[s-cars] 97 Canadian S6 - Concerns....

[Jim Bresee]

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Howdy.
I wrote a week ago about an S6 that's been sitting on a lot in Montreal for
a while. The dealer said to put a deposit on the car to hold it until I
inspect it, and if I did not like the car he'd refund the deposit.

I checked the car out, and here is what I found :

1.     Rear quarter panel, drivers side clearly repainted.. poorly.  There
are visible sanding marks and the clear coat has bubbles on it.  Rear
Passenger door also repainted.  But the weld seams on the quarter panel look
factory - so I'm thinking they got jiggy with the bondo.
2.         Drivers side front fender well definitely repainted.  The curve
of the wheel well isn't constant - looks like a pound out and bondo job.
The plastic skirt of the wheel well doesn't meet and bolt up to the insid of
the fender.
3.         Hood - color is off. I suspect an earlier (but higher quality)
repaint on the hood. It has some rust bubbles starting.
4.         Tires are new Wintersports. Passenger side front wheel has curb
rash. Other wheels have nicks that seem age appropriate.
5.         Interior - all heated seats, switches, windows, stereo, phone,
computer, lights work.
6.         Leather is worn (mistreated!), several signficant dings and
scratches on the interior.
7.         One headlight is cracked - replacement is $529.00.
8.         Engine :
a.       Oil leak back of the engine at a small plastic plug just below the
valve cover.
b.      Serpantine belt appears worn.
c.       Brake fluid leak at the join of two break lines on the drivers side
wheel well.
d.      No smoke on start up... but car cranks for 5-10 seconds before
starting - every time.
e.       Looking through the oil cap, I notice the rockers have blocthes of
thick coked on blackness - oil?


On the test drive, the car tracked fine, felt tight.  The brakes required
heavy peddle pressure - but I suspect this may be normal for the car (I'm
comparing it to my current A6 2.7T).  Clutch feel was fine, engine pulled
strong.  The steering wheel was off center - to go straight it was at an
angle.

Carfax on the car is clean.

My overall sense of this car is that it was either treated badly, or the
milage is not accurate.  On the odo, it currently shows 129,000k.  In the
online ads, the car is listed at 120k, and 127k. I've told the dealer that
I'm not buying the car, and he's said he can't credit my credit card, but
will send a check... so I'm a tad nervous.

Thoughts?
Jim

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[ James R. Bresee (Jim.Bresee at allscripts.com).vcf of type application/octet-stream deleted ]