Use really shitty cellphone pictures and don’t bullet list the details. Otherwise, your post will automatically get flagged by the Craigslist bot within the hour, because it’ll think you’re a dealership selling in the private party section. Apparently, Craigslist currently has a problem with asshole dealerships listing cars as if they were selling them privately, which results in buyers getting a letter in the mail to pay taxes.

Super shady. Thanks dealerships.

I made the mistake of taking photos for this listing using my DLSR and properly listing all of the car’s positive and negative issues. And although my photos were mediocre, when paired with my initial post format, everything looked professional enough to trigger the bots—and possible Craigslist newbs—to flag my post. I made five variations of my listing, and all five times, it got taken down. But I was determined not to give up on Craigslist, so in a fit of rage, I went on a caps lock-cursing rampage and created a sarcastic, R-rated version.

Miraculously, that listing stayed up. My obnoxious ad even made it on Reddit.

Since Craigslist was proving a questionable place to list the Audi, I went ahead and posted it on other websites and Facebook groups, which was something I was going to do anyway. When listing a car, it’s always a good idea to post it on multiple sites and forums to expand your reach, or even open up the idea for a potential trade. The proper forum etiquette version of my ad went up on Zilvia.net and a few Los Angeles Nissan owner’s Facebook groups, since I’m currently active there.

Quickly, I came to conclusion that if I didn’t sell the car, I’d be content if I got a trade offer for a 300zx, another 240sx, or a Pathfinder. Hence the multiple listings on Nissan-related groups.

But within two days, I actually heard from a very interested potential buyer via the local Nissan BST Facebook group. He turned out to be a Hawthorne local, and within hours we met up at a plaza two miles from my place. He took the car for a spin and explained this would be a first car for his college-bound daughter, and how he details cars for a living. As we continued talking, as any good person should, I told him everything that was wrong with the Audi when I got it, and what had been fixed since. I was honest, straight to the point, and blunt.

Seriously, If you’re buying a car from someone who doesn’t tell you about the maintenance they’ve done and just runs their mouth about the positives, they’ve likely hiding something. So if you find yourself in that situation?  Run.

A few hours after the test drive, he gave me an offer for $2400. It was a few hundred dollars less than what I’d hoped for, but I figured I could live with it if he gave my other car a detail, and he agreed. We met up later that afternoon, he buffed my Lexus, and we signed all the paperwork. I was happy, he was happy.

After adding up the initial cost of the car and repairs, my total was around $1630. The Audi sold for $2400, making my total profit $770 in a mere three months. Fortunately, at the end of this, I can say yes, it did flip!

The post Will It Flip!? 2001 Audi A4 Quattro Part V: The Conclusion appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

Well since I foresaw a future where my daily driver will be out of my possession for a few weeks I had to ask myself, what is the most sensible thing to do? Borrow a car from a friend? Share a car with a family member? No. The answer is to buy a piece of shit off Craigslist for as cheap as you can of course! Which leads to the first installment of Will It Flip!?

But wait, I need to be smart about this. There are a few criteria’s I need to follow. My maximum budget for a temporary daily driver would be $1000, it has to be able to drive, and I can’t loose money on the resale. Which means no blown head gaskets! Here at the Factory, Adam likes to tell me that I have a bad habit of looking up cheap cars on craigslist on my free time. I thought it would be the perfect time to provoke this habit and see if I can make use of it. After about 10 minutes of coming up with this idea and 40 minutes of browsing craigslist. I found a mechanic’s special 2001 Audi A4 Quattro 1.8 liter Turbo for $800 about five miles from me.

Though this whole idea may sound bad, I was convinced that this might be a decent purchase being that this car usually sells for about $2500 in decent running condition. The ad mentions that it only has been through 2 owners and even provided the VIN number. I had a friend do a VIN check and the provided information provided stands correct. I felt a growing sense of trust here. The life of the car has predominately been in Texas and just made its way to Los Angeles last August. No rust. The seller even mentions that it needs ‘minor work’; the front lip fell off and was in the cabin, the rear windows wouldn’t roll up, it needs a new mass airflow sensor, and has some cosmetic wear and tear. Easy fixes. All things I can live with.

After feeling the engine on a quick test drive and a really hard-ball-no-haggle-price of $800 later, I became a proud new owner of an all wheel drive, four-cylinder turbo, sedan in boring beige. The car ran decent for the price. I felt content as I drove home. That was until literally a stop sign away from my driveway, the temperature needle was reading higher than Donald Trump’s nose and the car started smoking out of the hood. That damn bastard didn’t mention about an overheating problem.

I made it just in time to get to my garage. Whatever, it’s okay. I think I’ve done enough work on my car and friends’ cars to trust that I can get to the bottom of these problems. The next morning as I reinstalled the front lip, I noticed the Audi gave me a small gift. It peed a little green. A coolant leak it is!

I’ll be taking you along the process of repairing the car, polishing it up and ultimately finding out if I can break even, trade up, or even sell it for more. Follow me on this multi part journey of…Will It Flip!?

The post Will It Flip!? 2001 Audi A4 Quattro – Part I appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.