number9ine
Member
Hi all,
Short time lurker and first time poster--just bought an 03 1.6 A2 Sport in Dolphin Grey from a forum member this past weekend. Credit due to this forum for helping me figure out what I wanted and what to look for in the first place.
Mechanicals are (touch wood) pretty well sorted on this car thanks to the PO, so I'm on a quest to sweat some details:
Cheers
Mark
Short time lurker and first time poster--just bought an 03 1.6 A2 Sport in Dolphin Grey from a forum member this past weekend. Credit due to this forum for helping me figure out what I wanted and what to look for in the first place.
Mechanicals are (touch wood) pretty well sorted on this car thanks to the PO, so I'm on a quest to sweat some details:
- Driver door check strap: this was working for the first day of my ownership until this weekend's wind caught the door as it opened, and now it clicks. I'm already in touch with @depronman about a replacement.
- Gear lever bushing is filled with gunk from the disintegrating rubber 'underboot.' lateral movement is sticky--the selector will stay where you put it instead of returning to centre. Makes 3rd gear tricky.
- Rear seat lower pegs may not be locking. I need to re-read the seat threads and confirm before I put my nieces back there.
- Shifter boot collar pops out of the console. It has two tabs at the front; is it missing another at the back?
- Cosmetics are really nice for a 19 year old car. Paint seems mostly original except the front passenger wing and rear passenger door, but the colour match on the wing is just okay. Gonna try to catch @drewroberts to see if the A2 he's breaking has a wing that's a better match.
- The wings, bonnet, and headlamps are all just a tad out of alignment, so I might soothe my OCD with some adjustments if possible.
- An ancient Nokia 610 bluetooth gizmo is wired in... the future is now, circa 2003. No A2DP function and apparently I can't factory reset from the menus, so it goes.
- A Connects2 bluetooth module is on order for calls and streaming on the Chorus II head unit.
- Driver bolster fabric is in good shape, but the foam underneath is tired. Any good options?
- The usual assortment of soft touch button wear. It looks like PO kindly sourced a hard button climate unit (score!) but the Chorus is a bit chewed up.
- Fuel door button popped out of its housing--looks like the tabs are gone. Ordering a new one.
- Alarm button is weirdly missing its little internal plastic pushrod--this button is NLA new from what I can tell. Who's got a used one?
- Outer headliner needs love.
- Rear map light isn't working. I read this may be a dry solder joint but need to pry it out and see.
- Upper steering column soft cover isn't staying put in its mounting tabs/slots.
- Steering wheel and shift knob leather are polished from years of use and sticky to the touch. Will refurbish or replace.
- Black matte paint from the factory on the centre and rear console has rubbed off most edges to reveal shiny black ABS. WTF Audi? I've owned other VAG cars so stick 'n' peel interiors aren't new to me, but the mood in Ingolstadt must be wer nicht wagt, der nicht gewinnt. Paint all the surfaces!
- 6-disc changer is an albatross.
- Headlamps are a bit yellow, but not too bad. A dead bug has claimed the driver side lamp as his mausoleum.
- One rear luggage tie is missing its plastic trim. Anyone have one?
- Standard VAG pedal rubber is hard and shiny, and slips easily. Will refurbish or replace.
- I've seen a few of the cool multifunction steering wheel options from @timmus but it looks like some of them mean I'd lose the tape deck (no word on the Creedence).
- Something that fits my travel coffee mug, to replace the useless cupholders.
- Heated seats.
- Comfort blinker.
- Cruise control.
- Auto-dim mirror.
- Fog lamps.
- Better headlamps--were Xenons a factory option?
- Handbrake tray console?
- Rear cupholders (also pretty useless but neat)?
- Those sweet storage boxes for the rear footwells?
- Some Bose-ish speaker upgrade?
- Colour DIS looks fun?
- A 6-speed gearbox? I'm not quite a hypermiler (and didn't buy the TDI because ULEZ), but @timmus has an awesome thread for his 6-speed. Is this possible for a 1.6 gearbox?
- Aluminum suspension bits from a 3L?
Cheers
Mark