[matthewb0051]

Thanks to all for their input. The results are in.

I spent days if not weeks looking at ads. I'm sure this goes without saying but Craigslist can be pretty hit or miss. The number of folks that do not respond to e-mail or text is astonishing. Likewise the same goes for folks that do not take down that ads after the vehicle is sold. I also wish CL would somehow eliminate or show on the results list that the cars have salvage titles so you would not have to waist time looking at them.

Based upon the suggesting I looked at Subaru, which I would have never done without this thread. I was always a day late on reply. Those things go very quickly, more than once I responded on the same day as the 1st posting but the car was gone.

I also responded to two ads that were SCAMS. I'm not that daft so no worries. However, you would have to be pretty thick to fall for the "my husband and son died in a car crash" and as a result "we are trying to move and just want this car gone" story. My grammar does not do justice to the e-mail I received that did not contain the requested photos.

At my price point, the pickings were pretty good but as you narrowed it down to quality the field was actually pretty narrow.

I probably put myself under an artificial time constraint, which resulted in the purchase:

2003 Audi A4 3.0 V6, non-Quattro. The car has 120k on the clock and was a 1 owner family car. We settled on a price of $2,000.

After getting it home I found a few minor issues but overall not too bad. The car needed the following attended to for state inspection:
- front brake pads (the PO was driving around with their kids on literally no front brake pads)
- 2 O2 sensors (causing CEL codes)
- 1 coolant temp sensor (causing CEL code)

I also replaced the following as a 'while you are in there':
- spark plugs
- air filter
- cabin air filter
- crankcase vent hose which connects to PCV (I broke this getting to the O2 and CTS above, it was very brittle)

I will also need to add 2 tires. The PO bought 2 new tires but neglected the other even though they could use it. The rub on this is he went with Michelin Premier A/S at $130 each rather than a good Kumho or Sumitomo for half that. Genius could have replaced all 4 at the price of 2 Michelins.

We are on the road now. The kid is happy. He and sister have named the car Heidi. And there is a hula girl on the front dash now (an homage to our time living in Hawaii).