Dead Puppy

josh Wyte josh_wyte at yahoo.com
Mon Feb 18 17:48:32 EST 2002


It seems that I've struck a chord here with list
members, many of whom drive cars that are 15+ years
old and have well over 200k miles.

I'm happy that those of you who own these cars own
them proudly and keep them in great shape.  However,
it's your opinion that it's financially worthwhile to
continue to fix a older model car and deal with the
inevitable breakdowns that occur with these cars.

Many of you do all the repairs yourself, either out of
necesity or simply because you enjoy it.  While I
enjoy wrenching on my cars, and do many things to them
myself, I don't have the luxury of a garage, or nice
weather to do these repairs when needed.  Until very
recently I only owned one car, making it imperative
that if broken, it's fixed as quickly as possible.
Many times this means paying someone to fix the car
rather than doing it myself, even if I could do so
easily.

I'm simply not as attached to cars as I once was.  I
enjoy a good sports machine as much as the next guy,
but it's much more of a financial decision for me now,
and sorry to say it, but it makes far more sense to
sell a car before it hits 100k miles, then to take the
depreciation hit and continue to own it.

Even if I have it paid off, previous years of
ownership with older, high mileage "luxury" german
cars have shown me that they are exceeding expensive
to own once they hit 110k miles plus.  Why should I
shoulder thousands of dollars in maintenance repairs
for a car that's rapidly depreciating when I can
easily afford a newer, faster, better (arguably) car?

Sorry, but I'd rather take on a small monthly payment
to get into a certified, audi warrantied S4 than keep
my A4...

Just my opinion...

-josh


--- "Michael L. Riebs" <michael at 1stchoicegranite.com>
wrote:
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "josh Wyte" <josh_wyte at yahoo.com>
> > I plan on selling my 97 A4 when it hits 95k miles
> or
> > so.  Once I turn it over 100k, the resale value
> will
> > drop by about $2000,
>
> Please! Let me know when you plan to sell your "high
> mileage" (by US
> standards) "expensive to repair" (or so perceived)
> luxury German cruiser,
> which one would assume at that time would be paid
> off. NO CAR NOTE!!!!  :-))
>
> > and shortly after that it'll need
> > the timing belt changed again ($600) and a clutch
> done
> > ($1000).  As much as I enjoy the car, it's not
> worth
> > it to me to have close to another $4000 invested
> in it.
>
> I'd take a loan for the $4000 and have payments for
> 365 months of about 130
> / month. Where cab I get a late-model, luxury German
> sports sedan, loaded
> with everything, for ownership after 3 years, at
> $130 per month? A car that
> will last another 11K miles and more? Unbelieveable!
>
> > I'd rather pick up another low mileage used, Audi
> > Assured Audi instead.  That warranty has been very
> > useful, I've claimed over $2000 in repairs!
> Mostly
> > stuff that happens to all A4's, but better Audi's
> > nickel than mine...
>
> Yeah, I just (March 2001) bought our first "next
> generation" Audi for my
> wife - the '98 A6 Quattro Avant, with 57K on the
> clock for $21.5K, and a
> warranty to follow, from www.warrantybynet.com, for
> an additional $1100. Now
> the water pump is gone - will be fixed under
> warranty - and at the same time
> we will take the opportunity to have the T-belt done
> - for an additional
> $200 in parts - no extra labor cost.
>
> Meanwhile my '90 (built 2/89) V8 Quattro dumped an
> O2 sensor. Well, that was
> a brand new O2 sensor, so there's some other thing
> wrong - but I am
> completely convinced that it's not much. Anyway,
> Bruce
> (www.audiconnection.com) gave me a 6 month warranty
> on the car in November
> when I bought it - parts only outside VA, or parts
> and labor if I drag it
> out to VA. No problem, I'll do a little wrenching
> myself on the little
> stuff, and if anything else goes wrong - which it
> probably won't - I'll
> either take a nice ride to VA, or pay the shop labor
> rate, and have Bruce
> send me a few parts.
>
> I'd never dream of buying a *brand new* car - of any
> sort! The drive from
> the dealership parking lot to the street is the most
> expensive 6' you'll
> ever drive! Even a "dealer used (certified)" car is
> a rip-off, compared to a
> reputable "Audi specialist", such as Van Kalker
> motors used to be here in
> Grand Rapids, or www.audiconnection.com in Virginia,
> or many, many others
> around the nation. These people are many times
> enthusiasts themselves, and
> just take allot of pleasure in seeing these cars on
> the road - and then they
> have found a way to capitalize on this, and make it
> a living. The dealer
> could care less! It's just another franchise. Here
> in GR, Audi is sold
> alongside Porsche, Subaru, Acura and Nissan. There's
> someone who is really
> into German luxury performance vehicles...  And they
> don't even want to
> wrench on the older Audis anymore. Nope - take them
> elsewhere!
>
> ¢2
>
> Michael Riebs
> Grand Rapids, MI
> '90 V8Q
> '98 A6QA
>
> www.1stchoicegranite.com
>


=====
Josh Wyte
Momentum Motorsports
508-833-3024 After 5 pm EST

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