RE: Is it an '88? or.......

["Duff, Ian" <iduff@charter.com>]

I had just such a car, advertised as and purchased as a 1987 5000 S
Quattro. When I tried to get financing on it, none of the banks could
find it in the NADA books. However, the VIN made it an '87, the build
date made it an '87, and the dealer sold it as an '87. Every time I
called anyplace for service or parts I always had to assure the
chucklehead at the other end that, yes, it was truly a 1987 model. With
Quattro. No it's not a turbo. Yes, I'm sure.

The ABS switch was on the door side of the wheel, took the salesman a
minute to find to assure me that it did indeed have ABS (I was an Audi
virgin way back then).

Ian Duff, New Bedford, MA
1990 Coupe Quattro

>----------
>From: 	Neil Swanson[SMTP:75377.3445@CompuServe.COM]
>Sent: 	Wednesday, May 08, 1996 9:08 AM
>To: 	Quattro List
>Subject: 	Is it an '88? or.......
>
>Good morning,
>
>I've got one for the collective wisdom of the group.
>
>As I told you a week or so ago my friend Liz bought an '88 5000S
>Quattro.  Paid
>at the top of the NADA but the car is real clean and only 65K miles. 
>Plus she
>liked it.
>
>Her finance company called her and asked her why she was financing it
>as an '88
>when it was an '87!  HUH?  
>
>The car was advertised as an '88, had a sticker on the glass as '88 and
>in the
>newspaper as an '88.  It was priced as an '88.
>
>The VIN #, now we check, is an "H" as in '87 model year.  My '88 is a
>"J" as it
>should be.  I got a print out of the service the dealer did and they
>call it an
>'87.  The car was delivered on 6/87.
>
>The car was made in 5/87 yet the dealer shows a record of working on it
>in 3/87.
>Before it was made or delivered.  Wierd.  And all the VIN#s match, I
>checked.
>
>The dash is not like mine.  On the pass side the dash is more cut down
>on top.
>The ABS switch is on the left of the column instead of the right in a
>row.  I
>thought this may be just an S vs CS difference.  Is it?
>
>The NADA does not even list a 5000S Q as available is '87 but it was
>available
>in '88.  So is this a case of a model being released really early, an
>'88 in
>'87?  This never raised a flag to me 'cause it never occured to me.
>Pass an '87
>off as an '88?  Why bother.
>
>If you go to a Ford dealer now you can get a '96 F250 or a '97 F250. 
>
>So, any thoughts on just what went on here?  Early release of a 5KQ? 
>Anybody
>really got an '87 5kq?   What about the dash question.
>
>She hasn't called the dealer yet.  She can be SOOOOOOOOO tough when
>needed.
>BTFT.  Plus she is a journalist and writes the car column with me and
>is the
>managing editor of a newspaper.  The wrong person to screw if in fact
>she was.
>
>I could see the salespeople geting this car in on trade and not knowing
>the '87
>VIN# was for an '88 sales year.  We're calling AoA.
>
>Thanks
>
>Neil
>CT 
>
>