Terrible dilemma

Pompeydave

Pompeydave

A2OC Donor
Terrible dilemma

Hi all,

I have a problem that's causing much wailing and gnashing of teeth. My 1.4tdi now has 205k on the clock and has been a labour of love since purchased in October 2011 with 176k on it. So far Ive replaced every suspension component all round with new bushes and Monroe Reflex struts and dampers, new QT design alloys and tyres, a new Panoramic sunroof courtesy of Audi UK, a new windscreen and a full respray which is still virtually unmarked.

I have a spare 75k 80hp engine in the garage waiting to go, a brand new turbo, and a low miles Seat Arosa EXB (similar gear ratios to the tdi90) gearbox. I also have a professionally reconditioned cylinder head, a new aircon radiator, good used aircon pipes and a control unit as the aircon doesn't work. It's now developed the familiar injector wiring loom fault and runs on two occasionally. It also blows unburnt fuel past the valves on cold startup due to the high mileage.

My dilemma is that it's going to cost the thick end of 1k to have all that lot fitted professionally + the cost of a regas and a stealth remap. The spec of the car is phenomenal- Panoramic roof, Bose with 6cd boot changer, Webasto pre heater, 5 seats, navigation/tv, 4 electric windows, Votex body kit. It only really lacks the Votex rear spoiler, heated leather seats, heated door mirrors and rear cup holders to make it one of the highest spec'd A2's out there.

I'm just not sure if the gains of fitting all this stuff is going to be worth it. How much nicer is a good tdi90 to drive over a ragged out tdi75? I know it sound ridiculous to think of giving up when I have all the items there to finish it off, but at the moment I'm looking at leasing a new Seat Leon with 184hp for a miserly £189 per month. It's tempting, it really is.


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Nooooo don't do it :-)

Stick with the A2 and change the engine. The leon will seem bland and boring by comparison within months.

Plus I'd sooner spend a £1000 and have a decent car owned outright than pay £189 for the rest of my life :-)

I'm sure the underground A2OC will be pm-ing you as I write this with an offer you can't refuse.
 
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I'll be controversial. ;)

if you're posting this you've got itchy feet and either wanting talked out of it or support for your itch.

If you want a new car get it. You only live once. We will be replacing the A2 as our official 2nd car when the wife goes back to work next year but I'm keeping the A2 and have a place to store it - so it'll become a hobby car.

If you can afford to keep the A2 and have a new motor plus can store it so it won't deteriorate - then I'd agree with the other guys. Keep it.

However if the urge for a new car is too strong then I'd consider flogging the A2 to someone who will do the necessary work and continue loving it as you have.

There's no heart and head debate with motors.
 
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With a new car on finance you have to factor in the depreciatiopn too.

If you hang on to it for three years (for example) the car wil have devalued in that time too (the A2 does not have a lot of depreciation left and will hold its value, or better)

You also have to consider the "Balloon payment" at the end of the lease.

You wil either have to pay that or hand the car back with nothing in return.

I have done this and it cost me £15,000 to have an A1 on finance (including depreciation) after selling it after two years of ownership!!

I made matters worse because I ticked every box on the options, but if you would have told me that it would cost me £15,000 to own a new car for two years, I wouldn't have bought it.

I am hoping that the VAT is already included in the price you have quoted?

I reckon f you held onto your A2 for three years and then gave it away free (obviously looking at the worst case scenario) you would have lost only around half of the money you will lose buying a new car.


Steve B
 
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Birchall said:
With a new car on finance you have to factor in the depreciatiopn too.

If you hang on to it for three years (for example) the car wil have devalued in that time too (the A2 does not have a lot of depreciation left and will hold its value, or better)

You also have to consider the "Balloon payment" at the end of the lease.

You wil either have to pay that or hand the car back with nothing in return.

I have done this and it cost me £15,000 to have an A1 on finance (including depreciation) after selling it after two years of ownership!!

I made matters worse because I ticked every box on the options, but if you would have told me that it would cost me £15,000 to own a new car for two years, I wouldn't have bought it.

I am hoping that the VAT is already included in the price you have quoted?

