Nervous A2 buyer!

[Kimota]

Hi,

New to the site, hello all. I'm here because i'm about to purchase an A2 (i've wanted one for ages), and am nervous as i've not bought many used cars. The price is right, £4k for an 02 FSI with 55k on the clock. All the paperwork checks out mileage wise, HPI clear and i've a copy of the V5 so I'll phone the previous owner tonight.

Things that are making me nervous; I'll be the fifth owner; on the test drive i went from 2nd to 1st (I was going for 3rd - bad driver?) three times; the off side rear door paintwork has a weird appearance, deep 5mm lines around the handle. They're not surface and you can't feel them; the engine had a light, all over covering of that chalky 'limescale' that you often see on older engines when things have got a bit hot; The '-' sign the climate control button has worn off (trivial?). Maybe they're all trivial I just don't want to get ripped off.

Looking forward to joining the club if this sale comes off. Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

All the best and thanks for your help,

Kimota.

[erstens]

This is too cheap! For less than 7k€ you don't get a uncrashed car or an 1.6FSi costs 8500€ minimum
So don't buy it, would say. 4 grand can't be real.

The climate contol button is normal on all cars 2002 or newer :( The softpaint rubbs off. The older cars don't have this soft-paint.

[ULP]

For less than 7k€ you don't get a uncrashed car

That's not strictly true - €7,000 is about £5,250 which, in the UK, would get a decent 1.4 petrol up to 2002 or an early diesel.

However, a 1.6FSI for £4,000 is below the market value. The number of owners is possible as the car is just over 5 years old and the first owner may have been a dealer using the car as a demo for 3 months - find out who the last owner was from the V5 document and give them a ring to find out why they sold.

Not sure on whether the FSI gearbox should feel vague, but I guess not - does 1st and 2nd not feel opposite each other and 3rd - 4th the same? Or, is there poor self-centring into neutral? The former could just been an adjustment of linkages, the latter probably more serious.

The engine warning light and your desciption of the deposits on the engine suggest a problem; the light can be coil packs (an FSI problem and £25 to DIY replace them), it would be worth insisting the vendor do a VAGCOM check.

Ultimately, if the vendor is willing to show you the car with a warning light illuminated then I'd be wary.

Not sure on the lines on the door without seeing them

You might have to compromise on an earlier 1.4 petrol, but I'd be looking for something a bit tidier.

[ULP]

Just to add, these two caught my eye at the money you are looking to pay:

This one looks especially nice - frankly it is a steal at the money. 2001 1.4SE:

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/AUDI+A2/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146,N-19-231-4294963571-4294966997/advert.action?R=200810304965589&distance=49&postcode=SG15+6RY&channel=CARS&make=AUDI&model=A2&min_pr=&max_pr=5000&max_mileage=

If you are happy with the 'basic' (all-be-it this one has the optional climate control), then for under £4,000 this has to be a stunner:

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/AUDI+A2/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146,N-19-231-4294963571-4294966997/advert.action?R=200809304617987&distance=36&postcode=SG15+6RY&channel=CARS&make=AUDI&model=A2&min_pr=&max_pr=5000&max_mileage=

[spike]

Hi Kimota, welcome to the A2oc
If its a metallic colour, the paintwork 'lines' could well be caused by the basecoat 'sagging' during a respray. This happened to my previous car, repaired in a VW bodyshop - the paint was smooth to the touch but the imperfections in the metallic basecoat caught the light and looked like ripples.
As everyone else is indicating, there are lots of signs this car has a dubious past so if your still tempted, have it professionally inspected and try and get a diagnostic scan done to check out the warning lamp and other possible faults.

Cheers Spike

[andyboy]

Sorry to be negative but i don't like the sound of this car, do a mileage check with "mot info" (on google), and definately a vagcom readout.
when i was looking i found quite a few dodgy A2's.

[Kimota]

Thanks for your responses. No warning lights are illuminated, not sure where that came from. Further to the note in my post I have now spoken to the previous owner who confirmed the mileage and said it was an A1 car when he PX'd it with the seller. He also said that they are genuine and that he'd had the brakes and cam belt sorted a couple of months before selling it (the receipts back this up). I've HPI'd it, checked all the previous MOT's on line (that's a good check that costs nothing btw), driven it on the m/way, the lines and panel gaps look good, spoken with a previous owner. Short of getting a mechanic check it i'm not sure what else I can do and am sorely tempted.

K.

[Skipton01]

Your last sentence is the important thing - get an inspection done (RAC, AA etc) as it can save expense in the future (see Drakey70 recent post).

If you do plump for it, all the best!

Cheers,

Mike