Prospective Buyer - advice please

B

brutto 76

Member
Sorry for the long post but I'm looking to change my petrol-guzzling Saab 9-5 for a TDi 90 A2 SE. It seems to be the only small 4-door diesel that can deliver the sort of quirkiness, individuality and quality that makes me happy. (Unlike the Saab which I hate with a passion.)

My plan is to wait for the Audi dealer network to come up with a very late, low-mileage, one owner, high-spec car in dolphin or black. This might be too big an ask I suppose but I'm a chicken when it comes to cars - I like having a warranty and peace of mind and I suppose I'm prepared to pay through the nose for it.

I would be grateful for some advice on a couple of topics:

1. SE v Sport - searching this site suggests that I will end up with a better ride/handling compromise if I start off with an SE and then deal with the suspension if necessary. Does this make sense or would I be better of starting with a sport?

2. I must end up with leather upholstery. Should I wait for a dealer car to come with leather or buy a good cloth car and have it re-upholstered. How much for this do you reckon?

3. Am I daft buying from an Audi dealer?

Many thanks in advance for any advice offered and please feel free to let me know of any cars about that might suit me.
 
Hello and welcome,

You've set yourself a very high target there - TDi 90 A2s don't come up for sale very often and certainly not in black or gray.

As for which spec, I'd go for Sport over SE, mainly because the seats are so much more supportive and most importantly, it comes with the full version of DIS, which is not cost effective to retrofit.

All the SE bits (leather trim, fogs and such) are relatively easy to put on, but you'll find most sports have some of the bits already.

As for leather upholstery, a re-trim will be about £800-1000 and although the results will be good, they won't be as good a fit as the factory originals.

As for dealer purchase, you're not mad. Indeed, it may be the best way to get hold of a 90PS model as they can search their stock for you. Yes, you'll pay a premium, but the peace of mind is probably worth it.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Thanks Mike and ULP. I've been thinking about the Grey 1.6 at Finchley Road. I talked to a sales person and she said they were getting it into the showroom today.

I'm tempted but I do fancy a diesel. Is there any area where the 1.6 petrol is better than the diesel?
 
brutto 76 said:
I'm tempted but I do fancy a diesel. Is there any area where the 1.6 petrol is better than the diesel?
Click to expand...
I'm biased obviously, but I really can't think of one.

The diesel is more frugal, as fast, more reliable (no coil packs!) and cheaper to run, tax and insure.

On paper, the FSi has 20PS more, but on the road this is simply not noticeable because of the turbo on the diesel and the diesel can also be tuned to produce significantly more power too.

Cheers,

Mike
 
It's ok, but nothing special.

Forget the "ABS, Alarm, Alloy wheels, Body coloured bumpers, Drivers airbag." business - they all have those.

Yes, it has leather and Bose, but that's it and it appears to have the false floor (a standard feature of the SE) missing too.

Cheers,

Mike
 
It might be my eyes playing tricks on me, but that particular example also does not seem to have the standard 16" SE wheels on - they look like 15" wheels from a different Audi to me...:confused:
 
You're right, they aren't standard SE wheels, but they are 16" wheels and were a no-cost option towards the end of the model life.

Part number 8Z0 601 025K Z17 - £227.60 each, as opposed to the £258.89 of the 'standard' SE wheel, which is 8Z0 601 025H Z17.

Both the same sizes and offsets though.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Thanks, my eyes were half right. Learn something new every day...'NCO' 16" wheels...:)

Brutto - You are right to aim for a TDI 90 and I personally would put leather and climate as required options, with a Bose stereo & sports seats a close second. Don't worry about other options such as OpenSky, better to then concentrate on finding a looked-after car with the right mileage. HTH
 
Very helpful ULP and MPG Lover - I'm opening up the search to 90 & 75 and Sport & SE. I'm going to drop leather as a "must have" to. I'd rather have the right car with cloth than the wrong one with leather.

I'm beginning to feel a bit of a leech here but if you have any thoughts on these I'd appreciate it. Moving from the Audi network seems to bring some lower mileage cars into it. Is clocking a problem with A2s?

The first one has the rear bench seat which might be handy. Apart from losing split/fold are there any other disadvantages. And I like the price.

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...ARS&make=&model=&min_pr=&max_pr=&max_mileage=
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...ARS&make=&model=&min_pr=&max_pr=&max_mileage=
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...ARS&make=&model=&min_pr=&max_pr=&max_mileage=
 
That looked a good one just like one I want next. Do you get full year warranty with those ones?
 
ULP said:
The Sport is Mauritius Blue and comes with no extras beyond climate. It is also the most ambitiously priced A2 I have seen for a long, long time; that's probably why it's been up for a while (3 months at least)

http://usedcars.audi.co.uk/carview.aspx?id=501649691#
Click to expand...

I viewed this one and rejected it on price and light-coloured interior. It was £12k then. The dealer has just dropped the price by £2k so I think I should reconsider. What do you reckon?
 
Last edited:
I've also looked at this low mileage (10k) Colour Storm as it is very close by. Minty mint condition. All the service and ownership details (just one guy in London) are in the glovebox. It has the 6 cd in-dash thingammy (Symphony) but no other extras I spotted. I don't mind the blue but I'm not keen on all the black bits but I think I'm being a bit daft.

http://www.carcraft.co.uk/CarDetail.aspx?carID=691233&categoryID=0

Interestingly, in the showroom, the sticker price is £11,995. Eek!

Will I find a better low-mileage car? (Preferably in the next couple of weeks.)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top