DON'T buy a used car from LAUREL AUDI of WESTMONT (CHICAGO) !
It's a pretty car - Ian posing during the second day
of the trip.
Near Yellowstone National Park, stopped for a pee
break.
I found this car on the Internet. The body and interior looked gorgeous in the pictures, the Carfax report showed no issues, and the car had less than 70,000 miles on the odometer. In August 2009 I purchased this "one owner, non smoker, well maintained" 1991 Audi Coupe Quattro from Laurel Audi of Westmont (Chicago) after repeated verbal assurances that
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there were no problems with the vehicle
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it had been completely checked out by the Audi service department
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it had never been driven in winter
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it was "ready to go, there are no problems".
I even talked to one of their service writers by phone, and he assured me it was an "exceptionally clean used car". Since the car was being offered online by an (apparently) well respected luxury car dealer, I did not bring in a third party to perform a pre-purchase inspection. This was a SERIOUS error on my part!
My son Ian and I drove his "new car" home nearly 2200 miles. We did not quite explode and burn to a cinder. The underside of the car is a MESS!
I emailed the salesman AND the sales manager twice asking for a partial refund, and finally resorted to sending a Certified Letter with photos. There was no response whatsoever. Yes, the car was sold "As Is, no warranty". Yes, they lied there butts off about the mechanical condition of the car! ! I am facing many thousands of dollars in parts and labor to make the car safe to drive.
I later realized that the salesman at Laurel Audi was smart enough to not put any of his claims in writing. He always replied by telephone to answer my questions. Now there is no paper trail and I am pretty much screwed.
EDIT 12/03/09: Eventually my complaint trickled uphill far enough, and I received a call from the General Manager and we had a long talk. He told me that "they had never had a complaint like mine" and that they would be happy to buy the car back for the original purchase price. That was certainly something, but after over $3200 in parts and my own uncounted hours of labor, that was not acceptable. He naturally declined to buy it back for a higher price. He pretty much told me that it was an old used car and what did I expect? He did not agree that I had been deceived - he pretty much brushed off the main part of my complaint.
So, the final status is that I have a delightful car that is now safe and fun to drive, but one that is rusted to hell and back underneath.
I have filed a complaint with the BBB. I will post a note if anything comes of this......
EDIT 12/03/09: Nothing came of my BBB complaint, though I did finally get to see in writing that Laurel Audi's Service Department DID IN FACT INSPECT THIS CAR before putting it up for sale. After looking at the pictures, you can decide for yourself if you want to do business with these people.
PROBLEMS PROBLEMS PROBLEMS..... this car was supposed to be in great shape ;(
Major problem with the fuel lines - we started noticing a faint fuel smell on
the second day of our trip. The lines have rusted through due to contact with
the heat insulation! The high pressure line is dripping constantly.
Removing the insulation reveals a nasty dangerous mess. The nearby cat would
have ignited the car eventually. The closest line is the fuel pressure line.
This is a serious safety issue, the one fault that
REALLY pisses me off!
Detail showing how each line has rusted at the rubber hanger points. Any
mechanic would have seen this immediately if the car had been inspected!
Front view of engine bay - notice the secondary radiator to the left of the
center brace.
The secondary radiator is corroded through and useless. No leaks though!
The ZF power steering pump started squealing badly half way home and the smell of burned
rubber came into the cabin. We stopped in Sioux Falls, SD and the kind folks at a
tire store flushed the system, - here is a pic of the nasty, burned, varnishy
old fluid they got out. The pump quieted down, then failed after we reached
Spokane. I wonder if the steering rack and hydraulic "bomb" will fail next?
One rear diff seal leaks, and the filler plug did not look as if it had been
touched when the garage guy checked it in Wisconsin when the tires were being
balanced. One of the front axle shaft seals is leaking too (no pic).
RH outer tie rod end is kaput - the boot is torn and there is no lubricant left.
LH outer tie rod end - they make a pair! Time for replacement and an alignment.
How in the world was this missed during an inspection?
The exhaust hangers were sagging, allowing the rear pipe to contact the right
rear axle shaft. It's worn right through.
Here is the hole from the axle shaft.
The rear muffler is rusted and needs to be replaced. The entire system is pretty
nasty. One of the hangers broke off during removal.
Corrosion on the suspension parts
More rust. The emergency brake linkages are rusted and there was no sign of any
lube. The right caliper e-brake hangs up on occasion.
More rust
Ouch, the engine is a little bit corroded down there,
eh? Notice the green Prestone coolant in the drain pan - not the right stuff for
an Audi!
The front brake calipers dragged badly, and the right rear caliper also, due to
the emergency brake mechanism being bound up by rust. The rotors were running
HOT.
Detail of one of the front rotor covers - that would be real hard to miss in an inspection - NOT!
The front rotors are worn out.
The calipers are a rusty mess
Here is one of the rears showing the emergency brake mechanism, which is
essentially locked up.
The brake hose fittings are rusted out and the rubber is old and hard, so they will have
to be replaced.
Close up of the rust.
A couple of the fittings were frozen and had to be cut off. Time for new hard
lines....
The original engine breather is shown above the replacement hard line. The
"donkey dick" was soft and so deteriorated and gummy inside that it felt like
squeezing a ball of clay.
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Updated Jan 28, 2010 |