Hello and a question!

N

neil o

Member
Hello, I'm hoping to join the ranks of A2 owners soon. We are looking for a petrol A2 to replace our beloved '95 E280 estate. The main reason is to have isofix and secondly given the weather AC! I'm in Bedfordshire but am willing to travel for the right car. Now the question, I've come across a black 1.6 at a dealer in Cannock (I said I'm willing to travel...) with an A2OC badge and was hoping someone could fill in any history, as the reg is visible on the dealers website I hope I'm not breaking any forum rules giving out the reg; YH03UPX. Anyone know it?
 
I'd agree with Andrew and go as far to say it's almost impossible to find a correctly working fsi. Many owners who are currently selling don't want to spend on them, excepting forum members obviously, preferring to run around with the EML light on and chance it. Depending on how you look at it the new mot rules have at least it appears to me flushed out quite a few fsi cars recently so good if your looking but beware of EML lights being covered up with black tape. When key is in ignition and turned to stage 1 and 2 the engine light should light up if it doesn't its been taped over, either walk away or haggle.

That silver 04 car in the add above looks a steal at the price, but you can bet it needs plenty of work doing to it down to just age wear and tear let alone potential fsi problems. Having said that, they are awesome cars when running right! ;)

Best of luck with your hunt.
 
lol - The black one is a very interesting car. As a forum, although it has the badges, nobody seems to be coming forward as former owner, but it was heavily modified back in 2016-odd with what appear to be quite desirable specifications (wheel, RNSE etc.). But we're not at all certain of who did the work. So it would be risky unless you can ascertain their provenance. If anybody does go to have a look at it, I would interested to know if the volume control buttons work on the steering wheel.

As has been said the 1.4 petrol is a good bullet proof starting point and (should) give many years service. The one thing I would advise looking out for on those engines is oil leaks and tappety engine sounds. Good luck in your search.
 
Being an owner of two fsi's, I can vouch that they are brilliant fun, they seem to be appreciating in value rather than depriciate, so that has got to be a good thing. Beware the ever open wallet, unless you have a good garage that knows their fsi stuff (i'm lucky enough to have one near me)
I've had a 1.4tdi...hideously cheap to run, 1.6fsi..loads of fun....the question is, are you into miles per gallon or smiles per gallon....i'm the latter ?
 
I’m going to get drummed out for this but in 37 years of car ownership 280 Cdi best car I’ve ever owned. Worst car, Audi A2, fragile and expensive to maintain. Good news, it is cute.
 
Thanks for the pointers and encouragement. I've seen that silver one advertised and it looks good; but is fsi & Oss stacking the odds against me! As for the E280, It's a straight 6 petrol... So anything will be an improvement in economy. I'd noticed the steering wheel change and wheel swap on the one I originally mentioned. Seems someone might be a bit embarrassed to own up!
 
Special edition said:
The original Triumph Stag engine was hopelessly flawed with overheating problems but it's now a much sought after appreciating classic.
Click to expand...

I agree but that engine could be maintained with a few AF sockets and a big hammer. A2 is in a completely different league in terms of needing tools, parts availability and complexity of work.
My advice is if you can’t DIY do not buy one. I’ve spent £3k on my 150k mile TDi and I nearly have a car.
I’ll start a thread about my cash black (A2) hole. Be careful these cars are cash gobbling monsters.
 
You are probably right and I have spent similar amounts of money. Any car that is 13 to 18 years old will probably need work on its suspension, clutch, turbo, air con etc but the A2 is worth it. I wouldn't dream of spending that amount of money on lets say a Galaxy or a Zafira. :)
 
Special edition said:
The original Triumph Stag engine was hopelessly flawed with overheating problems but it's now a much sought after appreciating classic.
Click to expand...

As an ex stage owner of 20 plus years I can vouch for the 3.0 lt v8 as being a good engine but with very poor cooling hence the nice name triumph snag
I replaced the radiator in mine after a few months and had no further problems in in20 plus years of ownership including numerous trips to the south of France


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neil o said:
Thanks for the pointers and encouragement. I've seen that silver one advertised and it looks good; but is fsi & Oss stacking the odds against me! As for the E280, It's a straight 6 petrol... So anything will be an improvement in economy. I'd noticed the steering wheel change and wheel swap on the one I originally mentioned. Seems someone might be a bit embarrassed to own up!
Click to expand...
Just some information points you may not be aware of.

Regardless of A2 variant, it is extremely likely that any OSS wil be broken (BSS!) - a result of elements of poor design and maintenance, unless previously owned by an enthusiast. This manifests itself by failing to open or even in the rare case it does, failing to open smoothly or fully. This glut of BSS has arisen by the high cost of repairs deterring owners from a repair; Audi usually want to replace the entire sunroof at a cost I do not want to think about (£2k ???). It would not surprise me if Audi would now decline to repair and there has been little option elsewhere now that A2 Cars is no more, (WOM?). Good news, one of our members Klynie by fixing his own roof has developed expertise he is generously. willing to share by offerring a repair service with his son to members at a much more affordable cost to the average pocket. Information elsewhere on here. Lastly even BSS is considered to have merit making for a lighter cabin if that appeals.

Another plus point on the silver A2 is that it has a so called double din dash which makes the upgrading to include a screen, as in the black car, more straight forward, not cheap (£300? anybody) but it is normally what most owners want. [Most A2's are so called single din dash and and require a lot more work and cost to upgrade to a screen as per black car.]

Most A2's have badly worn climate buttons but these are simple and cheap (£25) to replace with much more durable so called hard touch buttons from earlier Audis, eg. A4 B5 variant (eBay), same for radio buttons.

As has been said above most open market A2's will require work, pity about the owner of the black car not coming forward but it struck me as they have sold their A2 they might have moved on and little reason to drop back in on this forum.

Apologies if you know all this stuff already but thought it might help if you don't.

Andy
 
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The consensus here seems to be that the diesel engine, in particular the TDi75, is the best one. It can easily be remapped for more power and torque, and 65mpg is well within reach - I've seen 72mpg on a tank to tank basis and mine's now on 236,000 miles and doesn't use any oil.
 
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