A likely goodbye to A2 ownership from me also...

KekseKaempfer

A2OC Donor
This is quite a significant moment for me... My 1000th post is possibly one of the few remaining with me in an A2.

Recently, you will be aware that we had a bump. The bodyshop had a look today and said it 'may be written off' because of age and mileage.

So what to do? Buy it back.... Maybe that is a good idea.

But then we get this press release....

https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/unit...GB/the-bmw-group-uk-lower-emissions-allowance

£2000 for a catD A2 diesel, which has a number of issues. If this is do-able it is a no-brainer for us. Get the payout, buy back and trade.

I fear that this may be the tipping point, especially as my better half and I have been discussing an i3 for some time.

Time will tell I guess...
 
Hi Chris
Congratulations on one thousand posts!

Sorry to hear what has happened to your A2. If you decide on an i3, that will also be something special!

Good luck!
Hilary
 
Interesting offer, I guess it will come down to what they offer for the A2, I was looking at an i3 recently, and BMW were giving a £1500 Discount Off new price anyway. I would be suprised if they offer more than £1000 for any A2 but would be interesting to see how you get on.

i3 is a brilliant car though.
 
Noooooo, we will miss your shorts and Xmas socks in the Summer months if you had to get rid :(

Congrats on your 1000th post, shame it's a sad one.

I nearly had a head on with a woman who wasn't paying attention to the road and was speeding just the other day. There was no where for me to go so I just stopped and held my breath. Luckily she looked up from what she was doing as she did a 'Dukes of Hazard' style jump over the speed bump and pulled over to her side of the road just in time. I'm guessing that her mobile Facebook posting was more important than paying attention to driving 20 miles an hour past the school.
 
This is quite a significant moment for me... My 1000th post is possibly one of the few remaining with me in an A2.

Recently, you will be aware that we had a bump. The bodyshop had a look today and said it 'may be written off' because of age and mileage.

So what to do? Buy it back.... Maybe that is a good idea.

But then we get this press release....

https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/unit...GB/the-bmw-group-uk-lower-emissions-allowance

£2000 for a catD A2 diesel, which has a number of issues. If this is do-able it is a no-brainer for us. Get the payout, buy back and trade.

I fear that this may be the tipping point, especially as my better half and I have been discussing an i3 for some time.

Time will tell I guess...

I suspect like most schemes like this the same discount could be negotiated without the scheme, there are certain times of the month when a new car can be purchased at well under list price, you just have to pick the right time and the right dealer

Also remember that whatever new car you buy will loose a massive amount of its value the second you drive it out of the show room, this is not a great problem if you are keeping the car for the next 15 years, but if only keeping for say 3 years the depreciation is eye watering.
Now your A2 as lost everything that it ever will and if the insurance Co do write it off then buying it back and repairing a vehicle that you know well is a no brainer in my book

Cheers,
 
It's not all bad. I don't intend leaving here and will turn up at club events whether invited or not. It turns out that I talked to the repair guy today and he said it may be a write off if he had to repair a scratch on the body that would involve spraying the whole of the quarter panel (and a door?) bit overkill IMHO. So seeing as that scratch was already there, it's just a new bumper/arch and a paint job.

And as rightly pointed out, depreciation on a new car would be big. So I'm going 2nd hand. Sense has take over again.
Unless they do make me a good offer on the A2, it *WILL* be staying for at least a year, having just passed an MOT the week before last.

We'll take the beetle off the road for a year. I can put up with the whining gearbox, juddery brakes, (not the disks), broken glow plugs, etc etc.

So it isn't all doom and gloom.

Chris
 
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If you mean by going 2nd hand on an i3 I would do some careful homework. Already there is a big gap opening up between the first generation and the later 94ah version launched last Autumn, the real world range on the early cars seems to be around 60miles and later is around 100. Now it may not seem much if you only do a small mileage each day, but I understand in many people's minds the physiological difference is much more and I would bet that the older cars will depreciate even faster as more 94ah become availavable - currently the latest ones are up for not far off list price.

The revised i3 due next year is supposed to have the same range, but the speed that battery technology moves at could mean in a couple of years things have moved on even further and the early cars might be a bit like The old Betamax/VHS scenario.

I had a 95ah range extender on loan for 2 days and exhausted a full charge in 75 miles and a full tank of fuel only lasted 35 miles on REX, admittedly I did a fair bit of spirited driving, but nothing silly, it's just with all the performance on tap you get a buzz out of using it. If you want electric for maximum efficiency you may as well buy an e-Up and drive gently.

Anyway just my two penneth based on three months of careful consideration. I still get the itch to get an i3 but I look at the A2 on the drive and think that's £500pm sitting in my pocket instead.
 
I am localish to you so would be happy to help out with some of the niggles if I can? Good luck in whichever route you elect to go, I must confess I love my A2's (enough to justify getting a second one which in theory was for my daughter to learn to drive in). I am as happy driving then as my other car which is much newer and modern on paper. That said, the electric / plug in hybrid route is something that would suit the better half hugely for her 14 mile each way daily commute in and out of Bath. If electrics were more affordable to us it would win hands down.
 
I still get the itch to get an i3 but I look at the A2 on the drive and think that's £500pm sitting in my pocket instead.

Quite agree on the £500 sitting in ones pocket instead each month. In addition and a major plus, the A2 has beauty in it's timeless good looks, which is more than just skin deep. The BMW by comparison is just too fussy looking and like most BMW's will age very quickly, hence why personally i like Audi design which by and large ages so well.
 
We had a similar conversation in the house hold , A2 will require maintenance and repairs , this will increase as time passes ... buying a shining new i3 on a fix rate pcp will cost cir £450.00 per month , plus 1500 upfront , so the 1st year costs upwards of 6 k , 2 year 5.4 k 3 year 5.4 kw that upwards of 16k over 3 years which is a huge amount of repairs on a A2

Made my choice A2 and spend 3-4 k per year on looking after it ...
 
If your A2 is written off in a non-fault incident and the third party admits liability then their insurer is required to provide a settlement figure that allows you to purchase an equivalent car in the current market. If that applies to your situation, do your homework, look for equivalent spec cars from various sources and send them to their or your insurer to provide evidence of similar spec vehicles. Also worth referencing an article from I think Car Buyer where the A2 was listed as one of fifteen cars that are beginning to become sought after with values reflecting that.
 
Keeping an A2 on the road costs less than even a second hand i3. If you decide to think about buying an i3 then I would be more than happy to help advise. Early cars have a few well known faults related to a handful of parts. My i3 is one of the first in the country, so I have had pretty much every warranty job possible done to it (mainly pre-emptive). My i3Rex gets about 60-70 mile on a charge now, though on one day this winter when the temp was -5C the reported range dropped to just under 50miles. The BMW battery tech and managagement software/hardware is reportedly one of the best in the car industry, so the cells are holding up better than anyone expected. After putting 30k miles on our i3 in the first 18 months I have now started using a diesel Volvo for my big trips and work and keeping the i3 for local use as it's too nice to pile miles on!
 
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I'm going to be getting a 17 plate 33KW BEV. Early ones are too problematic (and out of warranty) and don't have the comfortable range I need.
Thanks for the offer of advice chb.
 
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