A2 Courtesy Car

Status
Not open for further replies.
F

FACtOR

Member
OH MY GOD! I can't beleive I have been missing out on so much comfort, dunno what that piece of tripe I have been driving around in 'cause its no A2. Just dropped my A2 off at HR Owen Audi (my local dealer) and picked up a courtesy car, i expected it to drive a bit better as it should not have had the faults my A2 had gone in to repair, but boy was I wrong. This A2 is a lot more solid on the road, it is literaly super glued to the floor and no roll at all or if some its minimal, the suspension is quite stiff and licks up bumps and pot holes. The steering does not make that awful electric sound when you turn it (not as noticable as on mine), the seats feel mroe solid (mine felt quite feeble), its gear were beautiful (no crunching into gears its was smooth and soft), no more excessive bloody revving (mine needs a lot of juice to get any real speed) in this one the power is there when you need it if you need it. It does not stall on hills its very beautiful holding the clutch on the hill and the revvs automatically increase to keep the car from juddering, The indicator does not switch off when you make literally as much as a hair turn of the wheel. All in all this car is much better. Boy when I go back if my car does not drive at least half as beautiful as this I will be pi**ed, do you guys know what I could do if it does not because I am not satisfied with how mine compares to this one at all this one is 100% better, I bought mine second hand from Audi aproximately 20 something days ago and its not been to fun to drive at all, I told the person in service all the faults I could remeber but driving this makes a million faults spring to mind, what should I do?


BTW The specs of the courtesy car is 1.4SE 2003 petrol, Blue satalite cloth interior, rubbish radio lol. Also the guy said it was given to them by audi literally 1 week ago (has 100 miles on the clock) yet it does not have the new wiper style which you guys go on about.

Audi A2 1.4SE 2001, Brilliant Silver, Rear electric windows and Panasonic MR555 (rubbish) stereo, 2 extra 13" 190watt speakers (plus the standard 8 from audi).
 
Factor,

I don’t know what to say apart from the fact that for moons I have droned on about the inconsistencies of production in the A2. I genuinely know how you feel because I have experienced the exact same sort of thing. For sure the subject in it’s self is most difficult to get to grips with, and so often I do wonder whether owners who express delight with their car might rapidly change their minds if they drove another vehicle of the same specification.

Perhaps where the matter gets even worse is when the likes of Steve (Runboy) have their car replaced (due to the number of problems), only then to establish that the replacement is no better. Moreover in his instance it would appear that the customer is only allowed one “major” complaint following which the owner is as good as told to shove off. Indeed I sometimes wonder if the attitude of the dealer & Audi UK is that the cars problems are the fault of the owner and nothing whatsoever to do with Audi.

Regards
John Disdale
 
FACToR - 20 days old? You can probably just return it within 30 days for a refund if you are not satisfied. That is what most main dealers offer nowadays. Get your old car back, inform the garage how you feel about your car compared to the courtesy car, and let them know that if your car does not drive as well, you will be returning it to them for a refund within 30 days.

Let us know how you get on - but don't sit around waiting for things to improve. The longer you take to make your mind up, the harder it will be to return your old car.
 
I didnt trade in my old Car I bought the A2 cash for the full amount £10,000. As regards to gettting your money back I think that that offer is only for the first 7-10 days surely not 30 days down the road[?]. I have to go back in 2 days to return the car and to collect mine as well I think so if its not running like the courtesy car or at least 50% of the courtesy car I will just say i am disatisfied and for them to look at it again, surely they will get annoyed and give me another new car :D. BTW does it matter if I bought the car 2nd hand from audi its 2001/X so I dont know if they will do anything with it[V]. Maybe you guys know?

Audi A2 1.4SE 2001, Brilliant Silver, Rear electric windows and Panasonic MR555 (rubbish) stereo, 2 extra 13" 190watt speakers (plus the standard 8 from audi).
 
My local Audi dealer will exchange a car within the first 30 days with no quibble if there is something wrong with it. Wrong colour doesn't work.

MartinW
 
[:p] Damn another devious [}:)] plan foiled again.

Audi A2 1.4SE 2001, Brilliant Silver, Rear electric windows and Panasonic MR555 (rubbish) stereo, 2 extra 13" 190watt speakers (plus the standard 8 from audi).
 
FACtOR

I can agree with you. I have had access to a number of A2 service cars over the past few months, and no 2 are the same. Thankfully most were worse than my original A2 on the interior front. My replacement A2, which still has faults, feels about the best of all A2's I've driven (so thats saying something). But the service from Robinsons Audi, Norwich, is still awful.

And it's true what JD has said-I was given a replacement A2 after my first was delivered to me with the front suspension packing still in place, and then when the dealer investigated a faulty FM radio reception the CC unit was damaged (cosmetically). This with a number of other general probelms promted the dealer to put me back in the position I should have been in from the start-a clean, fault-free A2.

