Newbie looking to buy A2 tdi in blue

Morning Ian,

There are a few A2s available within our Market Forum (but not sure of colour), which is added to frequently. To view whats currently available you'll need to upgrade your account.

Please re-read the welcome email that you should have received last night as it contains some very helpful information along with a guide on how to upgrade your account.

Welcome to the Club where I'm sure we can assist with your search and its future maintenance tasks.

Kind regards,

Tom
 
2work said:
Morning Ian,

There are a few A2s available within our Market Forum (but not sure of colour), which is added to frequently. To view whats currently available you'll need to upgrade your account.

Please re-read the welcome email that you should have received last night as it contains some very helpful information along with a guide on how to upgrade your account.

Welcome to the Club where I'm sure we can assist with your search and its future maintenance tasks.

Kind regards,

Tom
Click to expand...
Hi Tom,

Thanks for the welcome and the account upgrade information which I have now paid and completed. I was wondering where the for sale section was so you have saved me a lot of time trawling.

Ian.
 
HI Ian,

Welcome to the best forum on the planet! If you want a car to have fun doing up and like a gamble then grab one from auction of ATdr, it'll be cheaper but needing all the classic stuff doing. All the classic stuff that needs doing would mostly have been done if you bought one from someone in the forum classifieds.
THe main advice I would say is these cars are unique in sounds and feel so if you can experience a good one first it helps alot! Crash damage is probably the biggest worry due to chassis, otherwise theres a solution for almost everything on here, and spare parts!

Look forward to seeing the car you buy and its subsequent repairs/improvements!
 
quaycrest said:
Hello,

I have just recently joined the forum and wanted to say hello and if not too cheeky to ask for help as I am looking for some advice on what, how and where to buy a A2 tdi in blue.

Many thanks in advance,

Ian.
Click to expand...

Welcome aboard :)

The standard TDI (75) is very economical and reliable on the whole, although it can be a little pedestrian. The TDI90 has greater torque and driveability, at the expense of some economy, but its VNT turbo and DMF are costly weaknesses. A '75 running a mild remap is the best of both worlds for many.

You need to decide up front if you are interested in the panoramic glass sunroof (OSS), or climate control, and whether you want 4 seats or 5. These are the only things which cannot be retro-fitted so you need to look for cars that already have your choices fitted. Most cars above base spec had climate, but there are a number where the option was declined and they just have the standard heater controls (three rotary dials, and no AC). Note that the 5-seater rear bench only has ISOFIX support for one child seat, in the middle or nearside positions.

In terms of what models you'll find out there, there are mainly three - base, SE and Sport. Base models had 15" wheels as standard, which give the best ride compliance. SE models got 16" wheels, foglights, leather trimmings, a CD player (2002/51 onwards), and the false floor. Sport models appeared in 2002/02 and also had the leather trimmings and CD player, plus 17" wheels (fragile, least compliant ride) and lower suspension, a trip computer and Sport seats with deeper bolsters. Towards the end of production, there was a run-out Special Edition model which was base spec plus climate and a CD player. If you see anything out there wearing an S-line badge, someone's stuck it on there, there was no such model in this country.

You may be aware of the Colour Storm edition which was available on base or SE models (although you could still have it with 17" wheels and Sport suspension). This gave vibrant paint colours including Sprint Blue that you may be thinking of, with matt black roof, arches and inserts, and co-ordinating seat fabrics.

Sport seats had always been an option before 2002, but at that point lumbar support appeared and was fitted to them as standard (so it's in all Sport models). This is something which many find is lacking on the standard seats as fitted to base and SE models, but it only remained an option there.

Within your choices of seats, climate and OSS, for the long term you'd do best to buy on condition and history rather than mileage and options. As previously hinted, any of the above mentioned options and more (e.g. leather seats, BOSE sound system, cruise control etc.) can all be sourced and fitted to your car if you're keen enough.

There were some significant build changes during the production run. Cars from roughly 2002/52 have a larger 42l fuel tank, but around that time the original cast suspension arms with integrated balljoints were also replaced by pressed steel ones with replaceable balljoints. However these arms are prone to rotting out from the inside. A car where the arms of either type have already been replaced would be an advantage.

