Musing over what determines the value of a second-hand A2

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PaulHa

Member
Outside of mileage and condition and in a moment of COVID boredom and as an owner of a 90 TDi I was wondering what affects the second-hand value of different models of Audi A2, if anything?

I keep an eye on prices on Autotrader, in the past diesels have been significantly more valuable than petrols, but in the last year this seems to have reversed with some low mileage petrol models priced between £3,000 and £5,000. I wondered whether this was due to a shortage of supply of petrols or concerns over the introduction of low emission zones? on diesels?

This website https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/?utf8=✓&q=audi+a2 suggests that there are now fewer petrols on the road proportionally since 2005, with up to a 50% drop compared with diesels with only a 20% drop for some models.

My interpretation of second-hand prices of petrol versus diesel A2s is that in the past they were bought as daily drivers in which case the diesel was significantly more valuable, but now the A2 is seen less as a daily driver and perhaps more as an investment, and so the prices are now more equalised, which favours petrols because of their generally lower mileage?

Does anyone have any comments on this hypothesis? And if you were buying an A2 now as an investment would you buy a petrol or a diesel or would you be ambivalent?
 
PaulHa said:
Outside of mileage and condition and in a moment of COVID boredom and as an owner of a 90 TDi I was wondering what affects the second-hand value of different models of Audi A2, if anything?

I keep an eye on prices on Autotrader, in the past diesels have been significantly more valuable than petrols, but in the last year this seems to have reversed with some low mileage petrol models priced between £3,000 and £5,000. I wondered whether this was due to a shortage of supply of petrols or concerns over the introduction of low emission zones? on diesels?

This website https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/?utf8=✓&q=audi+a2 suggests that there are now fewer petrols on the road proportionally since 2005, with up to a 50% drop compared with diesels with only a 20% drop for some models.

My interpretation of second-hand prices of petrol versus diesel A2s is that in the past they were bought as daily drivers in which case the diesel was significantly more valuable, but now the A2 is seen less as a daily driver and perhaps more as an investment, and so the prices are now more equalised, which favours petrols because of their generally lower mileage?

Does anyone have any comments on this hypothesis? And if you were buying an A2 now as an investment would you buy a petrol or a diesel or would you be ambivalent?
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I wouldn’t buy an A2 as an investment personally. They are lovely things that deserve to be driven and whilst I would agree they’ll likely never be to cheaper to buy than right now (or actually probably last winter) it is no way certain values will rise markedly over the 5 years.

In terms of your hypothesis, it makes logical sense and perhaps it is the scarcity of petrol A2’s vs Diesels which typically last longer could explain the apparent price rise of petrols. That said, the pro boost map for FSI’s and general war on diesels could also be contributing.

For what it’s worth, I’d choose my A2 based on the job i wanted it to do as it’s got most jobs covered;

Bullet proof super economy mile muncher=TDI 75, Pokier Torque monster=TDI 90, Simple fun short journey run around= 1.4 petrol and a bit of naughty fun for those of a more adventurous nature= 1.6FSI.
 
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An ultra low mile diesel will IMHO always be worth more than the same 1.4 Petrol ..I’ve probably had over the years we have owned a2s some of the lowest mile ones out there and I’ve paid up to 40% more for the diesel ..the last 2 petrol ones I sold this year made £5k+ Infact one of them resold for £6k less than 4 months later ....a 12k diesel would be a lot more ..I paid £5k for a high spec 34k diesel 2 years ago ..I believe your right in respect of low mile petrols now being sought... but I think that due to the lack of low mile diesels..
We will all have our own views on this ..these are just my observations .
 
As an investment to make money on there are a lot of other cars of a similar age for similar money that are rising far far faster. MK5 Golf GTi for example. So I don’t think the A2 should be bought as an investment.

As a usable classic that will hold its value and get you a return on your investment the A2 comes into its own.

The disparity on prices at the moment is huge £100 up to £6000, that’s a pretty wide range for a car that was only manufactured for 5 years and doesn’t rust.

So coming back to your question, I think, mileage, condition and spec are the biggest contributing factors and in that order.
 
probley the average millage per year so even 100,000 miles can be low millage for a diesel a2 I guess.
 
Mabey someone else can advise better then I can. I used to think it was under 60000 miles but as the cars get older the average millage goes up so for a audi a2 18 year old tdi 100,000miles is on the low side especially when you consider the tdi 75hp engine can go over 200000 miles easily if properly maintained. But that's just my opinion am not an expert on this matter. Am not sure how this would work out for a petrol I guess the average miles per year would be less then a diesel, but again mabey someone else can advise.
 
In my opinion cars should never be bought purely as an investment, especially if you intend on using them. The running costs almost always outweigh the capital gain.

People have been describing A2s as modern classics for as long as I’ve been a member yet prices have constantly fallen in this time. It’s too early at this stage for them to climb in my opinion. They are at or getting near the bottom of the depreciation curve. The sad truth is we will need a lot more A2s to be scrapped before demand starts to compete for a limited supply and push up prices.

On top of this as they were so far ahead of their time they don’t seem outdated yet and are still very usable everyday. I don’t think they’ll start being considered classics till the average person sees them as too old for day to day use.

Very long term I suspect TDI and FSI models to become the more valuable ones. TDI as they tend to be more popular currently and were the ones with the high economy and long service intervals that the A2 became known for. FSI as they tend to be higher spec and often Classic buyers go for the bigger engine/high power versions of whatever model they want. Low mileage and good service history will obviously command a premium.

