A2 restoration, = wozek,s car

A2-Dork

A2OC Donor
JUST AN HEADS UP AND NO DISRESPECT TO WOZEK HES A GREAT GUY

we bought wozeks A2 90bhp tdi last year

it was advertised by him for £2450 or similar we gave him £1500 as it was far from perfect ( even with garage maintenance )

so we set about Restoring the car , its still not finished and we have spent over £3000 so far NO LABOUR its just love and parts inc paintshop

the list of jobs to make this car Right was never ending
turbo off to clean
cambelt/waterpump
full service
full suspension strip down inc rear axle off to shot blast
shot blasted and paint or renew most metal components
all new wheel bearings/backplates/discs/pads/ball joints/shockers/bumpstops/front leg top bearings/ etc etc
body shop paint of many panals
check straps
seats out to clean properly
plus much much more

my point is 'buyer beware' especialy if you rely on a garage to do the work

we are more than happy with this car now and it will be staying in the family ( 5 A2,s so far )

Happy to help with any info or advice
 
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If its any consolation, I am going through exactly the same, its hard & heart breaking, lucky, I can do most of it in my work shop & have access to most parts required.
My advice to buyers, similar to yours, go & see/check what you are buying in full.
Regards,
Ami
 
I think that is part of the love for our A2's, most of us have researched before buying and we know work will need to be done but that's half the joy of these special little cars. I have spent about £600 so far may be a bit more and I know I will spend that again in no time but what you have at the end is a cracking car that is going to last and will give you so much pleasure for years to come.
A2 ownership is not for everyone and it's guaranteed you will spend more on parts and repairs than you paid for it but it will pay you back in so many ways it's worth it, that is of course my own opinion but i'm sure others will agree.

Fair to say it's a good buyers warning if you are looking for a car that will not cost you much after buying, if that is the case then the A2 is not the car to buy.
 
Similar experience with my first A2, I've absolutely no complaints about the sale or the seller, bought from a fine upstanding gent at a similar price level. But (as of then) 16 years of wear and, in the latter years, previous ownerships by people wanting a car just to use rather than to cherish, inevitably takes its toll. It's just what happens with old cars if you buy them before they become classics. (If you buy them after, you end up paying even more, exponentially so once they've been restored :oops:).

I've got it where I want it mechanically now, as well as having greatly upgraded it (a process and a hobby which is still ongoing), I know I'll never see the vast majority of that money back but it makes me smile every time I turn the key, in a way that my 'main' newer car just doesn't. Put a price on that!
 
I think that is part of the love for our A2's, most of us have researched before buying and we know work will need to be done but that's half the joy of these special little cars. I have spent about £600 so far may be a bit more and I know I will spend that again in no time but what you have at the end is a cracking car that is going to last and will give you so much pleasure for years to come.
A2 ownership is not for everyone and it's guaranteed you will spend more on parts and repairs than you paid for it but it will pay you back in so many ways it's worth it, that is of course my own opinion but i'm sure others will agree.

Fair to say it's a good buyers warning if you are looking for a car that will not cost you much after buying, if that is the case then the A2 is not the car to buy.

There is no such thing as a 'cheap car'. Some people prefer to spend all the money upfront for the latest model and to have peace of mind. Others, like most people on here, rather spend the money on repairs and/improvements of a unique gem such as the A2.
 
There is no such thing as a 'cheap car'. Some people prefer to spend all the money upfront for the latest model and to have peace of mind. Others, like most people on here, rather spend the money on repairs and/improvements of a unique gem such as the A2.
I didn't say it was a cheap car? Not sure why you quoted me?
 
I didn't say it was a cheap car? Not sure why you quoted me?
Sorry, my point didn't come over quite as it should have. I just like the fact that all of us on here, especially the ones who have bought an A2 quite recently, might have bought the car relatively cheap in the first place when compared to newer ones. Yet, we don't mind spending money on it to improve it and to keep it on the road as long as possible. I myself have already spent more on the A2 than it actually cost me, but I don't have any regrets. And I believe most people on this wonderful forum will be of the same opinion.
 
Sorry, my point didn't come over quite as it should have. I just like the fact that all of us on here, especially the ones who have bought an A2 quite recently, might have bought the car relatively cheap in the first place when compared to newer ones. Yet, we don't mind spending money on it to improve it and to keep it on the road as long as possible. I myself have already spent more on the A2 than it actually cost me, but I don't have any regrets. And I believe most people on this wonderful forum will be of the same opinion.
Understood and completely agree?
 
In all fairness, reading your and my post again, the link is not very clear. I do apologise for that and indeed for misquoting you. Hope no harm is done, last thing I want is an enemy on the A2 forum :)
To late, you are now on my hit list?

No harm done just wanted to make sure I wasn't saying something that I didn't mean, all is well in A2 land now?
 
