Imola S4 2.7 *DIL 5170* - Buyer Beware

[CliveH]

Yes, another one...

ChrisS2 and I agonised over the title of this one, including :-

Another waste of time;
Another heap of $hite: and
What a *anker!

As Chris is busy, I thought it best to get this up now, in case anyone is considering going to view it over the weekend, and settled on the above title.

Once again - where to start...??

Well, the car is advertised on Pistonheads here : http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/195188.htm

What the picture doesn't show is the patchwork of variations of yellows, the most obvious one being that the bonnet is a completely different colour to the surrounding panels!

The claim in the advert that "The body work of the car is in excellent condition, and the black leather interiors' condition belies the cars age and mileage." can only be described as complete and utter bull$hit

The bodywork that hasn't been badly resprayed is littered with blisters and scratches. There are cracks and scratches in the rear bumper and spoiler which the owner claimed he didn't know were there.

The leather is well worn for a car with allegedly 117k miles (which we didnt bother verifying with Vagcom) and the interior was a tip.

The owner had not even bothered to wash or clean the car and the general condition can best be described as shabby - the pictures in the ad really don't do it justice!

The bodywork has clearly been subject to some fairly serious surgery, as evidenced by the poor respray work.

Hardly worth mentioning in the scheme of things, but there is a naff boost gauge fitted in a ridiculous place to the bottom right of the steering wheel, and the DVs are the original 710Cs.

The car can be found in Cardiff, Monmouth, or Bristol, depending on where the owner happens to be on the day.

Verdict : steer well clear of this heap!!

This is a factual and balanced account of our inspection - the fact that there are no positive points is because there are none.

No doubt Chris will add his 2p tomorrow if I have missed anything.

[shineydave]

i can feel the start of a small business venture coming on here Clive, lol.

S4 pre-sale inspections for the masses

actually it doesn't half make sense to take along someone who already has one for an informed opinion

[CliveH]

haha! and I'm not sure I'm the best person to take along for an "informed opinion" (especially as Chris knows his Audis inside out), but it wouldn't take a genius or a car mechanic to spot what's wrong with this one (not to mention what's hidden by the car's darker past), but I'm glad to share the information...

[CliveH]

it doesn't half make sense to take along someone who already has one for an informed opinion

Agreed. I wish I had - although in my naivety I was nevertheless very lucky...!

[doeboy]

Thats interesting, this car was on ebay a week or so after i bought my S4(14 days ago) , which has seen better days and i'm having to recifty, gearbox,clutch,flywheel and countless others.

Anyhow i called this seller as it was listed on ebay and he told me how immaculate it was! in the end it sold for £4.600 at which point i was kicking myself for my wife stopping me buying this "great example" and selling my red one. Well i did wonder why it was sold on ebay and 4 days later showed up on pistonheads. Sounds like everyone walks away!

Before i realised i could just about find an S4 for 5 grand i was looking at M3's, scoobys,skylines i clocked up over 1500's miles looking at various "A1" examples- bull, waste of time so i know what you mean! I bought one on ebay! 1998 impreza! it was falling apart when i got there, talk about neglected. 67K miles my arse! The dash had been subjected to a warewolf attack, the rubber on the pedals was 90% warn away i kid you not!

[QuantumJohn]

This is another case of my difficulty in understanding why some excellent examples seem to be difficult to sell - mine being a prime example!

John

[dazzer]

Clearly you are being biased Clive. A car cannot possibly be in the condition you describe and you must surely be in a state of denial. I am shocked and horrified that you should be so vitriol over an S4. I would personally sue you over such misrepresentation if it were my multi -coloured sex machine.

[CliveH]

Good one dazzer I confirm that I will accept service of any proceedings which may be brought in respect of this factual account...

Seriously, it was sad to see an S4 is such a sorry state, and so grossly misrepresented to potential enthusiasts.

[CliveH]

i called this seller as it was listed on ebay and he told me how immaculate it was!

Chris spoke to him too on several occasions and he gave him the same line about how immaculate it is (NOT!).

I omitted to mention that he also had the audacity to bid the price up from the asking price (over the phone), claiming that he had had better offers, including one from a local trader!

[MCB]

Are you sure you don't like it Clive

I have named you and Chris the 'S4 Authority' hope you don't mind. Name and shame!

[CliveH]

Yea, quite sure, Paul

Call us what you like - as I say, this one didn't require an Audi mastermind to spot the shed of the week...

[nickb834]

Aye - now don't be slagging mine off Clive, I've asked Chris loads of questions since I bought this one, so he knows what's wrong wi it

Just don't tell him the turbo's have been replaced by hairdryers

[ChrisS2]

Its RIL 5710, also the fact the car was bidded upto over 6k due to the MASSIVE interest. WHAT A W@NKER!!!!!!

The car was covered in rubbing compound, overspray and some corrosion patches, and as Clive says, a different shade of yellow bonnet. Oh and he didn't even bother to clean it, unfortunately another poor example of an S4.

His first comment when i was looking round was '' Hardly any marks on it is there?'' to which i didn't even comment. We didn't even bother to drive the car, after 10mins we walked away. He looked at us as if we were wasting his time, don't worry about our 4 hour drive down.

Bottom line, The guys is a and the car is RUBBISH!!

[ChrisS2]

No yours is fine Nick

Hairdryers eh, better get some bigger replacements then.

Cheers,

[ChrisS2]

Whoops, double post