Re: I was took...

[paul.heneghan@bbc.co.uk (Paul Heneghan)]

From: Jo Cooper <jo.cooper@trcinc.com>
>New member here..I'm a woman and I think I was had.  I purchased an '87 =
>Audi for $800.  The reason the guy sold it to me for $800 he said is =
>because there were a 'few' things wrong:  the odometer, temperature =
>gauge and window & light problems.

>Well... after two weeks the car started overheating - I barely made it =
>to the dealer for service - I spent $1500 repairing the head gasket, =
>water pump, replaced valves, some kind of converter (I know nothing of =
>cars) and other schtuff.

Sorry to hear your sad story, Jo.

With old Audis, it is essential to look them over thoroughly before buying. 
 If a car ha s a few obvious problems that have not been fixed, it is a sure 
sign that the owner has not spent any money on maintenance.  These cars are 
tough, and it is possible to keep them running for 15 to 20 years and cover 
200k to 300k miles, but you must be able to do your own maintenance to make 
it cost effective.

>Here's my question, Do I keep the car?  I like it but is it worth =
>keeping & spending more money?

You should try and be objective here (an impossible task when it comes to 
cars, houses and people in my experience).  Your choices are:
1) Sell it (you will probably be lucky to get $1000 for it)
2) Fix it and sell it (you will probably pay a lot more to have it fixed 
than you will be able to sell it for)
3) Drive it as it is now for a couple of years fixing only essential safety 
related things (doing without windows, air con. etc.)
4) Fix it and drive it for as long as possible

I would probably go for option 3 (or option 4 if I could fix everything 
myself).  The things to keep reminding yourself are that:
a) the car is not depreciating
b) the 500 a year depreciation you would have suffered had you bought a car 
for 3000 can be spent on maintenance.
c) a 500 repair bill is only a small percentage of your year's outlay on the 
car (petrol, tax, insurance etc.), so it only pushes up the cost of motoring 
by a couple of cents per mile.

On the other hand, if you are fed up with it and get a bad feeling every 
time you look at it, just sell it and put it down to experience.

Incidently, I did a similar thing eight years ago.  I bought a 1979 VW 
Passat (Dasher) for GBP725.  It had recently had a paint job (metallic blue 
 - lovely).  First time I took it on a motorway, the temperature needle 
plummeted.  I found the thermostat had been removed.  I replaced the 
thermostat, and it overheated badly - head gasket problems.  I had to send 
it in to a garage as I had no time to fix it myself.  It also had a carb 
that was prone to icing and filling with oil from the engine breather. This 
used to clog the idle jets, so although the car was wonderful at maximum 
throttle, it was appalling to drive around town or at any speed less than 
90mph!

I did some calculations recently and found that I spent more money per mile 
on that car than any other car I ever bought (including a GBP3650 80 
quattro).

>My door wouldn't open so I took the door =
>panel off to see if I could tweak it - I found a stick holding up the =
>window - not a piece of wood, a stick from a tree.  Besides that, I also =
>need:  the transmission fluid drained, the lights don't work - I have to =
>use the bright lights, I don't have break lights, the air blows but not =
>cold and not hot, three windows do not roll down, the mechanic who fixed =
>my car said I need a new exhaust system (it didn't sound like that =
>Before I took it in ??

>Is it because I'm a woman or what?

This could have a large effect.  Consumer programs on TV in this country 
(UK) have shown many times that women are treated extremely badly by the 
motor industry in general and the car repair industry in particular.  You 
either need to get more knowledgeable about your car, or bring along a 
knowledgeable friend (male or female makes no difference, the key here is 
knowledgeable) to help you in your transactions with these crooks.

>the temp gauge doesn't work

Probably disabled to disguise the overheating problem

>the odometer doesn't work and there's no radio.

>Is it worth it?????

Good luck


Paul
paul.heneghan@bbc.co.uk
1984 Audi 80 quattro
1989 Audi 100 Avant