Thinking of buying an Audi A2 – Should I?

I’ve just moved house and whilst it’s not much further to work (12 miles round trip) the combination of the roads and a heavy 3 litre car have made me think i’d be better with something lighter/nippier.

I don’t have a lot to spend – circa £1k and was looking at Petrol A2s which seem to return reasonable fuel economy and cost about this.

Am I making a mistake?

12 miles round trip? Sounds perfect for a bike!

I had one but it was diesel. It was the sport version and was a little rattle on poor surfaces, other than that it was ace, bit small getting bikes in with the seats flat but can be done.
£1k you say ? Why not …

oldnpastit – Member
12 miles round trip? Sounds perfect for a bike!

That’s just the difference. The total is 36, and I do ride it once or twice per week.

Daffy, I have two A2’s and am fairly active on the A2 A2OC forum. They are great cars and bodywork wise are bearing up well to their age. You might already know that they are fully aluminium in construction and that Audi lost money on everyone sold due to the elaborate construction methods involved. The factory that made them now makes the R8.
If you are still in Leeds and need any help tyre kicking one then just ask.

You don’t get much for £1K. Pretty much whatever you buy will be a gamble in terms of something prohibitively expensive going wrong. Have got got cash available to fix it, and are you prepared to cut your losses and get rid?

At £1K I just wouldn’t bother. If you are fixed on the idea, I would get the newest (well, least old), simplest car I could find (which probably wouldn’t be a A2). If you already have a car, just use that instead imo.

At that price the condition of the car and its history is much more important than what car it is. As long as you get a reliable make and model.

Mercedes could well be expensive to fix – more so than a Fiesta/Polo etc. It’s a bit of a niche car.

Maybe see if you can find a Nissan Note – our friends have one, and it recently conked out. Took it to an independent garage and as soon as we told him the car he said ‘oh the battery connections are loose. How do I know? Cos that’s all that ever goes wrong with these’.

My wife had not tightened them up properly when she changed the battery 🙂

At £1k I’d buy on condition, not model.

Could be an excuse for a small biking van?

Don’t be tempted by an A Class Merc. I’ve owned two of these as well and the first (a 51plate 1.4) was an horrendous bucket with so many things that went wrong with it, starter motor £400, suspension springs (2 sets of front, 1set rear) £600 and yet I had it serviced at Merc with FSH.. Then I bought an new gen 05 1.7petrol which actually was rather ace, now I’d buy another one of those but you’ll not get one for £1k.

Tried a Micra or as said a Note or what about a Modus (Renault)

1.4tdci fiesta runs on air, simple to service! Weve had 3, just listen for injectors and powering steering failure

Might need to find a few extra quid though.

Agree with many of the points, but there’s a fair bit of choice around for A2s in this price bracket.

Also, should the thing die completely, the scrap value for Aluminium is substantially higher than for steel. £600/tonne 🙂

CHB – I’ve managed to find an 04/53 1.6FSI Sport (I am concerned about the harsh ride) with 84k on it for £1150 (including an HPI and train fare to go get it) which seems in good condition from the photos…

I know the FSI can have problems, but they seem to be largely related to sensors, earthing and injectors – all of which are cheap and easy to diagnose.

There also seems to be a healthy community around the A2 which usually helps.

M.

Also, should the thing die completely, the scrap value for Aluminium is substantially higher than for steel. £600/tonne

153kg of Alu, that needs extracting – probably make £20 difference at the scappers.

£1k? Yaris. Boring, reliable, cheap to buy,service and parts.
Ours hit 100k/12 years old this month. So far it’s cost servicing, brakes and two wheel bearings.

Just use the car you have. That extra 12 miles will be better for it and there’ll be no extra tax/insurance.

shifter – Member
Just use the car you have. That extra 12 miles will be better for it and there’ll be no extra tax/insurance.

Assuming a worst case scenario:

9000 miles in my current car at 25mpg will be £2150. I’ll also need a set of rear tyres (£400) every 15k miles and fronts (£300) every 25k miles with insurance costing £295 per year; Total cost for 2 years is around £5500 excluding tax.

On the figures of doing 7000 miles in the A2 (45mpg) and 2000 in the Touring on the motorway at 38mpg, combined fuel will be £1230. Tyres for the A2 will be £300 a set and will last 4 years. reducing tyre wear on the Touring means only £80 a year. Insurance for the A2 would be £163 with the Touring reducing to £190 due to the mileage drop. servicing for the A2 is covered by the drop in the Touring’s mileage. Cost for comparison is £2673. There will be an extra cost of £280 for VED Tax over 2 years, but that’s a total of £2950…by my maths, that saves me £100 a month. The car should still be worth £1000 in 12 months and likely £700-£800 in 2 years.

Am I missing something?

