What's My Avant Worth?

[waveydavey]

Due to a possible change in jobs in the next couple of months which will increase my commute from five miles to thirty five each way I'm coming to terms with the reality of having to sell my laser red S2 Avant and get a diesel. I reckon a decent standard avant is worth somewhere around 3-3.5K but mines a bit modified and I'm wondering if it's worth 6k. I'll list the modifications and recent work and hope that you will comment on whether I'm being realistic about the money I can get for it. Just in case the moderators think this is a for sale advert I'd better make it clear that the car is not for sale at the moment and if I end up selling it the advert will be placed in the appropriate section of the forum

Engine - Rebuilt by Automark (except main bearings as engine was left in car) in November 07 with new SCAT rods, big end bearings and piston rings. Head replaced by crack free 7A fully overhauled cylinder head. Hybrid 2871 turbo on RS2 exhaust manifold with RS2 injectors and intercooler. 3" turbo back stainless exhaust. Real time mapped by Automark and making around 350hp from 1.4 bar of boost. Clutch replaced November 06.

Suspension - Bilstein front inserts and standard RS2 rears. RS2 front and rear anti roll bars. All suspension bushes replaced with poly where available and OE rubber where not.

Brakes - A8 314mm discs, Porsche 996 calipers and DS2500 pads front. 8EO 300mm discs and calipers from B7 S4 rear.

Other than the above it's also had a new main radiator, fuel pipes, filter and tank support straps during the last couple of years and has a facia mounted boost gauge.

I'll be sorry to see the car go if it has to as I've spent loads of money on it to get it just right and didn't expect to ever have to sell it.

Cheers

David

[Rusty]

£6k seems like a good price if you can find someone who understands what has been done and assigns the value to the modifications that those on the Forum would. Is it really worth selling when a new car is subject to such severe depreciation? If you buy a diseasel that loses £2-3k a year vs. ~£0 on the S2 then the figures go out the window. A mate was looking at a BM diseasel to replace his B5 S4 and it worked out £200 a month more to run due to the crashing car market at this time. Of course, if it is that you want to sell then that's a different matter...

[S2central.net]

@wavey... if you have the space and inclination - consider a cheap old diesel runabout for commutes.

I think your car is worth ~6k if in good condition, but in this climate you'd be lucky to get that. No point in forking out lots of money for a newer car that is gonna depreciate faster than a good S2.

A 2nd car gives you lots more flexibility if you can afford the extra insurance, road tax etc - and there's always the danger of big bills on two cars which can hurt, but probably not as much as selling a much loved S2 Avant for less money than it deserves...

[Ross]

Personally I'd think £6K was a realistic expectation for a car of that spec. Given the climate you'd possibly have to drop a little but if it were mine, I'd be putting the asking nearer £7k and giving it a try. You've just put so much into it, and even in parts (not considering the labour) to put a similar project together would run into much higher figures.

Having BTDT somewhat I'd urge you to try and keep the car though, I drive about 25,000 miles a year in commuting and the diesel keeps my fuel costs about the same as when I was driving the S2 12,000 miles a year. But the diesel is soooo boring to drive, it really isn't a viable replacement for a petrol motor for ANY petrolhead... and don't even get me started onthe tractor sound.

I'm really glad I kept the S2, and with it being a fun car I can do the work myself, stick it on a 5,000 annual policy and it makes it pretty cheap to maintain. As Andy said, depreciation is a bit of a hit as well I bought a '02 Golf TDi, granted my mileage is high but I reckon it's depreciating at about £1000 a year. That would cover half your extra miles in fuel costs.

[Rusty]

BMW 318is can do nearly 40mpg on the motorway With a slippy diff they're good fun and with 150bhp they're not slow. Cost <£1500 or 1 year's depreciation

[waveydavey]

Thanks for the fast replies there chaps. Food for thought indeed.

If the new job comes off I've worked out my annual mileage will go up from 8k to about 20k and I'd be looking at £5k a year on fuel at todays prices. Getting a half decent diesel would more than half that and cover the depreciation. The cars I'd be looking at would be either a BMW 520d or Audi A6 2.0 TDi estates and they promise 50+ mpg so the fuel savings would be pretty good. Life would be a bit boring though.

Couldn't really do the second car thing as I've already got a long term project in the garage and the wife isn't keen on another one.

Maybe I should just splash out on a Neuspeed rear anti roll bar, give the car a damn good thrashing and forget about all of this diesel nonsense a while.

Mind you, there is an A4 3.0Tdi Quattro Avant on the bay at the moment. Nearly 40mpg and 200hp, Hmmm.

Cheers

David

[Rusty]

Depends on your commute. My Mum's Golf GT TDI promises 50+mpg and she gets mid 30s... and has to put up with tractor noises too She wants petrol next time as the aded complexity of the modern diseasel and VW's inability to spec camshaft material correctly has cost her a lot of money, thuis negating any savings over a reliable & simple petrol car.

[madpugger]

Remember that MPG is not a direct comparison either. I am not sure about in Englandshire, but up here diesel is around 10p a litre more, which is more that 10% right now. Even V-Power is 4p cheaper than the oily stuff.

[europeanme]

Maybe I should just splash out on a Neuspeed rear anti roll bar, give the car a damn good thrashing and forget about all of this diesel nonsense a while.

sounds like a plan....I do 300 miles a week...and that is 22k in the last year and I wouldn't swap it for anything...I'd be inclined to see how the commute goes...as a you will have a bad day, like all jobs do, a blast in the S2 will make things slightly more bearable...

just my 2p's worth....

[anthonys2]

the amount of work and effort you have put into your beloved motor id be very reluctant to sell unless necessary my advice do what i did keep it and buy a a4 1.9tdi 50 mpg easy and good to drive. i ended up getting a a4 1.9tdi quat sport but still get 42 mpg if driving sensibly!! ive had mine for 3 years and all i do is get it serviced and tyres every 6 months bearing in mind i do 30000 miles

[mark_s2]

I average mid 30's in my A6 2.5tdi quattro and 40+ when crusing on the motorway. Do I regret breaking the S2 last year - oh yes - but then my S2 was a daily driver and the engine now lives on in Ross's car. The A6 is deff. cheaper to run + I have no desire to upgrade it. Think long and hard...I know it's only a matter of time before I am back behind the wheel of an S2.

[Heat Seeking Missile]

This might throw a bit of a curve-ball on things.

A while back, my girlfriend and I were considering getting a place together in Whitchurch, Shropshire. Meaning my commute to work was going to go from 16 miles a day to 56 miles a day.

On the 16 miles a day commute, I averaged 18-19mpg, yet for the 56 miles a day commute (I tried it out, doing a mock run to work) I averaged 28.5mpg.

So, in theory, relating to my shift pattern, when I was on my 24 hour a week, I used less fuel on the longer commute than on the shorter one.

Worth thinking about.

Mark

[Dpicariello]

My commute is 85miles/day and had 3 months of doing this in the S2. 95% of my journey is Motorway but I was getting no more than 25mpg. This was costing me about £70/week which hurt but the really upsetting thing was the wear and tear that was taking place on the car. Stone chips, scratches and general dirt meant that my pride and joy was becoming a daily hack.

So just after Christmas I bought an old polo. 1.4l engine gets me over 40mpg and the S2 can be saved for special occasions and for what it was designed to do... put a smile on my face.

It sounds like your avant is well loved. I hope you can get about £6k for it because I think a good condition S2 is well worth that. However we live in strange times at the moment so good luck!