Long-distance purchasing advice?

[passat TS]

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Bart,

I really think you should find someone to look at the car.

I'm not saying that the sellers are not honest, but...

 I bought a car at ebay, sight unseen, and end up having to do more work than
I thought. Granted, it was cheap, but not what the seller stated.

The pictures were taken in intentional angles that hide imperfections. I was
in another life a photographer so I know what I'm talking about. At the end it
wasn't that bad of a deal, but could be better.

I'm sure you can find a lister at the area to take a look at the car, and if
you are willing to pay, It should be even easier.

If the seller won't allow an inspection, I would not buy the car.

Good luck on your search,

Carlos.






>From: Barton Oleksy
>To: quattro at audifans.com
>Subject: Long-distance purchasing advice?
>Date: Wed, 04 Sep 2002 12:45:40 -0600
>
>Hi all - we've got a '91 200Q that we're thinking of selling in favor of
>something a little newer. Found a local '95 A6QW that was very nice,
>but the car lot folks there were only going to give us $4K (CAD!) as a
>trade-in value, leaving another $14K CAD for us to pay for his vehicle.
>Too much of a difference for us at this point!
>
>In the meantime, I noticed a number of nice-looking Audis on eBay in
>various areas of the U.S. We're in Alberta, north of Montana, so I
>thought perhaps we could get a vehicle delivered to somewhere near the
>Montana/Alberta border (Sweetgrass?). A couple rough estimates were
>$900-$1000 (USD) by two people with current eBay auctions.
>
>My main question is how to be fairly sure that the vehicle we choose
>(and hopefully win the auction for) isn't a lemon? Are there people out
>there who might be willing to go have a look at a nearby car for us for
>a fee and give us some idea first-hand of what it's like?
>
>I'm no car expert, so me coming down to wherever would just mean taking
>the car somewhere to get an inspection anyway, if the people selling it
>were open to that idea at all.
>
>Any thoughts? The local A6 Quattro Wagon is the only one I've seen for
>months, and the prices on eBay seem much more reasonable, even with the
>U.S.-Canadian exchange rate. All advice/suggestions welcome on how we
>can best 'upgrade' to a newer Audi! (Wagon not essential, but preferred
>- same with Quattro, even!)
>
>Bart
>Edmonton, AB Canada

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