1990 200t FWD...

[AUDIDUDI@delphi.com]

My (girl)friend is looking for another car and I've found a 1990 200t that's
in very good condition, has 82k miles on it, is painted my all-time favorite
color (Lago blue) and, unfortunately, has an automatic.  The car doesn't get
full boost above 4k, however, which leads me to believe there's a problem in
either the ECU or brake light wiring ... since it's on a used-car lot, we're
not in a position to spend an hour or two trying to diagnose the problem but
the dealer IS willing to blow the car out ($5k-ish) if she'll take it as is.

Since this problem is fairly common among 5kt/200t automatics, I'm wondering
just how much of a gamble she'll be taking if she buys it:  Best case, we're
looking at a brake light bulb or piece of wire; worst case, though, just how
bad can it be?  I don't think the dealer is trying to hide anything since he
seemed genuinely concerned when I brought this to his attention and he's NOT
very knowledgable about either Audis or turbos (which isn't surprising since
this is a Buick dealership and I doubt they get many of these cars in trade)
but you never know. 

I am inclined to recommend that she buy the car today and take the risk it's
only a minor repair ... I'm also concerned that if she doesn't buy it today,
they will have one of their mechanics take a look at it tomorrow and if they
are able to fix it quickly, much of her bargaining leverage will be gone and
the price will go right back up to $8,500-ish.

Any advice/comments? 

     _             _             
    / l       l o l  \       l o   AudiDudi@delphi.com
   /__l l l / l l l  l l l / l l   Jeffrey Goggin
  /   l l_l \_l l l__/ l_l \_l l   Scottsdale, Arizona