Buying one soon

Pan

Pan

Member
First post on here so hi to all:D I'm about to hand back my company car and want to replace it with an A2 TDI. I've done the reading but still need a few things clarifying. I like the idea of the 90bhp and the look of the bigger wheels but don't want the ride to be too harsh :confused: would I be better of buying the lesser model and having it chipped? My thinking is if I get a late car with low miles it will have had an easier life with its components being less stressed due to the lower power output. Would this result in a car that would be a good compromise of both, softer ride with decent performance? I've been advised to avoid the glass top's as they are expensive to repair if the mech fails, is this correct? I need to buy within the next month so would appriciate any help, advice or if anyone knows of a good one thats for sale.

Cheers,
Mark...
 
Regarding the ride, you should try out a test drive before buying so that you can get a feel for what this is about. Make sure that the test drive route includes some rough roads / sleeping policemen. The sport model with 17" wheels & sports suspension will produce the harshest ride, the base model with 15" wheels will produce the most comfortable ride. The ride can be improved by fitting 3rd party dampers at a cost of around £600, but big wheels will ALWAYS produce a harsh ride.

Regarding the panoramic roof - if the car is less than 10 years old, and has full audi service history, then you can get it fixed via Audi Worthing (would mean a long trip). Personally I'd prefer a broken (but watertight!) panoramic roof to a solid roof.

Try to give yourself as much time as possible to buy - a rushed purchase is usually a regretted purchase.

I'd also recommend the 75+remap over a 90.

It's worth talking to Murdo on the forum - he keeps an eagle eye out for all A2s.
 
The 90 doesn't automatically mean bigger wheels. both 75 and 90's were avialable in all trim levels. Otherwise totally agree with Mike, buy in haste, regret it at liesure and don't give of too many 'keen/desparate to buy' vibes to the seller.....
 
Thanks for the info, not going to buy the first one I come accross and will be keeping my cards close to my chest. I'm no stranger to buying vehicles but they usually have only 2 wheels! I can always hang on to the company car for a bit longer if needed and will happily travel for the right one. What is it that goes wrong with the panoramic roof?

Cheers,
Mark
 
Pan said:
Just another question :) does the A2 have a particulate filter?

Cheers,
Mark
Click to expand...

Nope. Additionally the 90 has a dual mass flywheel and the 75 does not (so another reason to go for the 75). Also remember that the cheap car tax band for 120g/co2 only started in spring 2001.
 
The open sky sunroof can break, if they judder quite badly when opening and closing that's usually a bad sign. Also a bad sign is if they don't track in a straight line, or close fully. The system of cogs cables and fairy dust that moves the panels is basically of poor design and a bit weak. However, the good news is that if the car is less than 10 years old and has a good Audi service history, it is now possible to get them replaced under warranty...

There are relatively few 90s compared to 75s - so if you restrict yourself to just 90s you are significantly limiting your pool of cars to choose from. Also in addition to the dual mass flywheel, the 90s have a Variable Nozzle Turbo which can coke up over time causing boost problems. The 75s don't have this...

The A2 diesels don't have Diesel Particulate Filters but they do have oxidising catalysts which do help reduce soot.

Good luck with your search!

Pan said:
Thanks for the info, not going to buy the first one I come accross and will be keeping my cards close to my chest. I'm no stranger to buying vehicles but they usually have only 2 wheels! I can always hang on to the company car for a bit longer if needed and will happily travel for the right one. What is it that goes wrong with the panoramic roof?

Cheers,
Mark
Click to expand...
 
As time goes on good, unabused and treasured A2's are becoming an increasingly rare commodity so decide on priorities such as climate, history, spec etc. If you don't need the roof (I do having a dog often in the car) then best avoided although a non working roof can still be an advantage for the light/appearance. Note! If the car doesn't have climate it doesn't have aircon whatever the vendor may claim!
 
Just interested in some views on my dilema, I've found 3 cars I'm interested in :

Car one is a 53 plate blue storm 100,000 miles with service history £5K

Car two is a 03 plate black SE, also 100,000 panoramic glass, leather, one owner full audi S/H £4.5K ono

Car three is a 55 plate metalic blue base model but with air con , 65,000 two owner & full audi S/H £5k ono and is local the others are a bit of a hike.

If I use my head then car three is the one but although its very nice it does look very basic without fogs & very weedy looking wheels. What else would it be missing compared to an SE?

Mark
 
If it was me I would defently go for no 3. The front fogs are hard to retro fit if you want them working, but if you want them for the look you can buy the cover and a set of lights and easy to fit. Cliveski told me about this one being broken. I think they want £70 for the fogs and casing. There is a good choice of wheels you can upgrade to as well. I think the MK1 TT wheels fit and the golf but there are people here with a lot more knowledge on wheels than me who will be able to help you.

