Owning an older 5ktq(was Audi Gods hate me)

[Tiberius Gaius]

I started looking at the 200Q Avants and decided to focus on the S6 Avant
model for all these reasons.  First, it is simply difficult to find one of
the 149 imported after ten years that is in good condition and maintained
correctly with service history.  Second, most owners I've talked to are not
sympathetic to the true costs of rehabilitating their cars that they have
deferred service on (or worse, require paint).  I have no problem with
taking a 1991 200Q and turning it into a 18 to 20k car; it would be a
wonderful car for many years.  But, I am not going to pay 10 grand as a
starting point for a car that requires paint and many, many other  things.

Off to S6 land and pay 25k or so; they are nicer looking anyway IMHO.

Unless a correct 200Q avant comes up in the next day or two, that is.

Carl
1987 300D
1991 Porsche C2
1999 E320 Wagon (this will be replaced by an audi soon)
Wannabe Audi Avant Quattro owner..stick only, thank you.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Doyt W. Echelberger" <Doyt at nwonline.net>
To: "Nick Stuart" <thecolony at gagames.com>
Cc: <quattro at audifans.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2001 9:57 AM
Subject: Owning an older 5ktq(was Audi Gods hate me)


> Right on, Nick. Remember, but I don't feel I was unlucky.  They were great
> cars when new and it cost over 30 grand to take one home, and they still
> contain all that sophisticated engineering which was expensive to build
and
> is still there and expensive to replace when it is worn out. No one is
> lucky enough to have owned such a car for over 10 years without replacing
> many of those expensive systems.
>
> Nine to fourteen years later and after 100k to 200k miles they still
_look_
> like new but sell for one or two thousand US dollars. Think about
> it.....why aren't they still worth over $30 grand?   They have depreciated
> by about $30 grand for good reasons.
>
> The other side of the coin is that a renovated one could be worth more
than
> a few thousand dollars, at least to some people. Me for example.
>
> The mid-to-late 1980's type 44 tq's potentially have attractive driving
> characteristics, and are well-preserved by their galvanizing, and a casual
> buyer could easily make a snap decision to buy a used one and then
discover
> a week later that he has also bought a 4-5 thousand dollar maintenance
debt
> which he has to pay before the car is safe and reliable. But it doesn't
> have to be that way.
>
> I wrote the truth to Greg about my ownership experience because both he
and
> I knew that he was smart enough to make his own decisions about getting
> into such a potential situation. It turns out that Greg decided to stay
> with his 86 4kq.  He deserved the chance to make that decision before he
> already owned a 5ktq along with it's potential renovation debt. Reading
> about my experience was an eye-opener that he asked for and got. Now if he
> still wants a type 44 tq, he can look for an example that has had these
> things corrected, and it follows that he can expect to find a higher
asking
> price on a car that has those things done already. He may not choose to
pay
> that price, but he will understand it.
>
> My personal opinion is that a well-maintained and documented 5ktq should
be
> priced at about 4-5 grand. And one without the maintenance and the records
> could well be worth nothing and could really be just a debt waiting to
> happen. Or it could be an incredible bargain.  Nobody needs to agree with
> that if they have reasons to believe otherwise. And anyone is at liberty
to
> throw the dice on acquiring a used type 44 that doesn't have the
> documentation and an inspection by a trained experienced and honest Audi
> specialist.
>
> In case anyone read this far, IMO my Audi ownership has been a huge
> bargain. Somebody else paid the 30 grand to get it off the showroom floor,
> and I'm driving that same car farther and longer than he did, for under 10
> grand. He must have had a different value system than I do, and I am
> grateful for that and respect his right to act on those opinions.
>
> Doyt Echelberger
> 87 5ktq   coming up on 190k miles and probably good for another 100k
>
>
>  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
> At 11:31 PM 2/15/01 -0500, you wrote:
> >This coming from the owner of an '875k cstq. I think that just one
persons
> >unluckiness or unfaithfulness to Audi gods, whatever, should not scare
some
> >else  away from buy on of these great cars. I agree many things can go
wrong
> >with this car, but what Audi doesn't have its inherent problems. I think
the
> >main problem is that most of these cars have close to if not over
200,000+
> >miles on them. What other car do you know of that could go this long with
> >out having some of these problems crop up as well?
> >I think it depends on what type of car you like more. Do you like
cruising
> >at high speeds(5kcstq) or do like bombing around twisty back roads(4k). I
> >will agree though that the 5k seems to have more "stuff" that can go
wrong
> >on it.
> >
> >Nick Stuart
> >'87 5000 cstq
>
>