Thoughts on this Audi A1 TDI?

I'm thinking of buying a 161 Audi A1 1.6 TDI with very low mileage - only around 18,000 miles done. It has had two owners, one for nearly nine months and one for six and it looks like the rest of the time it has been at a dealer's for sale. It's clean inside and comes in at €15k. Other ads for sale have much higher mileage for similar price. It looks at one stage like it has been at a dealer for nearly three years and has currently been for sale for almost a year with the dealer (from car history report). It's due an NCT and the dealer is giving six months' warranty. Is buying a car that was idle so long a good idea and does it sound too good to be true?!

John Murphy (Clonmel)

Mar 2021 Filed under: choosing used car

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Expert answer

Hi John,

We really can’t comment with any accuracy on a specific car, sight unseen. However… the charitable answer could be that the 1.6 TDI diesel is rather unfashionable, especially in a car as small as the A1 (the 1.0 TSI petrol engine was always the better seller), so it could be that the previous owners decided that diesel wasn’t for them and the dealership has since struggled to move it on.

That said, we’d tread carefully. Have you gotten an independent history check through the likes of Cartell.ie? It might also be worth getting an AA Inspection, which will go through the car with a fine toothcomb and find anything that’s wrong. In theory, buying a car that’s been idle shouldn’t present a major problem, but we always work to the rule that mechanical devices are at their best when used, and regularly serviced, rather than left to sit. 

Neil Briscoe - Complete Car Advisor
@neilmbriscoe