Re: 95 A6?

[George Rath <lxl@dnai.com>]

Elliott Potter wrote:
> 
> My parents are pondering the idea of getting a new car, so of course
> they wanted an Audi (I've convinced them!  YES!), but when they got to
> our local dealer, here's what they found: 1)brown 97 A4 2.8q, 1)red 97
> A4 2.8q.  They don't want a red car, and would tolerate brown but it was
> a little out of their price range.  So I was glancing around and found a
> 95 A6, non-quattro, with about 30K miles on it, For $20,000.  They can
> afford this, but there are a few questions:
> -Why is it so cheap?  Isn't blue book value around $25K?
> -Are there any problems that we should watch out for?  The car is
> advertised on Auto-by-Tel, which we assume to be a reasonable place, and
> the car supposedly went through a huge inspection, but is there
> something inherently wrong with these cars?  Recalls?
> -Has anyone had experiences they'd like to share about Auto-By-Tel?
> 
> TIA!
> 
> Elliott

Forget the "Blue Book". Kelly's Blue Book is licking the dealer's asses.
Use
"Edmund's" pricing and look at the national average (the "high" value -
it
isn't the high, just the low is the "trade in"). However, look at the
"Kelly"
low - it will give you the idea, what the dealer bought the car for. You
may
even find out, who was the previous owner and get the exact info from
him.
(Look at the VIN and call AoA customer service and ask, who was the
owner.
DMV can do it to - their data is public. Hope, the old plates are still
there!)

George