The 2001 Audi S4 looked good in the photos. It also looked lowered.
I sent the owner eight questions.
How low was it? Who did the work? Did the tires rub the wheel wells? Did the car bottom out? What else had been changed? Were the wheels and tires still stock size?
Then the expensive questions. Did he have the maintenance records? Was he the original owner? Had the timing belt, pumps, tires, or other major parts been replaced? Why was he selling?
I also asked how he drove it. If the car was modified, I wanted to know whether the miles were mostly highway or whether it had been driven hard.
The thread kept going for weeks. We covered the keys, service records, navigation equipment, the old title, and a lien release. By early March I had the lien release but still needed the previous title to register the car.
That is enough to show the deal moved past casual interest. It is not a complete purchase file, so I am not filling in a price or final ownership history from memory.
I did not need a clever process. Start with what had changed from stock. Find out who did the work. Ask for records. Check the parts that cost real money when they fail. Then make sure the paperwork can actually transfer the car.
The S4 looked good. I wanted the answers before I wanted the keys.
By March, the missing old title was the last documented problem. A fast car was easy to want. Registering it still required the boring piece of paper.