Hope some of this helps!

Best regards from another Ian .... there are quite a few of us on here :)
 
Proghound said:
Welcome aboard :)

The standard TDI (75) is very economical and reliable on the whole, although it can be a little pedestrian. The TDI90 has greater torque and driveability, at the expense of some economy, but its VNT turbo and DMF are costly weaknesses. A '75 running a mild remap is the best of both worlds for many.

You need to decide up front if you are interested in the panoramic glass sunroof (OSS), or climate control, and whether you want 4 seats or 5. These are the only things which cannot be retro-fitted so you need to look for cars that already have your choices fitted. Most cars above base spec had climate, but there are a number where the option was declined and they just have the standard heater controls (three rotary dials, and no AC). Note that the 5-seater rear bench only has ISOFIX support for one child seat, in the middle or nearside positions.

In terms of what models you'll find out there, there are mainly three - base, SE and Sport. Base models had 15" wheels as standard, which give the best ride compliance. SE models got 16" wheels, foglights, leather trimmings, a CD player (2002/51 onwards), and the false floor. Sport models appeared in 2002/02 and also had the leather trimmings and CD player, plus 17" wheels (fragile, least compliant ride) and lower suspension, a trip computer and Sport seats with deeper bolsters. Towards the end of production, there was a run-out Special Edition model which was base spec plus climate and a CD player. If you see anything out there wearing an S-line badge, someone's stuck it on there, there was no such model in this country.

You may be aware of the Colour Storm edition which was available on base or SE models (although you could still have it with 17" wheels and Sport suspension). This gave vibrant paint colours including Sprint Blue that you may be thinking of, with matt black roof, arches and inserts, and co-ordinating seat fabrics.

Sport seats had always been an option before 2002, but at that point lumbar support appeared and was fitted to them as standard (so it's in all Sport models). This is something which many find is lacking on the standard seats as fitted to base and SE models, but it only remained an option there.

Within your choices of seats, climate and OSS, for the long term you'd do best to buy on condition and history rather than mileage and options. As previously hinted, any of the above mentioned options and more (e.g. leather seats, BOSE sound system, cruise control etc.) can all be sourced and fitted to your car if you're keen enough.

There were some significant build changes during the production run. Cars from roughly 2002/52 have a larger 42l fuel tank, but around that time the original cast suspension arms with integrated balljoints were also replaced by pressed steel ones with replaceable balljoints. However these arms are prone to rotting out from the inside. A car where the arms of either type have already been replaced would be an advantage.

Hope some of this helps!

Best regards from another Ian .... there are quite a few of us on here :)
Click to expand...
Wow more great information and buying guidance. Thanks, Ian
 
quaycrest said:
Hello,

............. where to buy a A2 tdi in blue.
Click to expand...
Hi Ian and welcome. There is blue and there is blue ;) This posting https://www.a2oc.net/community/index.php?threads/paint-colour-codes.29636/post-245601 lists all the A2 colours. There are 8 blues. I have a crystal blue A2 and it's closer to silver than a pure blue.

One thing to bear in mind. I found that the lighter colours tend to have a darker interior, typically black. I've had my A2 16 years despite the fact I hate the black interior, especially the door cards that go white when wet and I've yet to find a cleaning product to restore the black back to new. (I'm probably a bit jaded as I just come in from cleaning them!)

Finding the right A2 may mean some compromises and you may have to compromise on colour if an A2 ticks the other criteria such as FSH and well looked after. Don't forget, only 19,000 A2s were sold in the UK and there are probably around just 11,000 left. Of the 19,000, 31.5% were some sort of blue. It was slightly less popular than silver (the most common colour) http://www.alancooper.me.uk/A2/A2_stats.htm . So all things being equal, that makes about 3,500 blues left but that will be spread across the model variants, e.g. if you want a 2005 TDi Sport then only 16 were sold, so maybe 8 left! See A2 TDi by Colour by Model by Year on the link

Good luck.
 
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