Posted this in the LS section, until I realized we have car chat area! I found my new place! I have a close friend in my neighborhood that has 4 cars. He just bought his wife a new jaguar convertible (which makes 5 cars). I got to talking with him yesterday and asked him if he ever sold his Porsche because he was looking to thin out his small collection. He said he hadn't but now he also has an extra Audi because he got his wife the jag. Long story short, I told him I was considering a convertible as a spare care and he offered the Audi to me. He said he normally wouldn't like selling a car to a friend, but this car is a no nonsense car that has been great. He is the original owner, bought brand new from the local Audi dealer. The car is a 2005 Red Audi A4 convertible 3.0 with sport package. Red with tan interior and 63,000 original miles. Only issue he tells me is that it has the very common glove box hinge issue, so it will need a new hinge. Quick research shows this is common issue and easy fix. Says he would sell it to me for $4500. What are your thoughts? Anyone have any experience with this era of Audi? Seem like a good deal. It appears he is selling it to me for under market value based on some research. All perspectives are welcome. I never take offense to any opinion. Thanks

 

I have a friend who had that generation A4 convertible and it was pretty good, he wound up having some fairly costly issue with the power top, but I think that was the only problem and it had well over 120k miles.

4500 bucks? I say buy it.

 

Sounds like a great buy. Really nice car, and loads of fun. Just be ready to throw it away when the inevitable happens. Inevitable things are REALLY expensive on Audi's and it will happen, maybe not for 40k miles, but it will happen. Every wonder why a wonderful, beautiful automobile like that becomes worthless when the warrantee runs out? But still, it probably has a lot more than $4500 dollars worth of grins left in it.

 

4500? That's good price for a fun convertible! Since you know the guy and he seems like a legit honest seller, I say go for it, you prob won't lose much when selling it after couple of years.

 

I was thinking of offering him $300 or $3500 just as a shot because he's a friend. I mean what's a $1K or so between friends right? Sounds like I won't get too hurt either way.

 

Risk is if $4,500 is already a great price then you might insult him by not recognizing that.

If he were my friend and neighbor I would pay him the $4,500.

 

Correct; suggest you don't dicker with a friend. Take it or pass.

 

Sounds like a great buy. The 3.0 is an Audi engine (some Audi's of that era had VW motors) and is dead-nuts reliable. And at 63,000 miles, it's been driven just enough to not have anything deteriorated from misuse.

 

What's $1,000 between friends? Almost a 25% price reduction. Trying to low-ball your friend is a good way to end up with one less friend. If the price is fair, I wouldn't do that. But that's just me.

 

I'm usually very cautious about recommending used cars to people, but, for $4500, seems like it's hard to go wrong. Don't plan on keeping it too long, though, as older Audis (in fact, anything upmarket-German) can become money-pits if major repairs are needed. Recent Audis have become quite reliable, but older ones can often be risky. With a convertible, though (and, if my memory is correct, that model was a soft-top, not a folding-hardtop), if the top has not already been replaced, that might have to be done, especially if you are getting leaks or a lot of wind noise with it up.

 

I was just kidding about the money between friends I agree it might be a good price. Do you all agree with KBB values? I looked up the value and the private party sale on the car is $4,162 fair and $4,564 for good condition. Went to look at the car today. Its alright, but it is a used car for sure. Not exactly what I expected but then again it is 12 years old. All 4 rims have large amounts of curb rash. Paint seems nice with one ding. Top seems newer. Inside needs a really good cleaning. Leather and trim is very very dirty. Headlights are cloudy. Glove box needs to be fixed or replaced when you open it the hinges are shot so it just falls off. Thing that scared me the worst is that when putting top down it got stuck half way and had to be put down and then up manually and reset and now is working fine. I would think this places the car is the Fair- good category....

 

Curb rash, of course, indicates carelessness in parking and/or driving or cornering too close to curbs. That could likely mean misaligned wheels (requiring an alignment) and, in significant cases, weakened wheel-bearings from the side-forces involved. Look at all four wheels carefully to make sure there are no cracks or other significant damage (besides the curb-rash). A cracked alloy wheel can be dangerous, and often has to be junked, although it is repairable, in some cases, on certain parts of the wheel-rim, if the crack is not too large. If the cloudy headlight-coverings are plastic (as most are these days) a good scratch-removing liquid (I personally like SCRATCH-OUT) or headlight-conditioner should help at least some.

 

The only issue with buying from a "friend" is WHEN (sounds like the Audi is in rough condition) anything major breaks, there will be a sour taste in your mouth. That friendship might not last long after that

 

If it's rough I would just pass vs trying to negotiate with him.

 

If you pick up an older German car, or Audi in this case, expect to pay a lot of money on upcoming repairs. And they WILL happen. Audis are built well enough to last the first four to five years, then things slowly start breaking. Often electrical. And it will be costly to fix. If you are okay with that, go for it. It sounds like a nice car (curb rash and cloudy headlights are all normal on just about every 12 year old car). But if you are going to be annoyed shelling out money a couple of times a year maintaining a German car, I'd pass. So what do you value? Reliability? Class? Making a statement with what you drive? Only you can decide that. Just know it will cost you money to own once it's in your hands. If you want trouble-free motoring with an older car, seek out an Asian brand.

As far as price, you shouldn't lowball a friend. Making an offer slightly less than what he is asking is fair though.