I Crashed My Wifes A4 Already!

[Wyle_E]

My first accident in 17 years, and I had to be driving my wife's car. "Honey, can I go play in the snow with your 2 week old Audi?" (it's a '99.5 but new to her)

I learned that it's probably better to stomp on the brakes and let the ABS do its thing, rather than trying to power out of a slide. I hit a patch of snow, started fish-tailing and lost control at 35 MPH. I also learned that Mastercraft tires might last a long time, but they grip like Teflon.

The nose got nudged into a guard rail as the car was sliding sideways down the road. The frontal impact wasn't extremely hard, but it was hard enough to shatter all the lower bumper parts, bend the condenser and semi-crush some A/C lines.

I'm paying for the repair out-of-pocket and plan to do the work myself. Has anyone used aftermarket bumper covers, grilles, etc? Should I stay with strictly OEM parts for this car? Any advice would be appreciated. In the meantime, I'll hold it together with zip ties.

Thanks!

[bhb399mm]

i'd go aftermarket if you want a more agressive look.... you'll probably pay about the same for aftermarket as you would for OEM parts.

oh.. and get some winter tires... i recoment pirelli snowsports

[cheesemax]

Wyle E, sorry to hear about the bang up. Your right about the snows. I've had great exerience with drifting my A4 and hammering the gas as the quattro pulls me around snowy corners. Have to disagree with the Pirellis though. I have a set right now and they do not bite as well as Blizzaks or Nokias. My mechanic (who races cars) tells me Jap or Korean tires are the only way to go.
Good luck with the repairs.