GeoS4V8

I've got 41,000 miles on our 2001 allroad. Took it in for 40K service and looked at the '04s as well as the Cayenne S. Looking to stay with a warranty. Then I started talking to the Audi Certified sales guy. He said he could certify our allroad for the cost to certify it ~$1,500 plus an extra $250 for their time, paperwork etc. He did say it isn't something they do often but will do it for their "good" customers. I think he said it would give me 2 years 100,000 miles of Audi warranty. I made sure it was not a 3rd party warranty. So wondering if anyone here has had their car Certified. I need to get some additional info but I think they need to buy my car, certify it and sell it back to me, maybe not though. He made it seem like it was very easy to do and would even give us a loaner until it was complete. Does this seem like a good deal or should I look seriously consider an 04? Any help greatly appreciated.

zhmontana

I got my '01 certified, has been great. Catches are the certified warranty is not as great as the original warranty. $50 deductible, only covers ~$30/day rental car, if a visit is not a warranty part replacement, you pay for everything. I went in for an engine light, it threw codes for catalytic converter and instead of replacing the part, they reset the light and tried to get me to pay $300 (and pay for my focus rental car, wtf) to do it since no parts were replaced. I was livid and paid nothing, however I am still having trouble with that dealer regarding crediting my credit card for the $182 rental car for the ridiculous week it took them to fix nothing. (I am still jaded). Moral of the story: Avoid Niello audi like the plague... oh wait, moral was supposed to be that certified is pretty good, but nothing like new.

schnellmb

If I rememember reading from your posts before, your over in Cleveland...if I'm wrong, my bad. I know when we got our cars our sales guy at Stoddard said you can get an Audi Assured...they buy it back and sell it to you...but you have to pay sales tax again.

I thought Audi came out with an extended, and there are some good exteneded warrenties out there..I think paulroad has suggested some.

2tuŽbos1mission

The dealers over here are pretty good, when I had it they didn't even make me pay the deductible.

albe1

A used '01 allroad with 41k miles is worth around $28k. If you assume three years from now with 82k miles it be worth $15k, then you will have ridden this car down an additional $13k. Since it will apparently also cost you around $2k to have it certified, your total cost of ownership during the next three years, assuming all repair costs are fully covered under the certified warranty, will be $15k.

Let's say a new '04 allroad with audi loyalty and some negotiating costs around $44k. In three years with 41k miles, let's assume it will be worth $28k. You will ride this new car down $16k.

Is is worth $1k to drive a new car, with the manufacturer's new car warranty, roadside service, etc.? I personally thought so. Some may believe it's worth up to $5k to drive a new car (even if it's the same make/model as the one it replaced).

In the past, you would have had to factor in interest which would make a new, higher priced car more expensive to own than a lower priced car. However, with interest and lease rates down around 1%, interest is not a factor today. The same holds true even if you were to purchase the cars outright (with cash) because your opportunity cost of money (safe investment return) is presumably also down around 1%.

So, as I said, I purchased new, believing that my cost of ownership of the new versus my '01 used would be about the same. I recognize that this analysis assumes certain factors that may ultimately prove to be false (such as tomorrow's values, etc.).

Not many people consider the cost of a car as the depreciation during the intended ownership period. I do, as I tend to turn my cars over at least every 5 years.

jav

You pay tax on the payments you make during the lease. Then you pay tax on the amount you buy the car for later.

If you "trade a car in" when you purchase a new one, you only pay tax on the difference.