CARFAX can be so revealing...

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Sometimes I get bored and will look to see what used cars are available locally. Particularly, I often want to see what unique cars are out there since Oklahoma tends to be very downplayed and conservative about things (cars included).

I stumbled across what seems like a fair deal on a Audi A4 2.0t with 5MT, and then I googled the VIN to see if anything interesting came up. Well, a link for the CARFAX report popped up and the report from the initial owner seems to tell a story.

Ad: http://www.automaxok.com/2005-Audi-A4-20T-Oklahoma-City-OK/vd/11667513

Carfax: http://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory/p/Report.cfx?partner=DRI_0&vin=WAUAF68E35A432988

12/26/2006
Commonwealth Volkswagen Audi
Santa Ana, CA
714-973-7766
audidealer.com/commonwealth
Maintenance inspection completed
Coolant flange replaced
Cooling system checked

This definitely has to be one of those widespread engineering goofs since the car wasn't even 2 years old at this point. A google for "A4 coolant flange" shows this to be a common issue.


04/19/2007
Commonwealth Volkswagen Audi
Santa Ana, CA
714-973-7766
audidealer.com/commonwealth
Headlights adjusted
Headlight(s) replaced
Front bumper fascia replaced
Light bulb(s) replaced
Maintenance inspection completed
Fuel system cleaned/serviced
Engine/powertrain computer/module reprogrammed

Front end collision? CARFAX says no accidents or damage were reported. Definitely not something that would occur routinely.

07/13/2007
Commonwealth Volkswagen Audi
Santa Ana, CA
714-973-7766
audidealer.com/commonwealth
Interior trim repaired
Door lock(s) replaced/repaired
Maintenance inspection completed

Break in??!? Seems like it to me?


So as always, the dirt is in the details. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
 
Originally Posted By: Reddy45
I stumbled across what seems like a fair deal on a Audi A4 2.0t with 5MT,

A 2005 would actually be a 6-speed gearbox.

As for Carfax, they go by filed insurance claims or police reports. If these were not filed, they have no way of knowing if the car was in a collision or not.

It also looks like the rear badge is missing a "." between the "2" and the "0". Potentially the rear was also repainted and not put together right?
 
definitely looks fishy. i would avoid that vintage/age personally because of unreliability anyway.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Reddy45
I stumbled across what seems like a fair deal on a Audi A4 2.0t with 5MT,

A 2005 would actually be a 6-speed gearbox.

As for Carfax, they go by filed insurance claims or police reports. If these were not filed, they have no way of knowing if the car was in a collision or not.

It also looks like the rear badge is missing a "." between the "2" and the "0". Potentially the rear was also repainted and not put together right?


I thought that rear badge looked funny....
 
Actually the B6/B7 A4s are quite reliable. The S4 was a bit more iffy due to that monster V8 they crammed under the hood.
 
I personally like this one. Repo'd in Arkansas...

01/27/2010 53,253 Arkansas
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Little Rock, AR
Title #999410A4744 Title issued or updated
Vehicle repossessed
 
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
I personally like this one. Repo'd in Arkansas...

01/27/2010 53,253 Arkansas
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Little Rock, AR
Title #999410A4744 Title issued or updated
Vehicle repossessed


I completely missed that one!
 
Originally Posted By: Reddy45

I completely missed that one!


I LOL'd here at the office when I saw that one. The poor car was repo'd in of all places..... Arkansas.

If that poor car could talk...
wink.gif
 
I've bought a couple of repo cars from dealers.

They were out of state dealers, and therefore weren't going to process the title and paperwork for me. So I got this "cool" affadavit of reposession, power of attorney etc. Handing it into the DMV I was thinking, hope this works.
laugh.gif


And it did.
lol.gif


If I were buying from an in state dealer they'd have sent the papers in and I'd get a clean title in the mail in six weeks, oblivious.

Always ask to see the title. Sometimes the dealer has it in a vault somewhere, maybe the finance company has it or something. But ask to see it. Puts them on the defensive.
 
The 2.0T doesn't look anything like the one on the trunk of my brothers 06 a3.

Smells fishy...
 
