Indeed Mk2s are all 10+ years old at this point. The last year of manufacture was 2014 (there were MY15 models in some countries but these were still made in CY14). So this would be the case for the majority of "worth driving" cars out there of this age. I mean sure maybe someone says, "oh you can buy this 10 year old Corolla and it won't need much and will go for many more years blah blah..." but my view that car was a piece of trash from day one, lol. So to me, it doesn't matter if it has low maintenance requirements for another 10 years or whatever. But anyway I digress...

But yes the age its own creates the problem where it's not like having a newer car that requires "less maintenance" or is going to be relatively maintenance free for 4-6 years or anything like that--if that's the goal I'd recommend buying/leasing a brand new car though yeah I get you can't get a TT anymore. And even the past decade where you could, it would have to be ugly ass Mk3 lol.

You can get an older car with low miles but the asking price will be high and these are not all they are cracked up to be, either. Because mostly that engine is going to be in worse shape than one with average miles. It'll be carboned up to hell--not just the typical intake port stuff but also the engine internals like stuck piston rings, etc. Not to mention the fact that they are very likely more sludgey inside, unless the oil was being changed every few thousand miles which is most often not the case. Now intake carbon can be cleaned and there are effective ways at cleaning up rings and all that, sure. But internally sludged engines can be difficult to remedy and many are trashed or rebuilt when severe. Everything else OTOH, well yeah you'll likely have had less wear on suspension parts, hubs, axles, etc. But the price is going to be higher anyway, you're going to pay a premium but you still can't think there's going to be nothing to be done, it's just not true.

All of this is par for the course with older cars and so one has to be aware of, prepared for, and willing to bring them up to snuff and keep them that way. I just bought this guy--an 8yr old car with 105k miles--and certainly I have a slew of mechanical/maintenance stuff to get done on it now. Note there's nothing particularly wrong with the car as it is--IMO one of the best examples in the price range in my local market, hence why I bought it--but if one thinks they can buy a car like this and then do nothing and just keep driving for another 10 years? Yeahhhh...you are indeed going to run into major issues in short order if you think that. I think those are the people that end up complaining about oh "this car is unreliable and you shouldn't buy a [insert brand] that's more than x years old hurr durr". Yeah, "no you donut!" 😂 Doesn't work like that.

One of the main culprits IMO is the manufacturer's maintenance schedule tends to be woefully inadequate and even then most 8-10 year old vehicles on the market will not even have that much done. In my case I found one with pretty much exactly that much done--no more, no less--but it's not what I would consider "well maintained". But what are the alternatives? Well it's ones that have had even less maintenance done! Or one elects to spend like $5-10k more on one that is newer or has lower miles; which I'm absolutely not doing, but for other ppl it may well be a better idea.

Bottom line is either be prepared for standard old ass car stuff or don't buy 'old' cars...especially not old ass Audis where they were telling ppl stuff like "lifetime" coolant, transmission, etc, fluids; recommending 15k OCIs; and all this nonense!

Sincerely, as always, old man looking skyward and shaking my fist at clouds! 😂

 

it would have to be ugly ass Mk3 lol.

Come on, it's not ugly.. audi makes good looking models, except the Q4, A5 B10, new A6 and egg shaped SUVs.

 

Buy the best you can afford and make sure that one has been looked after well and you can evidence that. Better a 150k miler that has been loved, than a 50k miler that has been thrashed and neglected.

 

Mine is a 2014 and it already needs maintenance over and above the normal servicing. It had the cam belt done at about 80k but in my two years I’ve had to change the cam follower, new n80 and charcoal canister, new radiator fan unit and various minor, mostly cosmetic bits. I’m now looking at dsg and haldex services and I’ll keep up my 6 month/6k oil changes. Rear brakes need doing and fronts shouldn’t be far behind but I’ve no doubt there will be other stuff, it’s all part and parcel of owning the car.

I worry more about the ’non-car people‘ who don’t even think about this stuff, aka the other 98% of the car driving population who just drive, day in day out, completely oblivious to what is going on or what could happen to their cars. Most people don’t even know how to wash a car properly let alone service it.

 

cam follower, new n80 and charcoal canister, new radiator fan unit

Yeah, I would have no idea how to easily check on these things without doing a lot of work. 250k km on the clock, unknown history, consumes a bit of oil (now 1L/1200km after the first piston soak, increasing range by 400km) and it drives smoothly.

 

That's kind of like saying 'How long is a piece of string?'

I'd imagine 90% of them out there will need work of some kind, even the youngest mk2's are now old cars. No matter how good one looks and how much history is with it, you can't predict problems that could occur as soon as the following week. There's always a bit of a blind leap when buying a secondhand car.

Mileage doesn't really matter, mine was absolutely immaculate when I bought it 6yrs ago, but boy oh boy did it have a plethora of problems, down to the dodgy dealer (and feckless previous owners) I bought it from, but once everything was sorted and I replaced various sensors to the latest editions, it's been fault free (touches wood.....) and the only more recent issues were my fault/ignorance around not using an OEM gasket on a downpipe. Point is, it's now at 111K and drives like new, in comparison with at 69K, a totally different feeling car. I've intended changing twice now but ended up keeping this and spending on it, with new suspension etc etc.

I'd also bet a good proportion of rusty rear subframes are predominantly surface rust, I've yet to see any MOT failure posts on here about them, or any drastic incidents.

 

Nobody is giving away cars. If a car that once sold for £35 – 40k can be had for £3 - 4k it's because it's now only worth £3 – 4k

Depreciation accounts for the majority lost car value for the first couple of years but after that it's mostly due to wear & tear. In the MK2's case (now being somewhere between 11 – 18 years old) it is age & mileage that have taken its toll.

It is possible to find an older car in mint condition if you are willing to spend the extra ££, but it will most likely still need new rubber components (i.e tires, belts, hoses, bushings). A car in 'less than mint' condition will require even more.

If you enjoy performing your own maintenance restoring an older car can be cost effective (but time has a value too). For most people it would be better to buy a 'newer' used vehicle and not worry about repairs.

The main reason I drive older cars it isn't for the savings, I do it so I can drive something that doesn't look like every other boring / generic sedan or SUV that's on the road today.