Hitman
Interesting-you still have to ask yourself many questions before you decide!.
Firstly, why the A2-will you be doing many miles, do you need a bigger car etc. I take it you must have answered these questions otherwise you wouldn't be looking at an A2!.
I would say that the younger you can get an A2, the better. Build quality appears to have improved each year, with the latest 2003 being the best so far-but I wont say 100% fault free because even these suffer faults. Buy the newest A2 you can afford.
I test drove both petrol and diesel before making my choice. I do around 13,000miles a year, so diesel may not really save me much money. I found the diesel to have more punch when you were on the move, but the noise did annoy me around town-where most of my driving is. Also I found you have to adapt your driving to the diesel power-it can be very on/off if you drive it like a petrol.
I found the petrol to be quieter and smoother for me around town.
Personal choice at the end of the day, but if you do go for the 2001, look through the forum and take note of every problem, and then you can check if the car suffers these.
Good luck.
Steve - 2003 1.4SE petrol, Silver, black/black interior
