I'm thinking about buying a car long distance from them and was wondering if any of the Houston residents here had any experience with them. I talked to Rachel on the phone today and she seemed pleasant and straight forward with lots of details about the car I'm looking at potentially buying. Online reviews seem to be very positive, but maybe they just have a strong internet presence and create their own reviews, so figured I'd see what the gurus on texags had to say about them.

Most places on richmond are pretty shifty man

Can you be any more descriptive, I'm living out on the east coast now and don't know squat about Houston. You're kind of the houston autoboard specialist so if you tell me that places in that part of town are best to avoid, I'll kill a deal I'm working through right now.

The specific car I'm looking at is a blue 2017 Audi S6. I've talked with the owner about it and she seems like a nice older lady, but I guess she could be a mean older scammer just as easily.

Here's the car https://www.autoplazahouston.com/2017-Audi-S6/Used-Car/HOUSTON-TX/12631036/Details.aspx

One huge red flag that's come up already is that it pops up as being stolen, but according to the owner of the dealership she got it at auction in California from the bank after they repossessed it from the original owner who was fraudulently trying to claim the vehicle had been stolen.

Only thing keeping me interested at this point is that she's willing to let it go for 45,800 which would be a killer price on that car if all is as it seems. I've got a tentative pre-purchase inspection set up with Christian Brothers on Wednesday and then the car would be shipped out to me on the east coast if all is well.

Now that I type all this out, seems I should just walk away form this deal right?

Maybe it was only my dad that said if it's too good to be true....

Hey, check out this car I found on Cars.com: https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/786482513/overview?aff=share_other

I've bought several cars sight unseen but they were all CPO from dealerships. These gray market dealers on Richmond/Southwest Freeway buy most of their vehicles via auctions so they can be very YMMV. Personally, I would never purchase a car from them without my eyes on it with the help of a good mechanic much less from another state but only you can decide if the savings are worth it. Just know that there is zero chance of any remediation once they get your money.

Do dealerships not buy their used cars from auctions?

I've been browsing through lots of S6's and definitely saw that one in Austin as well, but I've been chasing the one in Houston down the rabbit hole first because it's cheaper. There are also two blue S6's near me in Atlanta but also more expensive than this one on Richmond.

My budget can extend past 50k, I just don't want to spend more than that.

There is also a really clean looking navy blue s6 at a houston area Carmax with only 25k miles on it. Only downside to going 2016 is that most of them are off factory warranty and don't have Apple Car Play/Android Auto.

I would have an Audi dealership look it over vs Christian brothers

drumboy said:

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Do dealerships not buy their used cars from auctions?

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I'm not in the car business so I certainly could be wrong but I believe most of the inventory at legit dealerships come from trade-in or off-lease vehicles. They may get these cars from their own inventory, sister/network dealerships, or auctions but these auctions are restricted to only franchised dealers associated with the manufacture.

Only cars that fail to sell at these closed auctions (e.g. high miles, questionable condition, sketchy title, etc) end up at open auctions where any licensed car dealer can bid on them which is where car lots like those on Richmond and Shepherd source their vehicles. Clearly these cars are not the most desirable for a variety of reasons and the price should reflect that. Ultimately it comes down to your risk appetite.

Quote:

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One huge red flag that's come up already is that it pops up as being stolen, but according to the owner of the dealership she got it at auction in California from the bank after they repossessed it from the original owner who was fraudulently trying to claim the vehicle had been stolen.

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I rest my case.

Seller: USAA Salvage
Primary Damage: MISSING/ALTERED VIN
Secondary Damage:MINOR DENT/SCRATCHES

Ho Lee Chit

1ags wins the inter webs yet again!

1 Million blue stars for 1Ags

This is why I posted here.

What are your plans for the turbos? Ditch it before warranty runs out? Hope the revised screen works?

Run!!!!!!

The plan is an extended warranty that covers the turbos. Audi is already covering 7 years 70k but I'll probably double up with another extended warranty as well just to make sure. Don't have the cash laying around to do random $13k repairs.

If the revised screen works and the turbos are no longer starved from oil and blowing up then it's a non-issue hopefully.