Except the replacement isn't fault free-wheel bearing replaced, creaks from drivers seat, rear seat, knocking from the boot area, radio not working correctly, and the incorrect wiper fitted.

The dealer has been an hour and a half late picking up the car, and brought it back with none of the faults fixed (after whining that they couldn't bring the car back to me earlier than the pre-arranged time).

I've had no apology from them, and when I approached the subject of compensation for the huge amount of time and effort on my part, I was told I should be thankful I got a replacement A2.

So, in my opinion, and nobody else's, I wouldn't touch Robinsons Audi, Norwich, with vey long and pointy barge pole.

And as for the 2003 model and the wipers, it's because despite Audi advertising that the 2003 model A2 does have the new wiper design, they do not say that it's certain VIN ranges within the 2003 model range that have the wiper. And of course my 2003 is an early 2003, so doesn't have it. But, as a matter of great thanks to Robinsons Audi, Norwich, they will fit the correct wiper as a gesture of goodwill. When they get a delivery from Outer Mongolia, via camels and a small fishing boat into Harwich docks...

Not that I'm bitter of course...

Steve - 2003 1.4SE petrol, Silver, black/black interior
 
:( just calculated how long I have had my car, it worked out 33 days not the 20 something I thought, but I booked my car in for repairs some 2 weeks ago, which was well within the 30 days. Also since my car is a second hand car X reg 2001, would they even entertain replacing it, because the faults it has are very serious, the suspension or dampers (thats what I have narowed it down to at the front is making banging noices when going over bumps), the headlight, the gears, the clutch, need for excessive revs to get the car upto speed. They seem pretty major to me, how do you guys see these faults on a scale of importance?, and would they replace my car (I was under the impresion that it was sold as seen and they would only try and repair any faults I found post sale) am i right in this assumption or am I still elegable for a replacement vehicle.

The more i drive the courtesy one the more p**sed off I get with the damn LEMON :( HR Owen sold me.

Audi A2 1.4SE 2001, Brilliant Silver, Rear electric windows and Panasonic MR555 (rubbish) stereo, 2 extra 13" 190watt speakers (plus the standard 8 from audi).
 
If you are that unhappy, it is quite possible that HR Owen will reverse the deal - it should be easy if you did not have a px anyway. But speak to them asap - although they may know from this website anyway.
 
Oki will do, going to pick up my car today or tommorw (I will be quite astonished if its all done as they only allowed 2 days for them to do anything to it [?].)

Audi A2 1.4SE 2001, Brilliant Silver, Rear electric windows and Panasonic MR555 (rubbish) stereo, 2 extra 13" 190watt speakers (plus the standard 8 from audi).
 
If it's as bad as you say, I'm sure you have consumer rights to protect you. If you don't get any joy with the dealer, you could try ontacting What Car - they can sometimes help out.
You mention a thump from the front when you go over bumps. Mine did that when I got it - it was avtually the bonnet not fitting properly. Try pressing on the back corners of the bonnet - if it moves and makes a noise it could be that. The dealer can adjust the catches to stop the noise.

MartinW
 
Hi,

My A2 is from march this year and has 27000 km on it.

I have the same banging noise when hitting a bump, a courtesy a2 i've driven also had it. I think that is one of the perks of the A2, the light but very stiff chassis in combination with low onspring weight doesn't provide enough dampening.
IMHO it's not harmfull, it doesn't feel like a thump, it just sounds like it, I think that it's the noise from the suspension that is transmitted to the chassis.

Even when I drive over a pothole in the road with walkingspeed I still hear a load bang/thump...



Dennis de Held

Amulet Red 1.4 Tdi
 
:D Nope we were all wrong, its nothing to do witht he suspension well not directly at least, its the anti-roll bars, the links are broken lol (very safe eh.) and my brakes were worn 95% lol gotto love the way they sell you these cares, they replace the bulb in the headlight so no both work, they are still ordering the links for the roll bar and they also ordering clips for the doors, a new mechanism for the faulty mirrors. LoL it still drives like s*** though, the gear I can live with (goddamn that clutch is stiff) but the rest of the stuff needs to be remidied, also now the left side of the car is squeaking, lol its problem after problem with this car, stating to think if I would of been better off with a Honda Civic 1.4SE or a JaZZ 1.4Sport they cos the same money and I would of been getting them brand new.

Audi A2 1.4SE 2001, Brilliant Silver, Rear electric windows and Panasonic MR555 (rubbish) stereo, 2 extra 13" 190watt speakers (plus the standard 8 from audi).
 
Factor,

You really are not having a good time, and I think its time to put pen to paper if you have not already done so. Alas purchasing a used car is never the same as if it were brand new, but that said Audi dealers wallow in their advertising claims of how well their used cars are inspected before sale.

What I could potentially see as an argument from the dealer is that when you purchased the car it was in “A1” condition and fault free. Its 99% probable that this was unlikely, however you have not said how many miles you travelled before first making a complaint. Clearly if you only added say 800 miles then its nigh impossible that wearing the brake pads down to nothing has happened in your ownership. Indeed you should push your dealer to spell out in writing whether they believe the anti roll bar mounts have broken within the past few says – or could it have been 4 months ago ?

