k2ar

I'm in the final stages of purchasing my first audi, and was wondering my options for a good warranty . Unfortunately, the car I'm interested in is not at a dealership, so I'm trying to get as close to a certified audi as possible. Any suggestions would be very helpful

2tuŽbos1mission

If it has under 50k miles on it, it is currently under warranty by Audi.

k2ar

correct, I was more interested in extended coverage past the 4/50

Rhoomba

... is only available through Audi dealers (and not all Audi dealers at that). Oestensibly, they go through the car using a very complete checklist, detailing along the way. If they find anything while they are working their way through the car, they decide whether or not it's worth it to rework to bring the car up to as-perfect-as-possible spec. Once the car is certified, it is entered into Audi's system as such and the coverage is extended.

Because of this process they go through, Certified cars are seen to command a premium over non-certified cars. Asking a dealer to certifiy an Audi usually invovles them hemming and hawing over a fee of something like 2,000 - 3,000 (which we all know is malarky). Basically, "certification" is a way for Audi (and other auto manufacture) dealers to get a bigger piece of the used car market, while allowing them to preserve some of their brand quality standards that might not otherwise be met by used cars.

All that being said, I still would have like to have purchased a 'certified' car (though I wasn't necessarily interested in shelling out the extra cheddar for the process).

I can rationalize this because I AM going to buy an extended warranty, which will grant me similar coverage for roughly 900 less than what the permiuim of certification would have cost. I would have preferred to have Audi's stamp of approval, rather than a 3rd party.

Just my $.02. YMMV.