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

[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

[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).

[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.

[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]

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]

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

[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.

[Bowie69]

In google, type :

site:s2forum.com <blah blah>

[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

[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

[Bowie69]

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

[Ian Simmonds]

I used to use mine from Sussex to Manchester week in, week out and driven normally you’ll get over 33mpg. If you’re careful that can come up to 36mpg easily.

[Fat Audi 80]

Ha - mine has an AMD remap from back in the day and never goes over 25 even grannying it.... I would be cautious with an unknown car...

Cheers

Steve

[Fat Audi 80]

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 down on the car, just need to find or make a crank holding tool and buy a 450+NM torque wrench

I have crank locking tool you can borrow.... Just cover my postage both ways, just done my cambelt so happy to loan it.

[Bowie69]

If you're that way inclined, they are easy enough to make -mine took me half an hour!