B_S373N

After months of the B5 sitting on the driveway, I finally had enough time to get her started today.

Had to boost it. Battery either does not hold a charge, or my alternator is shot. I drove it around for a bit after the boost, maybe for about 15 minutes. Turned it off, turned the key again, nothing.

Front passenger CV joint definitely sounds t3h bust...lots of scraping sounds. More so than last time. No doubt what was left of the grease is now gone.

Definitely think I was very stupid to think I could keep the car around for a while and fix it up. Should have traded it in for whatever dealer would give me.

So I give up. Ditching the car. Forget fixing it up. Hoping to get something back for it obviously.

Know I posted this before, but critical stats:

99.0 B5 1.8TQ 5MT, 245,000km, second motor w/ ~70,000km, most of suspension and brakes replaced within 20,000km. Lots of parts replaced. Front passenger CV is shot, both front ABS sensors need to be replaced, fuel gauge is possessed. Cosmetically, dings here and there, and front bumper heavily pocked from stone chips.

What's best course of action? Post it on Trader as an as-is and get the buyer to just tow it off my lot? Should I even bother taking it to IT for an inspection? How should I even hazard a guess at what people might pay? I have no time for this and would like to move on with my life.

Sigh. Definitely a bit dejected. Put a ridiculous amount of time and money into the car. ~$12,000 in parts/labour for repairs alone over 2 years of ownership...all while I was a university student. It was a bad idea right from the get-go.

I am stupid.

amiro

Even though the BB on it is 9.5 to 11k IIRC, and technically mine should be at the high end.

It's a mint condition 2000 A4 1.8T quattro manual with sports package and all options except Bose and Xenons. Only 85,000 km's on it and I live in BC, where the same car's worth more than back east.

Privately, I'm guessing around 11k from what I've seen in auto trader and craiglist postings, but it's a tough market out there for used cars, some of these have been sitting there for month or more, so who knows when it would sell.

Given that, I'd guess yours might be worth $4,000 less than mine, given that you've got things to fix and the super high mileage.

I tried BB online, but it won't show a price for yours! Good luck.

Ryan in T.O.

that need fixing before they can even drive the car. Total what it would cost for the CV joint and sensors. If it is reasonable, then get them fixed so the car drives with no odd noises or check engine light. A vehicle purchase is an emotional one so you need someone to fall in love with your car. Clean up the vehicle as best you can and list away.

If the cost of repair is almost the same as other comparable cars are going for in autotrader, then it's not worth your money or time to fix. List the car as is and hope someone picks it up for parts or a beater.

expl0rer

Like the posts before me, I would suggest to price out parts and labour to fix it, and if the amount is within reasonable costs, do it. It would be easier to sell the car in drivable condition.

It is interesting that the car has taken $12000 in parts at its age. Why was the motor replaced? (I suppose I could search for your posts to find out). I have an 8 year old car and it has not taken anywhere near the amount you say you have put into your B5.

B_S373N

A lot of tough lessons learned. I think I'm at least of average intelligence, but my car ownership history tells a different story.

My first German car after owning 2 Hondas. My last Honda was exactly stolen 1 month after I had purchased it, on the 13th of May, 2003. It was heavily modified, and long story short, I lost all $12K spent on it because my insurance was voided - I found out on Friday the 13th, June, 2003. Ironically, it was stolen on my first day working for an insurance company.

You can't make this **** up. I parked @ the York Mills subway station. Stepped out for a smoke/coffee at 10:00 a.m., first day at work, and watched an Electron Blue Del Sol that looked curiously like mine drive out of the lot, westbound, on York Mills. Same rims as mine, curiously, same exhaust...10 seconds of incredulous thinking later, I dropped my coffee. You know the rest. Car was recovered a month later, stripped to the bone, Type-R motor gone, everything.....gone. Even the lightbulbs, interior trim, everything.

2 years later I had recovered from the hit, and bought the A4 off some second-hand lot around Dufferin/Finch. It was nice. Car cost about $14K. 170,000km, sure, whatever, my Honda had 270,000. I remember being absolutely enthused about my purchase, one of the best days in my life. I saved up, worked hard for it, and it felt good.

In hindsight I have no idea what I was thinking...the purchase was a huge mistake. I screwed up in so many areas it blows my mind to think how stupid I was back then.

3 weeks later, during a commute from Guelph to Toronto (went to UoGuelph, worked in Toronto) the motor died abruptly on the 401 by Trafalgar. Thought it'd be simple. Towed it to H2Sport and the diagnosis nearly floored me. Timing belt snapped. Damage was ridiculous, among the worst they'd seen. All valves bent, motor was a goner, and something flew into my turbo. Clutch was nearly gone as well.

$7K in repairs (replaced motor, turbo and clutch). I had nearly spent everything I had on the car - broke student, so this was a big deal to me - my dad reluctantly lent me the money. Car would be worthless without a motor, and I'd just dumped $14K into buying it in the first place. Had little choice.

Over the next 3 months I'd be on the tow truck another 6 times, no joke. Ignition control module went. Busted CV joint left me unable to steer on the 401 - very scary. Rear wheel bearing went and my rear hub was super hot.

