50pascals

Award for "simplest way to confirm" goes to you sir.

Also, The camber is not horribly off, and will not contribute to the vibration. But it will wear your tires funny.

For the car to have too much camber it means one or both of the upper control arms got "shorter" which somewhat agrees with the damage pictured.

Trying to compare parts side by side may be impossible. You are looking for a dimensional change of under 1/8". And it may have more to do with damaged rubber bushings than the control arms themselves. Also don't rule out that the inner control arm mounting points could be pushed-in as well.

To fix that "right" you need a frame machine. To fix that in a way that will work good forever you need to slot the holes with a die grinder.

BTW, I'm also a fan of Copart. I've bought 8 cars there now.

Baloo588

Yeah avoid "remanufactured" rims.

constantin_md

Mechanics are nuts in my area. A few of them quoted me over the phone $20-$50 range to rotate tires. I had to do it myself, but didn't have time to test the car yet. When removing the wheel all the control arms, tie rods bushings seemed fine.
If replacing upper control arms, can i change just one side or need to change both sides. I had my eye on upper ctontrol arm kit from 34motorsport for $180.

tenspeed

I would advise replacing both control arms unless one has obvious damage. Same for ball joints and tie rod ends. The only suspension component that wouldn't be changed in pairs would be a wheel bearing.

Before you start replacing parts, find out the root cause of the problem. The problem sounds like harmonics caused by the wheels or tires.

Nakedhoof

You might have saved a few dollars by buying a salvaged car, but you're going to end up paying for it with repairs, IMO. Penny wise, pound foolish.

constantin_md

I bought it for $14.2k + $1k fees and about $1.3k maintenance and cosmetic repairs. Options alone were $12.6k when the car was new .
Kelly blue book clean title is $35k now.


Pictures from auction:

constantin_md

Thank you! I'll do a test drive tomorrow with wheels rotated and maybe take it to a specialized frame repair shop after if problem persists. Those guys should know better than a mechanic shop.
I was a die hard bimmer fan before, but i quite enjoy the support on Audi forum, something i only experienced on e46 e90 older generations bmw forums.

KevinGary

I agree.

50pascals

I rather enjoy paying less than half price for cars.

Most of the auction cars I have bought had clean titles and needed almost nothing in repairs. In fact the last 2 cars I did *literally* nothing. My son has been driving one of them full time for a year. The last Impreza I bought had new brakes and tires all around. I paid $180 for the car.

But then again, I have use of a real shop, 5 lifts, etc. Cars are a lifelong hobby for me.

constantin_md

I switched the right front bent lip wheel in X pattern with rear and the vibration somewhat changed from front right to rear left. I did the other pair in X pattern and vibration added considerably to both left side front and rear. One of the wheel had a visual bent(out of round) on inner side. I can't believe the alignment and wheel shop didn't point this out, i spent there $150 for nothing.
So the cause vibration is confirmed - 2 or more bent wheels.

Thanks everyone!