Tim
 
a2roger said:
Mabey someone else can advise better then I can. I used to think it was under 60000 miles but as the cars get older the average millage goes up so for a audi a2 18 year old tdi 100,000miles is on the low side especially when you consider the tdi 75hp engine can go over 200000 miles easily if properly maintained. But that's just my opinion am not an expert on this matter. Am not sure how this would work out for a petrol I guess the average miles per year would be less then a diesel, but again mabey someone else can advise.
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I’d say an A2 with less than 100k miles is well below the average for a car of its age. I’d consider one below 100k as low miles for what it is. An MOT check website says the average for a 2001 car like mine is 183k miles.

Tim
 
I think older diesels are going to fall out of favour very rapidly in the near future. (Well before 2030!)
I know that might seem one up man ship coming from an FSI owner but it ain’t as I also own another car which is a 310hp diesel, which I may as well just keep for the laughs now.
The agenda being pushed is massively on pollution, air quality and environment. I think we will see our diesel cars disappear and not in a way which pushes up prices.
of course the ultra low mileage shiny anything will be worth a bit.
Only these ‘blue’ diesels or the latest euro whatever number will be allowed on the roads.
I would go down the EV A2 route for longevity, investment and use ability. Rightly or wrongly it’s the way it’s going.
 
I don’t think they’ll be able to force all the old diesels of the road. They’ve tried all kinds of stuff to get rid of older cars, manufacturers incentives, road tax, etc. We will just drop in to the classic car club with our little cars, hopefully will win on insurance etc!
 
Darpod14 said:
I don’t think they’ll be able to force all the old diesels of the road. They’ve tried all kinds of stuff to get rid of older cars, manufacturers incentives, road tax, etc. We will just drop in to the classic car club with our little cars, hopefully will win on insurance etc!
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Old diesels are no good where I live in the outskirts of London. Both A2’s in our household are petrol for that reason. My Macan is euro 6 diesel for the same reason. At present all of our cars can be driven into London without any surcharge.

Ian
 
Kleynie said:
Old diesels are no good where I live in the outskirts of London. Both A2’s in our household are petrol for that reason. My Macan is euro 6 diesel for the same reason. At present all of our cars can be driven into London without any surcharge.

Ian
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Thankfully I’m nowhere near London so don’t have that problem!
I think most of the petrols will naturally migrate south though for that very reason and ‘up north’ will be left with the diesels!
 
I dont think an A2 is an investment in its own right, I do think they are low to zero depreciation and low running cost therefore you want lose the money you would on pretty much most other cars. They are "modern classics" so thats why e.g they have a fan base so more than just a transport appliance.

As an example I have an S1 Lotus Elise, I paid £14k for it about 20 years ago and its worth about that now. I have had huge fun it it, modified it, raced it and maintained it. But would you call that "an investment" though as its not made made money, but equally I havent lost any cash through depreciation.
 
They are an investment if you look at it how I have done - If you want reliable motoring and don’t want to spend much money doing it AND have a nice looking car, then buy the best example you can find and throw some money at it in terms of maintenance and addressing possible / known weak points. You will then have a reliable daily driver that costs nothing to run and will lose you less money than a “modern” car would when you come to sell.

As many already know, I almost bought a three year old Skoda Fabia estate before discovering A2s. I have spent the same amount of money now, however in seven years time the Fabia would be worthless, hopefully the A2 will not and will have been almost as reliable!
 
Definite investment in my case. Had some money to spare, liked idea of A2 1.2 TDI, did some estimations etc and thought that it will pay for itself in 2-4 years on fuel cost alone, depends how much i drive. Since it's own price is not going to drop hard, it's a money maker. And since it will "make money" in future, it is an investment by definition....
Even if i drive it max 4 years (until it has nullified it's price and upkeep with fuel savings compared to other car), the price i will get for it is all earned money. That's not going to happen of course, i'll drive longer :D
1.4TDI might be more sensible option, but it's not much cheaper here and manual gearbox is too bothersome for me. And if i'd want manual, then there are other options available too.

Not many other choices if you want cheap economic automatic car....

Driving 3000€ car with 1000€ of fuel, or 1000€ car with 3000€ of fuel is not the same if distance is equal. Fuel does not hold it's value well if you burn it.
I know, my other car is good at burning through fuel....

But buying it purely for investment, to take room in garage etc? Nope....
 
Hi all. As an investment the A2 is a contender in my opinion. With electric cars coming in 2030, electric car conversions won't be far behind. And the A2 with it's aluminium construction is a good bet for a reliable, economic classic electric car. If I were in the market to buy an A2, i would look for a well cared for example with good history and good base optional equipment. As we all know A2's can be easily tailored to suit anyone's taste. But some of the options are a pita to upgrade. Climate control is a must for me, as is sport seats, Bose, cruise control and dis.
Steve
 
I have never driven an electric car.
I know of all the range issues and charging issues and how non-green they really are but I would love to have ago in one and I really hope it saves a lot of our cars. Let’s face it, we all worry about cold starts, head gasket, egr, turbo, plastic pipes, eml, flat spots, the list goes on. It’s such old dirty technology which we have all loved! BUT I would give up all that for a clean (ish) smooth, bang up to date A2.
? but hold on, would the climate control work after an EV conversion? I guess there would be no coolant
 
Phil FSI said:
I have never driven an electric car.
I know of all the range issues and charging issues and how non-green they really are but I would love to have ago in one and I really hope it saves a lot of our cars. Let’s face it, we all worry about cold starts, head gasket, egr, turbo, plastic pipes, eml, flat spots, the list goes on. It’s such old dirty technology which we have all loved! BUT I would give up all that for a clean (ish) smooth, bang up to date A2.
? but hold on, would the climate control work after an EV conversion? I guess there would be no coolant
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You must have gone on the dodgems in your youth ,,,
Mac.
 
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