Honestly, I remember being absolutely distraught once after my car broke down on the 401 by Trafalgar for the THIRD time. LOL, even the tow truck driver felt sorry for me after seeing me so many times. I had no idea it could be so bad...almost $9K spent in repairs after only 3 months of ownership. Unbelievable. I was broke out of my mind, midterm exams were coming up, and driving to work to earn a few hundred bucks a month had cost me $9,000 in repairs. I was flopping on my work projects, and flopping at school. The stress was unbearable, and I had no idea what to do.

Anyhow, it's been 3 years now, and the car has since seen all wheel bearings replaced, 3 CV joints replaced, the rear brakes completely rebuilt, new APR exhaust/downpipe. A lot of the damage came from my inability to upkeep the car because I was so broke from all of the initial repairs. Downward spiral.

My friends think I'm cursed, but I think it was a combination of a lot of bad mistakes on my part and complete lack of judgement. Regardless, I drive the B7 around quite gingerly these days.

I don't know what I'm looking to get out of it. I think I'd be happy with $4K to 5K. I think the vehicle is worth that much...it just doesn't inspire much confidence from buyers right now. Honestly, the thought of letting it go for a few grand has occured to me. I work 60-70 hours a week, run a business, helping out with another business, I'm planning for a wedding, and I'll be handling my uncle's network administration for the next 2 months. I don't have time to sleep, much less worry about the B5.

Part of me has had it with this car...perhaps I should just suck it up, take a hit, and move on with my life.

I dunno. I'll sleep on it and react after the weekend.

B_S373N

Appreciated - I'd be quite happy if mine sold for $4-5K. Done deal, no questions...we'll see.

nanotech

I replaced it proactively after 4 years while trying to track down an electrical gremlin. Yours for free.

If you get it driveable, drive it down to IT and get an estimate on what it will take to get it saleable, not perfect. I know the temptation to just unload it as-is is great, but 4k as-is vs 7-8k in good condition is a lot of cash to leave on the table. Hell, I'd buy it now and fix it up myself if I had the garage space.

Anyways if you want the battery email me.

Tgr_Clw

Please change your sig pic. It's depressing.

amiro

who didn't think that German cars with high mileage (and I guess you wouldn't know the repair history on too well) wouldn't cost a lot to maintain? That's what the Japanese cars are for! =P

But for your Honda, you don't mean to say you spent $12,000 in mods on it in the first month of ownership that weren't covered? You mean you bought the car for $12k, but basically were driving around without insurance?

B_S373N

Hindsight - yeah, sticking with a used Japanese car would definitely have been the better idea.

Didn't spend $12K in mods - bought the car for $12K, modded, from a friend looking to ditch his car. I sold my stock Del Sol for a modified one. Insurance was a straightforward substitution - no paperwork required.

This is the other side to the theft story - I tried to get compensated for the modifications after the vehicle was stolen. I got greedy, and figured market value of the car + mods would equal a heck of a lot more than I paid for it. This mentality screwed me over big time.

The insurance adjuster told me to log all of my mods. And so I did. There were lots...I think only the trim and dash were stock on this car. I wrote everything down with glee, and was giddy at the thought that man, I could get $20K back for my car!

I didn't know jack about insurance, obviously. I didn't know much about anything, to be honest.

They called me back. "Sorry, you never told us about your modifications." I shrugged - "you never asked." This was the truth. I gave them the new VIN and well that was it. I was a kid, what the heck did I know about material information, claims and the lot? All I knew was I needed a policy number to get my damned ownership. Could care less about the details.

Then I learned about this thing called material misrepresentation. I failed to notify my insurers that the value of my car had changed. The car they had insured was not the vehicle I was driving, essentially.

"OK, that's fine," I said, a bit dejected. "So, what's the market value of my car?"

"Well, you're not getting anything back for your car. We're voiding your insurance policy, and refunding your first 2 months of payment. You misrepresented the facts about your vehicle."

I nearly fainted. "Well how the hell was I supposed to know that?" They had sent me a booklet when I first got insured which indeed had the details.

The rest is history. I gave it a fight, took it to the ombudsman who basically told me I was S.O.L. Onus is on the insured to keep the insurer apprised of key details.

I do think I was wronged, to a degree - wasn't procedure to send out forms or ask about mods during vehicle substitutions. But since my car was stolen on my first day working for a damned insurance company (irony of all ironies), I had plenty of time for my coworkers to tell me what a dumbass I was and why the hell I didn't ask any of them for help.

Mistakes compounded by more mistakes.

<b>That's just the beginning</b>. "Material misrepresentation" is still on my Autoplus record, which lasts for 5 years. This ding on my record has forced me to pay for facility insurance for 5 bloody years. I can't even tell you how much money I've lost there. Maybe $15K? I hate to think about it.

Losses sustained from stupid decisions involving cars over 5 years? $12K on the Del Sol, $15K? on facility insurance, $14K+12K in repairs for the B5 A4 minus whatever I can sell it for...

Lesson learned.

So yeah, be careful if you're driving a modified car. I'm not the only one that has been burned.