Originally Posted By: typ901
I'm surprised that a 7 year old car failed an emissions test...


Ever have a VW product? Apparently not... j/k

Jokes aside, at least in NH all they do is an OBDII check to make sure all the readiness flags are set. Of course, if the check engine light is on it's an automatic fail. No sniffer required. My VW, after the initial 3 or 4 years, has had issues of one sort or another it seems. One year I just took the "fail" sticker so I could have another month to get the EGR system reworked.
 
Last edited:
You guys are way too hard on VAG cars. They are not unreliable at all.


Anyways, repossessed probably means it was neglected. Sorta like those foreclosed houses people trash before they leave.
 
It isn't that they are any more unreliable than other makes, though there have been some horrendously expensive problems with the recent diesel Passats and DSG gearboxes.

But VAG put forward the idea that they are bulletproof.
Well they are not and have had many really basic problems over the years.

Anybody remember the "kidney bean" in the clutch mechanism of the Golf mk2?

And the CVT fitted to non Quattro A4 and A6 has a really bad reputation in the UK, some fail within warranty but many more fail just outside and Audi UK say "sorry about it"
 
There is another issue with carfax.
My Expedition was ordered and bought by my brother brand new.
He had 1 bad coil, a seat heater and the CD changer replaced under warranty. Thats it nothing else, i had all the paper work.

I got the car from him with 60K on it 4 yrs old. I never took it to a dealer, period.

When i went to sell this car i had a friend at a local caddy dealer do a carfax for me. WOW what a surprise.
It had the transmission replaced, cylinder heads, multiple coils, rear shocks, windshield leak, multiple seat heaters and a bunch of other stuff.

How did this happen?
Easy carfax reports all the warranty repairs. Any idea how many phony warranty repairs are done?
In Mass some years ago one dealer was pinched. He had rented a space somewhere off site and had people in there full time filling in bogus warranty claims.

A lot of dealers pull this fraud this guy was an extreme case for sure but its a common enough practice.
Problem is the average owner will never know.
The problem with carfax as i see it is not with carfax itself, its a great idea but the information they receive.
Garbage in garbage out as they say.
 
Originally Posted By: dparm
You guys are way too hard on VAG cars. They are not unreliable at all.


My friend's wife (and the service manager at the dealer) would cheerfully strangle you for saying that! The warranty repairs on her A6 was something like eight PAGES! The car was a catastrophe for all things electrical. She put as many miles on service loaners as she did on her car.

She is very happy with her Charger R/T Road-Track.
 
What amazes me is that Carfax thinks the car is worth $600 over retail value based on the findings of their report. Why? I guess the average report for this year/model must be really bad to qualify for "average." Maybe it's the low miles? A newer three owner car that has had body parts replaced, locks replaced, interior parts replaced, and been repossessed doesn't sound like that much of a gem to me. Sounds like a typical lease return car that gets run through auctions a few times until it dies after a few renters at a buy here pay here lot.
 
I ran a Carfax on my car, and it doent show anything interesting except that it has had 5 owners. Every other time I pay for registration, it clocks a new owner for some reason I cant fathom.
 
Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: typ901
I'm surprised that a 7 year old car failed an emissions test...


Ever have a VW product? Apparently not... j/k

Jokes aside, at least in NH all they do is an OBDII check to make sure all the readiness flags are set. Of course, if the check engine light is on it's an automatic fail. No sniffer required. My VW, after the initial 3 or 4 years, has had issues of one sort or another it seems. One year I just took the "fail" sticker so I could have another month to get the EGR system reworked.


Had an '04 Cayenne S...-a lot of parts were labelled VW and that thing was a wallet draining machine. No more P-Cars for this household. Was not worth it.
 
Originally Posted By: typ901

Had an '04 Cayenne S...-a lot of parts were labelled VW and that thing was a wallet draining machine. No more P-Cars for this household. Was not worth it.

Cayenne is NOT a car, it is a CUV / "cute ute'..

Should have bought a Boxter, those things have been EXTREMELY RELIABLE.

Why anyone would buy a Porsche that isn't a sports car is a great mystery to me.
 
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