My alternator has checked out.
This is more for reference than anything, but my alternator failed on Thursday evening. The car has 84k miles on the clock, and my research has shown that I was probably running on borrowed time anyways. Most failures have occurred prior to 70k. So the beast is at it's second home at the dealership awaiting a new one (unfortunately there is currently not one in the US). Also for reference, the part number for a new alternator is 077 903 015 R (list price of 846.16) and a rebuilt unit is 077 903 015 RX (list price of 550.00) Thank goodness for warranty, I think the labor for installation is pretty steep.