New owner in Gloucestershire with a modified 75 TDI

C

CLG

Member
Hello,

My name's Charlie & I've owned a modified 75 tdi for about a month now. I must admit I didn't realise I was buying a project ! ;))

First unexpected job: Repair to the gearbox mount. The metal bracket attached to the gearbox had broken the last remaining hole ! The other holes had no bolts. So from my research on this forum about the JDD conversion it is now fixed. A new Febi dog bone plus gearbox bracket repair and 2 bolts with spacers and locktight. I think 1 of the 2 had come loose and eventually the remaining bolt broke the bracket hole. I will post some photos and more details in the relevant forum section. A bit of a bodge from previous owners shall say...............

Second unexpected job : Drivers door check strap. I now know this is a common failure. Thanks to Paul ( depronman ) for supplying an improved reconditioned item. I can't stand replacing like for like when the original part is of poor quality in the first place !

I knew I was buying a modified car but wasn't too happy with the fact it has cheap coilovers fitted. I've had many modified VW's mainly T3 transporters/Caravelles and know enough about suspension mods etc. My A2 had the coilovers set to the lowest at the front. Looks nice in some peoples eyes, I'm not bothered about stationary looks, more interested in handling with ride comfort. This car didn't have ride comfort when I bought it !!! I've now adjusted the fronts up about 6 threads and now the dampers work. I honestly think at the lowest setting the dampers were struggling. I will talk about this in more detail in the relevant forum section. Perhaps another bodge from a previous owner ? The front roll bar is missing !!

I do have 1 BIG question for now....

Who are the best insurers for these cars ??

I had a shock today from mine. With no explanation of a high premium. I'm waiting to sell my old Caravelle and hoping to swap over next month. For now I have a temp 1 month policy. Fingers crossed I sell the Caravelle asap.

I really like the old forum format on a PC or laptop, it's like my old T3 forum.

I'll be back soon !

Charlie :)
 
Welcome to the forum
My Tdi 75 is insured with SAGA £175 a year. they are very good for over fifty's insurance, Surprisingly they charge me less for my CLK Petrol which the engine is 3 X the size of the A2.
Hope this helps,
 
I’m with Adrian Flux as I’m on an agreed value policy with both mods declared and business use. They’re pretty good but I wouldn’t call them cheap.

That said, when I had a minor prang recently I was impressed with their claim process and how swiftly and smoothly the interaction between them and the underwriter was.
 
dj_efk said:
I’m with Adrian Flux as I’m on an agreed value policy with both mods declared
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I was with AF for 5+ years with agreed value (AV) but decided to go elsewhere without AV*. The issue was they kept reducing the AV. Every year you have to provide photos. I would spend days getting it looking tip top. On the last renewal I documented all the sales on this forum showing considerably higher valuations but to no avail.

AV is not what you and AF agree but what solely AF agree with themselves!

* I was surprised to find that Sainsburys took modified cars. When they hiked their prices after many years of stable prices, I switched to LV= who again do modified. LV= £228 Fully Com, full NCB, Protected NC, excess £350, legal expenses, 2nd casual driver, 5K miles, domestic & pleasure use, aged 75, Wiltshire. Only negative is an extra £200 excess if I choose a garage that isn't on their list.
 
CLG said:
Second unexpected job : Drivers door check strap. I now know this is a common failure. Thanks to Paul ( depronman ) for supplying an improved reconditioned item. I can't stand replacing like for like when the original part is of poor quality in the first place !
Click to expand...
Welcome Charlie. Don't forget that Paul still expects you to grease the strap occasionally.
 
I have good experiences of LV insurance, and rather refreshingly you can speak to a human being. A rare and wondrous thing. I was with Saga for about ten years with an A3 1.9 Diesel sport, Bought my first A2 in 2019 and asked for a quote because said A3 had expired with a blown engine.
Back they came with a quote for £1750.00 for a 1.4 SE A2 BBY.

Wild horses would not have me purchasing anything from Saga ever again, and when their cruise brochures drop out of a magazine or newspaper, straight in the bin.

NB Clean license, excess of ten years no claims.

PS Sorry about the "rantette" and welcome to the club.
 
Thanks for the replies guys !

I've used Adrian Flux in the past for modified VWs and limited mileage etc. I've been using Herts who are now Sterling I believe. I think a call to AF next week is in order. I know about Agreed Value and not too bathered at this stage. I've got the next month to sort this out & fingers crossed I've got a guy coming to buy my T4 Caravelle today :)

Thanks for the reminder Alan_uk, I'll keep the check strap lubricated, it's metal on metal so needs it. Interesting to see newer model Audi check straps have plastic components !

