I have a counter offer from a Boston dealer on an Audi A6 for 24500.00 Carfax and mileage looks good. Should I buy? I have only til midnight Saturday night to decide. Please help!
What year, how many miles, are there any maintenance and repair records, can you take it to an independent mechanic familiar with that car for an analysis before purchase?
I am in Va. and I won’t have opportunity to take to a mechanic. It is a 2006 A6 with 17,000 mileage. There is a warranty on it til April 2010. It has been driven in New England weather a couple years. Has a 5 inch dent which is more cosmetic on left rear door. Looks good. carfax just shows regular maintenance. Thank you for your comment
Since this appears to be an internet car deal without a first hand inspection and involves having the sight-unseen car shipped to you, then I think you should be very nervous about this. Any used car should have a thorough inspection done by an outside party.
Given the fact they’re giving you until midnight Sat., it sounds like they’re applying pressure to you in hopes you’ll make a snap decision. And a snap decision should never be done when 5 grand is on the line much less 24 grand.
Keep in mind that Carfax can be inaccurate and eBay’s “Customer Protection” policies suck. Have a problem with a car purchase and you’ll find out the only one protected is eBay.
The car was likely sold in late '05. This means at 3.5 years of age it has been used very little. That may not mean anything or then again it might. Sitting at a body shop? Parked for a while due to floodwaters? Abused theft recovery? Who knows.
Speaking for myself, there is no way on Earth I would buy a car sight unseen except in a few very rare circumstances.
I think if you have an option on the car you can negotiate an independent inspection. If you are not able to do that that rule number 2 kicks in, if it looks too good to be true (especially on ebay as they tend to be for the most part a discriminating crowd) it probably is too good to be true, so there is something everyone else is seeing that you are missing.
thank you. I appreciate your insights and perspective