Information 10 year cost of running an A2 1.4 TDI SE

[Alan_uk]

I've had my A2 1.4 TDI SE for just over 10 years and have kept a long of costs etc. Hear is a summary:

<Deleted and update in post number #8>

Some things to note:

Costs are historic costs; therefore the average cost per mile is not at today's prices but a mix of historic costs.

Some items were non essential and are mostly under Enhancements plus the Extended Warranty under Insurance, and some might argue that the windscreen excess under Repairs should be discounted. These together come to £1,500 over 10 years. And some might argue the battery cost should be under servicing as it might be considered a consumable, especially if it lasts 10 years. And also the higher insurance due to the remap and other factors impacting the insurance cost.

So the only real repairs would be just a switch and the Arb, and not the associated drop links which still had life in them. The A2 is due for new shocks, springs & bump stops all round. I haven't costed this out but I guess £400-£500 including labour.

Short journeys like in 2012/13 really push up the cost per mile. I need to get out more

 

[ijedgar]

I had my first A2 1.4tdi for six years and like you kept a log of all expenditure.
When I sold it I had a tot up and was absolutely amazed to find that the total cost of ownership equated to £28 per week.
That even included the difference between the price I bought it for and the price I sold it for.
This was with full dealership servicing and no scrimping on anything that was needed.
These little cars are remarkable for many things,not least of all the cost of ownership.

 

[Alan_uk]

Yes, I've omitted depreciation - elephant in the room syndrome

I paid £10,800 for the vehicle when it was 9 months old (probably a drop of £7,000 from it's new retail price, though it was a dealer "demo" (in reality a staff car), so they wouldn't have paid retail prices.

What's it worth now if it was made ready for a sale? Let's grab an easy number: £3,800. So that's a depreciation of £7,000 over 10 years and another 50% on the £15,000 total running costs. So now £22,000 total = £2,200 pa = £42 pw = £6pd.

Total cost is now 36p/mile. By comparison, taxi fares are £2 (> 10 miles) to £5 (1 mile) per mile (and absolutely disgusting) and I've just been quoted £250 pw for a hire car (including CDW but excluding fuel) but that will be fairly new.

All this shows it's worth buying a vehicle 1 year old and keeping it a long time and looking after it. Quality aluminium cars like the A2 do look smart and modern even after 10 years of moderate use.

 

[Gonzo]

Whilst I don't keep stats like this, I'm a firm believer in buying quality and keeping for a while. Depreciation is the biggest ownership cost on newer cars and normally ignored. Many peeps I know who turn their cars over for a new one every 2/3 years make me laugh. "It's a really good deal, I couldn't refuse, it's cost me nothing". Only one person pays for depreciation and its not the dealer.

Our A2 was bought for £7200 in 2006 at 4 years old at 24k miles. It's now 13yo and has 65k on the clock, so 9 years on.

If we assume £2500 value now that's £522 per year or £43 per month in depreciation. Or 11.4p per mile. Depreciation alone, I haven't got the other costs.

My A6 I've had from new for 8 years. List was £33k assume the lease company (it was my co car before I bought it) got it for £28k. It's done 125k miles. Worth £5k max now. Thats £2875 pa or £239 pm!!!!! Although a more palatable 18p per mile.

However, ignoring the lease and younger years....I bought it for £9k at 75k miles so the sums are £1k pa depreciation or £80pm or 8p per mile. That's better.

Lesson to self.....avoid the first 4 years of a car's life. Obviously rose tinted by not looking at all other ownership costs!!!!

 

[ijedgar]

Mine was an 04 reg which I bought in 2008 for £4500 and after nearly six years daily use sold it on for £3500 which I think is one of the main contributing factors for keeping my costs down.
Definitely not into spending my hard earned on a new vehicle.I am not sure what the figure quoted was but I did hear that as soon as you drive off the forecourt you have already lost a shedload of cash.

 

[murdo]

Mine was an 04 reg which I bought in 2008 for £4500 and after nearly six years daily use sold it on for £3500 .

That's amazing. Almost unbelievable. In 2008 I bought our TDI 90 Sport with 46k miles on an 04 plate for 6750 and thought I'd snared a serious bargain. At the time similar cars were retailing through Audi for 9 grand.

What was the mileage and spec on your car and would you share how you came to secure such a bargain for interests sake?

Cheers.

Murdo

 

[ijedgar]

I bought the car in August `08 for £4650 with a mileage of 52826,a 1.4tdi se with fairly low spec.
It did have leather steering wheel,gear change and handbrake along with the mirrored sun visors with lights fitted and the false floor but no air con or other toys.
This lack of air con was the reason the car was not selling I think but to be honest I did not even notice when buying it that the car only had the standard heating controls.
It also needed the cam belt/water pump done and required a service which also did not help their cause as far as selling was concerned.
They were asking more but I had cash and it had been in the ads for a while so I went in hard and got a bargain as I did not mind getting the work done myself,in fact preferred it that way.
Put it straight in for the required works and reaped the benefits over the next few years.
I sold the car in March of last year for £3250 with 91300 on the clock and once again needing the cam belt/water pump replaced,it was no trouble to sell at all and the buyer was very happy with the car.
I had all the bills from the local Audi dealer for the ARB,drop links,brakes,servicing etc which I think helped with the sale.
I was going to go carless as I had just moved in residential at the school where I work & thought that I would be able to do without one and just hire a car on the odd occasion I needed to.
The first time of hiring to go to Devon proved that I was not going to be happy with that state of affairs,the car was late,dirty and the recorded bumps and dings were all in the wrong place then to cap it all they tried to overcharge me on return.
I was actually seriously thinking about buying a soft top (MX5,Alfa Spider,AudiTT)but couldn`t find anything suitable that would also fit the dog (boxer cross) and was very fortunate to spot an `05 1.4tdi se for sale at a Merc dealers in Exeter on the internet.
One owner plus supplying garage,48000 miles and very very clean.
I bought in sight unseen and they serviced it,put two new tyres on it,treated the upholstery and paintwork and delivered it to Hove all for the advertised sale price of £5495.
It doesn`t have the leather finishing to the steering wheel,handbrake and gear lever that my old one had or the mirrored and illuminated sun visors but it does have air con this time plus reversing sensors.
Had this one for a year now and just paid out for the dreaded cam belt and water pump along with the service (ouch) now looking forward to a few years of reliable and relatively cheap motoring as long as I can get rid of this hankering for a soft top.I`d blame a mid life crisis but I`m 63.If I do succumb I will put an ad on here first.
Now looking to replace the interior with leather to get back a bit more of that luxury feel and maybe get my ipod connection put in.
I have a feeling that this one will not end up as cheap to run as the last one with all this upgrade-itis.

 

[Alan_uk]

Updated 10 year costs

I've now had the suspension done at A2 Cars (stops, dampers & springs on all 4 corners + new bearings, bolts, nuts etc), Came to almost a £1,000 so the table below reflects this work. Notes in post no. 1 still apply.