Hi guys,

im new the forum and i'm thinking of buying an allroad 2.5tdi probably a 2002 or 2003 model with a budget of approximately £5500. Im looking at the allroad with a view to towing a horse trailer (occasionally, not on a very regular basis). I'm looking at an allroad because i can't get insurance on a 4x4 and the fuel bills would be huge anyway

I just wanted to get some thoughts/suggestions on this as a tow car and also manual vs automatic (bearing in mind relatively low towing mileage)

and also if there are any things i should watch out for/be wary of when i buy the car?

many thanks

 

Lawrence, with Allroads the key areas to look at are all four air suspension bags, the air compressor, and the engine and turbo for leaks.
After almost ten years of driving, at least one of the Allroad's air suspension bags may be leaky.
Evidence would be the car parked on its lowest level 1, or the car parked in a "sinking" manner to one side, indicating a leaky air bag on that same side.
As for the engine and turbo, these you ought to check for leakage, as one should do for any second-hand car.
I have a year 2000 Allroad 2.7T: in 2009 ordered four replacement air suspensions and air compressor from Arnott (http://www.arnottindustries.com/), which is by far the most cost-effective way to replace these components.
Almost two years later and no leaks whatsoever.
And you're right to aim for the diesel: the petrol version is a bit of a guzzler.

 

thanks for your reply, and thanks for the advice. i think i will get the AA round to check the car before i buy it just to be sure. hopefully whichever dealer i buy it off won't be wise to any tricks to hide a possible leak, but i'll certainly make sure its not parked on the lowest setting or tilting.

i did look at the 2.7T, the insurance was basically the same funnily enough, and its even cheaper to buy but the running costs are quite crippling especially as i'm a student. to be honest i prefer driving a diesel anyway, but maybe im wierd like that.