Searching for a TDi

sco

sco

A2OC Donor
Inspected three now;

1). 2004 TDi90 SE - 82000mls - quite nice and tidy but gearbox whine and no service history

2). 2005 TDi75 SE - 87000mls - again quite tidy but wheels shabby, felt tight and reasonably well looked after but the engine just didn't sound right and was slow to warm up.

3). 2005 TDi75 SE + Opensky - 102000mls - tidy apart from drivers seat bolster worn and lacquer almost completely blown on all four wheels, opensky rear section wouldn't move and clutch felt like it didn't have much life left in it. Mechanically felt best of the three although there was a knock which I guess was probably roll bar bushes.


1). Is expensive and for sure will need a gearbox rebuild eventually but would probably go on for years.
2). I'm wary of - yes could just need a thermostat but something else seemed wrong.
3). Is cheap but would need a fair bit doing to make it presentable and usable.

Thoughts please forum members...

Simon.
 
I would always go for the newest so given you have 2 same age but one has open sky then go for that. Other options to consider are do any have double DIN dash or full DIS? The rear section of the open sky is fixed so not a fault and if the other bits and bobs are sorted by you then you know it is 'right'. However how much of a rush are you and what is your budget ( if you don't mind saying)? Good tdi's are still out there so might just need a bit more patience.
 
Sorry the middle section of the roof was stuck.
Not in a screaming rush but just need an A2 in my life soon :)
Budget would be up to £6k for a perfect car.

Simon.
 
havent you checked the marketplace????

there are several a2's with better specs above and cheaper than the 6k budget you have!

cammy
 
Mr Angry said:
havent you checked the marketplace????

there are several a2's with better specs above and cheaper than the 6k budget you have!

cammy
Click to expand...

I must be looking in the wrong place - in the selling forum there are two one is an 03 and has done 166k and a dolphin grey one which has sold. Is there a hidden area for members with more?

Simon.
 
sco said:
I must be looking in the wrong place - in the selling forum there are two one is an 03 and has done 166k and a dolphin grey one which has sold. Is there a hidden area for members with more?

Simon.
Click to expand...

No hidden area but the display of threads is cut off once they are 2 weeks old, just click the box at the bottom to show threads older than 2 weeks.
 
I'd disregard 'shabby wheels' as a concern on an otherwise straight car with history. Yes they are a cosmetic 'turn off' - the boots have a disproportionate impact on the overall impression of the car. But A2s are old. Unless they've been refurbished they will invariably be worn and it's less than 200 quid to get them like new again. A fair haggling tool as well.

On the sport car with cloth seats the drivers bolster is also pretty certain to be very worn or in some cases completely collapsed and high miles doesn't always correspond to level of wear. I've seen pictures on the net of a 50k car with a saggy bolster. A new bolster can be purchased for under 100 quid and an upholsterer/trimmer will be able to sort it out without breaking the bank.

For 6k budget you should be able to find a real nice example if you're patient but at 10+ years old it's unlikely to be perfect. Getting it right to your own standards can be part of of pleasure of owning and keeping a little piece of automotive history.

There's a couple of perfect examples around for sure. A few are owned on here and not by me I'm sorry to say!

Good luck with your quest. Lots of help and support available on these pages. I think it's been said already buy on history first, condition second, spec 3rd and mileage 4th. But a combination of all 4 would be pukka wouldn't it?!

Please don't get put off by the wee niggles though. Most are fixable without being too costly and will provide you with good scope for bargaining.
 
Thanks for all replies. Yes I know the wheels can be refurbed so I'm not put off by that, nor the wear on the drivers bolster.
As for the ebay one - yes I've seen that and it is on the radar hence the thread 'Softening a Sport' ;-)

At the moment I'm tempted by #3 - it's sub £2.5k so there would be plenty of budget left to fix all the niggles.

Simon.
 
Hi

Murdo summed it up exactly.
He is a canny Scot and his words on the subject should be repeated to any potential A2 buyer that has not yet had the pleasure of owning an A2 (or not for a while st least)

Goid luck with the search, your budget should get you a great A2 if you are careful.

Also so remember that there are many members who regularly view A2s for people, especially when the car is s long way away. So please do ask for help like this.

Steve B
 
Some great advice from murdo.

It's very rare to find a great A2 with the perfect spec. You could be waiting a year or two

What spec would you like to have? Things like leather, Bose, etc can be added afterwards apart from things like OpenSky (It can be done, but at a big expense)

£6k would buy you a fully loaded holy grail tdi with lots of history.

The car with the stuck rear panel... It was most likely stuck the the rear rubber seal due to lack of use and servicing and a helping hand pushing up whilst opening it may have freed it.
 
I can see that if you wait for the perfect spec then you may well pass up several good cars that could easily uprated to the 'perfect spec' (Opensky excepted). Also whilst it would be nice to buy from a loving A2oc owner I think typically they over value their cars compared to the true market value.

I did try giving the rear panel a helping hand but decided best not to push my luck for fear of overloading the rest of the mechanism.

Simon.
 
I think that you will find that it is the other way around.
"A2 loving owners" realise the true value of their car.
People who just see it as their daily driver do not always realise the true value. Also, I have viewed hundreds of A2s for sale (genuinely) and I can honestly say that the cheaper ones are almost always unloved poor examples.
So yes, you might pay more for an A2 from an A2 fan, but the real chances are that the car will be much better cared for too.
As Murdo said, service history is number one, an A2 fan is more likely to have looked after their car than someone just using it as a daily commuter.

Steve B
 
I think you misunderstand what I was driving at - A2 loving owners obviously rate the car highly and correspondingly ask for a high price because to them the perceived value is higher. Although not an owner I too am in this camp - I rate the car highly and am prepared to pay above the market value for the right car. I've talked to a couple of dealers though and the real market in A2's is quite slow - they are 10+ year old cars now and people won't pay big money for them unless they are A2 enthusiasts and in which case they are much more picky. I've been watching A2's on Autotrader for several months now and at the high end very little is moving, it's similar on here - Ian posted his car in the classifieds for £6k and as I understand it had very little interest.

3) Is attractive in this respect as it has a good chunk of main dealer history and the bodywork is relatively blemish free so it's clearly been looked after if not exactly 'loved' but it's price is being set by what the general market will pay rather than what an enthusiast 'thinks' it is worth.

Simon.
 
sco said:
3) Is attractive in this respect as it has a good chunk of main dealer history and the bodywork is relatively blemish free so it's clearly been looked after if not exactly 'loved' but it's price is being set by what the general market will pay rather than what an enthusiast 'thinks' it is worth.

Simon.
Click to expand...

This seems like the one to go for tbh. If you get it for £2500 you would have all that money elft over. It would be like all my christmases' roled into one if I had a spare £3500 to spend on goodies to spec up my A2. Would be a fun project for you.
 
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Indeed - I've emailed A2Cars for a quote on how much it will cost to sort all it's 'issues'. And if I did go for it would be interested in your leather seats!

Simon.
 
To the average used car buyer, there are far more appealing options at £5-6k than a ten-to-fifteen year old, funny-looking Audi. The market must be tiny above about £3k.
 
Best of luck with it Simon it`s good to see the older cars being taken on and put back into good order.
Hopefully keep the marque going for a lot longer and save them from the dreaded breakers.
You are correct in that I had very little interest in mine and the market is definitely slow and not just in A2`s.
 
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