Hi, I have purchased a 2001 A2 yesterday and I can see why so many members fall under the spell of the A2's lines and curves. My A2 has 129,000 miles showing and I am going to check around the Crewe area to find a garage to do a cambelt and waterpump change and oil and filter. My reason for this posting however is that a lot of the legends on the buttons (which were black with white lettering) have been rubbed off through much use and have left a view of the white plastic of the button. My question - is there a way of restoring the buttons to their original appearance? I assume this is not a unique problem. Best regards.
Unsightly wear to soft touch buttons is normal, basically the soft touch paint Audi used was not up to the job.
You have several restoration options.
1. Rare and not cheap, buy good condition A2 soft touch button sets/head unit/climate/other switches. Reasonable items crop up in the Marketplace on here (you need to join for a one off £2 fee) or eBay or Facebook I believe.
2. Buy stickers off eBay for the head unit and climate eg.
Find great deals on eBay for Audi A2 Climate Stickers. Shop with confidence.
www.ebay.co.uk
Cheap and cheerful, imagine fiddly to do to get right and and will refresh no end, but will eventually wear.
3. Buy an A2 hard touch climate unit is an excellent option, may be a darker black, looking at £75, again in the usual markets above.
4. The option most members go for. Buy a hard touch (or soft touch) climate from another Audi range from the era of A2 production years, harvest the buttons from the donor and install.
Help guides available on here on installation, like the one I posted..
How To Replace Worn Buttons On A Concert II – Part 1 Want to do something about those awful worn buttons on your head unit? You might find something in this, read on. You have three principal choices, either buy a satisfactory (to you) complete used replacement unit [£expensive] or buy a set...
www.a2oc.net
Installing donor buttons on a climate unit is very similiar but here is another option
Hi, It is reasonably common knowledge that the air-con buttons from an early A4 will fit the A2 air-con switch panel, but stripping both units and the dash can be a little daunting. BUT!! I went from this to this (no stickers) For £18 and didn't have to disturb the dash at...
www.a2oc.net
Donor climate button units have suddenly gone up in price about three weeks ago. For years used units have been around the £20 mark, always two or three on eBay and then a strange thing happened. They all sold one week with next one up at £40. What has obviously happened is new sellers now think this is the bottom end and price accordingly. It's creeping back to normal, here's what's on eBay right now.
Find great deals on eBay for Audi (8d0820043q,8d0820043m,8z0920043d,8z0820043e,8z0820043g). Shop with confidence.
www.ebay.co.uk
There is a Concert donor unit on eBay at £20 I almost bought last night.
5. Arm and a leg stuff, but there are companies around that will restore buttons and switches.
6. Some items are available new from Audi, eg fuel tank flap switch is about £20, not too bad, but best to order through Crewe Audi on here. A few items are available new from Audi Tradition, such as the single din climate unit at £300, (but not soul black I notice), and the odd head unit.
Andy
Edit. Welcome by the way.