Looking for an A2

K

kyrylo

Member
I'd really like A2 to become the first car of my young family and I need the help of this forum with the below:

1) How much should I expect to pay for a well-looked after A2 1.4 SE with average miles?
2) How much should I expect to pay on average for annual maintenance? - an indication of min and max would also really help :)

I am enthralled by the look and the engineering of A2 and find it hard to believe that it has been discontinued!

I want one these beauties to be a great companion for my family in the years ahead need your input to understand how much realistically I need to put upfront for an A2 that is in very good mechanical condition i.e. won't need any four figures repairs in 2+ years. And then how much I would have to spend to maintain it in great mechanical condition.

Your help would be greatly appreciated!
 
Hello and welcome to the club. You are making a good choice ( but we would say that of course)

To try and answer your questions it would be helpful to know your budget however I will give a rough estimate.

The 1.4 petrol you're interested in is a reliable car. We have a member who's owned his since 2003 and it's just passed 200k miles without major breakdowns.

dependant on budget you occasionally see a very low milage 1.4 petrol that's been owned from new with tiny mileage (50k or so).although this is becoming a rarer sight in the classifieds they are still out there. Expect to pay around 2500 to 3500 depending on the age of the car. You'll be aware they were available from 2000 to 2005.

A well looked after car with average miles of around 100k on an 03 plate to give another perspective should be around 2000 if it's in clean condition with no major expenditure required.

your question on maintenance is more difficult as it applies to any motor car in the same way..The A2 is generally reliable as stated and the 1.4 petrol is a tried and tested VAG unit that came from the Polo.

Maintenance costs will range from how savvy you are buying the car. If you source one that's had a recent cambelt change ( 6 years and 60k interval for that engine ) and has reasonably fresh consumables like tyres and brakes then your really shouldn't be looking at more than 300 pounds a year for a thorough service and your MOT during the first couple of years.

It is an older car though and things do wear out but there really aren't any big ticket items unless the engine needs replacing and that shouldn't happen with careful maintenance.

Unfortunately the biggest risk and potential cost of A2 ownership is that any minor collision damage could write the car off as a result of the costs involved to repair the aluminium body. So you must be careful insuring the car and members have often bought the cars back from the insurance company and had them repaired. There's much evidence on here and in the classified adverts to support that these cars in clean condition attract higher prices than alternative cars of the same age.

Buy on service history, condition and owner history above age and mileage as priorities.

There is lots of information advice and support available on the forum. Good luck sourcing an A2 that meets your needs.

Finally the real expenditure with an A2 occurs if you get the bug and start enhancing the car with modifications and refurbishing or upgrading suspension parts for example which aren't a requirement but many folk who find themselves addicted to A2s succumb to this 'need'

Best wishes and once again welcome to A2OC
 
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I bought my 02 1.4 petrol SE about a week ago, it came with 17 Audi stamps for a full history, cambelt was done 1k miles ago with a full service and had 10 months left on the MOT. It needed new discs and pads on the front which was £225. It has 141k miles but seems solid in every aspect at the moment, there is an engine management light on but this is due to the EGR valve I am told, I'm having this looked at next week. I paid £950.
 
Hi and welcome to the club. I know you are looking for a petrol but below are my 10 year cost for a diesel that was on the 2 year long life service but I often had an intermediate oil change. Servicing including MOT and replacing worn items like tyres, disk pads, works out at £377 pa

Audi A2 1.4 TDi 10 year costs v2.jpg

Over the 10 years I only had one repair being the ARB (common problem and the replacement was a new design) & drop links (wasn't essential then). Then this year, after 10 years, I had the suspension (bump stops, dampers and springs) replaced which was almost £1,000 (had a MOT advisory re leaking damper and missing bump stop so did the whole lot as I hope to keep the car many more years).

Good luck in your quest.

PS Strictly speaking this years suspension work was just outside the 10 years of ownership. So excluding that £983 reduces the repairs to just £625 and the overall cost per mile to 25p. Pretty good if you ask me :)
 
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kyrylo said:
2) How much should I expect to pay on average for annual maintenance? - an indication of min and max would also really help :)
Click to expand...
Who is doing it? Are you using original parts or not?

