Wagon Stoke

[twomartinis]

When I bought my first car, a 1981 Datsun 200SX 5spd, I was trying to finagle a way into this 75 or 76 911 that was for sale around the corner that was $1200 less (asking $2k!) but I couldn't get insurance for it. Being a 17 year old boy on Long Island made it literally impossible.

similar yarn - first car was an ‘85 5000s and the local euro shop was trying to upsell me a gold 944 turbo “upkeep is about the same but triple the chicks”


Sent from some smartphone by a dumbass

[BmillsSkier]

When I bought my first car, a 1981 Datsun 200SX 5spd, I was trying to finagle a way into this 75 or 76 911 that was for sale around the corner that was $1200 less (asking $2k!) but I couldn't get insurance for it. Being a 17 year old boy on Long Island made it literally impossible.

Ooof, what could have been!

Talk about ROI.

similar yarn - first car was an ‘85 5000s and the local euro shop was trying to upsell me a gold 944 turbo “upkeep is about the same but triple the chicks”


Sent from some smartphone by a dumbass

Their math pencils out.

[fatnslow]

Ooof, what could have been!

Talk about ROI.



Their math pencils out.

The gravity experience dictates that car wouldn't have made it to his house with missing engine/transmission/title.

[BmillsSkier]

The gravity experience dictates that car wouldn't have made it to his house with missing engine/transmission/title.

Minor details.

[fatnslow]

Minor details.

#mayorofgreasefireville

[Mustonen]

It stopped working.

The chain stretched and slipped. One tooth = check engine light and occasional loss of power and a lot of head scratching. Two teeth = barely enough power to get out of the driveway and to the little hole in the wall shop that would work on it.

^^^^^ Uuugh, I always read stuff like that on Audi's and their damn timing chains. I guess the solution is always be under warranty which gets pricey.

Audis are off my list for this very reason... well that and the fact I am too poe to afford one under warranty

We’ve put 100k on the worn out cams and the new chain and still that’s the only major service the car has needed. Broken spring. Some coils and plugs. Recall on a cooling fan. Brakes and rotors. Just normal stuff. Feels like it’d go another 50k easy if my son would take care of it and stop running into stuff.

[Mustonen]

Finally a few side by sides. Alarming how quickly a teenager can make a car shitty.

Swapped rear badges on mine. Debating if I want to put an A6 on there and the Quattro badge. Probably leave it like this for a bit. Need to swap the front rings though.

[wkd-rdr]

Cars that I would like to test drive:

[gravitylover]

The gravity experience dictates that car wouldn't have made it to his house with missing engine/transmission/title.

Nah man, this was 40+ years ago back when we still had mechanics in the circle of friends and family. Dad had a garage where I could fuck things up in a nice dry space... It was great

[BmillsSkier]

Finally a few side by sides. Alarming how quickly a teenager can make a car shitty.

Swapped rear badges on mine. Debating if I want to put an A6 on there and the Quattro badge. Probably leave it like this for a bit. Need to swap the front rings though.

Attachment 493412

Attachment 493413

Attachment 493414

Nice family photos.

[Djongo Unchained]

Ok, need some Audi advice...

A friend has a 1997 A6 Avant Quattro with ~ 190k on it.
He's about to donate it to an old car charity.
He'd sell it to me for a grand, maybe $500 if I tried to haggle.

It has a repair file over an inch thick as the original owners, an older couple, had everything looked at and or repaired. She was the driver.
It's had a few issues but always fixed apparently at the dealership.

It seems to go fine, not gutless but no speed racer either. I'd say 85% of the bells and whistles work.

Main concern is that it has a vacuum issue. Tech raised fault codes for secondary air on both tanks. It goes into more detail...

I'm wondering if I should grab it as a valley car; safe to drive close and not worry about beating it up some.

Any insight? What say ye mags?

[AdironRider]

Hard pass.

An Audi out of warranty is second only to a Land Rover out of warranty in terms of pain. Those 26 year old vacuum lines are on the tip of the iceberg in terms of problems you are going to have.

[BmillsSkier]

For $500 I'd say yes and enjoy it.

For $1,000 I'm going to pass because the first time something goes wrong and the repair cost is twice what you paid for the car, you're less likely to throw in the keys and walk away because for some reason $1,000 seems like something you need to justify as opposed to $500.

[skaredshtles]

For $500 I'd say yes and enjoy it.

That's what I was thinking... $500 for a "beater" A6 Avant seems like a decent deal. Hell - even if you only get a couple months out of it, it's not a terrible deal.

Just be prepared to toss it and eat the $500 if, you know, it immediately needs a timing belt or something.

[MontuckyFried]

For $500 I'd say yes and enjoy it.

That's where I'd be too. Give that baby one last hurrah and when it blows, it blows. You might luck out on the vacuum issue, but if you don't (and they CAN absolutely be a nightmare to figure out), then oh well. $500 is disposable car money. I'd prolly pass at $1000 tho. Who knows? You might be able to squeeze a couple more years out of it without too much trouble! If nothing else, it'll probably be TOTALLY fine to just putt around town.

[fatnslow]

If your handy and can wrench a bit $500 isn't much to lose for a potentially a fun beater. Idk if you have to pass any kind of emissions/obd 2 ready status in Wyoming but that can be a killer for a car like this.