If you appreciate the car for what it is – there is not anything like it on the road, lightweight, robust, well designed/interior good sized but easy to park with short overhangs, nice to drive (handles well although not well damped with large wheels &/or sports suspension), good relatively high seating position (although a.pillar restricts view),quality instrumentation, well equipped for se spec. Body doesn’t corrode (but can surface oxidise if paint is damaged). Fuel efficient @av 44mpg and low rfl £130.

I’ve a owned 1.4petrol se 2001my for 2years – well cared for. Sold in August for £1000 with 173000miles – drove like it had done 30000miles! New owner is very happy with it!!

Daffy, you’ve given it far more thought than my feeble effort – crack on!

I’ve always coveted them, clever, clever little car – well ahead of it’s time.

A nice car overall, but I couldn’t put up with the ride quality, I’m afraid. You’d maybe be ok with it, but I found it very harsh.

A GREAT car. Sadly getting on now- lots of tired ones out there now I bet. Plus at 1k- its a popular car. That cheap and it’ll have alot of consumables ready to be replaced I bet. Buy something non-popular for 1k. Or up your budget?

P-Jay – Member

I’ve always coveted them, clever, clever little car – well ahead of it’s time.

Yeah, bit of a shame really. I always wanted one when they were first out.
Definitely ahead of it’s time, really. Perhaps if they’d have been released 5-6 years later they would have made more sense once the fuel prices had gone up and running costs were a bit higher up the agenda.

£1k? Yaris. Boring, reliable, cheap to buy,service and parts.
Ours hit 100k/12 years old this month. So far it’s cost servicing, brakes and two wheel bearings.

What @matt says, we’ve had one for 7 years, the ex forgot to have it serviced for 3 years, no problems at all. Bike will go in with passenger seat forward. 3drs cheaper and easier to find that 4drs, we have a 1.3 3dr 2004 (daughter has it now)

I am not sure I’d buy an old A2 for £1k – that could just be prejudice though

I wouldn’t mind a Yaris, but finding one of similar age and mileage means they’re much more expensive than my £1k budget.

Is fuel economy an issue any longer with the way fuel has come down? Thousands of extra drivers clogging up the roads seem to think not.

globalti – Member
Is fuel economy an issue any longer with the way fuel has come down? Thousands of extra drivers clogging up the roads seem to think not.

It’s only dropped by 10%…

Had a 04 TDI Sport, thought it was a great car. It is a bit restrictive on size and a growing family meant a bigger car was required, but otherwise id have kept it. The sport suspension is very poor, but i uprated the shocks (details of type are on the A2OC forum) and the comfort was hugely improved. I also had issues with sports alloys, whilst they look the muts they took a right hammering on any pot holes, to the point where i had to replace them due to buckling. My engine was mapped, and drove very well for what it was. Comfortable to car to travel in although engine noise was a bit noisy compared to newer cars. In four years, i only and a CV gaiter split and that was due to myself not acting soon enough on a observation during an MOT. MPG was around 70 mpg on a run, obviously diesel, which was a bit low, some of that loss was put down to the weight of the sports alloys.

I would have recommended a Yaris- the problem is its also disproportionally popular too so prices are higher than they should be unless you want a sheddy-old one.

There is a D4D and petrol Yaris (Yari?) for sale in Dunblane at the mo – £1300 and £1100, but not sold in a good few weeks for some reason…

I had the Petrol one several years ago, only sold it as Emigrated at the time.
Its the one car I have owned that I would buy again in a heartbeat.
Was ahead of its time when it came out and I still think its one of the best looking small cars on the road.

As others have said the suspension can be harsh but can be remedied if needs be by replacement shocks and running the smaller wheels that the base models came with.

One other minor issue is the rear access, once your in its fine as the real footwells are deeper than in the front (Giving more knee/legroom) but the rear door opening isn’t very wide, its more of a issue if your using a child seat and trying to wrestle a kid into it.

I’d say go for it the mechanicals are all pretty much standard VW/Audi so easy enough to get parts and go for condition over mileage.

Didn’t know you could pick them up for as little as that.

Clever little cars, last car Audi made that I actually admire, rather than just have a grudging respect for/resentment of.

VW Lupo tdi owner here, remapped engine and it is fab, 50, 000 miles and one glitch that’s it.

Well worth considering, I really wanted an A2 but saw so many rough ones left it.

Polos are an option, Yaris go for silly money

I’d go for a Renault Zoe if you are just using it for commuting – 150 quid down payment and 195 quid per month on a 2 yr rental deal.

Its electric if you didn’t already know.

£1K? surely you’ve picked the wrong marque if your buying on a budget, if it has to be VAG why not a skoda or if your a bit precious a Seat?

TBH though I’d be looking at something a bit more “common”… Fiesta maybe?

Id have one just because the windscreen wiper makes the car wobble.

Yaris. Had one Boring as sh*t, but only cost me servicing and tyres in my 60k of ownership

A tiny bit more and buy a low mile/one owner…

Fiat Panda. Love them 😀

How about a Honda Jazz, it’s a Honda, not infalable but Honda reliable and a reasonable bike hauler too.