mhoraney

Hey all,

I apologize if this is the wrong place.

I am looking at purchasing a '97 Cabriolet for my daughter's first car. Found one in her price range. The Cab has the V-6 and front drive. 132,000 miles. New tranny and new valve cover gaskets. Assuming that no other major maintenance has been done.

Should the timing (belt or chain) be done soon? $$$?
Any other work possibly imminent based on age/mileage?
Anything I should look out for upon inspection?

Wise move or possible money pit?

Thanks!!!

sanchius

They are pretty stout cars and stylin' too. And pretty cheap as cars go.

Money pit? Maybe.... Can she (or you) fix cars yourself? Will she live in a place with audi repair shops?

The trans (new!), top mechanism ($$$), rear window and heater core (PITA) are the main weak points in my experience. I put 3 auto trans in mine before I gave up and made it a manual. At that age, the water pump may be near end of life. Any small oil leaks? Make sure all the windows work.

My experience is that every new kid driver has one accident in their near future. Dunno how they do in a roll-over. If you are in the snow belt, a 90Quatto may be better/safer. These are low-volume cars and do have some unique parts. The rear lights are special to cabs and can be hard to find to replace. Will she live in a safe place? With the plastic rear window, these are child's play to break into.

grillage

The biggest problem with these cars is the transmission - especially in the early years. If the timing belt hasn't been done recently it needs to be done every 75,000 miles.

They aren't maintenance free but not super difficult to work on either.

Find out what kind of transmission was put in - new or junkyard. Mine went through a couple before I swapped in a 5-speed.

mhoraney

Thanks for the tips...

I have an Audi dealer in town and several smaller (but reputable) shops that can work on it close by. I can do the basics.

In emails, I found out the following: Never been in an accident, never smoked in, top doesn't leak. The O2 sensor is on, says he had it scanned and nothing reported back.

http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/cto/3640184867.html

Waiting to hear on my tentative offer of $3300 (the amount my daughter has saved). Good deal? I live two hours away and wanted to make sure that he would go my price before driving all of the way over and inspecting it.

I am also looking at A4s and A6s (among other makes and models). Would she want a '99 Toyota Corrola or this? Hmmmm...
My wife is onboard with quality and safety of Audis.

My daughter does not get her license until August. Can't have it sit. I will HAVE to drive this Spring and Summer. You know, just to keep everything still working. Oh darn!

Thanks

sanchius

The very best thing you can do is to pay to have a very experienced audi wrench do a pre-purchase inspection for you. They do these routinely and will know how to recognize any lurking timebombs. Plus, anything they find can be negotiated off the price and if they check it out OK, u just bought some peace of mind. It's even better if they are the shop u plan to use in your hometown, because I've found if they miss something big, they will often give you a break on fixing it. But with it being so far away, that's hard to do.

These are all excellent cars, the Toy may be more of a reliable appliance than the Audi's...

1994 Cabiie

Did they accept your offer? Good looking car!

yakimatdi

This looks exactly like our cab. We bought it 4 years ago with 71K on it. We replaced the timing belt, water pump, thermostat, etc. right after purchase. Front suspension also needed extensive work. Later front brakes, new top, new front seat belts, new temp gauge, and replaced some cracked lenses. All the stuff that shows wear on a 1997 car. We've put 18K on it in 4 years; mostly highway. The only recurring and aggravating problem we've had is the clunking sound when turning sharply. Three different shops have worked on it. I'm going to try another independent German car shop later this month. The last tech, who I trust because of his years of previous good service for us, told me that one front spring is rotating in its mount. I added a factory CD changer with factory mount that I bought on eBay. And, I still haven't found where the connection for the warning chime is hiding so I can put a new one in. I named ours "Ms. Frivolous Miles" because its purpose is to give us a fun getaway car to decrease the personal use of the 2 business cars (VW TDI's). If you buy this Audi, you are going to have to repeatedly remind yourself that it belongs to your daughter.

mhoraney

I asked the further questions and replied that there was nothing wrong with the car and I could not ask further questions, just come take a look at it.

Hmmm...

No longer interested.

Loudgoldwing

Frankly, for $3,300 I'd tell you the same thing if I were selling the car.

For $3,300, As well cared-for as that car looks, it seems pretty open and shut to me. The seller knows he'll get his asking price eventually. He's done dickering with a person who is looking for reassurances about a vehicle with 133,000 miles. He has other people who know what they're looking at, and know they're getting a good deal.

How many of these cars have you seen in person on the road in the last 2 years? One? Maybe Two?

What else can you find for $3300? A Ford Taurus? Maybe a really sweet Chevy Malibu?

You're a Dad... Think of it this way. If she's 16, a cool car will play a huge role in making her formative social years as comfortable as possible.

More importantly, sir... If she's 16, a SMALL BACK SEAT will play an equally huge role in making her formative reproductive years as UNcomfortable as possible. The back seat in this car? Ain't gonna happen. My back and knees hurt just thinking about the last time I tried.

We've told you that the biggest concern on this car has been addressed. For the price, I don't think you'll find another OBD II Cab out there with a new tranny, not to mention paint that is that shiny.

However... if you don't know how to work on a car yourself, you have no business buying your daughter a $3300 car. Period. Besides, I have a charcoal gray suit just begging to be worn in a blue version of my car... and Detroit's only 6 hours away.

scheuvront1993

These are very nice cars and your daughter would love it. I have a 1995 Audi 90' which is basically the same car just a 4 door version pretty much. There are things you may not know because its it's not listed in that ad. The car your looking at has heated seats, heated mirrors, power drivers seat, and auto climate control. Also it more than likely has an alarm. I will say I've had 2 of the Audi 90s and both of them leaked tranny fluid and the trans slipped. It slips on my current one. And I've had to put a heater core in my current. Eventually the transmission will go out on this car as well as the heater core. I just hope you know how to re route the hoses. None the less these are very nice cars, very fun, and very fast. People say parts are expensive and all that noise but the parts aren't actually that bad, the labor is the problem. If your gonna buy learn to work on it. I myself would never pay $3300 for a non Quattro because I'm gonna tell you these things are TERRIBLE in the snow. I'm not afraid of driving in the snow at all and I do it all the time in this but trust me its bad. Think the worse car you've ever driven in the snow... A front wheel drive Audi is worse. If I were you I would search for an Audi 90 CS you'll pay right around that same price and maybe save a few bucks. I personally think the 4 door Audis look better. I paid $200 for my first one just back in November. It sat untouched for 3 years, I found it on Craigslist pulled it home, it sat for another month I put tranny fluid in it and I drove it everyday until I wrecked. I paid $800 for my next one and it also sat for 3 years. So far I've just changed the spark plugs, heater core and put in some fresh fluids and its currently my daily driver.