I found this forum this morning when searching for information so I've signed up.

I bought my first 850 in February, a TDi saloon with automatic gearbox- my first automatic in 27 years of driving.

DSC_3910 by RichardB5, on Flickr

I had never even sat in an 850, or driven more than a couple of miles in an automatic, but I more or less committed myself based on some poor quality phone pictures. I wasn't entirely convinced when I picked it up but by the end of the 300 mile drive home I had bonded with the car.

DSC_3910 by RichardB5, on Flickr

The car had a few minor issues that will come as no surprise to other 850 owners. The first thing I did was to replace all the switch bulbs that weren't working.

The bonnet safety release looked like this



so I found a spare in a scrapyard and now it looks like this



The door check was clicking because of failed spot welds in the door pillar so I did this





That was a major improvement because I dreaded getting in or out of the car, knowing that there was the potential for causing more damage every time.

A previous owner thought it was a good idea to stick all this silver stuff on the dashboard



I didn't



The heater blower was screeching so I took it out and greased the bearings. The odometer wasn't working, so I replaced the gear in it.

There are a few other things to tackle, but not too many. The bodywork is remarkably clean and straight for an 18 year old car so it's worth getting it back to A1 condition.

I've been really impressed with the car, it's so relaxing to drive- especially on a long journey. With the 5 cylinder Audi Diesel engine it can better 50mpg (about 42 US mpg) on a run and mid 40s (about 37) locally, and has plenty of power when I need it- although the mpg suffers of course.

 

Very nice. Welcome to the forum.