Low Miles Wagon Find Story

[Bernie Benz]

Paul,
So you guys are adding another ROF (or what ever your list signature was) to
the stable.  Congratulations to both you and Bonnie!  Save the car for the
youngn's college grad.

Regards, Bernie  

> From: MAXIMUM at WEETAMOO.COM
> Date: Tue, 01 Jun 2004 12:17:00 -0700 (PDT)
> To: 200q20v at audifans.com
> Cc: gregsj2 at comcast.net
> Subject: Low Miles Wagon Find Story
> 
>> Paul,
> 
>> Zounds!  Where did you find a stock 200TQW with <57K miles!
> 
>> What colors?  What kind of seats?   What kind of brakes?
> 
> There's been a bit of curiosity as to how I acquired the new wagon.
> It basically fell into my lap.
> 
> My wife Bonnie is due with our first child in mid-October and so we decided it
> was time to get her a
> more modern, comfortable, reliable, and even automatic for her commute to
> Boston car.  I hit the
> jackpot on a '97 A6 Wagon in Pearl with about 65K miles.  It was an Ebay deal
> from Sarasota, FL.
> Ebay is always a bit of a risk, so I was thrilled when I got off the plane to
> discover a near
> flawless example with Bose, third seat, and not a single door ding.  The car
> also came with complete
> maintenance records, and I paid $8400.  I took a day and a half to drive it
> home to NH.
> 
> Within a couple of days my curiosity had me calling the former owners.  The
> first was very friendly
> and only had the car for six months.  They just changed their mind and opted
> for a BMW 540I instead.
> I then called the original owner.  Again, they were very friendly.  As some of
> you know, these
> calls are usually met with a guarded response from former owners.  As
> motorheads, we feel the need
> to bother these poor people at home anyway.
> 
> The woman was quite kind and told me that her needs had just changed but that
> the '97 A6 was always
> dealer serviced and that she was "the kind of person who always parks at the
> far end of the lot to
> avoid door dings."  I thanked her for taking care of the car and we made some
> small talk.  She was
> widowed a few years back but had re-married.  Her first husband was a
> Porsche-Audi guy and she was
> planning on giving his old 911 to her daughter for college graduation (lucky
> daughter).
> 
> She then casually mentioned that her husband had had another wagon that she
> only used occasionally
> and should probably sell.  "It's a 5-speed," she says, "It's a turbo," she
> says, "It's got 53,000
> miles," she says.  I already had evidence of the way this woman cared for her
> cars and ten or
> fifteen minutes later we struck a deal.  Two weeks later I was on Jet Blue
> again bound for Sarasota
> on a mission to re-unite these two wagons under a new family name.  I didn't
> steal it, but it was
> way less than 10 grand and I would have gladly paid that now that I have it.
> I did bring down some
> NH maple syrup and some other New England goodies for her kindness (like
> having the timing belt done
> because "I don't want you driving it to NH and having it break halfway home"
> and no, I'm not
> kidding).
> 
> The car is bamboo with a travertine (light brown) leather interior.  My first
> thoughts were, "Oh,
> what a shame," but it's actually damn nice looking and it's so close to
> perfect it's what you'd
> expect if you bought one used in 1993.  The brakes are fresh UFO's and the
> seats are comfort.  I
> even have the window sticker from Carousel Motors.  It lived in Minnesota for
> most of it's life but
> never saw snow as it was primarily "the lake house car."  I kind of feel like
> I have this
> responsibility to take care of this fine car.  Almost like it's not mine and
> that I'm just fortunate
> enough to be able to take care of it while I have it.  Now that it's cleaned
> up and waxed it's
> stunning.  I say that, not to brag, but just because it's a thrill to drive
> and I know how lucky I
> am.
> 
> Final thoughts?  Make those phone calls, ask those silly questions, and
> there's bound to be a payoff
> someday.  This was my own personal and proverbial "car in the barn."
> 
> Paul Royal
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