[Closed] Any Audi A2 Owners Need Input Before Buying One

The only person I know who has one, the gearbox packed up just out of warranty and cost over £900 to repair/replace.

My thought is - why? There are better cars for less money.

good- well built cars, drive ok, pretty reliable (lots of polo bits in there), have all but stopped losing money if you buy a 1.4tdi and don't pile miles on it.

bad- bloody expensive for even the oldest ones, a bast4rd to work on as like the original tt they were designed by the art deprtment and then made work by the engineers, hence something like a headlight change might need the whole front bumper off.

I enjoyed owning one for 2 years, 60'000 miles, no different to any other Audi/VW/Skoda I've owned for running costs. I picked up an 3 yr old ex company car that had been specced up with £6k of extras, it returned 65-70 mpg, even after Jabbasport chipped it. Makes my current car seem sluggish (08 Mini Cooper D Clubman)

Ran one for 6 years and put ~70k trouble free miles on it. Quality interior wears well, tdi engine is great, aluminium body so no rust. Accelerates better than it has a right to due to low weight. Both back seats come out giving you enough room for two bikes easily. Fabulous economy ~60mpg. Low tax £35 a year

I had a few issues after 60k mile cambelt change by a cowboy garage but got sorted. Changed front disks and drop links. Can't recall that much else. If you find s good one it is very economical motoring.

There's a knack to changing headlight bulbs without dismantling bumper which I learned using missus' compact mirror to see what I was doing.

I own one now, I get good economy, a headlight bulb takes 5 minutes to change (yes I've done it) and there is ample space for 4 people and their luggage, or 2+2bikes. Downsides - buying cost and repairs are expensive, and the ride is bad (standard) or worse (sport suspension). There are plenty of polos with the same 3cylinder diesel engine for half the price, but they are not as good. Look on this site: www.a2oc.net

I'd only consider one with FSH, climate control and no accident history (aluminium space frame and panels are a hard repair).

All the best!

I considered getting one of these, but they were just too expensive.

It's a pity Audi brought them out when they did. They were about 10 yrs too early in terms of fuel economy, lightweight body, aerodynamics etc. even the rear lights have a lip on them to aid aerodynamics.
They were like a bluemotion/ecoflex/ecomotion car before anyone was interested in that kind of thing.

loved ours though we found it too small as our sole family car. We had a petrol and didn't have a single issue with it - we'd probably consider another as the school run car only the panels show dinks very easily and the school carpark is notorious for bumps and prangs.

Thanks for all the input I

d the A2 forum so can ask questions on there as well

A mate of mine has one (1.4 tdi, he's had it from new), he commutes 80 miles each way in it, he was telling me the other day that when it got to 240 thousand miles it started to rattle and then wouldn't start, he fitted a second hand engine and its still going strong. I'm impressed, because I know how he drives. 😉

We had one for three years - a diesel sport. I loved it. Stuck to the road like glue and had a better power to weight ratio than the 3.2ltr TT that I owned at the time. Great climate control too.

Bad things- the turbo went and was replaced under warranty. I also heard that the ABS systems were prone to failure, but ours was fine.

We used to have a 2003 1.6i Colour Storm A2.

Nice looking cars, but handling was diabolical, felt like it was going to tip over round corners. Rear seats came out of ours but were a right PITA the get in / out.

Seem to be holding their price well though, only dropped a couple of grand from the price we sold ours for 4 years ago.

I concur on holding value, I didn't lose much on mine at all. I'd happily have another one, The A2 Owners Club is a good resource, I sold mine on there. Even encountered one of the more recognisable member cars in the Reading area & ended up going for a coffee with the guy.

my only experience of them is seeing one in the hard shoulder of the m4 on fire (with the owners sat well up the embankment) and there was nothing left of it above the sills, everything had melted. ymmv

I have a 04 TDI sport, cracking car all round. I find it very comfortable to drive, although the stock shock's & low profile rims make the sport a very harsh ride on most UK roads. A very capable bike lugger too, as has been said above with the rear seat out the load space is tardis like. There's a few things to look out for, dependng on the model, and there lots of info on the forum mentioned above.

Economy wise, ive got 75mpg @ 60-70mph before. Tax is laughably low, insure can be a bit more as bodywork repairs need to be carried out by Audi approved body shops only (of which there are about 8 or so in the country). General maintenance is as easy/hard as any other car to work on and you don't need special tools to get into the engine bay (except your fingers) The bonnet just comes off, rather than hinges.

Pretty much agree with stumpy01, they were a bit before their time. The economy figures for the TDI would make them a bit more popular today i think. There was a 1.2 TDI version, very much biased to fuel efficiency and they regulary get 100+ MPG. It was never released in the UK though, but there's the odd left hand drive floating around.

If you do go for the TDI 75BHP, its worth getting it chipped buy the likes of Stealth tuning (details on the A2OC forum), if only for the improvement in drivability. The figure were 75bhp & 140ft/lb torque, now 105bhp & 210ft/lb. Obvioulsy the TDI 90 is pokier as standard, but you pay a premium for the 90.

I only testdrove one but found it vague and remote to drive.

The interior is nice and its a nice idea- sorry I think there are more capable cars out there for the money. (Remember folks- everyones allowed an opinion and Im not attacking your wifes sex habits by disliking the noddy-car) 🙄 😆

And yet i find mine anything but vague and remote, ho-hum.

Thanks the the insite to owning one these are some of the reasons for having one fuel economy when all you here is the price per gallon is going up all the time and the cheap road tax
Also I know there expensive for an older car but looking to keep it for a good few years so money saved from the above reasons make sense and no rust and quality build all in all a proper nice little car only thing as said is the fact that finding the right one is quite hard put just got to keep looking .
Funny thing is now I

s

Knock a few cyclists over then drive like a **** then take one for a test drive you will then fit in one

My wife's boss has one and its been the most unreliable car she has ever owned and that includes several French cars. Very expensive to fix because a lot of local garages don't want to touch them, so main dealer only. Ouch!

i always thought that the A2 was a neat looking design - shame they canned it - new A2 is more trad looking it is what the kids want apparently..

They are the whole car equivalent of a jesus fish. Whenever I see one (which is pretty damned rare) they seem to go out of their way to straightline roundabouts and swap lanes without any signals / mirrors.

Buy a bike rack before removing seats - been there & done that on a car and it's a pain in the arse, no matter how "sure" you are that you'll put the car back together after a long day on the hills.

Complete predjudice here: small Audi drivers have the same attitude as small BMW drivers - ideas above their station, it's a small hatchback FFS.

Friend did have an A4 and liked it, but chopped it for a Ford Ka.