Well hello all.....

I I've always been a fan of the A2 and upon trying one earlier in the year I decided to take a leap of faith. ...

So I have just purchased the following vehicle without even seeing it for £1200

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/121482008960?nav=SEARCH

I know it'll need the cambelt and water pump done but that's all I do know....

So before I go and pickup the vehicle on Wednesday what advice would you give me?

Thanks
 
Does the car have full service history and how many owners?
Personally,I dont think i would of jumped to it being a FSI unless there is some good history. Hopefully it has been looked after well enough, do listen out for any dodge sounds and make sure you give it a good test drive.

All the best, hopefully some fellow Fsi memebers will post soemthing more solid for you to go with.

Ps.check for the car undertray!!!
 
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Well the car has a service history up to 48,000 miles since 2010 so the mileage looks right...

Since then it's been serviced by a local mechanic but no stamps.

The car has just been thru the MOT and had a full service done on it plus brake pads and discs etc... So it seems to have been well looked after. The only thing I would definitely need to get done would be the cambelt and water pump...

Any ideas of a good indie servicer on the road between Blackpool/Liverpool/Holyhead?

Also is there a checklist of things to check on an A2 FSI?

Thanks to all for the comments
 
lol! the TDI owners always like to diss the FSI but I've had mine for 8 faultless years and would not swap it for an aluminium tractor for all the tea in China :D 50mpg and fast to enough to break all the speed limits, what more can you ask? I'm sure yours will bring you many years of pleasure. My only advice - min 98 RON petrol ALWAYS, but then I bet you know that already.
 
lol! the TDI owners always like to diss the FSI but I've had mine for 8 faultless years and would not swap it for an aluminium tractor for all the tea in China :D 50mpg and fast to enough to break all the speed limits, what more can you ask? I'm sure yours will bring you many years of pleasure. My only advice - min 98 RON petrol ALWAYS, but then I bet you know that already.


Im curious to know why only 98octane as Im one of those aluminum tractor owner ;) but only because of the amount I drive per year. On a other note i have been curious bout a FSI in the future but unfortunetly read too many issues that they bring, so with this in mind, why only 98, another thing to make sure it will run faultless?
 
lol! the TDI owners always like to diss the FSI but I've had mine for 8 faultless years and would not swap it for an aluminium tractor for all the tea in China :D 50mpg and fast to enough to break all the speed limits, what more can you ask? I'm sure yours will bring you many years of pleasure. My only advice - min 98 RON petrol ALWAYS, but then I bet you know that already.
.

Brilliant! Couldn't have put it better my self. I'm also an almost 8 year strong fsi owner! Can't fault it had it from 38000 miles now on 150000 and I still love it! And yes always super unleaded! Iv always used v power!
 
Without this becoming off topic etc, i have owned both TDI's and a FSI.

Both are great and have their good points. I loved the quietness, smoothness and lighter feeling of the FSI, but also loved the torque and low road tax of the TDI.

I just missed out on a nice FSI. Didnt act quick enough
 
The ECU is a bit fussy with the FSi and fuel quality - this was effectively 1st Generation FSi technology and owners tend to report an increase in "running issues" when on standard octane fuels - misfires, poor performance etc.

Im curious to know why only 98octane as Im one of those aluminum tractor owner ;) but only because of the amount I drive per year. On a other note i have been curious bout a FSI in the future but unfortunetly read too many issues that they bring, so with this in mind, why only 98, another thing to make sure it will run faultless?
 
Hi Mark

Welcome to the world of the A2 and the FSI

I hope you've found a good one, carry out a thorough road test and don't be afraid to walk away if the car's not as advertised. You're well within your rights to if it's got problems that haven't been declared.
 
All VAG FSI (Fuel Stratified Injection) engines are designed to be run on minimum 98 RON petrol. The engine runs on a very lean petrol/air mixture, but needs the "richer" higher octane petrol to operate at it's maximum potential and fuel efficiency. The technology is adapted from the AUDI R8 Le Mans race car of the late '90's.

The handbook for my A2 (printed 11/2003, page 304 technical data) clearly states the fuel to use as "Super Plus unleaded, 98 RON" and this is repeated on a sticker on the fuel filler flap. I'm certain that always using the correct fuel is why mine returns 50mpg without fail, and I suspect this is why I have had none of the engine problems mentioned on other posts on here.

