A2 ownership.

welshguy

Member
I'm currently looking into buying my first A2 :) but with only £6K to spend it'll be outside the dealer network. I want the newest car i can afford in SE spec or above (must have climate). A look on autotrader reveals that an 02 or 52 plate is about as far as my budget stretches.

I test drove an 04 1.4 sport at an audi dealer the other day but found it quite slow. It has the same engine as my lupo i'm guessing but the A2 weigh's 200kgs less so i was expecting it to be a bit faster. I dont know if it was because it was so quiet (i could'nt hear the engine tickover at traffic lights which was impressive) and it onlymakes any noise above 3000 revs where as my lupo is'nt so refined but it's not bad by any means.

I'l just get to thew point shall i! I've seen alot of 1.4's in my budget and a few of the later 1.6 fsi's. After doing an insurance quote on both (02 1.4 SE and 52 1.6 fsi sport) i was amazed that the 1.6 was £50 cheaper even though it's meant to be 2 insurance groups higher! the reg'n numbers i entered off cars for sale were correctly found by the database as well!

Which engine out of the two do owners prefer and have the least problems with. If i was to go for the fsi it would be one of the first one's off the production which may have more problems?

This is a car i have seen which i like but cannot go and see it until next week because the owner is on holiday. What you guys think about price and spec?

2002 52 plate A2 1.6fsi sport
49000 miles
One owner from new
Full Audi service history
Crystal Blue
CD
Climate
MOT and Tax Jan
Minor scratches apparently but nothing major.

Owner is emmigrating to australia which is why he's selling.
He wants £6650 for the car
This is too much for me but i would probably be able to go to £6300. Would this be a fair price ir too low?

Sorry for the essay!:)
Huw
 
Seems reasonable to me. Mine (I think) is the first year of production and the motor's fine. I paid a bit more than that albeit with fewer miles then. And it was from a (non-Audi) dealer.

From what others report on this forum, I'd definitely go for the FSi, although I've never driven a 1.4 petrol to be fair.
 
I think so to. I have'nt actually driven an fsi yet, but from what i've read it's a good engine and faster than the 1.4 which is good :D . I really like the look of the sport and the car i drove did'nt have a harsh ride (only drove it on motorway and dual carriageway though).

I'm more concerned about kerbing the alloys and paying for new tyres!

Out of intrest how much do sport owners pay for new tyres? I've also read that the sport aloys are prone to warping or buckling:confused: , but how many people have had this and how much does it cost to sort out?

Thanks
 
A2 ownership

To be honest mate, that seems a bit steep for a 52 plate. I paid £8000 for mine about 8 weeks ago on a 54 plate. That was also the 1.6 FSI Sport. But if your after a bit of advice I wouldn't recommend an Audi A2 at all. I know it is down to preference and a lot of people on the forums love there cars, but I couldn't wait to get rid of mine. They really are not nice to drive. They feel really sluggish and not very well built.
If you go through a lot of the other forums there are numerous posts about people having nothing but trouble with their cars. I haven't had any trouble yet, but i think it is only a matter of time. All I can advise is that you test drive one first. Kez.
 
my A2 is going soon and cant wait. had nothing but problems and I dont even want to drive it any more. cant wait to get into the new Polo Dune thats got lots on it even comes with 17" BBS alloys and I will be very surprised if they buckle like the A2 ones .
 
Just remember - not everyone has trouble - and you're more likely to see people post their issues rather than their joys with them on this forum.
 
Ben, you are quite right in what you say. its just a pity members dont post their joys about owning an A2 just doesnt seem to happen does it.
 
Typical Britishness really - always look on the negative side and always complaining - Aussies don't call us Whingeing Poms for nothing!

To start off the positives then, here goes:

Yes, I've had a fair few problems with my A2, but they've all been sorted out to my satisfaction by Audi BUT I wouldn't have any other car in the A2s class, so there! Oh and I'm on my second one now by the way, having loved my first one so much.

The A2 is a brilliant car - simply stunning. It carries more internally than most other cars, although it is smaller on the outside than most too. It sips the fuel, is cheap to insure and tax and is a very 'green' vehicle to boot. It won't rust like a steel car will and is great for having a bit of fun in when the mood takes you - it can outbrake virtually anything on the road this side of £30k and although not that quick, it's certainly no slouch either.

