Thought I would give an update on my search for a replacement for the Saab.

After searching long and hard I settled on an Audi A4 convertible.

The car is a 2009 2.0 TFSi with a six speed manual gearbox. It has done just over 100k miles.

It drove really nicely, its quite firm on its S-Line suspension but felt solid with no rattles or squeaks. There was a full service history, mostly Audi, later specialist and it had a full-size spare wheel which is essential round the lanes here.

The previous owner had taken really good care of it and his house and other cars were immaculately maintained and in a really nice suburb of Bournemouth. All positive indicators.

I pick it up tomorrow night, delay occasioned by the owner having to transfer off its private plate. Very excited to put some miles on it.

No doubt many of you will have horror stories about the models reliabilty, my sister's reaction was that her neighbour has one and they have had lots of roof problems.

I know this engine can use a lot of oil but is there anything else for which I should keep an eye out ?

Edited by Stackman II on 02/09/2020 at 09:24

Thought I would drop in a 6-week update on the Audi.

The car has been a great thing to drive, roof up or down and we have had a trip to North Wales to enjoy the mountains, roads and scenery in the sunshine.

However, its not been all roses and sunshine.

First off I knew it needed new tyres when I bought it and so I bit the bullet and put 4 new Kuhmos on. Unfortunately they are 235/45 x 18 so a slightly odd size and so £105 per corner.

Next up was an issue with the idle speed. Research lead me to believe the crank case pressure relief valve would be the culprit and this proved to be the case and I booked it in for a replacement.

The next blow was after visiting my Dad he rang me to tell me my new car had dumped a load of oil on his drive. Off to the garage for further investigation.

When the timing cover was removed it appeared that the oil pump housing was cracked. This was caused by a bolt dropping down on it from inside the cover, breaking the drive ear and cracking the casing. The repair necessitated removing the front bumper and radiator but at least I got a new cam belt and water pump out of it.

The result of all this is that the car has cost me around £1,250 in addition to the purchase cost. Luckily my man-maths tells me that this puts the car at around the maximum I had budgeted for replacement and around the price of similar cars available online.

Now we are looking forward to a trouble-free winter.