Off to buy an A2 tomorrow - advice please

Phil K

Phil K

Member
Hello chaps!

Firstly, this is a great forum and a pleasure to read - loads of good advice and info! Have been lurking for a week or so so have spent a fair bit of time going back through old threads...

Currently the Mrs and I have 2 cars - a mk1 Golf Rivage cabriolet and a Leon Cupra R but the Golf has to go as it's my other halfs daily driver and she's wants to save on road tax and insurance not to mention the benefits of newer cars like power steering and brakes that work!

So, we viewed a couple of examples last weekend both 2001 (Y/51 plates) SE's with panoramic roof at about the £6K mark which has given us a good idea on quality and things to look for but ultimately just weren't quite right...

We have left a £300 (refundable) holding deposit on another one though which we're off to see tomorrow and from looking at the pics and talking to the trader seems like it could be spot on! 51 reg SE, black, panoramic roof, full cream leather, service history, one owner and HPI clear all for £5.5K... sounds like the bargain of the year judging by everything else available at the moment!

I've picked up on a few niggly bits to be aware of like the buttons wearing badly on the heater controls (had happened to the 51 plate we looked at on Sunday) fatigue around the door hinges and I'm aware the cambelt should also have been done by now - All this I will check for... but, is there anything else I should be cautious of?

The trader has also had a scrape on the bumper painted and the wheels refurbed so all being good it'll be ours by the weekend!
 
Hi
Check the roof works properly, infact check all of the electrics and AC, Check the roof works properly, if you can get it VAGCommed (made up word but you know what I mean !) that would be a good check (if you leave your location there are some very very helpful guys here with the kit that may be able to help) Check the roof works properly :D
If it is a petrol a 51 plate should definately have had a belt change, if not it will need this vv soon :( - budget varies but there are several places in other threads but some are doing for a little shy of £300.
Also check footwells and boot for signs of water

Threads on same subject:

http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthread.php?t=7493&highlight=buying

sounds quite a lot but get a good one and I'm sure you and your wife will be happy for a long time - my wife loves hers

Good Luck
 
Cheers for the info! Have heard about the associated problems with the roof but she has her heart set on it... I'm based in Guildford and the car is in Winersh (nr Reading) should be viewing it at about 5pm tomorrow so possibly a bit early for someone to come along with VAG-COM...

It is a petrol 1.4 and has covered 39,000 so I will be expecting to see an invoice for cambelt and/or new looking belt! Fingers crossed!
 
Phil K said:
Cheers for the info! Have heard about the associated problems with the roof but she has her heart set on it... I'm based in Guildford and the car is in Winersh (nr Reading) should be viewing it at about 5pm tomorrow so possibly a bit early for someone to come along with VAG-COM...

It is a petrol 1.4 and has covered 39,000 so I will be expecting to see an invoice for cambelt and/or new looking belt! Fingers crossed!
Click to expand...

You'll have to see the receipt, as the cambelt itself is buried away out of sight.

Best of luck and fingers crossed, but if you can, take an impartial friend along to avoid succumbing to 'shiney car syndrome'!

Cheers,

Mike
 
Thanks for that - in that case, fair enough - I guess if there's no reciept I can only ask him to knock off the price of having it done to make a sale in that case!

The Mrs will be with me and it's her money so I'll be the one helping her get over shiney car syndrome! Have said we won't take it away tomorrow already to the trader so we will come home and sleep on it before any final decision... am sure I'll post my report on here tomorrow for all your thoughts! :D
 
Just got home from viewing and was impressed with the condition of it tbh... paint wants a machine polish as is non-metallic and has a fair few light scratches but nothing too major. Interior is in good nick but the heater control switches have got slight wearing as does one of the electric window switches but the boss says she can live with that...

Does the false floor in the boot have a pull strap to aid lifting it up? I ask as this one doesn't have anything and the carpet is coming away from the cover at the corners - not really an issue as it's something we can sort but I thought I'd ask...

