Hi all,
I drive a Mazdaspeed 3 but my fiance wants an A4 and she found this one(link below) and really likes it for the price and it seems to be very clean from what i can see in the pictures. My concern is the mileage, i have emailed the dealer and asked for the service records and about the clutch, but are there any other things i should look at when i go to look at this car with her?? I just dont want her to buy a POS and i just wanna make sure i check everything that i can befor she buys it. Thanks for any help!!!!!
http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...3&aff=national

 

i quite literally bought the same exact car with about 115 miles about a month ago. yet i paid only 6500. personally i think you could find a better price unless your on the east or west coast. i guess i did get mine from a private seller but i made sure the t belt was done recently

 

hmm... seems like a VERY steep price for the vehicle IMO...

heres one close to you for $2,000 less, with only 92k miles on it (and timing belt is done!)

http://lancaster.craigslist.org/ctd/886080753.html

first one i looked at so idk im SURE there are more for around 6k-7k with fairly low miles...keep your eye out youll find some good deals

 

ok just noticed something. my car and that one are almost obsolutely identical except for the rims. that one even has a headlight washer cover missing too. weird!

 

haha that is crazy! the timing belt is the only thing that really worries me i mean i can diagnose a bad clutch on spot but the belt is kinda ify. is there anyway to physically know if it has been changed? cause if theres one thing i have learned from buying cars is that dealers will lie.

i appreciate the effort but she wants a manual haha. she got used to my car.

 

the only way to know if it got down is to see the receipt. besides that there really is no way of telling. if you want that one in particular (believe me, youll love it) talk them down at least a grand and either tell them to give you the receipt for the timing belt being done are make them do it before you buy. so them you know how to play hardball

 

^ Completely agree. The biggest concern is the timing belt. If it isn't done yet either make them do it or have them take another grand off the price so you can get it done.

 

Thanks for all the advice guys! any subtle hints or symptoms from these clutches or trannys or any kind of odd noises i should look out for? and how should the clutch feel cause there all different and i have been told that my clutch in the speed feels really different by a few people.

 

the clutch on these cars engage very very high and are very soft, so if it engages half an inch from the top, that isnt necessarily bad. that car you linked to isnt that bad of a deal i dont think (as long as the timing belt has been done recently), you will always pay an extra $1000 at a dealer over a private seller even for the same exact car. they have to make their cut somewhere, and they take the time to wash and detail it inside and out.

theres no way to tell when the belt was replaced. you can take the cover off and see if its cracked or anything, but even a belt thats ready to snap in 5k miles might look fine. get reciepts. if they cant provide them, assume it hasnt been done. tell them that its a $1000 job that you will need to do immediately and you want it either taken care of by them, or taken off the sticker price.

other then that just listen for strange noises durring the test drive, some parts in the suspension are prone to failure, although its not as big an issue as the timing belt. just listen for clunks or grinding or anything, while turning in particular.

 

agreed. i have never driven a manual like it. you will learn to love a clutch that actually has space between fully disengaged and fully engaged