why won't my car sell????? - Reality training

[Derek Pulvino]

With the possibility of further fueling a pissing match, I now step forward
with care.

Couple of data points came up in this discussion I wonder about.

First off, Scott talked about getting a 92 and on S4 for $8000 from auction.
  I'd have to say that really has no bearing in this situation as we are
talking about retail prices, and the majority of people (or pretty much
anybody) looking at one of these cars (be it a 200 or S4) will not have
access to those resources, and hence that price.

Doing a quick search on prices for older A8's, some of them are down in the
mid to low teens, and I realize that's a bangup car, but maintenance could
turn out to be just as much of a bear on that vehicle, especially relating
to a pretty much non-existent wrecking yard population.  Additionally, with
the kind of mileage that'll likely be seen on an A8 car at that price, I
would fairly well gurantee some attention around purchase time.  At least
with the 200, we can cannabolize from other t44's for many of the problems.
With this in mind, I think this point is more or less negligable.

Also (and now I'm delving into opinion here), I think this particular
iteration of the 200 has aged well, and maybe even better than most
everything else from it's era.  Appearance wise, it's not going to mistaken
for a brand new car, but for the most part, I think you'll see paint will
still shine as well as most anything currently on the road, the body
proportions and cut lines are not overwraught and lend a bit of motion to
the design, all while cutting a purposeful and muscular caricature.

And yes, when I first got the car, I was a bit put off by the maintenance,
but you know, after owning it for going on 4-years now, it's not nearly as
bad as I anticipated.  Really, for the most part, I haven't had to do
anything major since I bit the bullet on a timing belt and dist. a couple of
years ago.  I am yet to be stranded anywhere, and in the last year have had
to replace tires, and finally fixed one of my Bose.  For me, since
ownership, maintanance has totalled less than 1.5k.  Sounds pretty
reasonable for a 13 y.o. car with 177k.

As somebody else has pointed out, it's also a question of who you market
too.  I know there's quite a few VW's who are really intrigued by the
prospect of picking up a 200 at some point (but I guess they'd also be
intrigued by the S4).  Call me crazy, but I think it's also that person
looking at the new focus, or a slightly used Civic who just needs to be
reminded of their inner auto enthusiast.

But when it's all said and done, it's a car and it's really a visceral kind
of thing.  We all know that a car is a financial loosing proposition, but
here we are.  You place your bets, and...  What do they say, all cars are
created equal, just some more equal than others?

In closing, I leave with a question; can you think of another car that
offers the same features, performance, long distance cruising, four door
comfort, unique panache, fuel economy, fit and finish (and crappy
headlights) for 6-8k dollars?

Let me know, because I think it's about time for a new car :)

Derek P

Message: 5
Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2003 19:49:31 -0800 (PST)
From: joe smith <mtnbikguy2002 at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: why won't my car sell????? - Reality training
To: David Head <v8q at bellsouth.net>,
	Audi Sport <themercedesbenz at hotmail.com>
Cc: 200q20v at audifans.com, v8newlist <V8 at audifans.com>

I bought a 91 TQ 20V on 10/10/02 with 94K miles
(verified by carfax) and in very good condition. It's
bone stock with new tires, brakes, rad, BOMB, bla bla.
I paid 5K for it I had to put a MFTS and a WGFV to get
full boost. I've got a total of well under 6K
including tax and reg. I wouldn't want to have paid
any more.

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