"brianshayne" (brianshayne)
08/29/2017 at 22:59 • Filed to: audi, #usedcarlyfe, carhell, usedcarhell, hell, why
3
24|
"brianshayne" (brianshayne)
08/29/2017 at 22:59 • Filed to: audi, #usedcarlyfe, carhell, usedcarhell, hell, why | 3
| 24 |
You probably already know what you’re in for by the title.
This is the story about how my new used car is killing my pocketbook. I don’t even have it safetied yet.
Let’s back it up a bit. This whole story started when I relocated to a smaller city for work. I was living downtown in my old city, and hadn’t really needed (although missed) a car. I sold my last one, a 2000 Acura EL for about half what I paid for it (I mean, I bought it for $2k, two years before so I was doing okay).
This time around I’d been shopping around, thinking that I might wish to get inside a new car - and did some thinking there, as well as used cars. Now, my credit’s still in rough shape from my younger years - so I figured right now it might be smarter to just buy a car cash.
I hadn’t really started shopping, but my new landlord in my new city mentioned he’d had a car he wanted to get rid of after I’d inquired if he might know of anything I might be interested in. He’d mentioned his wife’s / parent’s previous A4 that they still had, and wondered if I’d want to take a look. He wasn’t sure what he’d sell it for, so left it up to me to come up with an offer.
He dropped off the car for me, and I took it for a drive later that evening.
The reviews from the era were spot on in a number of ways, but of course - the car being a 2005 - the interior technology felt sort of dated. “That’s okay,” inner car me said, “it’s a fun ride, the turbo is addictive and there’s a little bit of fun to be had in tuning this car... No big deal.”
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As I continued to possess the car, I’d got to know it a bit better - and the B6 platformed A4 is a fantastic feeling car. I know the B5 purists might disagree, and the BMW crowd continues to giggle as this story progresses.
I took the car to my preferred mechanic, for a PPI - explaining that I’d like to buy this car, and will need to know what it needs to get on the road. (Meaning the safety certificate. Stay tuned, this will be important in probably a few more paragraphs).
The mechanic originally quoted that it’d probably need some exhaust work, with a broken flexpipe and a cracked mid-pipe. No big deal. Only other glaring issue was the airbag light (connectors under the seat). These fixes, and the recommended timing belt job (it’s higher mileage, but very clean) put me at about $1500 CAD for the repairs to get it going.
This sounded agreeable, and fit my “budget” for a set of wheels to get me through. I’d agreed on a price of $3500 CAD to the seller, based on the PPI (pre purchase inspection) results - thinking this was a good safe bet, post inspection - at a shop that knows their VAG.
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Once we got inside, this started to get more pricey.
I’d built in a higher repair budget, since of course - there’s a little bit of scope creep. What’s transpired so far, (yes it’s still transpiring) is a bit more than a little bit.
The entire downpipe needed replacing. So this was replaced. (Reason: Nowhere to weld)
From here - when putting the car back together, they’d noticed the radiator was leaking via a fin, and advised this couldn’t be repaired -so a radiator was purchased and replaced.
This was fine, as it’s a used car, right? When purchasing a used car, sometimes preventative (like the timing belt) makes sense.
We’re getting ready to settle, and I’m getting ready to pick up the car and this is where the safety gets important. We’d started this process with the expectation that we’d be at $1500 give or take (plus the preventative repairs) and that would get us through safety - since in Ontario, that’s required to transfer a vehicle registration.
The mechanic was calling me, just about the time I was ringing them, to let me know there was some... Other work... That needed to be done for the safety. Wipers, headlights (since they were foggy, which I knew - but was strangely not mentioned as a required safety item in their condition when I chose to purchase the car).
Anyway - I’ve not included the mechanic’s name in this story, because I don’t think they’ve done anything wrong. Work costs money, and they’re the professionals. Ultimately, a lot of this stuff may not get picked up in the typical PPI, and while it worries me that It was a poor situation due to the difference of opinion on the PPI / safety results, and the spiralling cost has since worked out to $4500 in parts and labour.
The shop has been fantastic, and has knocked some labour off in various items, and has been really responsive and communicative. No faults there.
The craziest part, is that I still want the car. I don’t know what the right answer is, it’s bought, can’t be unbought. It’s had repairs done, can’t undo those.
And the clutch went as I was pulling into the driveway this evening. I’ll diagnose that tomorrow. Pushing it off the road was enough for tonight.
2005 Audi A4
$3500 purchase price
$4500 repairs (list below)
= $8000
Parts
EXHAUST PIPE
Exhaust Sleeve Clamp
Timing Belt Kit w / Water Pump
Serpbelt
Coolant
Valve Cover Gasket
Cam Tenionser Gasket
Forge DV
Radiator
Left Headlight
Right Headlight
Rear Brake Hose
Parts total: $2083.84
Labour
Repair Wiring Under Front Seat
Replace exhaust pipe front (flex)
Replace timing belt / water pump
Camshaft + VC gaskets
HALF LABOUR - DV install
Replace Radiator
Perform Safety Inspection
Brake Flush
Brake Hose install
Labour total: $1902.95
Why didn’t you do the work yourself?
A lot of this work I *could* have done if I’d have had the space set up, and the tools - but since I’d recently moved, and again lived in a high rise - this wasn’t something I own.
Why didn’t you get other quotes?
Timing mostly. Planned on going on vacation this up coming week, using the car to get there. That and the fact that most of these costs were uncovered AFTER the car was torn apart.
