Advice for newbie pleaseee

andyman

andyman

Member
Hi all I'm Andy and live in Ipswich in Suffolk and having done a Google search I found your site.
My wife and I had our first Audi about three and a half years ago and it was an A2 TDi though dont know which BHP as I didnt know there was more than one!!,
It was a 51 plate SE in (I think) Cobalt Blue but my wife fell pregnant (daughter now aged 2) and it had to go so we got a 51 plate A4 1.6 which was also a fab car though I always missed the A2!!.
Anyway after a moment of madness we traded in our A4 for a ,,,,wait for it,,,,,,,,,,,Zafira SRi:( and though its a capable car its cr*p compared to the Audis,
So now it is for sale(after only 6 months with us)and we shall be after an A2 TDi SE .
So really I didnt know anything about the A2 before so if people could give us loads of advice and opinions etc then we would be very grateful.
May buy from either dealer or private depends on what comes up!!,
Also How can I tell if what i'm viewing is a 75 or 90 BHP as I only want a 90!!,
Also after reading about the poor chap with the curbed alloys on his Sport I shall now only consider an SE.
Need to know about what options there where for these eg split folding rear seats would be good, 4 seater is fine!!, do any of them have a spare wheel instead of a damed pump??,(Am only refering to UK models).
Also what price should we be paying,
ie for something like a 02/03 about 30k on clock must have climate, TDi SE??
Also (again:eek: ) is there any bad(read costly) things to watch out for??.

Sorry for all the Questions, would really appreciate as much help and advice as poss as we are going to lose a few grand on this Zafira heap and cant afford to make a mistake again.
BTW excellent site and look forward to paticipating more and more once we get an A2 back!!:cool: ,
Regards Andy:)
 
Hi Andy,

First up, the A2 you had previously was a 75PS version - the 90 only started production in 2004.

The way to tell a 90 from a 75 is the red "i" on the rear TDi badge and the fact that the 90 has disc brakes all round, as opposed to the 75s rear drums.

The A2 (75 and 90 have the same options list) came with the "tyre mobility system" as standard, ie a bottle of gunk and a pump. The space-saver spare was a no-cost option and quite a few come with these as well. The 4 seat version is the only type with split, folding and removeable seats - the 5 seater only folds in its entirety.

Now to price. As I said earlier, the 90PS version only came into production in 2004 so you're not going to get an 02/03 year. The earliest 2004 models will probably set you back about £9500-10500 for a tidy example.

In terms of problem areas to look out for, the main ones are suspension and roll-bar bushes, as well as warped discs. Also bear in mind that the aluminium bodied A2 is far pricier to repair than a steel bodied car.

Water in the boot is another commonly reported problem. Any 90PS car you're considering will have at least a year of the manufacturers warranty left to run, so you're almost certainly going to be covered in any event. The best bet is to source one from an Audi dealer, get the price down a bit and then get them to sort any faults out before you take delivery. Get a good one and you'll be laughing for years to come, especially with the high price of diesel and the £50 a year road tax (yes really - Gordon Brown handed out a £35 rebate to all us A2 TDi owners in this years budget).
 
Sorry if i am putting this on the wrong thread!.

I've got a quick question for Skipton01.

What does your tdi drive like with the chip from ccc tech ?

I'm having my 90 bhp tdi se chipped on thursday and its costing £295 , its claimed to increase the bhp to 116.

Thanks Dale.

2004 tdi se, 90 bhp soon to be 116 bhp, rear bench, rear cup holders, winter pack and front fogs.
 
Wow thanks guys for the excellent posts, have printed off some info so I dont forget and kelly(my wife) is chuffed!!,
OK so now a couple more questions is the 90 much better than the 75??, we had the 75 last time and we both thought that was very nippy considering its only a 1.4 after all!!, what I mean is ,,,is it worth the hassle and premium to get a 90???.
Also another thought is what is chipping like on a 75??, ie, cost to chip, gain in performance and what performance gain is it(accelleration or top end) or what??,
would the car be more economicle and could the car suffer from such a conversion, wonder what the insurance co would say?? and warrenty /servicing problems , my goodness the list could go on!?.

I'm also thinking that the sport has lower firmer suspension than the SE,,is this right as I thought the SE was firm enough(we dont rally it,,,I'm spirited though only if babe isnt in the car)dont know what other differences there are(wife is wondering).
Again many thanks for advice and keep it coming if I havent OTT'd my first day on here!?.:eek: :) . (btw we would be looking at a budget of prob 10k ish).
Rergards Andy
 
ULP thanks for that mate, I think it will be a case of condition over BHP and there are also some options I would defo want eg, SE spec+Climate+Split fold rear seats+Rear elec windows and pref spare wheel.
I would also like to get the newest I can and as I wont be hammering the car the 75 should be fine and hoptefully get better MPG too!!??.
BTW anyone know if its poss/easy to change from comp and can to comp and spare wheel?? pls.
Love the site all just cant wait to sell the bleeding Zafira shed so we can get an A2 !!.
Anymore views post em ere:) :cool: ,
Regards Andy.
 
Thanks Spike interesting stuff though hopefully I will be able to find a car with a spare instead of can!!.
 
can anyone tell me, Is a sport model alright as I'm concerned about the alloys as there are plenty of poor roads and speed humps where I live and I would worry about the alloys getting knackered.
My local dealership has found me a good 2004 1.4 TDi sport, 90BHP in Akoya Silver with 12 k on clock for 10 grand!!??.
Opinions please.
Regards Andy.
 
I'd go for it Andy - I did (see my sig.).

The 17" alloys do appear to be slightly softer than is ususal, but after a lot of discussion with Audi UK, they seem to be denying that it is a design feature, as was the case with the RS 4 wheels, a few years ago.

One way to remedy the situation would be to fit a higher profile tyre, say a 215/40 or a 205/45 or even a 215/45. This would give you a bit more rubber between the tarmac and the alloy and should help to stop any buckling, until you go down a really big pothole.

In terms of kerbing, well, they are very susceptable these 17" wheels. Again, the only real option is to go large on the rubber!

To be honest though, get the Sport. I had an SE prior to this A2 and I basically used that car to sort out the items I did and didn't want from the options list when it came to getting my next A2.

So, what I got, which is what I'm still in now, is the best bits of the Sport and the Se combined. I did try to spec up SE wheels, but was told this is a no-no. (I think they've stopped doing SE wheels now, as I have only been offered 17" and 15" versions to replace my 4 buckled wheels - see thread elsewhere for details).

I'm still pleased to bits with it, despite a hiccup in our relationship last month and get a thrill every time I walk up to it in the car park or even on the drive! It saounds daft, but make sure you like the colour, cos otherwise, you'll start to hate the car quite quickly. This also goes for the interior - get black if you can, as greys and beiges are b****rs to keep clean.

Anyway, if you've bothered to read the above, great, but if you've skipped to the end, GET THE SPORT!!! IT'S A 90PS AND VERY SCARCE! IT ALSO GOES LIKE THE PROVERBIAL!
 
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