Reliability - recommend?

C

cm004d8137

Member
Hi Folks, I am thinking of buying an A2 mostly for fuel economy and the Alu body. I have been told by a couple of garages in the West Midlands here things like "Don't touch em with a barge pole, they are always breaking down" and "they are rubbish only 3 cylinders you know" and "very expensive to repair and difficulty getting the parts" obviously these garage salesmen had no A2 fore sale! I have not been put off by these comments but wondered what real-world comments would be particularly on the economy and ride aspects.
Thanks in advance:)
 
I bought one about 3 months ago, and i love it, I use it for day to day running (back and foward to work - between 60 and 90 miles a day)

Its great on the backroads, as it is small (narrow) and superb on the moterway - Fuel economy in excess off 65 mpg

I have had no reliability issues yet and i think most of the diesels are trouble free. yes there are some issues with the front suspension bars, but easy to repair.

the petrol engines have some issues with the coils

Yes it is expensive if you are involved in an accident BUT the quality of the car most likely keep you alive in serious accident, it is full of airbags and other life saving features.

I don't think anybody has encountered problems (nor here on the UK forum as well on the German forum) because it is a three cylinder

If i had to do it all over again, i would
 
Good summary from Havank. Can only agree, we’ve had our A2 for 18 months now and she’s done about 32k miles total and we still love her.
The only things that we have had to do are:
a) 2 New Front Tyres (nice Dunlops as shown in my Avatar).
b) A long life service (the only service this car has ever had!).
c) Replaced blown headlight bulb.
Not too shabby if you ask me.
Our MPG isn’t as good as some other owners manage, but it’s always over 50mpg!

Have a good look round, find a nice one and buy it – you won’t regret it.

Skipton01 responded to someone that was giving the A2 some disrespect with this extracted paragraph:
“What you clearly fail to realise is that your car will rust and was stamped out from steel blanks in Hungary. The A2 being completely aluminium will never rust and was hand made in Germany by the same skilled workers who made the A8. We pay only £35 a year for road tax and will be exempt from the London Congestion Charge from next year and because of this, certain A2s are actually appreciating in value. Our cars are as fast as the A4 and are better handling and more economic with fuel too. We can also carry more bulky items than even an Avant (try getting a dishwasher and tumble dryer in an Avant together!).”
Which is an excellent reply and reiterated what a quality car you are considering buying – don’t listen to your local car dealers, just read more from the happy owners on this site!!
 
Like Snubnose I can report even less action in respect of my A2 which has also done 32K in total and 21K in the 26 months I've had it. All I have done is 1 long life service. And it consistently get 62 mpg. Its a 1.4 TDi SE

Actually I think the car is better now then when I had it. The engine seems quieter and the ride smoother. Maybe the suspension has got a little softer or I've got better watching out for potholes. Even my wife as a passenger spots them!

The A pillar can be a pain but one gets used to peering round it. The single wiper blade is smeary on the passenger side despite a new blade and the water jets seem to take ages to adjust correctly - maybe its the rake of the windscreen. But these are minor irritations.

The rust on the rear hubs and on the front suspension arms annoy me. Audi refuse to do anything claiming they are serviceable items, so I guess I will have to get out and treat them and paint them (see other threads of those who had done so).

Repair costs could well be higher but this doesn't seem to make the insurance costs high but it might lead to a higher probability of a write-off so I am thinking of taking out gap insurance.

I can't see why 3 cylinders is considered a problem. It certain gets a move on once the turbo cuts in. I'm reassured that it's a VW engine and I wouldn't be surprised if its the same engine in other VW cars like the new Polo Blue Motion which claims 79mpg and just 103g/km of CO2 - but its a steel body.
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/firstdrives/202177/vw_polo.html
 
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I have nothing but faith in the little thing at the moment. Had it since late last year and covered 9 thousand miles in 7 months. Nothing has gone wrong other than what seems to be a dicky oil pressure sensor.

I've just had a week in London, 200 miles each way on motorway/A roads, of which around 20 miles was virtually standing traffic and around 40 miles crawling around Windsor etc. The car has managed 76 mpg for the trip laden with two suitcases, two kids, the wife and a family's tackle!

Please tell me another car that will manage this, as well as costing only £35 road tax and £139 insurance and I will give serious consideration to buying it!
 
Well I am glad there are some A2's out there giving reliabilty to their owners. I had mine for two years and was always going back to the dealer for something to be loked at. I think its like most cars get a good one and you are Ok but get a badden and heaven help you. Think I had a badden which has put me off owning another one. Bottom line is by all means buy an A2 but make sure you get a good warranty with it.
dickhilt I see you have done 9k in 7 months without problems well thats what a decent car should do. Just done over 6k in my Polo and it hasnt missed a beat but thats what I would expect from modern cars these days. I owned a Peugeot 306 for 4 years covering 40k and all had go wrong was a sticky clutch cable.
 
I can happily report I've taken my A2 from 31000 miles 18 months ago to 73000 at the mo, all I've had is a scheduled long life service, scheduled cambelt change, front discs and pads and a pair of tyres. I've done around 30k a year for the last 10 years in VAG group cars changing every 18-24 months and the worst thing I've had go wrong is a relay on a mk3 golf TDi and a waterpump under warranty on a Sharan TDi. All of them have been chipped or re-mapped apart from the Passat 1.8T I had for a year.
 
Reliability

Havank said:
I bought one about 3 months ago, and i love it, I use it for day to day running (back and foward to work - between 60 and 90 miles a day)

Its great on the backroads, as it is small (narrow) and superb on the moterway - Fuel economy in excess off 65 mpg

I have had no reliability issues yet and i think most of the diesels are trouble free. yes there are some issues with the front suspension bars, but easy to repair.

the petrol engines have some issues with the coils

Yes it is expensive if you are involved in an accident BUT the quality of the car most likely keep you alive in serious accident, it is full of airbags and other life saving features.

I don't think anybody has encountered problems (nor here on the UK forum as well on the German forum) because it is a three cylinder

If i had to do it all over again, i would
Click to expand...


After reading your reviews I took the plunge and bought a 1.4TDi and can not believe how good it is I am extremely happy with it all round Many thanks to you all:D
 
cm004d8137

I've done 130,000 miles from new 1.4 TDi SE, and I have to say it's been brilliant reliability wise!

I've had roll bar & bushes replaced and one set of discs and pads, 2 cambelts, and servicing every 30,000 miles, oh and a water pump at 120,000 miles!

I've had a repetative problem with occasional electric windows, winding down when I press up... but I can't be bothered to pay to fix it.

Car tax now £35 per year (diesel) insurance for me & partner £340 with one claim, 25,000 mileage allowance.

Tyre wear I get 50,000 on set of DUNLOP SP 9000's. But not Goodyear F1's... anyway...

I have gone through around 4-5 headlamp bulbs (poor design I think).

I had an alfa 155 (hence the name) with the A2 I saved around £3200 per year in no MOT's, more MPG's (did I say I get 61mpg) reduced service intervals and fixing it.
A friend has said that some of the parts are VW polo, so they are not expensive.

Do yourself a favour, buy a dirty diesel.

bba
 
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