Help with decision making!!(PS)(89 quattro 100)

[Doyt W. Echelberger]

On top of that first post I sent you, here is a checklist to help you
evaluate that 1989 model 100 that is offered at $2,000 USD:

Checks when buying a quattro.

There are a number of factors making this something to approach with
caution. First - don't be misled into believing that the quattro is an
inexpensive car to own. Maintaining it usually requires considerable
outlay, in labor and parts. Can you do lots of it yourself?

Some of the parts are expensive, and some procedures are long and
complicated - taking the cylinder head off takes a nominal ten hours' labor
on some models, for instance.
It's fun to drive. Especially in winter though you do need to watch the
tires. The law of quattro physics - four times nothing is just the same as
two times nothing.

Before going to see the car, talk to the owner on the phone and ask basic
questions about ownership history, accidents, insurance claims and
maintenance. Encourage discussion of repairs and upkeep and how the car was
used. Ask about rust, body damage, interior appearance, how the car runs
and what needs to be done to it. Why is it being sold? What is the mileage?
Is he/she the original owner? What are the tires like? What is the asking
price? The answers should allow you to decide if it's worth going to see
the car and test drive it. Insist on seeing the car at a dealer's or at the
address to which it is registered - pub car parks and shopping malls are a
no-no - and insist that the engine be cold.

Inspect the car in both daylight and fluorescent light if possible -
sometimes mismatches are obvious in one and not the other. Walk around the
car and eyeball everything visible from the outside. Don't be afraid run
your hands over the paintwork - sometimes things that cannot be seen
properly can be felt easily. Open the hood and look around the engine
compartment, pull the dipstick and feel the oil. Now is a good time to see
that the engine is cold. Check under the car for leaks and that the
undertrays are in place. Check along the fuel lines for corrosion, paying
special attention to where they pass through rubber mounting bushes. Then
open the trunk and check for water - especially under the carpet on the
right - dirt and the spare tire and toolkit. While walking round, check
trim, glass and panel fit. Feel the brake discs ridges and gouges.

Open the doors and check the entry sills and lower door edges for rust or
repairs, while looking over the rubber seals. Sit in both seats and check
trim, seatbelts, seat runners and seat folding catch if there is one.
Listen for squeaks in the top of the seat back. Check the handbrake. Check
the windscreen for chips and cracks. Look up at the headliner and touch it,
being wary of sagging sections.

 From the driver's seat, touch and operate all the cabin controls and
gadgets. Central locking, power windows, sunroof and boot catch. Check for
leaks by feeling the carpets. Test pedal pressure for brakes and pedal
movement for clutch, listening for strange sounds. Reach up above the back
of the brake pedal and feel for clutch fluid leaks. Go through the gears at
rest to check shifter linkages. Switch the ignition on and check that the
proper number of warning lights illuminate - unscrupulous sellers have been
known to take out bulbs warning of hundreds of dollars worth of repairs.
Then check the gadgets that only work with the ignition on - lights high
and low beam, dash lights and adjustment, wipers, heater, a/c if fitted and
radio. Be sure the seat adjustment controls are functional on both driver
and passenger seats.
Before starting the car, verify with the owner that it has run recently. If
it's been stored for over a year, make sure the owner accepts
responsibility for starting it.

Have the owner start the car while you watch the exhaust pipe. Listen to
the engine warming up from cold and check the idle speeds. Listen
especially for exhaust leaks and ticking from manifold cracks. Let the
engine warm up a few minutes, listening for changes to the engine noise,
and then do a slow test drive in the parking lot and local streets and then
around the owner's town. This will include a moving test of the
differential locks.

Do the speedometer and trip computer work? Rear window defroster? Strange
noises on bumps? Taut and firm, or loose and sloppy? Power steering feel
and sound? Alternator belt squeal with full electric load? Try starting and
stopping and run through the gears - check out the feel of the clutch,
brakes and accelerator systems, and the steering and suspension. Push the
ABS switch and check that the warning light comes on. Switch the ABS back
on and check the light goes out again. Turn some slow doughnuts or
figure-of-eight turns in a parking lot to test for bearing noise. Open the
driver's window and do some slow fore-and-aft movements to see if the brake
calipers click. Once the car is warm, the a/c and blower can be tested
properly. Be sure all the climate control functions operate.

Back at the owner's home, pull on the handbrake - check the warning light
comes on - and see if the clutch slips against the brake before shutting
down. Keep the engine running, and get out of the car with the handbrake
on. Turn the front wheels onto full lock to see the wear pattern.
With the engine running, try holding a banknote flat against the tailpipe
to see if it gets sucked into the pipe by any faulty exhaust valve. If the
test drive indicated sloppy shocks/suspension, bounce the corners and
wiggle each wheel for play. Examine tire treads for depth, feathering,
cupping, unusual wear at edges or in center. Front and rear. Feel
temperature of tires and wheels for heat due to dragging brakes.

If you're still serious, drive the car for another half hour at higher
speeds out on a major highway, checking passing systems and wander
tendencies. Watch the gauges for under/over heating, and check both the
horn and the audio system. Accelerate hard from ca. 30 mph in third gear at
least once. Stop somewhere for ten minutes on a clean surface and check
underneath for leaks. Water dripping from the air conditioning evaporator
is normal. Turn the steering wheel onto full lock and look behind the front
right wheel at the oil cooler lines.

Even if you have to pay for it, fill the tank to the top - because an
almost empty tank doesn't reveal any leaks that exist, especially where the
top and bottom moulds of the tank meet and at the neck. Considering you're
planning on spending a lot of money - why not put the car on a lift, and
have the garage owner check it out? Who knows - he/she might just spot
something you haven't? Slip them a twenty and ask them to check the bushes,
CV joint boots, fuel lines, fuel pump mountings, etc., especially carefully.

After the drive, decide if you want to meet the selling price, negotiate,
or call in an expert for a further opinion and thorough model-specific
diagnostic tests. Electronic odometers can be 'clocked' or wound back more
easily than mechanical ones. Regrettably, service histories are very easy
to forge - receipts are much more reliable. These should show a timing belt
change within the last 60,000 miles or five years - if they don't, consider
flat-bedding the car home rather than driving it.

Thanks are cheerfully attributed to Phil Payne
<quk at isham-research.freeserve.co.uk> and
<http//www.isham-research.freeserve.co.uk/quattro/caveat.html> for his
editorial contributions to the original text, which he shamelessly stole
from my post to the Audi quattro mailing list at <http//www.audifans.com/>.
Phil has made the above text truly valuable.

Before buying your car, swing by the Scott Mockry website at
<http//www.teleport.com/~scottmo/index.html> for an overview of the
technical information available to owners of the older Audis. And visit
some of his links for a deeper insight of specific models.


Doyt Echelbrerger