To keep her or not ? Advice please

Mari

Mari

Member
I would really appreciate some advice please.
My A2, 2003, 1.6 FSI SE metallic light blue 84K bought in 2010

She has been a very reliable car. Zero breakdowns, except Sep 2018 when she overheated, towed back home and necessary parts replaced. About a year later, the coolant levels started to decrease frequently, then I needed to top up with coolant more frequently than before and now I need to top up after few short journeys. I have recently had her checked for any leaks, my garage tested for pressure and replaced the cap for the radiator expansion tank but loss has become worse. I am now wondering if it is cost effective to replace her, I will buy A2 again if any available, but I am surprised by the high mileage most A2 have on the market, I suppose to be expected for the age of the cars.

She has very little body marks, some negatives are the engine management warning has been showing for 8 years on and off, the push buttons to open the fuel cap and the boot are missing. One key and not much service history, it has been serviced every year since 2010 by local garages. I took her to Audi garage when EMW came on to have it investigated, they gave me a quote for over £3000 and told me that it was dangerous to drive the car and will never pass the MOT. As the repairs were half the cost of the car, I took her to the local garage and the only repair needed was the brake lights not working which needed bulbs replacing. The Engine Management light went out when the air ducts under the bonnet was reconnected (it was loose the garage said)

I thought I will probably keep her till she is spent then put her on this site for spare parts.

If I could have the coolant problem sorted I would not want to part with her but in a long run I am wondering if it will cost me more and lots of sleepless nights to keep her. I am dreaming about her beeping with coolant warning.
IMG_3932.jpegIMG_3933 2.jpeg
I would really appreciate your opinions. Thank you
 
HI
The plastic 'T' piece coolant water hose pipes have been known to become brittle with age/temperature and pass fluid. Also the 'death pipe' is a well known cause of leaking coolant. It would be a good place to look at both of these for any possible coolant leaks. With your car being low mileage and seem to be in very-good condition i would personally keep it. But if you have the itch to move onto another A2 it is difficult to ignore.
Best of luck
Steve
 
I took her to Audi garage when EMW came on to have it investigated, they gave me a quote for over £3000 and told me that it was dangerous to drive the car and will never pass the MOT.
Click to expand...

It passed its MOT. Was that the Audi garage trying it on or is it likely to be dangerous?
Yours sounds like a car that can be sorted for many years to come with some work sorting the coolant issue.
 
Why are you thinking of selling? Apart from the coolant issue I mean.

If there is no other reason, then it makes sense to go in guns blazing and fix this one, as it's an otherwise known entity:
  • You've already established the head gasket is fine, so that's one major potential expense sorted;
  • Strip down the entire cooling system (rad, hoses, plastic pipes, thermostat etc.) and replace anything that is even slightly marginal with new;
  • Give the thing a proper birthday service while it's apart - again; replace anything that is not in tip-top shape;
  • Send @A2Steve your ECU for it to be breathed on by ProBoost.
You'll find that all of the above combined will banish your reliability woes and you'll have a fully sorted car that's a joy to drive, assuming the rest of the car is mechanically sound.

If you sell this and buy another then no matter how good it is, there will ALWAYS be at least a grand's worth of work to get it to the same standard - Merlin, my A2, is a case in point: An immaculate condition A2 that was top money but I still need to put that sort of money into it to bring forward imminent servicing milestones and generally get it to the level of dependability I want from it.
 
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Keep it, you will almost certainly have something to fix on any replacement unless you're paying top money , and you know the score with this one.

The coolant loss. It sounds like a crack that is progressing, death pipe and thermostat housing and plastic y pieces are all possible,and likely on the fsi, as well as water pump if it's old.
Ask on the forum for a recommended local vw independent garage if you're not going to be doing the work yourself.

Once it's fixed the pro boost remap might be something that you d be interested in. Cheers
 
Seems to me, that the question is do you spend nothing on it, and run it into the ground, and hope to get a few bob back as a scrapper, or spend £800 to £1000 and end up with a very nice, reliable car. You must like the car, if you've kept it 10 years, so why would you abandon it now?
£100 per year for loyal service doesn't look unreasonable payback to me.
Mac.
 
As others have said, your issues might be cracked and leaking water pipework, or they might be slightly more troublesome and be the start of a head gasket failure - you didn't detail the 2018 overheating problem or what was replaced, but that might be where you're problems stem from.

