Buying an S2 Coupe - Am I walking into a world of pain.

[Bowie69]

70l tank, you'll likely get home on one of them, especially if motorway mostly.

[B5NUT]

One question that someone will know, if you drive the car at the legal speed limit and your not thrashing the thing how many miles would you get to a full tank? I have a good 300mile + drive back home so wanted to know how many times I need to fill up. I would normally not bother asking MPG on a performance car, as you would never buy an S2 for fuel economy but with muppets panic buying fuel, just want to plan the journey back and make sure I've got plenty of possible fuel stops

[B5NUT]

Never driven the car, first time will be Saturday, and looking forward to it. Will try the google search option thanks.

I know the car is due a cambelt due to age, so that will be the first job that gets done on the car, just need to find or make a crank holding tool and buy a 450+NM torque wrench

[Bowie69]

In google, type :

site:s2forum.com <blah blah>

[martinjs]

Have you driven it? What colour is it?
Everything you need to know is on this forum, all documented, the search function has gone down the pan though.

[B5NUT]

Anyone know where I can get a complete workshop manual for the car, tried an old version of elsawin but the car is not covered.

This Haynes manual covers some of it but not for 95 models https://haynes.com/en-gb/audi/coupe-...2-petrol-29350

[Bowie69]

I suppose one big thing is water leaks. Damp underlay from door seals, scuttle panels sealing, and around the boot, there is a 'water bin' as it is known in the right hand side, which often fills with water. Usually caused by the sealant failing on the light units (the drain around the hatch is designed to flow over the lights and down), but can also be caused by a poor repair of the rear panel (as in my case). Check all along, and under the spare for water sitting against the rear panel - you can check for accident damage at the same time.

Door seals are NLA, so could be a problem.

Windscreen is expensive and a pain to fit -there's a heated one on ebay at the moment for £500(!).

Rust -most common on the shell behind the heatshield above the rear silencer in my experience, and the rear subframe can be a problem area, mine wasn't bad but still took blasting, a few welded repairs and some galv paint to sort it out properly. Ratty suspension components is not a good sign, but equally they can be unbolted and replaced easily.

Otherwise it is an Audi 80Q underneath

if you are unsure, take lots of snaps and upload in good quality to this thread, will help others out

[B5NUT]

It's more the fact and I hold my hands up to this but I know very little about the Coupe. I owned a 2.6E for 3 months about 16ish years ago, and I never did a thing to the car other than drive it. If it was an A4 or an A6 then I know most of the majors issues, that have plagued the models over the years.

It was only 3 weeks ago that I decided to sell my A6 and buy an S2 it's a steep learning curve.

[Bowie69]

Given your past history of vehicles, and apparent adeptness at pulling them apart and putting them back together, you will just 'know', it is just a car at the end of the day, so smoke, rattles and bangs are all pretty much the same.

Obviously look for bodges and wiring issues, but on the whole, they are pretty reliable cars, despite what you may read from some on here -I daily mine, and it's on 230K+ miles.... original engine, never opened.

[Tractor Dave]

Wow. That was quick. You didn't have to wait long after all.
The engines on these cars are pretty bomb proof. I would be checking for accident damage. They were hot dip galvanised and rust is seldom a major issue but check subframes and wishbones, especially if it's a Scottish car. Front wings do rot but replacements are available. Coupes tend to leak so check for water in the footwells and boot. If the ecu gets wet it can cause all sorts of gremlins (it's above the passengers footwell tucked behind the dash).

[SteveH]

Well done, I hope you enjoy ownership. VCDS won't tell you much, so I'd go by the seat of the pants feel. First thing to check would be a boost leak test as even up together cars tend to have a few leaks from boost pipes and vac hoses. Pics would be great when you have it

[B5NUT]

So I have found one... Deposit paid and going to collect on Saturday.

The car is standard with no modifications from what I can see and have been told, it's a late model car 95/96 so is there any I should look out for?

I have VCDS but I guess I won't get much information from what little ECU's the car has.

[B5NUT]

Thanks, I'm just going to keep looking. There are a few nice Avant's for sale, so I'm sure a coupe will come along at some point It's just a waiting games I guess.

[Fat Audi 80]

Kudos. Can't wait to see what you will do with an S2!

The problem with trying to buy a really good one is no-one will sell a really good one. Mine is probably as mint as they go even with 190k miles and I won't be selling it anytime soon as I know it is impossible to replace. Anyone with a good one knows this too. (Those that have sold them regret it)

Also, because they are not £50k they cannot be bought with silly money, so again no-one will part with theirs as it is not worth it.

Sad but true.

Best of luck

Steve

[B5NUT]

I am keen to get the spanners out again, I'm currently restoring my 96 A4. It's a 1.8 ADR so no turbo but it was my very first car. At the moment it's being sanded and preped for paint so it's all a bit boring at the moment.

Few restoration pics of my A4

Before
Mobile Photo 13 Sep 2010 11 13 41.jpg
Mobile Photo 13 Sep 2010 11 16 21.jpg
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Few After

upload_2020-10-6_1-0-23.png
upload_2020-9-26_11-46-22.png
1617980827507.png
Don't mind putting the work in but as you say it's knowing what to watch for as I found with the B5 some parts were very difficult to get hold of.