[Djongo Unchained]

ok, so I can turn a wrench fosho and enjoy it.
Overall, the car has had a sweet maintenance record. All the usual suspects have been addressed up to this point.
Doesn't mean it won't tank asap but I'm not getting that vibe.

Very little experience with vacuum issues so a bit in the dark. Could discuss with the local mechanic, I suppose.

And no, WY doesn't give crap about emissions. I'm gonna borrow it for a day and get under it to see about rust. Been in JH for a lifetime so likely cleanish.

Thanks mags.

[Self Jupiter]

I’d check to see if a good part the front suspension has been rebuilt —- the control arms, CV boots, sway bars and bushings etc tend to go in those cars and replacing each part as it breaks can get real pricy/labor intensive

[fatnslow]

ok, so I can turn a wrench fosho and enjoy it.
Overall, the car has had a sweet maintenance record. All the usual suspects have been addressed up to this point.
Doesn't mean it won't tank asap but I'm not getting that vibe.

Very little experience with vacuum issues so a bit in the dark. Could discuss with the local mechanic, I suppose.

And no, WY doesn't give crap about emissions. I'm gonna borrow it for a day and get under it to see about rust. Been in JH for a lifetime so likely cleanish.

Thanks mags.

Buy that bitch for the price of a used pair of skis and rally the piss out of it. You can probably part it out for more when she decides to go south. Seriously at 200k all the usual suspects were handled and for $500 you can live with A LOT of things not being 100%.

[BmillsSkier]

I think what he's saying Djongo is, drive it like a Nissan Altima.

Sell what remains, if any.

[Mustonen]

Can’t you get money from metal scrap yards anymore for cars? Should be worth a few hundred bucks just to melt it down, no?

Flog the last of its life out of it, and then send it on proper.

[anotherVTskibum]

Buy that bitch for the price of a used pair of skis and rally the piss out of it. You can probably part it out for more when she decides to go south. Seriously at 200k all the usual suspects were handled and for $500 you can live with A LOT of things not being 100%.

I swear that my friends and my brother have both done far, far better than I have with beater cars using this approach. I'm an idiot and tried to fix stuff; they just kept going until they couldn't (well, aside from the time the brakes failed, and then he kept going because he couldn't stop).

If you can get it for $500 and Wyoming doesn't have safety inspections (which seems unlikely), I'd budget for a AAA membership if you didn't already have one and roll the dice.

[Djongo Unchained]

If you can get it for $500 and Wyoming doesn't have safety inspections (which seems unlikely), I'd budget for a AAA membership if you didn't already have one and roll the dice.

Wyoming requires no emissions, safety or vin checks.

[::: :::]

After a year in CO, the kid wants to switch from the C30. He found a “mom wagon” 08 xc70 w/ 3.2 straight 6 w/ 175k mi in our neighborhood for $1500. Neighbor seems more interested in seeing the car go to someone decent than capturing every dollar out of it. Finishes are in good condition, minor trim scratches. New Nokian Hakks on the car for some reason, but hey nice tires. A/C doesn’t work. Drive belt has some cracks & should likely be replaced. Parking brake spring is mangled & needs fixing.
Seemingly well cared for despite being that family’s college kid car & former mom car.
Any wisdom to share on this motor going past 200k? Any volvo systems to consider over time [ie, do things like timing belts come up every 100k mi?]
[not selling the C30…mrs ::: ::: will let her golf wagon go instead]

[MontuckyFried]

After a year in CO, the kid wants to switch from the C30. He found a “mom wagon” 08 xc70 w/ 3.2 straight 6 w/ 175k mi in our neighborhood for $1500. Neighbor seems more interested in seeing the car go to someone decent than capturing every dollar out of it. Finishes are in good condition, minor trim scratches. New Nokian Hakks on the car for some reason, but hey nice tires. A/C doesn’t work. Drive belt has some cracks & should likely be replaced. Parking brake spring is mangled & needs fixing.
Seemingly well cared for despite being that family’s college kid car & former mom car.
Any wisdom to share on this motor going past 200k? Any volvo systems to consider over time [ie, do things like timing belts come up every 100k mi?]
[not selling the C30…mrs ::: ::: will let her golf wagon go instead]

Hey HEY! That was my car. Well not THAT specific car, but an '08 XC70 3.2. The 3.2 is great, the AWD superb, and for $1500, it should be a great buy! Gotta lot of life left in it. I actually just saw our old one and it's nearing 250K and runs great. Just do routine oil changes and change the accessory belts ASAP (not a fun job). Good news is it has a timing chain, so no belt to worry about there! Mine had an electronic parking brake so not sure about any springs. Probably not too bad a job, though. I wouldn't sweat that. A/C did not work on mine either (which suuuuuuucked in South Texas) but since repair costs exceeded what the car was even worth, I just dealt with it. Would eventually cool down when on the highway so I lived with it. Not fun in stop and go traffic. But in your case, I'd say the price is right so go for it! Just tackle all the basic maintenance items and run 'er til she's done. The 3.2 SI6 is a fantastic engine. Not real powerful, but smooth and reliable. Spark plug/coil swaps are also about the easiest you'll ever do! Like a 10 minute job.

Glad you're keeping the C30! We still love ours. Such a fun little car.