New Member looking for advice please.

Hello.


We are looking for a second vehicle for the family.


Currently we have a Long Wheel base VW Transporter T4 Caravelle with 9 seats which is very practical for most of our needs. I have owned the T4 for 6 years now which is a very long time for me to own a car.


I have recently sold my Subaru Legacy 3.0 Spec B. and my Passat B6 2.0 TDI saloon


The legacy was brilliant to drive but averaged around 27 mpg and the road tax was £290 per year.
The Passat was almost up to 200,000 miles but still had good fuel economy for such a large car, 50+ mpg on a good run.


We feel that we need to cut back our spending so want one smaller car in the lower tax bracket which has good fuel economy, great economy and is a little different.


Having looked at some small cars they seem to have very little luggage space and very basic interiors. The prices are quite cheap though and for our budget of £4000 we can get a 5 year old supermini.


I am very interested in the Audi A2 TDI as it seems to have a bigger luggage area and is very economical.


They do seem quite expensive for a car that is at least 11 years old but are cheap to tax and insure. Hopefully the A2 will become a collectors item in the future.


What are the benefits of owning the 75 Bhp version as opposed to the 90 Bhp version?


Is one engine proven to be more reliable and easy to maintain than the other?



Thank You

Howdy and welcome to a friendly club. It is well documented that the 90bhp version may develop dual mass flywheel and variable turbo vane issues. However, mine and at least one other club member to my knowledge, have had no problems whatsover and our mileages range between 120,000 and 160,000 miles. I would choose either model which suits if they have a good service history and been looked after.

Ta
Dave

Hello and welcome. The 90 has a dual mass flywheel which will fail and need a replacement with a 600 -1000 pound bill. The turbo on the 90 can also fail as it has variable veins and this will need refurbished or replaced if it becomes faulty. So the 75 is more reliable - however as a 90 owner do I regret having one ? Nope !

Unless you have your heart set on a high spec car ( and are prepared to wait for one becoming available ) buy on history and condition as opposed to age and mileage. I'll link a couple of guides and helpful threads for you.

With a 4 grand budget the 19k mile 54 plate that's been discussed on the forums today is worth considering if it's as described.

good luck and good choice !

http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthread.php?4309-Buying-and-owning-an-A2

Welcome to the forum.

Is your heart sold on a TDI? The 3 pot diesel is a great engine; both the 75 and the 90 and there is the distinctive engine note that accompanies them. Fuel economy is good as is the tax bracket. Don't forget that the 75 can be remapped to over 100 bhp and still return good economy figures and without the dual mass flywheel or variable vane risks of the 90.

The 1.4 petrol might feel underpowered in some cases, but is a capable engine in a lightweight car. The FSI gives the best of both worlds; good economy and the best performance figures (on paper). In the real world the diesels have the edge, but the FSI is smooth, refined and will happily race to the redline. The downside is they too are expensive to fix once they go wrong; which they inevitably will.

If you want a round town car, the 1.4 petrol shouldn't be discounted (though tax is more). If your purchase is going to munch the miles or you prefer diesel torque then you are already on the right lines.

Murdo's advice on purchase is spot on; condition and history vice age and mileage every time.

You have a healthy budget; hope that you find an example which ticks your box.

I can only echo what murdo says above - go on history and condition above mileage, specification and, IMO, engine. The youngest of these cars is 11 years old, and the cars out there vary wildly in condition from what I've seen over the last couple of months! Our 1.4, while the lowest powered, never felt underpowered and was quite refined and economical.

Which reminds me, it also had a full tank of fuel when it was crashed as well

Thanks for the replies and the welcomes.


The reason we want a diesel A2 is down to the cheaper road tax.


The road tax for the A2 1.4 TDI costs @ £30 and for he A2 1.4 petrol costs @ £145 which is only £35 cheaper than the Passat 2.0 diesel or a BMW 2.0 diesel.


The £115 we save each year on road tax will still buy quite a lot of fuel ( at the moment ).



Glad that someone mentioned that a Remap can produce @ 100 BHP from the original 75 BHP engine.

We have done a few modifications to our VW T4 over the years, including a Remap and the power went from 88 BHP to over 120 BHP and we found that the increase in torque made for much easier driving.



By the way, did they ever make an A2 with automatic transmission?



Thanks Again.

The 1.2 TDI came with auto transmission. It was sold in Europe and not many found there way to Blighty, but there are one or two around. Harder to find though and so you would be holding out for much longer than opting for a standard manual box.

A remap makes a significant difference to the 75; increased torque and horse power makes for swifter in gear acceleration and overtaking and short shifting for increased economy. I also had the longer 5th gear fitted which increased fuel economy further. A2cars in MK offer a 6 speed conversion if that appeals and finances allow.