Its not enough good news to throw a party, but at least the dealer is rectifying much of the work at their expense, and having tracked down the faults the situation is 10 times better than them claiming they do not know what’s wrong – which so often appears to be the case.

The real bad news I feel evolves around the poor performance of the car, and on this account I figure you will have to be bold in arguing that it is not good enough, and that you are not prepared to accept it as is.

If I were in your shoes I would contact the previous owner (presuming it was not an ex-demo car) so that you can ascertain if they suffered any problems. You will need to inspire the past owner that you are not about to hold him/her accountable for anything, but having done so you just might be able to find out that they had unusual noises coming from the suspension but the dealer could never find the fault. Information like this could be very helpful to you.

Another thing which you should try to get to grips with is why have the brake pads been worn down to next to nothing. Has the car been driven for a huge amount of miles, and then been clocked ? Our are we to understand that the A2’s pads only last the length of the strawberry season ? In fact to help your plight I ask others on the forum to share any info that they have on brake pad life. That said you could perhaps start a separate topic titled “Brake Pad Life”

Regards
John Disdale
 
In regards to the brake pads and roll bar links being broken I can confirm that the roll bar links were broken when I bought it and the brakes did feel a little soft when I bought it but I put that down to the age and its miles (assuming the owner didnt have them replaced) 21000 mls on the clock I did about 1000mls so I am deffinately not at fault as to the brakes being practically dead. I am not sure if its the age of the car or just that car but has anyone noticed how bouncy the A2 is, mine goes over a few bumps and its worst that a bloody bouncy castle, I'm sure at some point the wheels leave the ground, It just does not like bumps or pot holes at all, whenever I go over speed humps I pray that I have not damaged the car, It goes over it with a thud follwed by the bangin noise and very bouncy too (this is going over a speed bump at 15mph) the courtesy car was much differnt lol i looked for bumps to go over cos it was so nuice driving it over them hardly felt it unless it was severe but in my car its just disgusting I fear my car is being damaged over each bump I take, any thughts on this (this is based on the nkowledge that the rollbars are broken at the front.) does this make a differce?
 
FACtOR-you have my sympathies. When I picked up my brand new A2 I took it back after a few hundred miles to complain about the appaling hard drive-the garage founf they had left the packing in the front suspension coils and there was very little travel in the front-it was so bad drinks would be thrown out of the cup holders if you hit a bump.

The dealer offered to replace the whole front suspension set up because I was not having a car which may have suffered unseen damage. They offered me a replacement A2 in the end as I wasn't having a new car stripped down.

Just for info-may help you in your fight for justice.

Steve - 2003 1.4SE petrol, Silver, black/black interior
 
guys, I think there must be inconsistent production, mine has settled down 2000 miles on the clock GRV replaced, running like a dream at the moment, oh by the way did the test john disdale asked for cold economy 44 mpg school run.

1.4tdi se, climate, isofix, symphony II, parking sensors, DIS.
 
Factor,

I don’t believe the suspension on my A2 had any faults, but if you hit some bumps on the motorway the body felt as though it was lifting up by 200mm – like a plane taking off. I got more use to it, but it was not a nice or secure feeling.

Regards
John Disdale
 
Where as going over bumps at extreme speeds (60-110mph) you are very much likely to feel it even the car might lift a bit but it should not leave the ground, your suspession is probably very tourte, which is a good thing as it means the car does not go bounce bounce over lil ripples in the road or minor pot holes and does not make that GODDAMN BANING NOISE, I am almost certain my suspession is affected my this bercause even if the roll bars links are broken the car should not feel so unstable on the road surely, I am literally scared to drive my car its too boucey over pot holes and dont get me started on cornering, because the rool bars are b****red the car rolls a lot meaning it squids out of more turns say from a junction to going round a big roundable, I am reduced to pulling out of junctions at granny speed (people laugh at me [V] cos the car has to travel so slow out of junctions) I try to let myself go at round abouts (the really big ones) and take it at 30 because I could in my crappy VW polo 1L '97 and it took it as if it was running on a superglue road but in this car it skids and rolls I almost crashed today cos the road was kind of wett and the car just fishtailed out of the roundabout and I ended up hrizontal in the road rather than vertical( facing a travelling direction (the direction of the road)) I am not happy at all this car is not only crap to drive its unsafe too (bloody G reg fiesta took the corner faster than me and did do bloody wheely gymnastics in the road:()

Audi A2 1.4SE 2001, Brilliant Silver, Rear electric windows and Panasonic MR555 (rubbish) stereo, 2 extra 13" 190watt speakers (plus the standard 8 from audi).
 
Factor – It’s probably the extra weight of your large speakers that are upsetting the balance of the car. Do you really need all that volume when listening to the weather forecast :D
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top