So there you go - hope that balances things out a bit.

Cheers,

Mike
 
I agree with what Mike say`s about everyone being negative about the A2 it is a great car far above the class of any rivals, I will most definatly be getting another one and wish I had got one a lot sooner and I have had eleven AUDI`S to one Welshman to another get an A2
 
I am also on my second A2, first one was a petrol, and why would I have bought another if I wasn't reasonably happy with the first one? Because the positive sides outweigh the negative sides off course. No car is perfect but the A2 is the closest one (for me) at the moment.
 
kezbed said:
They really are not nice to drive. They feel really sluggish and not very well built.
Not sure I can agree with this. Our TDI75 is definitely not sluggish - the way it pulls through the gears is so different from a normal economy car, whilst still giving 50+mpg. My other car is an AMG so I am not unused to performance...

For me, the style of the thing is the other main plus point!
 
Well I love mine. Shame your budget can't stretch to a TDi though. My 75 pulls like a good un in the real world mid range.
I've heard talk that the petrol 1.4 isn't that good an engine.
 
For our experience of Audi ownership see the Goodbye A2 section. Its departure was forced, not voluntary.

They are far from sluggish, to get a focus faster than a petrol 1.4 you have to buy a 1.8! the 1.6 is far slower. The 90hp 1.4 Diesel will in day to day traffic keep up with anything else you meet - same power to weight ratio as the 2.0TDI A6 and that was not considered sluggish (unless you compare it to the 4.2)

They seem slow to some because they are built like Audis and insulate you from the environment (wind and tyre noise) far better than the average small car.
 
I'm certainly not thinking of seling my Tdi yet.It goes quite well and surprises some people away from the lights. Touch wood my open sky is still working okay,engine barely uses any oil and the tyres have still got nearly 5mm left after 24kmiles. Had cruise control retro fitted by Mike, who did a very good job. If I don't get 58ish mpg I wonder why.

Malcolm.
 
Went to see the A2 today. What a wreck! It was described over the phone as being in excellent condition with a tiny mark on rear bumper. When i got there the first thing i noticed was the 17'' wheels. Every wheel was badly kerbed with two of the wheels missing chunks. One of the wheels had been hit that bad bits of the tyre were hanging off. Can't have been any good to the tracking,wheels,steering rack etc! The guy blamed it on used to living in a narrow road and parking next to kerb and all these wheels get badly kerbed! Dont think so! Saw two TT's on way home with same wheels and their owners obviously looked after their cars and did'n kerb the wheels.

Then i saw all the marks on the panels and a rear bumper not in it's proper place and then the interior, it didn't look like it had been cleaned since he'd bought it.The blue sports seats were black and badly marked.Dont know if they'd ever look good again.

Of course he blamed it on wear and tear and all cars are like that. I said to him mide wasn't and neither is anyone else's i know.

As you might have guessed i didn't buy it. Although it was a nice car on paper it needed to much spensing onit to get it clean. The other thing i wasn't happy with if the guy didn't give a monkeys about kerbing his sport wheels, dirty seats and other things he can't have looked after it very well!

He would'nt budge on price (£6250) and said he had someone coming from brighton to buy it. If i was them i would'nt bother!

The A2 search continues...:)
 
For info Welshguy, the 17" Sport wheels are prone to kerbing when fitted with standard size tyres (205??) as the alloy protrudes further than the rubber. Some tyres have a lot more rim protection than others tough.
Also, if they have been kerbed that badly, there is a chance that one or more of the alloys are buckled - a bit of a common problem for the 17"ers.

There are many threads on these wheels, just have a search around.

Having said all this, the guy sounds like he doesn't care too much about his A2, so you did the best thing in walking away.
 
welshguy

that bloke is full os shi*e!

I've done 108,000 in mine, no kerbs, seats look like new, and a 12mm long litte scrap on the real wheel arch, that some TW@ did in morrisons car park.

There are good ones to be found, regardless of mileages, please please buy a dirty diesel one, I've always been disappointed with the petrol ones.

bba
 
Back
Top