 5K. I plan to change them myself every 5K, I've done this through 15 years of audi ownership and see no reason to deviate now. The owners manual is very specific about oil requirements- OEM is Castrol Syntec 5W40 I think. I'll let the dealer change it at 5K and research this a bit more for my later changes. I've always used Mobil-1 in my other audi's. Filter is a new cartridge style not the more familiar metal cannister. A few posts in the archives about how to work with it.

As the other poster said, get to know the archive search function. Most every question you can imagine has come up at some point.

oil change ever 5K is good, of course use approved synthetic oil only
 

dont have to totally baby it but dont be ridiculous during break in. on my 3rd audi 2 - s4's and now 2.0 a4 and if not had any problems. they are very nice

welcome to the S-Line Avant club... mine just passed 24k miles
 

any chance you'd like to part with the 95.5 S6 Avant? ;-)

club?

Congrats, welcome the new Avant

Thanks for the advice! See above post for first impressions...