BEFORE BUYING: Inspect at dealer or 3rd party?

[Ruski]

Well the question is the in title:

I am shopping for a 2004 A4 1.8TQM and wondering where is the best place to take it for the pre-purchase inspection?

a) Audi Dealership (aka Stealership)? Can you trust them with this inspection?


b) 3rd Party Mechanics who tune Audi/VW?


Comments please ;)

[Ill 3.0]

my experience:

shitty mechanic < audi dealership < middle of the road "average Joe" Audi/import mechanic

basically, if it's not CPO (which I'll assume is the case since a warranty would make a second opinion excessive IMO) I wouldn't go the dealership for anything except to get difficult to source parts

[Ruski]

Actually on that note...its definitely not gonna be CPO....BUT...if the vehicle has extended warranty from Audi...say 8years/unlimited km. Does that mean it covers regular maintenance, i.e. timing belt, etc.? What about brakes, etc.

I haven't had experience with the dealer warranties before so thats why I am asking.

Please more comments on the inspection...since most used cars for sale are off lease, past warranty, etc. and the pre-purchase inspection is key!

[Ill 3.0]

I was including pre purchase inspection in my comment. I would guess dealerships would be less thorough and care less about your purchase from someone else, but obviously there are always exceptions. The value of the CPO is that THEY are selling it to you so they will care if something goes wrong. As for warranties, AFAIK extended do not cover regular (i.e. scheduled) maintenance. That is the deal with the CPO extended, but there may be other packages you can purchase which I do not know about.

[VAGIT]

Wear and tear items like timing belt, brakes, clutch, etc are NOT covered by any warranty. What is covered are manufacture defects (ie the infamous window regulators)

I would recommend finding a good tuner shop in your area and stick with them so they get to know your car and you get to know them. Often they will do things above and beyond due to the relationship that you would never form with a dealer.

[Doss]

If you aren't getting an Audi CPO warranty, the warranty probably isn't worth much. In fact, I would go as far as to ask how much more am I paying for this warranty and be sure you know exactly what it covers (make sure it is written/typed on paper that you can keep with you). So many people get suckered by 3rd party warranties and their false sense of security. Don't be one of these people. 3rd party warranties like to lure in the weary with a perceived value when in reality they won't cover things you would think were covered. This is why it is important to have all of the covered items documented on something you can carry with you. Also, be sure to check who can do the repairs and other stipulations.

I have seen too many people get a 3rd party warranty only to find out the only place that they can get work done is at the warranty supplier's shop or a contracted shop (possibly in another city). Usually, the hassle of getting the work done far outweighs the benefit.

If you are getting the car inspected, bring it to a competent Audi mechanic (preferably non-dealer (since dealers are usually too busy to care)). They should be able to look at it and tell you what's wrong or what will need attention soon.

So far, I've only seen a few areas that can/will go wrong on these cars:

Check valves
Window regulator
Sunroof switch
Peeling interior buttons
Timing tension/water pump/timing belt
Coilpacks

Only the tension/water pump/belt combo will end up costing a lot (still under $1k most of the time). Out of the rest, I'd only expect a 3rd party warranty to cover a bad window regulator, coil packs, or possibly the sunroof switch.

If your eyes aren't good at spotting body work, you'll want to get a body shop to look it over also. Put it under florescent lights and direct sunlight. You should be able to spot body work that way. Look for overspray as well. This is another cause for concern with any warranty b/c they won't cover items that are related to the damaged area of the vehicle.

Once again, read the fine print on your warranty and ask questions about grey areas and have it documented.

<Tone = informative, slightly opinionated>

[A4TL]

my aftermarket platinum level warranty for 7/100K covers timing belt failure, and all incidentals as long as you do all maintenance. (!!).

Rather than have audi/VW or some lame shop put an equivalent USED motor in (good luck getting a brand new one from any aftermarket warranty) they will probably screw it up and it will fail again lol.

my 90 vw was recalled for heater core failure in 2003 and holy christ they had to remove the dash and fix it in 6 shop hours max (entire dash out) there are so many missing parts, things that don't fit right any more, butchery i tell you, but i didn't want to spend 9 hours (the real amount of time) it takes to change the heater core.

[Ruski]

Ok, soo dealer inspection is out. And after checking out some CPO prices I am DEFINATELY not buying a CPO A4. Atleast here in Ontario the prices are INSANE!!!

Going to post in the Canada Regional thread and see if anyone recommends a good VW/Audi shop to have the car inspected.

If anyone else has more input, feel free. Cheers.