...for an A2 that is in very good mechanical condition i.e. won't need any four figures repairs in 2+ years. And then how much I would have to spend to maintain it in great mechanical condition.

Your help would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...
Not going to happen.
Cambelts go, rubber perishes, OSSes die. Suspension needs replacing after 8-10 years, tyres, too. Climate needs regassing, driers should be replaced, the battery may die. CCCUs are more frequent issues these days, and then exhausts rust eventually.

The youngest A2 is 10 years old. Realistically?
- budget for a cambelt and water pump change. If it hasn't been done in the last 5 years, it will need doing during those two or shortly afterwards. £500.
- budget for a wiper mech or motor change, £100.
- assume the CCCU will die at some point, because it really will. If all the door microswitches are still perfect, you are lucky and unusual. Each switch is in the lock and they're €80 new.
- assume the climate needs refilling, as mileage doesn't matter, age does.
- if the battery is still the original, budget for replacing it with a quality item, such as Bosch S4 Silver, 74Ah.
- If the suspension is original, it will be tired. Replace springs, shocks and rubber mounts, including the droplinks and the ARB bushes. It all ages, mileage is irrelevant if you want any form of safety in terms of roadholding.
- at 100k miles, brake discs and pads will need replacing, with the shoes at the rear also probably up for renewal. Brake fluid would need doing, a 12 month service interval with VAG 502.00 oil (which means something like Shell Helix Ultra) is a very good idea.
- if the car has climate, assume all of the flaps are close to death. Each one is a true pain to replace, though not massively expensive, unless you're asking someone else to do it, at which point it gets expensive, fast.
- the G62 will fail sooner or later.
- Thermostats are a "common" issue.
- wheel bearings fail at some point. Rear ones are easy to replace, front ones less so and require the correct tool or you'll break them. The ABS ring tends to break at the same time, which is another €50.

My list:
2009 - New shocks, springs and fitting. Third battery.
2010 - ARB replacement, control arms, droplinks. €600.
2011 - G62 sensor replacement. €50 or so.
2012 - both tyre sets. Front wheel bearing. Climate flap for air movement. €1500 because of the tyres.
2013 - Climate re-gas, brake pad and disk replacement. 2 x Wheel bearings. €200, €650 for the bearings.
2014 - Flap 2 for temperature. Oil separator. €200 in total (self-done)
2015 - ARBs, Shocks. - €900 for parts, self-done

The A2 is astoundingly cheap to run, but that doesn't mean it's still a low-cost car. Looking at that, I'm at between €50 and €100 per month for a car which is run in some of the harshest conditions in Europe. It's OK, but it's not that far from a newer car on finance. Yes, though, the A2 is still "doable" yourself and there's not *that* much electronic skullduggery, which does make things easier.

- Bret
 
I agree with Brett. Economical on fuel isnt the same as cheap to run. I have had a number of big ticket expenses on mine in the past 2 years adding up close to the monthly cost of PCP finance a new Up! or Ibiza. But, then again that would apply on any 11 year old, 140k mile car. The difference with, and advantage of an A2 is they are not sheds at 12-15 years old, unlike Fiesta/corsa brigade.
 
kyrylo said:
I'd really like A2 to become the first car of my young family and I need the help of this forum with the below:

1) How much should I expect to pay for a well-looked after A2 1.4 SE with average miles?
2) How much should I expect to pay on average for annual maintenance? - an indication of min and max would also really help :)

I am enthralled by the look and the engineering of A2 and find it hard to believe that it has been discontinued!

I want one these beauties to be a great companion for my family in the years ahead need your input to understand how much realistically I need to put upfront for an A2 that is in very good mechanical condition i.e. won't need any four figures repairs in 2+ years. And then how much I would have to spend to maintain it in great mechanical condition.

Your help would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum, I have a 1.4 Sport petrol that I'm selling shortly. It is mechanically sound as it's been maintained by A2cars, it is a cat c due to a roof tile falling on the roof. Has Fsh and cruise control, if you want more information just message me.
 
murdo said:
Agreed climate and DIS desirable options but it's nice to see a couple of owned since new examples with tiny mileage and still looking so fresh.
Click to expand...
Yes, it is the nearest you will get to a new A2 unless you build one yourself!

Steve B
 
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