What are you going to do about that clutch?
I don’t know. Could use advice here. I feel like I need to fix it.
CompactLuxuryFan
> brianshayne
08/29/2017 at 23:08 |
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Aw my B7 Avant (also a 2005, though!) was a complete money pit right when I got her, but after treating her right for a while and once a few parts were replaced with upgraded versions, she’s been nothing but joy for like two years.
Steve in Manhattan
> brianshayne
08/29/2017 at 23:12 |
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You might check if there’s one of those places in town that rents you a lift and workspace, and even tools if you need them. That might have been more of an 80s thing, but you never know. But I’m guessing the clutch replacement is ... 3 grand parts and at least 4 hours? But you could learn a lot about what else might be wrong.
boxrocket
> brianshayne
08/29/2017 at 23:14 |
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It might be cheaper to hire your very own Hodor.
Also more reliable.
DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
> brianshayne
08/29/2017 at 23:29 |
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I’d start hitting up reddit to see how to successfully get away with insurance fraud lol.
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brianshayne
> CompactLuxuryFan
08/29/2017 at 23:51 |
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This is where I’m hoping I get.
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brianshayne
> Steve in Manhattan
08/29/2017 at 23:51 |
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Eh, parts aren’t nearly that bad. Same clutch kit as every other 1.8t out there.
sony1492
> brianshayne
08/29/2017 at 23:53 |
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Why did they have to replace the lights? We’re they too foggy?
As far as the clutch your best bet to save money would be to buy one yourself and do it in an autozone parking lot or something (though that’s a very janky plan, it would save you hundreds )
m-b-w loves his SUBAROO
> brianshayne
08/29/2017 at 23:54 |
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If its now in good shape, and stays reletively reliable, then it’s actually a pretty nice car for $8k..
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brianshayne
> m-b-w loves his SUBAROO
08/30/2017 at 00:01 |
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Yeah - that’s the other part, prices in the market have been all over, since it’s an older car - it’s tough to find retail pricing on them now, so I’m mostly trying to figure out when to stop, haha. But it’ll be hard because with that tune it just pulls beautifully and smoothly.
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brianshayne
> sony1492
08/30/2017 at 00:02 |
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Headlights were fogged right out; full on moisture. This is common on this car, as far as I can tell. So new OE ones - which isn’t a big deal, I’d planned to replace them. Just not today. Haha.
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m-b-w loves his SUBAROO
> brianshayne
08/30/2017 at 00:03 |
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The way I see it, even if you have a bit more money into it than market value, the difference between yours and the average A4 is that yours is (hopefully) more mechanically sound and updated!
Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
> brianshayne
08/30/2017 at 00:07 |
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How many kilometers on this thing?
Svart Smart, traded in his Smart
> brianshayne
08/30/2017 at 00:25 |
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I thought this would be a post about automatic cars listed as manual in an online inventory. This is a better read, though.
Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
> CompactLuxuryFan
08/30/2017 at 00:43 |
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I think you just jinxed yourself... lol
pip bip - choose Corrour
> brianshayne
08/30/2017 at 05:50 |
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this is why i can’t recommend an Audi.
they’re just a bad car.
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brianshayne
> Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/30/2017 at 07:15 |
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195km
yitznewton
> brianshayne
08/30/2017 at 10:42 |
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Interesting, I had a Jetta of the same era, with the 1.8T, and it also cracked the flex pipe under my ownership. The interior was such shite. Oh, the driver’s seat height adjuster was broken when I bought the car, and I never managed to source a replacement seat. That was annoying.
Nisman
> brianshayne
08/30/2017 at 11:07 |
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Dude, it sounds like you got ripped on that PPI. I’d go back to whoever did it and demand some form of compensation. They didn’t notice oil leaks?!
merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc
> brianshayne
08/30/2017 at 11:14 |
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Could the clutch be a result of the brake bleeding? I assume they share the reservoir, so maybe you can get by for a short time by bleeding the clutch separately? But you’ve gone this far, might as well hang on to it and get your money’s worth.
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brianshayne
> merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc
08/30/2017 at 11:48 |
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Yup - that was my first thought, and I suggested that to the shop. Didn’t have tooling. It’s being diaged / ripped apart now.
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brianshayne
> Nisman
08/30/2017 at 11:49 |
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They did - this came up in the PPI.
What didn’t was the brake flex, the incidental radiator, the fact that headlights would HAVE to be changed (couldn’t defer) etc.
Overall, I’m happy with their professionalism and service - and while I do agree they could have done a deeper PPI for the hour I paid for it, still - much of this wouldn’t be found until you ripped it apart.
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merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc
> brianshayne
08/30/2017 at 12:49 |
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Good times. Sucks not being able to have the choice to do your own wrenching. I have had use of a garage and tools now for about 20 years and can’t imagine not having that option. One thing to consider. Not sure if there are any volunteer organizations that provide car repair services up your way, but if so, maybe get involved. I’ve been a part of a group for the past 4-5 years and it’s been great. We wrench on needy folks cars and then get an opportunity to wrench on our own on off hours using the hoists and shop tools. Might be a possibility for you?
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brianshayne
> merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc
08/30/2017 at 14:43 |
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I don’t mind paying money when needed, but yeah - this is escalating.
Tools are my next investment again - I have a garage in the new place.
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merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc
> brianshayne
08/30/2017 at 21:17 |
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Garages are the best. Tools are bester and tools in a garage are bestest.