Investing in a 200TQW

[Doyt W. Echelberger]

At 08:02 AM 9/5/2000 -0400, "Barry Lampke" <BLampke at veic.org>  wrote:
>I recently bought a 1990 200 Quattro Wagon with 175K mi. for $2,300.  I 
>love the car!  I have now put about $700 more into it.  In the next year 
>it will need all struts (quotes of $250 front; $350 back) and tires 
>(around $320)  That's about $4,000 so far.  It will likely need other 
>typical maintenance items, which on the Audi cost a bit more than other cars.
>
>My question is this:  When is it time to stop investing in a car like 
>this?  I am not a mechanic so doing my own repairs is not an option.  I 
>understand people pay $400/mo. for new car payments and I've never done 
>it, but I'm beginning to wonder where the buy/sell points are that make sense.

...........................You basically bought an incredibly engineered 
car for $4 grand, which cost over 30 grand new. Most new cars average about 
$4k a year in depreciation to own and operate, not considering fuel and 
plates and insurance. That's a little over $330 a month. So do you want to 
pay $125 a month ($1,500 a year) for the car you have, or would you like to 
triple it and drive a new atoyoT and have big chunks of the payments going 
for interest? Your car has stopped depreciating for all practical purposes.


>Buy at 60,000 mi. and sell at 150,000?

..................60K is a little early to avoid the cost of timing belt, 
water pump, new belts, new tires and brakes,  and if you wait to about 130k 
miles the owner has maybe done the clutch and a metal radiator and a new 
heater core and blower motor. It will also have had a bomb and a master 
cylinder and a new steering rack, and probably an ISV and maybe even new 
struts and some wheel bearings and a few new pipes and boxes in the exhaust 
system. By 140k miles it will be on it's third set of tires, pads and 
rotors (including the originals) and on it's third timing belt and water 
pump. And if you are lucky, the PO has also changed the spark plug wires 
and numerous hoses and belts and tubes and relays, and it might even have a 
set of Euro lights.

So what will it need after 140K? Some suspension work, like rear upper 
transverse control assemblies, maybe a few ball joints and tie rod ends, 
and a drive line center support bearing. And somewhere between 60K and 140k 
it probably got new subframe bushings and tranny/motor mounts.

Around 150k miles, with generous owners the car is pretty stable with 
regard to needy systems, and has had some mods and improvements, with 
things like a Jorgen stainless steel sleeve steering rack with a lifetime 
warranty, maybe euro lights, maybe a chipped ECU and custom wastegate 
spring, and maybe even some big brakes and a new stainless 3 inch exhaust. 
And the price has depreciated to the point where the owner wants back some 
of his cost of the mods, mainly. Because the car has lost almost all it's 
book value. The engine and manual transmission and quattro system are 
nearly bulletproof and probably good for over 300k miles, as is the 
galvanized type 44 body. And if the PO's have been enthusiasts and have 
been lucky enough to avoid a serious accident, you are looking at a very 
attractive and interesting piece of transportation and enjoyment.....for 
about 4-5 k US dollars. And it should last well into the 250k + mileage 
regions.

So, in summary and looking back, the variables were the owners and what 
they plowed into the car without thought as to increasing its value, but 
spent to make the car interesting and enjoyable and reliable for the time 
of their ownership. That is what made them "enthusiasts" and set them apart 
from others who own and drive cars to get from point A to point C as 
cheaply as possible, without regard for class or style or the enjoyment of 
the trip.  And that's all just my opinion.
I guess I'd try to buy such a car from an enthusiast at about 140-150k 
miles and stop investing in it at about 275-300k miles, or when I could 
afford an S4 or a V8.

Doyt Echelberger
87 5kcstq  178k miles, cool, stable, trouble free, 1.7 bar and hoping 
nobody hits it.



>Buy at 100,000 mi. and sell at 170,000?
>
>It seems that cars just plain cost a lot of money and, unless you buy a 
>Toyota Corolla (no Corolla nightmare stories, please), you're in for a 
>drubbing.

................You can think of it as a drubbing, or as an opportunity to 
acquire a basically fine vehicle at a very reasonable and low cost (a few 
thousand dollars, almost free), and transform it into a customized unit 
that fits your special wants and needs for a long time, at a very low 
monthly cost compared to owning a new car and paying interest. The trick is 
to get it from an enthusiast (use term "car nut" here.) You are putting 
money into real hardware instead of paying it out in interest and depreciation.


>Barry (tired of paying...)
>(I guess I shouldn't mention that my 84 Jag XJ6 w/Corvette motor needs 
>fewer repairs than the Audi...)

.......................did the Audi come to you from an enthusiast? That's 
what makes the big difference. And, does owning and driving that car make 
you enthusiastic? You say you love the car.  That's the other big 
difference. You are an enthusiast. The fact that it probably will save your 
life and the lives of your family in a crash is just a free bonus.