I was looking at Autotraders the other day and found an '03 Audi TT for sale. About a month ago I saw that ad on Craigslist and thought someone might have bought it since it's no longer there. I figured this AT ad was probably old (how come AT doesn't date their ads?), but I decided to e-mail the guy since the price of $8700 looked good for an '03. The mileage was very high though (138k), so that may explain the low price.

The ad states the car is "very clean inside and out," and the pictures seemed to confirm that. I asked the seller if there were any dents or scratches on the body, and he said that there is a very small ding on the driverside door otherwise body is sharp. When I asked about how noticeable the ding is he said he could send a pic of it. I asked if he could take a pic of the engine bay as well. Boy, I was shocked when I saw the engine. It was dirty, filthy. The car seemed very promising, but that dirty engine raises red flags for me. That and the fact that he spent over $5k to rebuild the transmission sometimes last year. Why would someone spend that much money in repairs and then sell the car? Darn, I was excited about checking it out but am no longer interested.

So would any of you consider a car that looks sharp on the outside but has a dirty engine?

Maintenance records?

Can you post the pictures?

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1984 300D, 228k, Light Ivory, Java MB-Tex

Depends on the results of the pre-purchase inspection.

People get fed up after making big repairs all the time. I would say at least 90% of engine bays in daily driver's look filthy.

A PPI on that car is a must.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

I don't think I'm even gonna bother inspecting it.

Here's the engine pic:

No offense, but that just gave me a good laugh. I was expecting some nasty looking engine bay. That is just a bit of dust.

Here's an example of a dirty engine:


And even that isn't too dirty by diesel standards. That engine is fine, though he could have wiped off the dust with a rag before taking the pictures.

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TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth

I agree, a dirty engine on a newer car just means no one bothered to clean it. If you don't see fluids, it's just housekeeping. If you're interested, have it inspected.

BTW, that 617 is grungy by any standards.

I can understand older an older car having a dirty engine, but most pics I've seen of later model car's engine bay area showed a clean engine. Even if it is just dust, a dirty engine gives the impression that the owner didn't really care for the car much.

I've never bothered cleaning dirt off of any of my engines. Just doesn't matter to me i guess. Once in a while I'll get all the leaves and crap out from under the hood.. 's about it. Still change oil/fluids regularly though of course.

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1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

I keep my old engines pretty clean, but I'm not sure what I would do with a newer car. I would be reluctant to use much water on the electronics. I guess I would dust it off if I was selling it.

I think you should go ahead with an inspection. Like the others said, it just looks a bit dusty. And, just dust isn't a bad thing, in some cases I think you might have more to be concerned about by an engine bay looking too clean.

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1984 300D, 228k, Light Ivory, Java MB-Tex

Where does the seller live? My engine gets that dusty from one trip to town.

Oil caked on would be a red flag. Dust would not slow me down. This fellow just does not know how to present a car for the best sale price. It might present an opportunity to buy a good car for a discount.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I wish the stuff I work on was that clean.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.