Bear in mind too that the aluminium bodywork is going to be much dearer to fix in the event of a parking shunt (or worse). Also, try to avoid cars with the bigger alloy wheels as the ride is pretty harsh.

I would not buy a car of this age without a test drive. You need to ask the seller and be prepared to drive there.

When I sell a car privately (doesn't often happen) I offer to take the buyer for a few miles test drive, with me driving. If your seller won't do that, go elsewhere.

Many sales on Ebay appear to go wrong and the sight is becoming more of a window of introduction like Autotrader. Look carefully where the car is as the distance to travel and maybe be disappointed is worth considering. Look at the seller info and feedback on the advertiser. If buying from a dealer you have normal buyers rights and you would be foolish to part with any money without viewing and driving the same as you would locally. If you bid and win at auction you may feel that you are obligated to buy, but its your money so communicate with the seller drive the car and inspect the cars condition and HPI checks. As with other areas of the trade there are rouges operating on Ebay. If you do not want to pay dealer prices then look at private sales on Autotrader or similar and use common sense

My sentiments completely Ma***

But I fell in love with the concept even though I was warned not to by an Audi colleague.

The shape , the colour the interior room , I got carried away and the next morning I woke up with diesel oil all over the drive where the oil filler pipe leaked. New one from Germany cost £120 and four days delivery. Struck up a friendship with the parts supervisor at Audi who were brilliant but for ever draining my bank account.

These are cars for the home mechanic who like to spend their lives on the drive underneath the car . There is never a moment of peace.

I thought I had bought a bad one, which i obviously did but when I got the view from the trade it became apparent that many dealers refuse to deal with them.

The ride and short wheelbase make you long for the journeys end.

Such a shame as the concept is brilliant. Audi lost about £4K on each one so I imagine they went about cost saving on the components.

I can’t stress enough enlist the help of the A2 club . They are brilliant and can help you avoid the mistakes that I made.