Buying Audi Certified From Afar - worth the gamble?

[jotamon]

My wife and I are close to buying our first Audi. I think we're pretty set on an A4 Avant and I am now searching for a 2010 or 2011 with lower miles.

We live in Montana and the pickings are slim here. Also, vehicles are typically way over priced and in the past I've flown to Denver or Minneapolis to purchase vehicles and then drove them back. That move can be a gamble if I show up somewhere and the car is a dud.

That is why I am thinking of searching out an Audi Certified Pre-Owned A4 Wagon. If I can find a 2011, my understanding is that the warranty will be good 'til or through 2017. I also would feel more comfortable flying somewhere to buy an A4 if Audi was going to stand behind it for 3+ more years.

Any thought on certified pre-owned? Would other users fly somewhere and feel comfortable that the vehicle they were purchasing was in excellent condition and worth taking a gamble on? I would usually avoid something like this but in this case it makes sense I think.

FYI, we do have an Audi dealer here in Bozeman, so I'd have a place to get it serviced under the extended warranty.

[audispeed]

I have bought several Audi certified vehicles--I am a big proponent of buying two year old cars. I have not had a problem with any of them. Generally, they should all be in excellent mechanical shape. There may be a few things, like tires or brake rotors near the Audi certified wear limit (different from the actual wear limit) that are not replaced because there is enough life deemed left in them. Those are only things you would generally notice when you see the car in person. In my experience, I was able to get the dealer to replace them with no problem. But if you are flying in, you may not have the time. Also, the cars may have a few small paint scratches and interior marks that you can only see in person. My purchases have all been clean cars, but there are less than perfect, cosmetically, cars that are certified. Overall, I wouldn't expect any mechanical problems but would recommend carefully scrutinizing the pictures for cosmetic issues.

Also, warranty is from the in-service date and adds two years to the manufacturer's warranty. However, if you purchase a car with over 50k miles, the warranty is two years from the purchase date, regardless of the manufacturer's warranty.

[13allroad]

I would say for the 10/11 model years go cpo. If you are planning on doing any engine mods then the cpo could be void, I would weight that out.

Look at other states and see what you can find and make sure the dealer is of good standing, ask for detailed pictures of the door sills and wheel wells, most common area for paint and rust damage.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

[nerv81]

A friend of mine bought a CPO BMW a few year ago from a dealer far away and was able to get the dealer to pull the car into the shop and do a video call so he could see everything up close. See if maybe you can work that out with someone. Everyone has wifi and access to either Skype or FaceTime so I can't see them really saying no.

[/\G]

i just bought a 2013 Allroad CPO that came from headquarters in Michigan.

Here was the process. I went to my local Audi dealer, they took all the info on what I was looking for. There is an internal auction system for all dealers to bid on CPO cars.
We came up with the price, they put the bid in and either you win or not. The car was loaded on the truck and at my dealer within the week.

Car came in perfect, not a scratch or dent with 8k miles.

I guess this would only be for those executive cars from headquarters so they would have to be a newer model year.

[name.goes.here]

That is why I am thinking of searching out an Audi Certified Pre-Owned A4 Wagon. If I can find a 2011, my understanding is that the warranty will be good 'til or through 2017. I also would feel more comfortable flying somewhere to buy an A4 if Audi was going to stand behind it for 3+ more years.

Any thought on certified pre-owned? Would other users fly somewhere and feel comfortable that the vehicle they were purchasing was in excellent condition and worth taking a gamble on? I would usually avoid something like this but in this case it makes sense I think.

If I am to be candid with you, my concern is the CPO designation, itself, regardless of whether the car is purchased near or far.

Just this week I read two separate threads (B8 A4 & S4 forums) where a car was purchased with a CPO designation at a distant dealer only to have issues/mechanical problems and when brought to the local dealer, warranty work was refused for one reason or another, for items which would and should have been checked as part of the CPO process. Don't get me wrong, as an Avant owner myself I am not trying to deter you as I have a lot of appreciation for the Audi brand. I also believe that if purchasing used a CPO is likely the best way to go, but from what I've read (and it may be true of all certified pre-owned cars regardless of make or model) it seems the designation is only as good as the dealer willing to stand behind and honor it. Just something to keep in mind.

[piotrowr]

Regardless of CPO or not, pay the $200 for the inspection at the location of the vehicle by an Audi dealer before committing to fly out and pick it up. I would not trust CPO alone like the post above. I've bought cars long distance but never w/o the seller taking to dealer and having all issues addressed and if not renegotiation the cost to address those issues yourself.