Had mine since 2001 an ex demo, used and abused for 125000
biggest flaw in it is the front springs
£90 to insure and cheap road tax

I have never spent more on a repair than it cost! but that was £12,000 ;)
 
My wife’s car is a Smart Fortwo. Bought from Mercedes approved used at four years old and only serviced by them since new (leases). It is 8 years old now. I just spent £1,500 on necessary work to keep the car safe and working. Nothing extra or just cosmetic. Nothing crash damaged either. Just bits wearing out or breaking after 8 years (of about 6,000 miles a year - mixed use). Last year I spent about £400 on a MAF sensor and an exhaust flexy. Not including ‘servicing’ cost here.

I just decided my car needed some love and have spent about £500 on the parts for a service, some repairs, some preventative maintenance and a fancy self-opening boot hopefully. Last year I spent about £1,200 on work to replace front springs, shocks and wishbones, bearings and an exhaust leak. An MOT fail for a few worn components and a bit of gas escape - nothing mission critical but needing repaired.

The Smart garage is very much Mates Rates work and I’ll do a lot of the simpler stuff on my car myself. The actual costs are about the same - for a car eleven years newer and half the size! Also her insurance is higher!

Unless your car is under 5 years I think maintenance and repair is just a fact of life and you budget accordingly. The fact that my car has had less work done than my wife’s and hers is so much newer (and cost twice as much to buy) is a source of amusement and satisfaction about how well made the A2 is.


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I started my A2 journey last August with a purchase of a tdi 90, added a tdi 75 in January.

So far both cars have had all missing bits replaced, collapsible spares, auto lights, auto boot openers, cam belts and waterpumps, shocks, springs and other suspension parts, double boot lights/fog lights, all faulty parts replaced, Full services, all filters and liquids, clutch & FW on the 90, loads of other jobs and mods completed and I have 2 sets of spare wheels with good tyres, both have also been mapped.

I've kept a record of all spending on project A2, so far:
The 90 bought for £1250 currently stands me at £2863
The 75 bought for £595 currently stands me at £1873
Extra Tools and consumables bought currently at £707

All work done by myself apart from tyre fitting, I enjoy working on these cars and they've got me through lockdown, hopefully now I've got 2 reliable 5 seater fun to drive cars that I can continue to tinker with, modify and enjoy,

When I buy replacement parts and bolts from Audi/VW, its makes me smile when I see their £384 charge for a oil change and pollen filter!?

Regards
Andy
 
Joined the forum in March, always liked the look of the A2 since I first saw one and got my tdi se with a non working OSS last week. With 134K on the clock it’s the highest mileage car I have ever bought. I had a Skoda Fabia est tdi and did over 100K in that & that reminds me of the stories I see on here. Brakes all suspension parts, but all fixable. The £900 I paid will only be the beginning I know, I have already been quoted £550 to repair the OSS. A good, honest, reliable car is what I’m aiming for. I’m sure we all want various things from our own A2’s but the common theme is we all have a special place for them.
 
This post got me thinking then on to Excel to work out what my "cheap" car has cost me as I approach the first anniversary of A2 ownership.
I bought my A2 from a very passionate member of this forum but never new anything about them at the time. It was a 90TDi SE with full service history and 107K miles and a towbar on it. I paid £1500 with the only things needing sorted were the AC and the door mirrors being the wrong colour which was pointed out by the seller.
So in the last year I have spent an additional £700 which has been 1x garage service and MOT, 1 x home service including gearbox oil change, drop links, AC compressor and changing the 16" wheels to 15" pepperpot with 2 new tyres. £2200 for a years running which covered almost 20K miles.
A pretty cheap year if only the A2 wasn't so addictive...
Optional spending, upgrades, enhancements call it what you like but there are many ways to spend money on an A2 it seems. 17" sport wheels refurbished and a total of 6 new Dunlop tyres thanks to local potholes, black leather sports seats, BOSE system, cruise control, remap, mudflaps, pedal covers and footrest, replacement door mirrors with heated glass, other bits and bobs totalling £1700.
I know I have some bills coming to keep my A2 going for a few more years, suspension is a bit tired and the rear axle is very rusty after a life on Scottish roads but I find A2 ownership seems to have become a hobby. I hadn't worked on a car for maybe 10 years but find working on this can be therapeutic, though I've only done minor jobs. Perhaps trying to replace a rusty rear axle will change that.
After a year and almost £4K I'm left with a car that I like the look of inside and out, I enjoy driving and is more interesting than than the bog standard hatchbacks we pass on the roads every day.
The best value I've found in this last year, a visit to Timmus for cruise control and remap. and of course this forum and the time and effort people put in to sharing their experiences and learning. There is a true sense of community.
 
Since a couple of peeps mentioned boot openers? mine is goosed, what part is it that goes?
It's more of a boot 'lift' mod that several people have done, it works by using boot struts with a stronger lift (500N) fitted with compression die springs to give it the initial lift when you press the boot unlock button on the remote for 2s.
I used febi bilstein 23380 struts (amazon) with red 16x8x50mm springs (ebay) sprayed black


Andy
 
Ahh, I'm a numpty, it's the petrol opening button I'm thinking of!
one of these days I'll get round to fixing it. Till then I'll keep opening the boot
 
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