New Member and Owner of 1.4TDI 2001 Cobalt Blue

Jason1979

Member
So was looking for a car under 2k, over 60mpg and £30 road tax and stumbled upon the Audi A2, also quite like the idea of something that become a future classic. In researching the A2 I stumbled across the A2OC website, which had a wealth of information. It proved difficult to track down a car to buy as there are not many on the market and didn't want to travel to far to get one. I ended up getting a 2001 plate, 1.4 TDI (75bhp) with 111k on the clock, it cost under 1k and has 12 month mot on it and zero service history... but looking back through the MOT history online I can see it must have had money spent on it and likely the paper work has just been lost along the way. It has many things wrong with it, which I spotted before buying the car, + a few more since and im sure more to find. Since I was even considering spending 2.5k on one I don't mind spending money to fix it up, planning on doing much of it myself. Have already used the forum to help find out whats causing some issues. Here is the full list of things I plan to deal with...

Already fixed
1. Button on boot not working to open, not sure why but the cable was unplugged....plugged it back in and it worked.
2. Remote locking was not working, added new battery to key... still not working
3. Dash warning light for fuses, found 2 fuses were just not present. Very odd, replaced them and a number of things started working (heated rear window, remote unlocking, interior lights on when care unlocked, fuses warning message gone from dash).
4. Sun Visors both snapped off, found replacements on ebay and fitted
5. Tailgate trim was off, but in the boot. So fitted that back on, linked to 1 and likely 2/3 as I was told previous owner had gotten key locked in the car

Still to Fix
0. Get the car serviced (full service) and find out if cambelt/waterpump need replacing as no idea when they might have last been replaced.

1. Windscreen wiper keeps coming out of mounting, the plastic clip is not that tight fitting.
2. Rear number plate, delaminated (has come up for last several MOT as advisory)
3. Drivers door only locks with the key, cable was cut behind the door card (linked to 1/2/3 and 5 in already fixed and the key getting locked in the car). Have ordered new wiring loom for door from ebay... hopefully replacing that will restore remote locking to the drivers door
4. Get a 2nd key, car only came with 1 key (hence many of the issues above)
5. Rear light has a small hole in it covered with red tape. Have ordered a replacement from ebay, looks easy enough to swap over....if not im sure I can find a thread on here to help.
6. Drivers door wing mirror control is snapped off and electric window swtiches sunk into door (but they work and all light up). Replacement module ordered from ebay, will replace at same time as the door wiring loom
7. Various scratches on arches/bumpers/bodywork, plan to see how far I get with chipex
8. Cassete player lcd screen is patchy, have ordered a concert cd player off ebay (looks like it should be a simple swap).
9. Front bumper is broke, looks like it had a coming together with a curb, need to work out if I an fix it up or just get a replacement bumper. Its just the part where the grill and spot lights go.
10. Fuel gauge intermittently not working on startup
11. Trim around steering wheel and fuse box is coming away/broken.
12. Laquer has come away from bonnet and wings, car is dark blue anyone else had that happen? I saw threads talking about red cars. Plan on this is to either have bonnet resprayed and wing or find a replacement bonnet the same colour and swap... but this is way down the list

On the plus side the car drives well, gear changing is smooth. So hoping that it proves to be mechanically sound, the full service will help prove that theory out for me.

Future Plans
1. Replace the 15" wheels with the 16" ones.
2. ??

So wish me luck and I may come asking for help if I dont find info in previous threads.

Thanks

Jason
 
Welcome along Jason - I'm sure there will be lots of people along soon with helpful tips and tricks on the issues you've found.

There is a vibrant marketplace for spares on the forum, and it's worth "joining" up to access the "Market" tab above, as most of the parts you have already purchased, or expressed a desire for will be available at (probably) cheaper than eBay prices (unless you want some Bose Grilles or a rear cupholder in Twist ;))

Before getting new wheels have a look around the forum, and see what others are fitting as some wheels are a straight fit, some are great for comfort, some a great for looks, some are great for economy.

Oh, and as I always say "this thread is useless without pics" :)
 
Hi Jason and welcome to A2OC! I see you've given your location as Prestwood ... if that's Prestwood in Bucks then I'm local to you as I'm in Chesham most evenings/weekends.

That's quite a list of things to fix, but you'll find loads of help on here and often parts for sale at much lower prices than eBay. The rear light is indeed easy, from memory, take out the grey inspection cover, unclip the bulb holder and it's just a couple of 10mm nuts, a ¼" drive is your friend. I had a similar bumper issue to yours when I bought mine, from what I read you can't fix them such that they don't break again, without it being very visible - better to replace the bumper which is straightforward, if fiddly in places.

