soon to own an a2

H

huytonman

Member
Hi everybody, in a mad moment this week I bought a 2004 1.6FSI SE with 34k miles on the clock. The mad aspect is that I dont need another car (!), I've got three already but I've had a hankering for either an A2 or (sorry about this) a gen 1 Honda Insight for quite a while (aluminium body etc..). The Honda was favourite initially but they are hard to find and seem to suffer with a lot of battery issues so the A2 took over and the car I bought had just come into a Lexus dealer last week as a trade-in so will arrive with a years warranty which should make it painless (ish) to own. Its currently in the workshop having a service and to have the cam belt inspected; as a guide, when I got to pick the car up should I look out for any known faults with the model?
My wife knows nothing about this so it will be a "nice" surprise for her! By the way I just had a quote to add the car to my Aviva insurance as a second car with my Boxster-S, even though its classified as having zero no claims bonus due to it being a "second car" they have assigned me 5 years and the additional premium for the year was £130...I havent had a car that cheap to insure for a while. So all in if all things go well the tax and insurance will be £260 for the year which has to be good value!
I'll be popping on here once the car arrives with some pics hopefully.
Cheers
Keith
 
Welcome to a2oc I'm also an fsi owner as well as a tdi or 2! Oops hope your wife loves the a2 and it would be great to see you at some socials throughout the year. Keep your eye on the socials thread I hope you see something that takes your fancy. We have a good strong social scene comprising of curry nights camping weekends car shows and the odd museum days. Give it a try you may like it
Cheers mike
 
If the cam belt hasen't been changed already then its due on age, its getting close for its second as i would only go 5 years if the milage hasen't been reached.

The other stuff (which they should pick up on) is ARB bushes and drop links


Welcome to the forum and soon ownership, any questions no matter how small post them on here(the forum) and someone should point you in the right direction on a fix and how to if thats needed

Cheers Phil
 
If I recall correctly the FSI is quite fussy about what sort of petrol you put in it, it will reward you if you give it BP Ultimate.

(I'm a TDI owner so I don't have any direct experience).
 
Thanks guys for the welcome - interestingly I asked about the cambelt and Audi have told them to inspect it for wear as a change isnt due until 80k miles with no age constraint - this doesnt feel right to me but you would think the manufacturer would know - what would it cost to have the belt changed?
And thanks for the fuel advice - i try to use BP Ultimate and similar higher octane fuels in all my cars and will do the same with the A2
Cheers Keith
 
Hi and welcome :)

There is a age limit it's every 5 years or every 70k whatever comes first is the concensus here. I did mine at 5 years at 17k. That's what Norwich Audi recommend and other dealers. It's also a good idear to replace the water pump at the same time. You have to remove the cam belt to do so and the plastic impelers have a habit of going after a new cam belt has been fitted.

I think you are looking around £350 Mark. A few member recently have had their cam belt go with large repair bills to go with it. In my personal opinion for the sake of £350 or so every 5 years it's not worth taking the risk.

As for fuel a lot of members here find that they get best results with tesco momentum.

Cheers

David
 
thanks for the advice on the belt and water pump guys, as you say it sounds like the advice the Lexus guys had was wrong in both cases i.e. 80k miles with no age limit (when it should have been 6 years) and now revised to 5 years - ive dropped a note to the Lexus dealer tonight and will keep you posted on their response. I am inclined to think that Lexus doesnt get its top customer rating by selling faulty goods and that they will do whats right prior to me taking delivery but now that i know the background Im well armed.
Cheers Keith
 
I should have said that the Lexus dealer is in Birmingham (near Fort Dunlop) and they spoke to their "local" Audi dealer when i enquired and asked about the cambelt - so its in that vicinity (a long way from where I live!).
cheers Keith
 
Quick update - following the inputs on here the dealer went back to audi who again re-stated that only an inspection was due (which is passed) ...so botom line after some discussion with the dealer they are now changing the timing belt, all the ancilliary belts and pulleys plus the water pump and obviously refilling with new antifreeze for £260 which is less than I got them to knock off the car at the beginning so I'm feeling reasonably happy with the outcome given that they have also serviced the car and put a new MOT on it. With luck..I should have some trouble free and relatively low cost motoring ahead of me..now the next hurdle is to tell the missus that Ive bought another car! Words like ikonic, futuristic will have to be used...but she will still see through me!
Thanks again chaps
 
Sounds a good deal. By "pulleys" I hope they mean "tensioners" as per ULP's post

Wishing you many happy years of A2 ownership
 
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