I reckon f you held onto your A2 for three years and then gave it away free (obviously looking at the worst case scenario) you would have lost only around half of the money you will lose buying a new car.


Steve B
Click to expand...

As I said.... ( with far fewer words) it's heart and head.

There's no logic in cars. They all ( regardless of brand or genre) drain your wallet and have the potential to cause you stress and anxiety of one form or another.

But there's a pleasure associated with it that every car enthusiast 'gets'. The smell of a brand new car. The pleasure of restoring an unloved machine to better condition. The comfort of looking after something that transports you and your loved ones around and you're confident it does the task well. Or just having that bit of bling on the driveway that you've always wanted ......just because..... and you're privileged that you can.

nope. There's no point in trying to justify numbers and logic to an automobile. They're money pits. But aren't they fun!

Utopia for Dave: lease the Leon and keep the A2. Any variation on that : do what your heart tells you. Your head is an unreliable advisor. Lol :rolleyes:
 
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You said this :- " It only really lacks the Votex rear spoiler, heated leather seats," Well, I've got the seats in platinum, SE type, heated, lumbar and with a "Sydmeko" armrest. If you keep it and want them, just let me know ....

David
 
Cheers for the advice everyone. I think I need to go out and find a local Tdi90 for sale at a dealer and see if I can get a test drive. Mine is so short of puff now it's just not an enjoyable ride anymore. Think I need to be re-enthused otherwise I'm in danger of throwing in the towel :(.

I made the mistake many moons ago of selling the last of six Cortina 1600E's that passed through my hands during the 80's. I've always regretted that. Maybe the storage idea isn't a bad one. What hasn't helped is that the engine I bought believing it was a 90 turned out to be an 80 as I got the engine codes mixed up. I don't know now how much HP I could get from a remap of an 80, I suppose it would be more than 90 hopefully.

Lots to consider :confused:.
 
When you say 80 I think you mean 75?

The tdi was only available as a 75 BHP or a 90 BHP.

As for a remap.

A 75 will go to 105 or so with decent remap.

Stealth did mine and that is the result I achieved.

Steve B
 
I've recently driven a standard 75 a few times and got bored by it quite easily. If yours is loosing boost and feeling flat then no wonder you have no interest in it anymore. If you were closer to me you could have a go of mine. Don't give up, a remapped 75 is a lot more fun and I'm sure the 80hp polo engine could be mapped to 110hp+. Your car is nearly a complete car with the new suspension, full respray etc it would be a shame to stop now ;-)
 
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Below are the basic specifications of various 3-pot 1.4 TDI PD engines. There was also a 68 bhp variant (engine codes BNM and BWB), but we're not interested in that!

55 kW / 75 PS / 74 bhp @ 4,000 rpm, 195 Nm (144 lbft) @ 2,200 rpm. Engine codes AMF (A2, Polo, Arosa, Lupo, Ibiza, Cordoba, Fabia), BAY (Polo) and BHC (A2).
59 kW / 80 PS / 79 bhp @ 4,000 rpm, 195 Nm (144 lbft) @ 2,200 rpm. Engine codes BMS (Polo BlueMotion, Ibiza, Cordoba, Roomster DPF, Fabia DPF/GreenLine) and BNV (Polo, Ibiza, Cordoba, Fabia, Roomster).
66 kW / 90 PS / 89 bhp @ 4,000 rpm, 230 Nm (170 lbft) @ 1,900 - 2,300 rpm. Engine code ATL (A2, Polo).

Dave,

I think you've got an opportunity to do something original and, if I were in your position, I'd take that opportunity if you feel the rest of your car is up to scratch. Remap the 80PS engine and bolt on an EXB 'box and you'll have something unique that'll probably work very nicely. :)

Cheers,

Tom
 
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Hi all. With a heavy heart, I've decided to let her go. We bought a black Labrador puppy a few weeks back IMG_4976.JPG and he's going to be huge I think. He simply won't fit in the back of an A2, so it has to go....the car that is, not the dog! I've listed it in the classifieds section. There's a load of new and used spares too if anyones interested. I've replaced it with this: IMG_5101.jpg
 

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