chance for a V8Q, continued

[Mike Arman]

Went and drove the candidate V8Q today - as I suspected, the dealer really
has no idea what this car is all about, and has NO CLUE that the lack of a
service history could possibly be a problem . . . not even an owner's
manual . . .

No flammable Bose speakers (replaced with cheap aftermarket junk, as
opposed to expensive OEM junk), transmission OK, no smoke or nasty noises
from the engine.

UFOs have a slight judder, car pulls slightly to the right (probably
alignment). AC doesn't work (amazing . . . )

Putting the transmission into "sport" mode and stomping the go pedal
produces some fairly impressive results, no smoke from the exhaust. I could
see where this car might endanger my license - unlike the rather more
pedestrian 108 NA HP of my 5K.

Car feels very solid (heck it weighs TWO TONS, as opposed to 3,200 lbs for
my 5K), but feels a little "trucky" at low speeds - the 5K has a nicer
ride. (!)

I want to do two things - run a Carfax (anybody got a back door?) and check
with Audi's database to see if the timing belt has been done. There are a
few marks on the TB covers, but there's no way of telling how old they are
since the engine compartment was of course detailed.

How do I check the VIN with the Audi database, anyway? I've never done that.

I'm thinking if the car passes the Carfax and the TB can be verified as
done AND he fixes the AC, I will probably be buying this car for about $2,500.

One last question - I wonder what might happen if I bought a year's
extended warranty (about $1,000), and in about four or five months took a
complete laundry list of the usual type 44 troubles to them and demand that
the warranty company pay to fix *everything*?


Best Regards,

Mike Arman