My advice would be to have the issue investigated by an A2 specialist, and specifically someone who understands the A2 1.6FSI engine. WOM Automotive in Stoke-On-Trent would be my choice if I was in your position, and they are well known on this forum.
Speak to Rob or Marcus and tell them the issues and see where it takes you.
womautomotive.co.uk

Cheers
Jeff
 
When mine started losing water over the course of a few days, it was the water pump failing. I had that and the cam belt done.
It does still lose a little, but have narrowed it down to needing a new tank which I will get sorted soon
Best to try and find a VW Audi specialist who has ideally worked on an Fsi. I have had similar poor experiences with an Audi garage and would never go back to them as a result
 
stevec said:
HI
The plastic 'T' piece coolant water hose pipes have been known to become brittle with age/temperature and pass fluid. Also the 'death pipe' is a well known cause of leaking coolant. It would be a good place to look at both of these for any possible coolant leaks. With your car being low mileage and seem to be in very-good condition i would personally keep it. But if you have the itch to move onto another A2 it is difficult to ignore.
Best of luck
Steve
Click to expand...
Thank you Steve for you reply, I love my car and all the advice from members made me certain that I want to keep her. May thanks Mari
 
sunsurfer said:
It passed its MOT. Was that the Audi garage trying it on or is it likely to be dangerous?
Yours sounds like a car that can be sorted for many years to come with some work sorting the coolant issue.
Click to expand...
Yes the Audi garage tried to bully me, very unpleasant experience, they probably saw me coming, a Japanese woman, I wrote a lengthy complaint because they broke part of the glove compartment. MOT passed every year with minor work for 10 years. Thank you for your reply and advice, much appreciated. Mari
 
dj_efk said:
Why are you thinking of selling? Apart from the coolant issue I mean.

If there is no other reason, then it makes sense to go in guns blazing and fix this one, as it's an otherwise known entity:
  • You've already established the head gasket is fine, so that's one major potential expense sorted;
  • Strip down the entire cooling system (rad, hoses, plastic pipes, thermostat etc.) and replace anything that is even slightly marginal with new;
  • Give the thing a proper birthday service while it's apart - again; replace anything that is not in tip-top shape;
  • Send @A2Steve your ECU for it to be breathed on by ProBoost.
You'll find that all of the above combined will banish your reliability woes and you'll have a fully sorted car that's a joy to drive, assuming the rest of the car is mechanically sound.

If you sell this and buy another then no matter how good it is, there will ALWAYS be at least a grand's worth of work to get it to the same standard - Merlin, my A2, is a case in point: An immaculate condition A2 that was top money but I still need to put that sort of money into it to bring forward imminent servicing milestones and generally get it to the level of dependability I want from it.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much for your detailed advice, I love this car and it is a joy to drive. I saw your post on your Merlin, never seen one with that colour, what a beautiful car!!! Many thanks, very much appreciated, I am going to follow your advice. Mari
 
nod said:
Keep it, you will almost certainly have something to fix on any replacement unless you're paying top money , and you know the score with this one.

The coolant loss. It sounds like a crack that is progressing, death pipe and thermostat housing and plastic y pieces are all possible,and likely on the fsi, as well as water pump if it's old.
Ask on the forum for a recommended local vw independent garage if you're not going to be doing the work yourself.

Once it's fixed the pro boost remap might be something that you d be interested in. Cheers
Click to expand...
Thank you very much for you advice, yes I am going to keep her. All the Best. Mari
 
PlasticMac said:
Seems to me, that the question is do you spend nothing on it, and run it into the ground, and hope to get a few bob back as a scrapper, or spend £800 to £1000 and end up with a very nice, reliable car. You must like the car, if you've kept it 10 years, so why would you abandon it now?
£100 per year for loyal service doesn't look unreasonable payback to me.
Mac.
Click to expand...
Thank you Mac, you are so right, I love this car and as you say I will reward her for loyal service. Thank you again. Mari
 
Mustang-owner said:
As others have said, your issues might be cracked and leaking water pipework, or they might be slightly more troublesome and be the start of a head gasket failure - you didn't detail the 2018 overheating problem or what was replaced, but that might be where you're problems stem from.

My advice would be to have the issue investigated by an A2 specialist, and specifically someone who understands the A2 1.6FSI engine. WOM Automotive in Stoke-On-Trent would be my choice if I was in your position, and they are well known on this forum.
Speak to Rob or Marcus and tell them the issues and see where it takes you.
womautomotive.co.uk