Engine looks clean and honest so no concerns there although we were unable to start it today as they think it's blown a fuse or 2 while it was being valeted at the bodyshop! They are going to get it sorted though, get an MOT on it, mop the body and replace the drivers door strap, then, all being good at fun camp we shall return for a test drive and final check of all the electrics we couldn't test... and assuming all is good it will return home with us :)

One last question though, it currently has a tape deck and no multi changer so I have been looking on ebay for Audi Concert CD players - they all look the same but one for an a6 apparently wont quite fit in an a4... so, are they all compatible? Most say they're ok for a3 / a4 etc but don't mention the a2 - will this be the same size?

Thanks again for all your help

Phil

EDIT: Also, we will need to do the cambelt - trader says he can arrange for £260 +VAT but won't shift on price as he feels he underpriced this A2 due to the amount of calls he's had! Think it's a fair enough price myself so not going to argue either but can I get the cam belt, tensioner etc done for less elsewhere in the Surrey area?
 
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Hmmm!

How much is he asking?!??

Sounds a bit of a dog to me - there are plenty of good examples of 1.4 petrols around with a decent specification - none of that tape player, carpet-lifting, "car-won't start, must be a couple of fuses gone", "loads of phonecalls - underpriced motah" malarchy, AND no cambelt change!?!???.

I'd personally steer clear - just be patient to get the right one.

Maybe I'm just being overcautious.....
 
Hi Phil
The false floor in the boot does not have a pull strap. Also there is a flap of loose material which goes against the back of the rear seats so the carpet may not actually be coming away.
The radio units changed from 2002 and later models are not directly interchangable
see link for more info - http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthread.php?t=6076&highlight=concert
Also do a search for 'concert' as erstens has written loads of info on radios.
When buying off e.bay, stick with an A2 radio (part number starts with 8Z0) as they are generally not interchangable between car models, even though the ads say different - from memory, the only other model which works on the A2 is from the TT

Cheers Spike
 
Got to agree - fuses don't blow when a car is valeted! If it's so underpriced, why hasn't it gone already.

There should be a pull strap on the false floor and nothing Concert wise fits an A2 apart from an A2 concert!

A clean engine probably means it's been steam cleaned, which may have been done to hide oil mist or leaks.

The heater switches are not cheap to replace either and overall, it sounds like a bit of a dogs dinner.

Cheers,

Mike
 
tbh it is in good condition for a 7yr old car and it's only £5.5K which in my mind is reasonable - there isn't anything else available with this spec (leather and panoramic roof) for similar money anywhere that I've seen... cheers for the info on the headunits - looks like I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for the right one!

Going to have a look at a another one with a cloth interior at the weekend anyway just to be certain ;)
 
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LEft a deposit on one yesterday and it should be with us by the end of the week! :)

After the comments above and a few nights to sleep on it I started feeling like it probably wasn't the car for us... so, we now have a dark metallic blue (cobalt blue?) A2 SE with light grey cloth, CD player plus multi changer and panoramic roof! It's done 5K more miles but doesn't seem as 'used' as the black one and we're chuffed to bits!

Agreed the price at £5750 with full MOT, service, cam belt, full valet and 6 months warranty which I think is pretty honest for a 51 plate!

Will post pics later in the week once it arrives :D
 
Well we've had the A2 for a couple of weeks now and are absolutely delighted with it!

Spent most of the day cleaning it and my other car so thought I'd post some pics for you all! :D

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hurray! got there in the end then, looks good, always liked that colour. Being a real pain in the ass when it comes to wanting everything perfect (took me six months of research before I bought and LCD tv!), I waited for months and months and months and a few more months, and looked at every one on the market within 200 miles before I found the bestest full spec I came across(TDi sport,leather, roof, bose etc) then found it so good got another! Be warned.

you now of course need the A2OC badges!

Like the designer fence by the way! Ground force?

cheers
glen
 
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