I may be able to help you with the wiper, I have an almost brand new one of the earlier hook type to suit your car, which I used on mine for only a couple of weeks in the summer. It clipped on very tightly! PM me if you're interested.
 
Welcome along Jason - I'm sure there will be lots of people along soon with helpful tips and tricks on the issues you've found.

There is a vibrant marketplace for spares on the forum, and it's worth "joining" up to access the "Market" tab above, as most of the parts you have already purchased, or expressed a desire for will be available at (probably) cheaper than eBay prices (unless you want some Bose Grilles or a rear cupholder in Twist ;))

Before getting new wheels have a look around the forum, and see what others are fitting as some wheels are a straight fit, some are great for comfort, some a great for looks, some are great for economy.

Oh, and as I always say "this thread is useless without pics" :)

Thanks for the advice on the marketplace, I will sign up for that as I will likely need more parts. Also thanks for the advice on the bumper, I will likely replace as you suggest. I will be sure to add some pictures along the way.
 
Hi Jason and welcome to A2OC! I see you've given your location as Prestwood ... if that's Prestwood in Bucks then I'm local to you as I'm in Chesham most evenings/weekends.

That's quite a list of things to fix, but you'll find loads of help on here and often parts for sale at much lower prices than eBay. The rear light is indeed easy, from memory, take out the grey inspection cover, unclip the bulb holder and it's just a couple of 10mm nuts, a ¼" drive is your friend. I had a similar bumper issue to yours when I bought mine, from what I read you can't fix them such that they don't break again, without it being very visible - better to replace the bumper which is straightforward, if fiddly in places.

I may be able to help you with the wiper, I have an almost brand new one of the earlier hook type to suit your car, which I used on mine for only a couple of weeks in the summer. It clipped on very tightly! PM me if you're interested.

Indeed it is Prestwood in bucks, so not far from you at all. Will PM you about the wiper (once i work out how to PM). Thanks for advice on the light and bumper... bumper is way down my list but light seems simple so will tackle that once the part arrives.
 
...That's quite a list of things to fix, but you'll find loads of help on here and often parts for sale at much lower prices than eBay. The rear light is indeed easy, from memory, take out the grey inspection cover, unclip the bulb holder and it's just a couple of 10mm nuts, a ¼" drive is your friend...

There are three bolts on the rear lights, two on the outer edge, and one on the inner. One of them is a bit of a 'mare to get to, but once the nuts are off the rear light can sometimes need a bit of a firm push from inside the car to get off, so make sure you've got a hand on the outside when it pops off, as it's easy to crack them if it falls to the floor.

By the way, I suspect your car will be Mauritius Blue, which is obviously blue, or Cobalt Blue, which can look black in certain lights.
 
Hi Jason,
Welcome to this fantastic Forum! There's everything that you need to know, here! My immediate comment is regarding what you've said about changing your 15" wheels for 16" .... I would advise that, IMHO, it would be a retrograde step. 15" wheels, with the appropriate tyres, are acknowledged to give the most comfortable ride. I have personal experience of that and I wouldn't use any other size to my 15" wheels.

David
 
Hi Jason,

Welcome, you will find lots of friendly support, ask any questions however simple.

You are buying too much on eBay, prices on here are a lot lot less and with a little patience you can pick up anything you need.

You have so many points to discuss I will only pick up on a couple for now.

Point 8, regret to say your new Concert head unit will probably not work, it might physically fit but I suspect you will encounter Canbus problems being a 2001 A2. It can be made made to work with a Canbus emulator but you need someone who knows what they are talking about, not me!
Point 9. Surprisingly the front bumper is all one part, the lower black part is not seperate. A replacement bumper is probably the way to go. Your colour sounds like Mauritius Blue or Cobalt Blue. Look at the white sticker in the boot and check the code here

https://www.a2oc.net/community/inde...trim-colour-codes.30501/&highlight=Trim+codes

Lastly a tip, the forums internal search is poor it ignores any word under 4 letters, not helpful on a a car forum, eg. ABS, EGR, ET, PDC and so on, using Google with a search string of 'a2oc "your interest"' is often more fruitful.

Welcome again, virtually anything you want to know about your A2 is here somewhere in the 35000 threads and over a quarter of a million posts.

Andy
 
Welcome!

I think that most of us have bought an A2 with problems and most of the answers can be found here.

