BostonABS

Hey all,

This is my first post. I'm actually an Audi Brand Specialist, but I'm unfamiliar with the older models, as well the aftermarket.

I currently have a 450+ horsepower, RWD non-Audi. I've been keeping an eye out for an older Audi to scoop up...for a combination of lowering my gas costs, having a car that will move in the snow, spreading some of the miles off my current car, etc.

So I found a pretty nice 1999 1.8T. 1 owner, manual, sport package, 60k, recent timing belt, original clutch, overall very nice condition. I'm working on buying it, but getting some VAST spreads on what a fair price is. I'm using Craigslist and KBB as guides, and getting a lot of inconsistent info. There's very few out there with mileage that low. Also, the car is also Brilliant Yellow, which I can't find any of either...and my understanding is that's somewhat of a negative market adjustment.

Thoughts? If I get the car I am thinking of keeping it mainly stock with an APR tune.

hanshy5

I think that anymore than blue book trade in is to much.
Take it to a dealership for a pre-purchase inspection. It can run and drive fine and still need big $$$$ to get it up to daily commuting duty.

Mpittman4

let me know what you end up paying. i am looking to sell my 97 a4 1.8t quatro which is in fair condition and i'm not sure what a reasonable starting price would be.

Huskerbob

I just bought a 2000 A4 Quattro Avant, 1.8l t, auto, 156,000 miles in above average condition with an Audi dealer rebuilt engine, new tires, sport package for $3500.

Mpittman4

that's less the blue book says so it sounds like you got a good deal. did you buy it from the dealer that replaced the engine?

i'm still not sure about a a good starting price for my A4. it is a 97 1.8t quattro auto with 98k miles. it needs new control arms which is a big repair and also the sun roof and AC do not work. there is a large crack in the front bumper but other than that the exterior looks pretty good.

all in all i would guess that it would cost about $1k US to get it into the KBB category of "good" which is priced at $3,765 private party value. do you all think that it would be worth buying ads asking for $2700?

Huskerbob

I think I would start out at $2000 and see what the guy says. I bought mine from the second owner. The first owner did the repairs. He is an Audi mechanic at an indy shop not the dealer. I had the part about the dealer shop repair wrong.

Yours will be 3 years older but it has 58,000 fewer miles than mine but miles don't bother me as much as condition. I have been over mine with a fine tooth comb and so far spent less $100 for light bulbs, cabin air filter a bottle of leather cleaner and a few odds and ends. I ordered a plastic under engine panel so that pushes the total to about $200.

Suspension is expensive. Bumper covers might be available from Shokan. Electric roof and A/C could be expensive to fix. Not sure if yellow is a factory color in '98. If not why the re-paint.

Good luck! Start low you can always go up.

QuattroGinger

wow!! 60k, lol. thats awesome. is it a quattro? if so, i could see it going for 4k depending on interior condition. good luck, hope you get a good deal on it.

Mpittman4

no its 89k, bob was saying that mine is 60k less than his and it is a quattro pretty much fully loaded. there is some breakage in the leather but i can iron over them with a patch kit. the sunroof is off its track and the engine turned out to be disconnected but i could always just advertise it as a "stationary moonroof" lol. the A/C probably just needs to be recharged and a bumper bra would be a cheap way to cover the crack, plus a chrome one would probably look cool with my silver paint job.

the control arm job was quoted to me at $800USD. it could probably be done cheaper if someone shopped around so all in all i figure it would cost roughly $1k to get it in the "good" category on the KBB which is quoted at about $3800.

the problem is that i don't have the time and money to take care of all this and i need to sell it quick, preferably within a week. do you think $3400 would bee a good start while not taking below $3000 or maybe even less than that?

Mpittman4

edit:

i meant starting at $2400 and not taking less than $2000

Huskerbob

Sorry I got a little confused there between the one being sold and the one being bought.

mpittman4 I think you should ask the $2700 you were talking about.

BostonABS it sounds like you have your eye on a low mileage '99. If everything else is equal then KBB good condition is the way to go.

I just looked at KBB and a sedan non-quattro is valued at $3800 to $4000 and a Quattro sedan is valued at $6500 to $6700