Beware of 1988 Audi 80Q on Cragslist - see message

[George Selby]

At 10:20 PM 11/2/2006, you wrote:
>This one sounded good enough to check;  I ran a Carfax and it's got evidence
>of odometer tampering.  In fact, it was driven backwards ~200 miles over the
>past 2 years.  It is advertised as having a "blown head gasket" which can be
>replaced at very little cost "by your mechanic".

Due to the extreme likelihood of an odometer failure in this year range 
Audi, I would guess any Audi of this vintage to have a suspect odometer 
reading.  When I look at an Audi in this year range, I look at the overall 
condition of the car, I don't really care what the odometer says.

Furthermore, a lot of people aren't really that careful (down to the 
hundred mile) when checking the odometer for title changes, especially on 
older cars.  This may be simply a case of the person completing the mileage 
by guessing (to the nearest thousand) or rounding the mileage.  In fact the 
car could have not been driven at all in the past two years (due to the 
blown head gasket.)  What I guess I'm saying is that a car going 
'backwards'  200 miles in 2 years isn't automatically proof of odo fraud, 
it could easily be a case of sloppy paperwork.

George Selby