Moving UP!

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scottishpinz

Member
I think my days of A2 ownership are numbered! The 1.6 FSI has blown its exhaust putting the engine management light on :( with it's MOT looming I have decided to trade it against a VW UP! Would have liked to see my A2 go to an enthusiast but time is running out.
 

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Of course the exhaust repair is cheaper, but I reckon the annual cost of running / ownership will be similar eventually turning to the UP!'s favour with the 60+ mpg petrol. I will know for sure when I sell the UP! and see what its worth then ;)
 
scottishpinz said:
Of course the exhaust repair is cheaper, but I reckon the annual cost of running / ownership will be similar eventually turning to the UP!'s favour with the 60+ mpg petrol. I will know for sure when I sell the UP! and see what its worth then ;)
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Trade it in for an A2 TDi 90. Do a remap and if you are lucky you can get it up to 118 Bhp (ish). Which compares nicely with the power of a normal 1.6 FSI. But with the advantages of lower road fund licence and day to day fuel usage costs. Simples.
Drew.
 
Sorry to hear you're parting ways with the A2.

I do have a little soft spot for the Up! it must be said, tho' I've not driven one. Will you comment on it when you've driven it? I'd be interested to read your opinion of it v the A2.
 
Looked at a A2 TDi the other day and have to say it was tatty looking. I think a good one would cost such, as to narrow the gap to the newer VW UP! so despite my love of the A2 reality is I need a modern little economy car and I can't afford the BMW i3

I'll be happy to feed back on here how the UP! is :)
 
The single biggest cost of car ownership is depreciation. A new UP! will depreciate in year one far more then the cost of sorting out your current car or even swapping to a decent TDi. I can't say an UP! doesn't appeal to me too however it would have to to be a used well specced bargain to tempt me out of an A2..... and even then I would be considering keeping teh A2 as a car for shows etc.
 
An Up was on my list too. I couldn't wait for the GT version though. Which I would still chop the bug in for I think if it ever materialists in the concept form. We have the A2 instead which I think was a fantastic choice.

Already manufactured, as cheap to tax, economical, cheap to buy, relatively. Can't go wrong with one really, as long as they are looked after, they will last a LONG time.
 
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Well test drive of the UP! was very favourable. It drives well and doesn't feel cramped inside (I'm 6'5") OK it is not a luxury car, but its funky in a VW restrained way and frankly nice and honest in it's presentation with all the essentials and none of the fancy frills you don't really need. For example the rear windows just clip open rather than wind down, the wing mirrors are manual adjust, stuff that worked on my first car 20 years ago and didn't actually need improved on.

Running costs: Residual value (after 3yrs) is expected to be around 48% meaning annual depreciation from list price £1900 a year, but I don't intend to pay list price, rather get a nearly new one that has taken the big hit on depreciation. I calculate an expected annual depreciation from start of my ownership at £1000 per year. My fuel bills should be halved, the tax is £0 and insurance is the same. It won't need MOT until it is 3 years old and it won't need major repair for those 3 years (warranty)

Yes, yes I will miss my A2, but it is a car, it has to perform a function, I have a 'show vehicle' (http://www.pinzgauer.4x4man.com/Pinzgauer.html) I need the assured reliability of something newer.
 
If you have an A2 and have the cambelt done with the "free MOT" for life promotion you cut some of the costs for the A2.
Are the quoted fuel burn figures for the UP! accurate? A 50% cut in fuel bills seems to me to be quite high. Is it achievable with passengers/load in the car?
Similarly other costs such as tyres are potentially higher if the UP! has larger wheels.

I would hate to try to work out the numbers but really can not see many cars beating the A2 significantly for versatility, rust resistance or cost to run (particularly the 1.2TDi) and this is even with my huge upcoming repair bill!
 
50% cut in fuel bills is not going to happen in the real world. That means a doubling of your mpg from say 35 to 70 or 40 to 80mpg....... I would expect at best a 50% improvement in fuel usage (say 40 to 60mpg if driven carefully) which is a potential 33% saving..... in reality I would expect an Up! to give low 50's so probably 25% saving on fuel.
 
Yes I really am expecting to double mpg! A2 FSI is averaging 34 mpg on 99ron fuel and I expect UP! Bluemotion to do 68 mpg on regular unleaded. Time will tell if this happens, but with the cheaper petrol it doesn't even need to achieve 68 mpg to win.

I really do appreciate all the pro A2 comments and I feel privileged to have owned one for a while.
 
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Enjoy the Up! They're good cars - see quite a lot of them around my way. Hope your A2 goes to a good home when you sell it.
 
You're really only averaging 34mpg in an FSi? I think there is more wrong with it than just a blown exhaust if that's the case. Mine returns 50 mpg without fail, and has done ever since I've owned it (8 years now).
 
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Don't get me wrong, I like the Up! a lot however as the post above suggests there is either something wrong with your a2 or you are driving in heavy traffic all the time. I hope I am wrong but 68mpg overall mpg is not a real world mpg. Other than that good luck with the Up!, they are great cars but lack that 'special' feel of an A2 such I doubt there will be quite the same following and enthusiasm A2's have.

Edit: Honest John suggests the real world mpg of an Up! as 86% of the manufacturers claimed figures of 60-68.9mpg..... so expect high 50's at best and probably into the 40's if driving in congested traffic. Remember the manufacturers figures are obtained under optimum laboratory conditions and bear no relationship to driving in the real world.
 
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I checked on the UP! forum and like here some do manage to get the claimed figures. I guess I've been unlucky with my A2 and perhaps it has never run as it should but at least I'm not put off, just want something newer now.
 
The average on fuelly for the up is 50.9mpg. The figure for our 1.6 FSI is in my signature which is mostly my wife's peak time commute. On the open road the average is over 50.

If you are only achieving 34mpg in your A2 I think you'll do well to get 50mpg in the UP! especially if you work the engine harder to compensate for the lack of power compared to what you are used to.

TBH I think you just want something new and you have used 'man maths' to justify it which I can relate to. ;)
 
Well that's the A2 sold.

Looking back over my two year ownership it cost £1300 in repairs and servicing, depreciated by £2400 so cost £1850 to own each year. That + only getting 34 mpg and paying £145 tax sealed it's fate.

Now I know I was unlucky with repairs needed and perhaps some of those FSI engines run good without fault for ever, but mine wasn't and it cost too much. I hope for the sake of the new owner that I had the run of bad luck and once repaired proves to be a reliable wee car (as I hoped it would be)

I will post back my thoughts on the UP! after I've had it a while.
 
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