Good luck with what you decide to go with.

Cheers

David
 
Do cars one and two have climate control (digital heater controls not rotary)?

If car two has climate, I'd say that's the one that I would go and see first as leather seats and OpenSky are a sought after, and rare combination, plus if you don't like the "weedy" look of the 15" wheels the SE has 16s as standard (although wheels are easily swapped)! I've never really seen the point of retrofitting in non-functioning fog lights, and actually although people seem to poo-poo the fogs on the A2, I have used them, in fog, and I'm still alive so they must have done something!

Are these all TDis I presume?

Have any of them actually had their cambelts changed? Even with a full Audi service history that's not a given.
 
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Personally I'd have picked car 2 (apart from the leather interior, which I don't like - too slippery!).

I'd look at a couple of them and make sure that the history looks good (regular services), even gaps around the doors, and so forth. Make sure the OpenSky works smoothly, and that the climate control works. Budget for a full service including cambelt, 4 tyres, ARB, etc. If you find that they've been done that's a bonus.

If the 15" tyres on car 3 are alloys then you'll probably be able to swap them for 16" alloys on the forum.

Normally I'd have suggested Mike Hill near Manchester (skipton01 on the forum) to take the car to once you've bought it to give it a thorough going over, but he's crazy-busy at the moment so might not be able to do it. If you travel further south, there is Stealth Racing in Warwickshire who look at a great number of A2s.
 
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Thanks for the input, they are all TDI's and have Climate control. All 3 have different benifits, I like the black bodykit on the Storm but not the blue middle section on the seats. I'm not too fussed on the open sky roof because of the complications if it goes wrong but do like the leather. I'm going to HPI them first so that may narrow the choice down.
As its going to replace my company car and needs to a goodun with a view to lasting me about 3 years. The 05 may be the best one for me as its the newest with the least miles/wear. I can always add things to bring it to SE spec, the big thing that cant be retro fitted is the climate ( would a base model norally have this? ), the wheels can be swapped once I've worn the tyres out ;o). Why are the fog lights so hard to add? Is the wiring not there, or is it the cutting of the bumper thats difficult? Anyone recommend a place to remap the ecu in the NW, or maybe a good (TUV aproved) plug-in?

Cheers,
Mark
 
Audi did a long running promotion for climate and metallic paint for something like £400 so that's why I have climate:) so I guess lots of people took up that offer. So I would say the base model one has quite likely got it.

Cheers

David
 
Note however that a lot of people mistake the analogue three-dial heater controls for air-con because it has the "ECON" button on it. If it's got dials, it's NOT got Aircon, simple as that, and I've seen plenty of A2s without!

Regarding retrofitting front fogs, Yes, they can be retro-fitted but like all things with A2 (apart from heated mirrors) there is no pre-wiring so it's a major. The cheapest bit would be replacing the headlight switch for the front-fogs enabled one - you pull it out one 'click' for front and two 'clicks' to add the rear.

Some people just install the fittings for cosmetic reasons, but personally I don't see the point of that.
 
It has a radio/cd player and definite climate, no dials in centre console but digital display and lots of buttons. So may well be a run out special, from the pictures I can see it doesn't have the chrome trim round the gear stick gator, internally what will it lack compared to an SE? Will the seats differ or is it only the fabric? I'm looking forward to owning one which ever car I go for.

I wanted one about 6 years back, at the time I owned a MK1 Golf convertible ( carb not GTi ) and used it to get to work every day for 4 years and loved it. One day I was driving to work, I was at the toll booth at the Mersey tunnel and in the next lane was an A2, both barriers opend at the same time and the A2 shot off, I didn't expect it and tried to catch it up. The tunnel is almost on the motorway and although I stayed right behind him he was still going for it and I dint have the speed to pass. We came off at the same junction and as I sat behind him at the roundabout read the badge, it was a TDI (red I), again he drove off like a man with a rocket up his poo shoot displaying very little in the way of body roll. TBH I had never taken any notice of them before but was very impressed, I did a little reading up and decided to look to buy one. Not long after I was promoted and got a company car, so never did but did keep the golf until it was damaged and written off :eek:(. Now the company offers only one car, a basic Astra with no extras and 24hr tracking that alerts them if you break the speed limit, accelerate too or brake too hard! No thanks, back to plan A(2) and they will pay me to use it for work.

Mark
 
The red I on the badge denoted the 90PS diesel version, they are quite surprisingly nippy and respond very well to remaps (120PS and bags of torque - too much for the clutch really!)...
 
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