Advice for neighbor on Audi S4 purchase

ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) said:

I'm always careful to indict other people's parenting. There's always more to the story than we see and things are often complicated. 

That said, this all seems like a great learning experience for the kid.  When is a $7500 debt not a $7500 debt?  When you buy this car with it.  I'm sure all of us would have marched right out and bought a Prius at that age right?

My $7500 at that age was a 1995 Eagle Talon TSi AWD. 

It was marginally better than an S4 and I paid cash. That's really about it. 

NO!  Unless that engine has already had its timing chains/guides replaced, PLUS confirmed that the engine doesn't have bore scoring that's a hard pass. 

Only car? Yikes. As mentioned, that v8 has timing chain tensioner issues that could almost double that buy in if they haven't been taken care of. Burble tune is a good indicator of the previous owner. Have they tried to see if the guy posted on audizine or audiworld or something to get a better history on their ownership?

I should preface this by saying that my college student drives a 20-year old German car, but it's the relatively sane E39 530i, with an inline 6, not a V8.

The S4 would be a lovely car, well-made, and great fun.  I'd love to have one myself.  But for someone with limited resources, a need for dependable transportation, and only one vehicle? 

No.

OK i just had to google burble tune...

So it's the gas version of douchey coal rolling?  That admission alone would cause me to trip while turning to run away.  Never even knew that was a thing.

Run, don't walk. I just heard a podcast that said the average interest rate on a used car is 14%, can't imagine what the interest rate would be on that old of a car. Might even be a personal loan, and I would guess he needs a parent to co-sign. And does the son have his own insurance policy, or is he on his parents' policy?  My guess is that the father has more influence on the decision than he may think.

When I graduated from college, I wanted a Nissan Maxima 5 speed. I got an insurance quote, and ended up with a 5 speed Camry instead. The 4cyl Camry wasn't as fun as the Maxima would have been, but it saved me a ton of money in the long-term.

Pete. (l33t FS) said:A 20 year old high end German car is not a primary vehicle for anybody.

I love these cars and my recommendation is still no

No AC in Florida is also a recipe for swamp ass and spontaneously composting interiors in 20 year old German cars.

As someone in the "bad idea" camp, I took an even bigger loan out for an even dumber car when I was 19. It was an amazing learning experience for me, but I wouldn't necessarily go the hard love route on someone else's kid if it could be avoided. It really was one of the gateway drugs that landed me here. When that one expensive old, german car breaks, you get a few more in it's wake 

I didn't take out my first loan for a vehicle until I was 28. Years after graduating college and already had a mortgage. 

Taking one out for a nearly 20-year Audi, in college.......his dad needs to put some baby powder on his hand so his backhand doesn't leave a mark. 

Send him a copy of this thread:

We are the tribe of bad judgment, and we're all saying run away.

Borrow $7500 for a cool car? It's absolutely great idea, just not for that cool car.

Tom1200 said:

Borrow $7500 for a cool car? It's absolutely great idea, just not for that cool car.

Perhaps he can get a Maserati instead? :)

I don't know that I've seen the kid but perhaps my 20 year old German car is encouraging him. Maybe if he spent the last two weeks with me trying to get it to STOP LEAKING ENGINE COOLANT he'd change his mind. 

codrus (Forum Supporter) said:

Tom1200 said:

Borrow $7500 for a cool car? It's absolutely great idea, just not for that cool car.

Perhaps he can get a Maserati instead? :)

 

Right?

Tom1200 said:

Send him a copy of this thread:

We are the tribe of bad judgment, and we're all saying run away.

Borrow $7500 for a cool car? It's absolutely great idea, just not for that cool car.

Our bad judgement is directed bad judgement.  We are the shaped charge of bad judgement.  We're responsibly foolhardy.

burble tune and mods?

Buying this car is the automotive equivalent of putting your hootus in crazy. 
 

don't put your hootus in crazy. 

This is reminding me of when my good friend bought his first house. 2 blocks away was a house with a 2nd Gen Mazdaspeed 3 sporting seemingly fixable, but significant front end damage parked in the driveway. It sat there for at least 8 years. Nothing on it changed, it never moved. Due to the demographic that typically owns these cars I assumed this young person could barely afford it in the first place and couldn't get the money together to fix it while still paying the loan on the broken car. So it sat.

This Audi will break first the wallet, then the heart, then the will to fix it. Dare you to prove me wrong neighbor kid of forum member.

Those S4s sure sound nice but pass.

$7500 could go into a Civic/Camry/Accord/Mazda 3/insert other 4 wheel appliance here.

In reply to dxman92 :

Orrrr

--including the advertised ability to take an 8" curb at 40mph, which seems relevant to a lot of college kids I know, esp those wanting burble tune. 

I have a hat that says, "that's a terrible idea. When do we start?"  It's also a military joke.  I'd say no but sometimes these types of decisions lead to the best adventures and life long stories.  My wife and I both vividly remember me replacing a B5 S4 failed water pump in the driveway in August in Texas.  I loved that car, but at times I didn't.  
 

And then there was the Jetta 1.8 turbo failed water pump in a parking lot in Oklahoma too.  
 

I'm so happy to have backup cars these days.

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

Tom1200 said:

Send him a copy of this thread:

We are the tribe of bad judgment, and we're all saying run away.

Borrow $7500 for a cool car? It's absolutely great idea, just not for that cool car.

Our bad judgement is directed bad judgement.  We are the shaped charge of bad judgement.  We're responsibly foolhardy.

We need to make a T-shirt with this on it. It's fantastic!

I was reading this newer thread about S4 V8s and realized I hadn't updated here. 
 

He passed on the FL one and picked up one from IN or OH instead. He's been down with it from college a couple times helping his dad fix things on it, including the alternator or belt(?) the other day which required pulling the front clip. 

!!!!

He loves it, been working for a few months now with assistance. We shall see. 

In reply to dyintorace :

Exactly!!!!!! Unless it's been done, expect to do it!!

Datsun310Guy said:

I looked at his FB account.  The guy sold 2 other cars this past week?  Is he flipping? Well maybe he just owns a lot of German cars? Does the mechanic comment mean no maintenance details?  

Feels red Flaggy.....

 

I'm more interested in how he got $1 per pound for those dumbbells.  GTFO!