New A2 tdi owner

[Steve Gom]

Hi All,

Having been on the look out for a cheap runabout since getting rid of our Mini Cooper D I picked up this great 2001 tdi at the weekend. It's done 123K miles but it's been serviced regularly and is clean and tidy inside but does have a number of aesthetic issues, but these are purely cosmetic. It cost less to buy than the last service on my Boxster!

This will be the 3rd car in the family fleet (Mrs has a Merc B220) and will do the station run, ferry the dog about, trips to the tip etc particularly during the winter months which is what it still feels like up here in Northumberland at the mo. Well, that was until I spent a few days driving it around. Wow! What a fantastic little car! I tend to keep our cars (and my motorbike) in pristine condition with regular washing and detailing, so it's hard to resist getting some paintwork done on the A2, but the Mrs has warned me not to lavish too much time/money on it, but I'm finding it hard to resist.

It's going in for a cam belt kit and water pump on Thursday as nearly 60K since last one fitted in 2012 but I know Ill end up doing a bit more to it over the coming months. I've asked my Audi indy (Autotech) to give it a once over to ensure I haven't missed anything major before tacking the cam belt work and hoping it'll be verified as a decent car.

I have loads of queries on things I'd like to tackle but will read through as many of the excellent and informative posts from the site before throwing out more repeat questions to the collective. Cheers all, Steve ?

 

[Proghound]

Welcome aboard Steve They do impress you and get under your skin very quickly don't they. You WILL end up doing far more to it than the Mrs would approve of

The bodywork looks very straight on that one, except that it's got 17" wheel centres in 16" wheels - probably because the shiny aluminium outer rings on the 16" centres got corroded. Is that a little misting in the drivers' headlight? Struggling to identify the colour in that early evening light too - is it silver, light blue (Crystal Blue) or silvery green (Island Green)?

 

[A2Steve]

Welcome along. 123k is genuinely barely run in for the TDI. We've got many members over the 300k mile mark and one at over 550k.

 

[Steve Gom]

Welcome aboard Steve They do impress you and get under your skin very quickly don't they. You WILL end up doing far more to it than the Mrs would approve of

The bodywork looks very straight on that one, except that it's got 17" wheel centres in 16" wheels - probably because the shiny aluminium outer rings on the 16" centres got corroded. Is that a little misting in the drivers' headlight? Struggling to identify the colour in that early evening light too - is it silver, light blue (Crystal Blue) or silvery green (Island Green)?

Thanks for the welcome.
I'm on the hunt for some 16 inch wheel centre caps, but don't want to spend £100 + on genuine Audi items on my £900 car! I'd settle for some cheap repro units, if anyone could suggest a vendor/site?
Paintwork is dreadful, scratches and marks on nearly every panel - this is the most flattering 3/4 shot I took following the '6 hour new car acquisition' clean performed on Saturday. The interior is very good apart form wear marks to the heater controls and glove box etc. It's had 2 sets of mats in from new, so carpets are unmarked which is nice.
The headlight is suffering from post wash condensation but could do with a little resto work to make them crystal clear and sparkly. I think the paint is crystal blue, LY7R I'll try and cut and polish it but I fear this car was a shopping trolley magnet for the previous owner.

 

[Steve Gom]

Welcome along. 123k is genuinely barely run in for the TDI. We've got many members over the 300k mile mark and one at over 550k.

Cheers Steve. Our Mini Clubman did 8K in 2 years but was too good to do the work we were using it for so decided to move it on and release some cash and get the A2. Could take us 10 years to do another 40K miles but encouraging to hear about the big mileages these cars are capable of!

 

[A2Steve]

You'd be surpised just how thick the laquer is on this era of Audi. It can take quite a heavy amount of correction. I've wetsanded a few in the past with some good results on even heavy scratches.

 

[dj_efk]

Nice car and purchase.

At that mileage I would get your Indy to replace the oil pump chain and tensioner (also inspect / replace the sprockets if necessary). It’s cheapest to do it as part of a cambelt service as the belt has to come off.

 

[Steve Gom]

Nice car and purchase.

At that mileage I would get your Indy to replace the oil pump chain and tensioner (also inspect / replace the sprockets if necessary). It’s cheapest to do it as part of a cambelt service as the belt has to come off.

Noted, thanks. I'm all for a bit of preventative stuff 'while they're in there' ?

 

[trevorswaine]

Thanks for the welcome.
I'm on the hunt for some 16 inch wheel centre caps, but don't want to spend £100 + on genuine Audi items on my £900 car! I'd settle for some cheap repro units, if anyone could suggest a vendor/site?
Paintwork is dreadful, scratches and marks on nearly every panel - this is the most flattering 3/4 shot I took following the '6 hour new car acquisition' clean performed on Saturday. The interior is very good apart form wear marks to the heater controls and glove box etc. It's had 2 sets of mats in from new, so carpets are unmarked which is nice.
The headlight is suffering from post wash condensation but could do with a little resto work to make them crystal clear and sparkly. I think the paint is crystal blue, LY7R I'll try and cut and polish it but I fear this car was a shopping trolley magnet for the previous owner.

Centrecaps for the 16" wheel are extremely difficult to find. I'd been looking for many months and recently gave up and raided the piggybank for some new ones from Crewe Audi. Beware ! there are only about 8 new ones left in the UK now, so if anyone wants them you may need to hurry up.

 

[Steve Gom]

Cheers Trevor. I'd be happy with a generic 'blank' VAG cap if it fitted properly, if such a thing exists.
I'm trying not to get into a 'project refurb' situ with this car but I did see a set of my wheels for sale locally for £150, with all four centres, so it may be more cost effective to get these and then sell mine!!!?