[ba] Reliability of B5 vs. B6 A4s - turn collectible audis...

[robert weinberg]

all very true.

sedans in general have never been historically collectable. with that said, the 
advent of the "sport sedan", at least in it's modern form is a relativly new 
niche. i don't think i'm alone in the notion that a 4 door sports car is an 
attractive concept.

couple that with the fact that only about 1,300 1991 200q20v were ever imported 
to the US. and for an audi aficionado - you'd think it would rank up there in 
audi rarity. plus it looks genuinely like a "real audi". classic UR lines, looks 
right at home next to a UR Quattro. the same can not be said for the URS4, which 
always looked a bit like a bloated A4 to me (not that that is a bad thing ;-)

listen, a well sorted out 200q20v with a decent chip is a high 13 second 1/4 
car. that's about the same as a 1991-1995 M5. and i'd venture to say the chipped 
200q20v has more toque? and of course, Quattro ;-)

believe me, i'm not expecting the 200q20v to be a $20k collectible anytime soon. 
i just can't believe given their rarity in the states, and the lore of the 3B - 
it's basically an engine donor for 4kqs. just sad :-(

on the flip side - i'm astonished by the prices for 911SC and Carerras. still 
about $14-$20k. given, totally different car than my 200 - but even my friend 
with a nicely sorted 1978 911SC would never challenge me to a race. my 200q20v 
would annihilate it... in reverse ;-)

see ya,
Robby




________________________________
From: Chris Maresca <ckm at crust.net>
To: robert weinberg <centaurus3200 at yahoo.com>
Cc: ba-group at audifans.com
Sent: Thu, December 2, 2010 10:44:33 AM
Subject: Re: [ba] Reliability of B5 vs. B6 A4s? or???

I dunno - bad timing?

More seriously, cars older than 15 years are generally worth a LOT less. The 
other issue is that, with few exceptions, VW/Audi has never made collectible 
cars, unlike Porsche, BMW, Mercedes and Jaguar.

I actually keep track of the values of several models and there is def. a value 
pattern.  I also have a subscription to Sports Car Market's valuation database, 
which is fun to browse.

If you want to buy a German car that's affordable AND will appreciate in value, 
look at the first or second gen M3/M5/M535i, the first gen 6-series and the 
first-gen water-cooled 911.  All of these are in the $10k - $20k range right now 
(other than a gen I M3), but will likely appreciate over the next 5-10 yrs, esp 
as we move to hybrids and electric cars.

The only Audi's likely to be in that category are the urQ's (long & short), the 
S2 and perhaps some of the RS's.  It's hard to tell which, if any, performance 
sedans will be collectible as only the M5 has become so.

Chris.

On 12/2/10 10:31 AM, robert weinberg wrote:
> then why is my 200 20V worthless ;-)
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From:* Chris Maresca <ckm at crust.net>
> *To:* ba-group at audifans.com
> *Sent:* Thu, December 2, 2010 10:11:03 AM
> *Subject:* Re: [ba] Reliability of B5 vs. B6 A4s? or???
> 
> On 12/2/10 9:21 AM, robert weinberg wrote:
>  > that truecar blog is intriguing. how does it work?
>  >
>  > i'd totally blow $10,700 for a brand spankin' new 2010 mazda 3 - but
> what's the
>  > next step? when i say locate dealer - the price is over $13k.
> 
> I don't know. I just saw it in the middle of this discussion about
> sub-$15k cars and I thought it was interesting. I'm guessing their
> pricing is averaged across the country and the BA has got to be one of
> the more expensive areas.
> 
>  > you'd think used car prices would be down given the recession and the
> fact that
>  > credit is so tight.
> 
> Quite the opposite. A dealer friend of mine said that used cars at
> dealer-only auctions are selling for more than they do on Craigslist.
> Apparently this is because no one can get loans for a new cars so people
> who need cars are buying whatever they can get used. Couple with the
> cash-for-clunkers program having taken out a whole strata of cheap cars,
> there are now many more buyers for much less inventory.
> 
> A weird side-effect of this is that cars I bought used are now worth
> more than what I paid for them. Go figure.
> 
> Chris.
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