I have found a couple of nice A2's whilst browsing the internet this afternoon but for me, the colour spoils it.


They are both bright red and have covered @ 108,000 miles. One is an 04 reg and one is a 55 reg which must be near to the last registered A2's.


My father has a red 1998 VW T4 and it is literally 40 shades of red. The only rust to be found is on the wheel arches but the paintwork looks shocking even though it has been T Cut and polished.


Much prefer a nice Black or Silver colour.

The benefit of the 75bhp version is it will probably cost about half as much as the 90bhp to buy. The 90bhp was much later on in the A2's production run (Sept 2003 onwards) while the 75bhp was available from Sept 2000, so there's much more availability and a wider range of prices. Of course, there's condition and equipment to consider too.

Don't discount the petrol car. I have one, regularly get over 45 mpg and it Is really smooth and torquey ( for a small petrol engine) It seldom seems underpowered however I seldom carry passengers and I imagine that carrying an extra few people things could be different. Have fun looking and buy on condition and history rather than worry too much about year and reg plate.
I've only recently joined the club and found it to be really friendly and an invaluable source of help and information.
Kind regards Colin

Thanks but we have our hearts set on a diesel A2 rather than the petrol version.



I enquired about the low mileage 54 reg A2 that was referred to yesterday on this forum but couldn't get a reply from the seller.



Sadly it has been sold now. That A2 could have been ideal, especially in Silver but someone beat me to it.



Ah well , keep looking.

Howdy Ay 2 said:

Thanks but we have our hearts set on a diesel A2 rather than the petrol version.



I enquired about the low mileage 54 reg A2 that was referred to yesterday on this forum but couldn't get a reply from the seller.



Sadly it has been sold now. That A2 could have been ideal, especially in Silver but someone beat me to it.



Ah well , keep looking.

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You could try Rob@ wom automotive, they have a super spec tdi for sale still, but in Jaipur red, I love it but not to everyone's taste! Rob is a member on the forum too, a very decent guy!
Cheers Jeff

Thanks Jeff but we are trying to steer clear of red cars due to the problems we have had in the past. plus the A2 you mentioned, although very nice, is above our budget of £4000.



The only red car that we ever owned where the paint or lacquer did not fade or peel was a 1993 Volvo 940 estate. It would have been 9 years old when we bought it and the paintwork still looked like new when we sold it 3 years later
We bought a Ford Orion ( shame smiley ), brand new in 1985, the paint had faded and we were filling the wheel arches within two years as they had rotted through.

Father owns a 1998 VW T4 iwhich is 40 shades of red now even though we have T cut and polished it. May be worth a strip down and respray in a different colour in the future.


I can't think of a worse colour than red for fading but stand to be corrected.


We will continue to keep looking until the right one comes along then be very quick so as not to miss our chance.

Proud Owner of an Audi A2 1.4 SE TDI

Morning.


Finally managed to find a nice, seemingly well looked after and well serviced A2 1.4 TDI SE during the week.


She was by far the best one that I have viewed and driven thus far so yesterday I collected her. It was a 140 mile round trip but worth it. I have found over the years that distance shouldn't put you off viewing a potential purchase.


She is a standard SE model so no modifications yet, I was contemplating buying a modified A2 but decided to start with a standard one especially due to the increased insurance costs. Possibly buy a modified A2 later and let my son use the standard one.



I hope to post some more information and hopefully some photos later in the week, time and weather permitting.



Thanks again for the help everyone.

Morning everyone.



First chance I have had to take a quick photo of our recently acquired Audi A2 was at 07.30 this morning.


She needs a good wash and polish for starters as does her big sister although that camera angle does makes them look similar in size.


Too busy right now as wifey has control of proceedings today but hopefully I will get chance later this evening once we get home and the sun has disappeared from the front of the house.

Howdy Ay 2 said:

Morning everyone.
First chance I have had to take a quick photo of our recently acquired Audi A2 was at 07.30 this morning.
She needs a good wash and polish for starters as does her big sister although that camera angle does makes them look similar in size.
Too busy right now as wifey has control of proceedings today but hopefully I will get chance later this evening once we get home and the sun has disappeared from the front of the house.
View attachment 24424

Click to expand...

Excellent addition to the fold, looks good too!

Hi
Looks great! Was worth the wait and effort to find the right one.
Enjoy your new A2

Hilary

Thank You.

Is it a black one. Thought I could detect some green.

James

Sent from my STV100-4 using Tapatalk

Sorry.



No Greens allowed on our drive any more, just Black or Silver.




Going back a few years though we had these:-