In the UK and when in Europe I used to fill with Shell V-Power. Here in NZ, only BP do 98 RON but luckily my local petrol station is a BP. The price difference here between 98 and 95 RON (next lowest grade available) is currently 8c a litre (that's about 4p) - so a full 42ltr tank of 98 is only @ $3.40NZ / £1.70 more than a tank of 95. Any supposed saving from using the lower grade fuel is wiped out by less mpg and the potential for very high maintenance bills - it's a no brainer!
 
Interesting ..... have you got an extremely rare car in your Audi A2, there in New Zealand? Is there a full service network? What is the most common range of car(s)?

Hi David. Mike isn't online, so from memory of his old posts, this is the only A2 believed to be in NZ and he took it with him from blighty when he moved there.
 
Hi David. Mike isn't online, so from memory of his old posts, this is the only A2 believed to be in NZ and he took it with him from blighty when he moved there.

Good Morning (well it's morning here in NZ, being as we're 13 hours ahead of UK time).

Yes, I brought my colour storm with me from the UK when I emigrated in 2008 and yes the A2 is a very rare car here in NZ. Two 1.4 petrols (one navy and one black) were imported by the NZ AUDI distributor for assessment back in 2001. They decided they could not sell them at a high enough price to make it worthwhile importing them so there were no more sold officially. These two are still around. I also know of one other ex-UK personal import FSI - so that makes 4 known A2's in the whole of the country. I have lost count of the number of times I have been asked what my car is, and many people do not believe it's an AUDI at all.

NZ does have a number of VW/AUDI/SKODA dealerships (no SEAT in NZ) based in the major cities. Auckland actually has three different VW/AUDI dealerships and a couple of independent VAG specialists as well, so this area is quite well served for service/sales/parts. Mind you, I find it cheaper and easier to buy genuine parts from the UK and have them shipped, since AUDI NZ market themselves as a prestige marque with their parts prices & labour rates marked up accordingly!. With the exception of the A1, they only really sell high end S/RS or Q models here. You cannot buy a simple A3 SE 3dr for example. Total AUDI sales across NZ are only about 2,500 vehicles a year.

The most common cars sold new in NZ are the Holden Commodore & Ford Falcon in the large cars (but both are about to be binned as Holden & Ford close their Australian factories next year). The Suzuki Swift and the Toyota Corolla are the biggest sellers in the small and medium sector (and have been for years) and the second hand market is predominantly Japanese imports in all sorts of strange and wonderful Japanese Domestic Market models. Kiwi's also love their utes and big 4X4's. The Toyota Hi Lux/Land Cruiser range wins hands down here although the VW Amarok is surprisingly popular and the Great Wall/Foton/SSang-Yong utes are making inroads due to their bargain basement prices. Small petrol engines (ie below 1.6), diesel cars in any size and manual gearboxes in any vehicle are not common - kiwi's like their slushboxes and V8's!
 
And there was me thinking I was the only one mad enough to export my A2. I'll revise the claim in my signature to say, " probably the only RHD A2 outside of the UK in Europe" Perhaps? Hmm.

Quite rare here in Denmark. I've only seen about 10, of which one was an SE. They seem to favour the 1.2 tdi here. So I not only get people staring because of the car but also because I'm driving on the "wrong side."

Mike, how many days was your car at sea?
 
There are lots of A2's around Wakefield/Leeds/Harrogate. I see one most days if I am out driving, and to put that into perspective...how often do you see a 10-15 year old Volvo V40 these days...less often for me.
I own the FSI and it looks like the OP has bought a good one. I would check that there are no engine management lights on the dash (it should light up as a "check" before you start the engine...if it doesnt then its been disabled), the engine should idle smoothly when warm, many FSI's (mine included) have a slightly rough tickover. As has already been said, the FSI needs premium fuel. I use Tesco, Esso or Shell. Its false economy to run 95RON.
If car is running with no warning lights, drives straigh, brakes straight and has OK brakes and no accident damage then you have yourself a bargain. Welcome to the forum!!!
 
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