Hey ya'll...bringing myself out of a LONG retirement. If you want to know what happened to my first (and most beloved) A4, just click the link in my signature.

Since then I moved to Boston and got ANOTHER Silver B5, but it had been an a couple accidents with the prev. owner, and it always had something wrong with it. Well, a few weeks ago I got rear-ended, and that one got totaled too!

So here I am...about to buy B5 A4 #3 (black this time!) and looking for a gut-check on the price (private seller, one owner, no accidents). They're asking $7,400.

It's a Black 2001 A4 (no ESP)
2.8L Quattro
Manual
89,000 miles
Leather/Winter/Sport/
Brand new tranny
Most service records kept, including a serpantine belt, couple tire-rod ends, a bearing, window regulator, one or two oil leaks (not sure if the valve cover gaskets been replaced). Nothing too outrageous
Original suspension

Most importantly, the timing belt HAS NOT BEEN DONE. I'm getting it inspected tomorrow, so we'll see what else I can expect in the near future. The brakes look like they've got another 6-8 months, but I can deal with that easily enough.

Gonna ask the mechanic to tell me about any oil-bay leaks, exhaust/catalytic issues, expected life of the suspension and linkage, and any rust. Anything else I need to be on the lookout for? (maybe a compression test?)

Now, knowing the timing belt hasn't been done...the dealer is gonna quote them something like $1,500, so is it reasonable to ask them to knock that much off the sticker? Or is their asking price ($7,400) reasonable?

I test drove it, and it pulls very nicely, and its in good condition, well maintained (best of all the ones I've test-driven). I want to buy it...think the price is right?

Thanks!
-Greg

 

i think i would pay $6500 max

 

Seems like a fair price for a good car. KBB.com values for my zip code (94903 CA.) are:

Condition Value

Excellent $9,215

Good $8,690

Fair $7,990

 

I dunno, seems a little high to me. The economy is in the toilet right now. I bet if you play hardball you'll be able to knock at least a grand off that price from the TB alone.

 

now if he got all the service done with it i wud pay that but no more that $6500 period

 

Most def, the timing belt will be accounted for. "That's $1,500 in repairs the car needs right now....base price of the car should be $6,000, and we'll go from there" <<is the line I"m planning to use.

That's part of why I asked them to take it to their dealer for the inspection...I know he'll quote them $1500 for the job, and i can get it done for 800-900 :-)

Also worth noting: they just had it listed on eBay with $7400 as the starting price, and recieved zero bids. So that definitely gives me some leverage.

Thx so far!

 

Good luck man. I just read through your old thread btw, what ever happened with the police car and the insurance and all that mess?

 

Ugh, huge mess. I measured point of impact from where the car settled, and it was about 80 feet. This was in downtown, where the speed limit is 30, so clearly the cop was speeding while I was trying to make a fading arrow.

Went to court with pictures of the scene, the cop didn't show. So the tickets got dismissed, but naturally my insurance didn't care and faulted me with it...so i've been paying a bit extra since then (bastards). The EMT who gave me the ambulance ride said that people on the scene were saying it wasn't a clear-cut case of fault, but surprise surprise, the report included witness statements saying it was all my fault.

This most recent time...was driving up I-93 to work one morning, and a couple of rolled-up carpets fall out the back of a truck. 4 lanes come to a screeching halt, and the guy behind me tagged me pretty bad (I stayed off the Benz in front of me by *thismuch*). Couple other accidents resulted too. Worst part...the guy who hit was was driving B6 Avant, and it looked in rough shape (radiator was blown, airbags, etc.) I was pissed, 'because mine was a 2000 with only 65K miles on it...would've run for awhile.

Hoping the third time is the charm. But they've been keeping me safe so far!

 

Sorry to hear about your first two, sounds like plain old bad luck Gotta get rid of that bad mojo man! lol

 

thats a reason us connecticut folk dont like driving thru smashachussets. theres a bunch of crappy drivers in this state, but ive driven thru boston a few times to see friends in quincy. man thats scary as hell.