Cheers
Jeff
Click to expand...
Thank you very much for your reply Jeff, I am going to keep her and do as you and others suggest on this forum, cannot believe how helpful you all are, more reason for me to enjoy my car. Thanks again. Mari
Teresa said:
When mine started losing water over the course of a few days, it was the water pump failing. I had that and the cam belt done.
It does still lose a little, but have narrowed it down to needing a new tank which I will get sorted soon
Best to try and find a VW Audi specialist who has ideally worked on an Fsi. I have had similar poor experiences with an Audi garage and would never go back to them as a result
Click to expand...
Teresa said:
When mine started losing water over the course of a few days, it was the water pump failing. I had that and the cam belt done.
It does still lose a little, but have narrowed it down to needing a new tank which I will get sorted soon
Best to try and find a VW Audi specialist who has ideally worked on an Fsi. I have had similar poor experiences with an Audi garage and would never go back to them as a result
Click to expand...
Thank you Teresa, I read your post before I posted for advice, was very helpful, what a fantastic club. Big business garages treat women as idiots unfortunately. All the best Mari
 
Just wondering if anyone has a VAG Indie they could point @Mari in the direction of (North London)?
An honest assessment of what needs doing would be a big help, and, maybe, restore her opinion of auto services (and save an A2 in the process) .
Mac.
 
PlasticMac said:
Just wondering if anyone has a VAG Indie they could point @Mari in the direction of (North London)?
An honest assessment of what needs doing would be a big help, and, maybe, restore her opinion of auto services (and save an A2 in the process) .
Mac.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much for you kind post Mac, I am a little afraid of approaching a garage. I was going to post asking for recommendations. Very kind of you. Best wishes Mari
 
Hi fellow members, I wanted to thank you all for this amazing owners club, been reading new posts and it is amazing how helpful and interesting all the posts has been. A quick update on my A2, I took it to Green garage recommended by Mihai (thank you) and had sleepless night for a week while she was being repaired, according to Keith it took much longer than expected because lots of the connecting pipes were corroded and needed replacing and it had a hole in the pipe feeding the windscreen washer reservoir which was hell (his words) to replace. Coolant Flange with thermostat and cover was replaced which had a leak and so far, it seem to have solved the problem of loosing coolant. I had it MOTed and it passed with few minor problems so for now she seems good to go and she is driving well. After 20% discount the bill came to £806 (£607 for coolant problem, £134 for washer bootle pipe replacement and £63 for MOT). Keith gave me quite detailed estimate at the beginning which was about £600 inc the washer pipe re-placement so I was shocked by the initial bill, he went through the bill with me and I think he took most of the labour time off which was very nice of him, so I do recommend his garage, also there was a lovely looking A2 there waiting to be worked on which reassured me.

Apologies for the long post but I would like to ask about few things on the invoice which Keith found,

The EM waning light came up with following faults, 1) Actuation Intake manifold for air flow contra, specification not reached.
2) Coolant temperature sensor - radiator outlet - G83 signal too small. ( he turned the warning light to pass MOT )
Other issues were, 1) Rear brake discs corroded, pads OK
2) Front brake discs scorched, pads OK
3) Outer wings on engine under panel broken
4) E.G.R. valve pipe at cylinder head leaking exhaust gasses.

I really would appreciate what is the next thing I need to do please and if any of the above are urgent. Thank you.

p.s. I saw a lovely looking blue A2 yesterday parked near my local Tesco Metro, near Bell Lane in Hendon, I think I am becoming an A2 lover!!
 
Hi Mari, (@Mari)

As nobody has replied I will have a go before your post slips out of sight down the list.

I did not quite follow what was done for your £800 but it does seem a lot to sort out some leaks, but what do I know and you do live in a very expensive part of the world. I know of another garage reasonably near to you that Steve Birchall uses, they are well used to A2's from all the work he has given them over the years, but I will have to dig out their details if you are interested. I would get a second estimate for any repairs in the future for comparision.

As to your numbered points...

1. I have a very good idea about this fault, the Achilles's heel of the FSI. You will find hours and hours of reading on here about this, search 'inlet manifold' or 'p1031' or 'flaps' but often better to use google with a search string of something like 'a2oc FSI inlet manifold', experiment. Most likely the inlet manifold has clogged up with carbon, courtesy of the EGR, seized the flaps which often results in breaking the arm of the vacuum actuator, you will read all about it. The cure is to strip down and clean/replace and a new vacuum actuator. It won't be cheap repair, at least £500 in London I would have thought maybe a lot more. Get a second opinion and estimate as I suggested. you should also read up on the Pro Boost remap as a possible alternative.

2. Probably just needs a new sensor, can't see it being that expensive with little labour costs.

1. (Again!) & 2. New discs and pads all round, standard job but again a few hundred pounds, get a second estimate. Tip, if whatever garage you use will accept customer supplied parts, buy them yourself, there may be significant savings. I could dig out an eBay link to buy if needed. Scorched discs and pads okay sounds odd to me.

3. Not sure what you mean, engine undertray? New £70ish, shop around again I can provide links.

4. If it is the pipe I think you mean, A2Steve often advertises good used, no idea on new but can investigate.

A lot to think about, hope you keep it.

Andy
 
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