Used Audi A2 2000 review and buying guide (2000 to 2005): which one to buy and what to check

Which used Audi A2 2000 should you buy?

Buy the straightest, least-damaged Audi A2 you can find, since no year or engine stands out as the one to avoid. Every A2 built between 2000 and 2005 has an aluminium body and structure, and dents or crash damage need specialist repair, so an unmarked car with an undamaged glass roof is a better buy than a newer or lower-mileage one that's been patched up.

If you listen to medium or long wave, go for a 2002 model year car or later. Earlier radios struggled to pick up those bands, and Audi fitted a completely different set from then on. Cars built in 2000 with air conditioning were recalled because air con parts could touch the starter motor in a crash, short out and start a fire, so on one of those, ask for proof the recall work's been done.

Think about who'll sit in the back before you commit. The rear door sills are high and the footwells sit low, which makes climbing in awkward for older passengers, so take them along to try it. Up front it's a different story, as the seats are very comfortable, so it's the back seats that'll decide whether an A2 works for you.

Which Audi A2 2000 engines and gearboxes are the safe choices?

There's no engine here with a clean bill of health, only trade-offs, and the evidence on each one is thin. The 1.4 petrol needs revving hard to get going and can feel slow on the motorway with a full load. That's a complaint about pace, not about anything breaking, but drive one loaded up if you do long motorway trips with passengers.

The 1.4 TDI had reports of turbos failing on cars that weren't used much, though most of those failures came in the first few months after the car was new. The 1.6 FSI has a thermostat problem: the signs are the engine running slightly hot, the engine warning light coming on and pinking, so treat any of those on a test drive as a reason to ask questions.

Gearchange quality isn't the same from one A2 to the next. Pre-production gearboxes were noisy, while right-hand-drive production cars seem fine, so judge each car's shift on the drive rather than assuming. One owner's 2002 car had needed a clutch and transmission rebuild by 119,000 miles, so on a high-mileage example ask whether either has been done and get the receipt.

What should you check when viewing a used Audi A2 2000?

Walk round the aluminium panels in good light, looking for dents, ripples and paint that doesn't match. Audi set up six repair centres to handle aluminium A2 and A8 bodies, so if the seller says the car's had bodywork, ask for the invoice showing where it was done. If it has the panoramic glass roof, look it over for cracks, because a replacement can need a special production run.

Get underneath and look at the anti-roll bar. Its plastic collars were fitted before the bar was painted, corrosion builds up beneath them, and once it splits you're into a whole new bar plus subframe alignment. Audi changed to metal collars but never issued a recall, so ask whether it's been replaced. Ask too for proof the front suspension's drop down bushes were checked under Audi's 2006 bulletin.

Any ABS or traction control warning light needs explaining. One owner's 2002 car at 119,000 miles lit both, which the owner put down to the brake pressure sensor, and the quote was £493.18 for parts and £800 with fitting. The bonnet doesn't open in the normal way: check fluids through the front flap, which also reveals the clips that let the bonnet lift off. A spare wheel was optional, so see if there's one.

Cars with a 3-spoke steering wheel were recalled to have the airbag replaced because it could fail to work. Only 79 of 4,400 cars were affected, but if you're looking at one with that wheel, ask the seller for paperwork showing the new airbag's been fitted, as it's a safety item you can't check by eye.

Paste the advert into the free check and it runs these against the listing, the MOT history and the DVLA record before you travel.