If not though, pipe up.
 
Indeed it is Prestwood in bucks, so not far from you at all. Will PM you about the wiper (once i work out how to PM). Thanks for advice on the light and bumper... bumper is way down my list but light seems simple so will tackle that once the part arrives.
Just click 'messages' in the top bar to PM. - Andy
 
Hi Jason,

Welcome, you will find lots of friendly support, ask any questions however simple.

You are buying too much on eBay, prices on here are a lot lot less and with a little patience you can pick up anything you need.

You have so many points to discuss I will only pick up on a couple for now.

Point 8, regret to say your new Concert head unit will probably not work, it might physically fit but I suspect you will encounter Canbus problems being a 2001 A2. It can be made made to work with a Canbus emulator but you need someone who knows what they are talking about, not me!
Point 9. Surprisingly the front bumper is all one part, the lower black part is not seperate. A replacement bumper is probably the way to go. Your colour sounds like Mauritius Blue or Cobalt Blue. Look at the white sticker in the boot and check the code here

https://www.a2oc.net/community/inde...trim-colour-codes.30501/&highlight=Trim+codes

Lastly a tip, the forums internal search is poor it ignores any word under 4 letters, not helpful on a a car forum, eg. ABS, EGR, ET, PDC and so on, using Google with a search string of 'a2oc "your interest"' is often more fruitful.

Welcome again, virtually anything you want to know about your A2 is here somewhere in the 35000 threads and over a quarter of a million posts.

Andy

Agree had not thought to look on here for parts until it was mentioned, so much to learn! Have signed up and will look here first in future, bummer on the Concert head unit, will give it a try and see where I land. Only paid £30 for it and see plenty going for £100 so if it doesn't work I will just sell it on and get something that will work. For the colour I will check the sticker, but yes based on photos i was guessing at Cobalt Blue. Thanks for the tip, I had been googling and often landing up here :) Thanks for your reply.
 
Welcome :)

To message a person who has posted: hover the mouse over their user icon (with their user name below), wait a second or so for the pop-up to appear, then click on "start conversation"
 
So heres some photos, worked out its cobalt blue. Today i took the drivers door card off to work out what had been done to the wiring.... for some reason the cables were cut going into the door switches and also the cable coming from the lock to the door. Not sure why they were cut since they could have just unplugged them!! Anyway was able to soldier them all back together. This appears to have fixed the following for me: Fuel release switch now lights up and works, so does the alarm switch, also the dash now reports when the drivers door is open and also the warning for headlights being left on is back, the key now locks all the doors from the drivers door and the switch to lock the doors inside the car is also working. Still the remote locking is not locking or unlocking the drivers door (anyone got any ideas what i should try).

While i had the door panel off i also replace the window/wing mirror switch. The wing mirror switch now works on paseenger mirror but not for drivers mirror (guess the motor in the mirror itself must have gone).

Also managed to replace the cabin filter.

I did spot another possible issue with the key in the ignition there is constant clicking coming from one of the parts behind the coolant tank... photo attached.. should it be doing that?

Thoughts on the bumper? Should i try to repair or replace the entire bumper? Photo attached showing the damage.
 

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That bumper's totally dead, but easy enough to replace. The fun bit will be finding one the right colour. I see Bullzbitz on eBay has one (no affiliation) but it's not wonderful and he wants £140 for it. He "may take offers" but it's about £100 too much already in that condition. Or you could try a common dark colour such as one of the blacks, at least that would get the front of your car the correct shape for now, and you could have it resprayed later.
 
That bumper's totally dead, but easy enough to replace. The fun bit will be finding one the right colour. I see Bullzbitz on eBay has one (no affiliation) but it's not wonderful and he wants £140 for it. He "may take offers" but it's about £100 too much already in that condition. Or you could try a common dark colour such as one of the blacks, at least that would get the front of your car the correct shape for now, and you could have it resprayed later.
Thanks ian, yes had seen that one but like you say is tattyyl and overpriced... will keep looking can wait a little also to get the right colour/condition.
 
Noticed your clicking query in post #13. When turning the ignition on before engaging starter there is a clicking from that area in the cabin. Apparently it is the climate unit orienting its flaps and is normal and lasts for a short while. If you are sure it is coming from that kit in your picture sorry I can't help as I am petrol and don't recognise it, must be TDI specific or bit of kit I do not have.

On the bumper I would not hang around, a fussy traffic officer might deem it dangerous (sharp edges) and give you a ticket.

Andy
 
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