I'll be back with more tech questions and issues etc.

:)
 
No idea if they like modified cars or not but when I was taking out a fresh policy on the A2 with no usable no claims available, I got a 5k a year policy including business use, for under £400 with a company called "Geoffrey Insurance" going through topcashback.co.uk so I think I will get £40 cashback on that too

10+ Years clean car license but no NCB to use as in use elsewhere, mid 30's driver
 
Welcome Charlie, I work in Wotton u edge down the road a bit but not far. Welcome to the club, look forward to photos and info on suspension. A common theme here is eibach springs and bikstein b4 for a nice ride With touch of lowerednes.
 
So I sold my T4 yesterday ! Yippee ! But I did get 47k miles of smiles in 3 trouble free years ! & with a longer 5th gear the best mpg from the 2.5 ltr 5 cylinder Tdi was 52mpg on a euro trip last year, not bad for an old van/caravelle. Just shows what gearing does, hence the reason for me buying an A2 with JDD conversion etc.

So Mekon88 your £400 per year policy with 5K limited mileage seems a bit high to me. I'm in my early 50's, 6 points but over 10 years no claims etc. Now the T4 is gone I will ring Sterling/Herts insurance and see what they can do swapping over to my old policy. I rated Adrian Flux years ago when I had little choice due to a highly modified T3 van & Jetta 16v ownership. I might even get a quote from AF before ringing my insurers, shame I've just wasted money on a temporary month for the A2. Sometimes in the past I've had post code issues with insurers, some years it's been OK then others not. I wouldn't have thought an old A2 was at high risk of theft etc ??

Hi CrispyEdd we might see each other around the roads of our shire ! I'll get some photos up soon of various things.

Whilst raising the front coilovers the other day I did notice the off side front brake flexi hose had been wedged into one of the metal tabs on the suspension strut. This had caused a bad kink in the brake hoses, propably caused by a certain direction of full lock. This then explained why the car would brake more on the left side when turning and braking into left corners at slow speeds. It felt almost like the front left caliper was binding. So after chatting with my local mechanic the answer was obvious ! The kinked right hose was worse on left turn lock and allowing more fluid to the front left caliper. A pair of Febi front hoses later and I have an A2 with near perfect brakes. I think the rear drums might come off soon for full inspection etc.
 
I too had a h reg jetta gti big bumper 16v with executive spec. 15bbsra alloys. Loved that car, one of only about 120 sold on that final year.
 
That's interesting CrispyEdd, so did my brother in Bristol, did you buy your's from Bristol by any chance ? I loved my Jetta, wasn't a high spec one like your's tho !
 
CLG said:
That's interesting CrispyEdd, so did my brother in Bristol, did you buy your's from Bristol by any chance ? I loved my Jetta, wasn't a high spec one like your's tho !
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I think I did yes or maybe cirencseter thinking about it. Lovely car.
 
Ami said:
Welcome to the forum
My Tdi 75 is insured with SAGA £175 a year. they are very good for over fifty's insurance, Surprisingly they charge me less for my CLK Petrol which the engine is 3 X the size of the A2.
Hope this helps,
Click to expand...
Exactly the same as me, my CLS was considerably cheaper than my A2 to insure...with 3ltr V6 in it...the merc that is not the A2!!!!
 
So after my short ownership of this great little car I have decided to sell it !

I'm 52 with 20 years no claims bonus and my insurers want over a grand from me ! I've just had a week of BS from them including hours on the phone and no reply to Web Portal messages. I'm done with them and my other camper van is with another company thank god.

So can anyone tell me how to list my car for sale on this forum please ?

Do I have to pay for a 1 time advert in the Market section ?

Thanks from 1 gutted new owner

😢
 
CLG said:
So can anyone tell me how to list my car for sale on this forum please ?

Do I have to pay for a 1 time advert in the Market section ?
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You will need to place an advert in the Cars section of the Market. However, you don't currently have Market access on your account.

To upgrade to access the Market, click on your username in the black menu bar, select Account Upgrades. There's a £2 payment via PayPal (handled by our Shop software which may also ask you to set up an account or log in as an existing one) and then you're done.

Under the Market rules, all adverts must state a price, just putting 'offers' is not sufficient and will result in the advert being unapproved from public display. Adding 'or near offer' etc. to a price is fine however.
 
I’ve had good results from Hagerty insuring a few A2s and a Landrover as a collection. Not sure what they’re like on a single vehicle
 
Over a grand, what? Somebody having a laugh punishing loyal customers ....

My insurance this current year is £123.08. I realise others factors come into play, I am retired, low miles per year, off road parking etc., yours will be different.

To state the obvious look at some comparison websites.

Andy
 
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