B6/B7 A4 Cabriolet Buying advice please!

[paulrstaylor]

I went form an MX5 to an S4 cabriolet as my weekend car to sit alongside an 8....

The MX5 was "fun" but slooooow.... I was looking at a turbo kit, or even an LS3 V8 conversion, but it was cost prohibitive and buying an S4 made so much more sense!

V8, manual, open roof, 4 seats (kids)

[HPsauce]

But on the Isle of Wight: 10 things you can't do on the Isle of Wight: https://www.isleofwightguru.co.uk/10...-of-wight.html

1. Drive on a motorway
Motorway driving...not on the Isle of Wight
If you're a fan of standing on motorway bridges whilst writing down the cab numbers of HGVs then the Isle of Wight isn't for you. Alas, there is no equivalent of the M25 which circles Newport (although Coppins Bridge has similar qualities). Nor is there the equivalent of the M1 to get you from Ventnor to Cowes in 13 minutes. The roads are a bit creaky and bumpy and don't really go in very straight lines. The only dual carriageway is about a quarter of a mile long and it only has a national speed limit for about eight seconds.

4. Drive for more than 56 minutes
Assuming you don't get lost at Coppins Bridge or get stuck in August traffic then the longest journey on the Isle of Wight - from Alum Bay to Bembridge - will take you less than an hour. That means that if you live somewhere towards the middle, such as Newport then you are never going to have a journey of more than 30 minutes for a day out or a commute. Some people might find that a bit restrictive but personally I think it's rather convenient.

And: https://www.isleofwightguru.co.uk/5-...ney-games.html

[1781cc]

Just bear in mind that life and ideas change, you may decide you want to cross europe in it one summer, if an MX5 still ticks that box, go for it, I'm about to head down to France and northern spain in my A4, will let you know how it goes. Assuming an injector doesn't f**k it all up because its in the bad year range

[Davey Blueeyes]

Originally Posted by 1781cc

Just bear in mind that life and ideas change, you may decide you want to cross europe in it one summer, if an MX5 still ticks that box, go for it, I'm about to head down to France and northern spain in my A4, will let you know how it goes. Assuming an injector doesn't f**k it all up because its in the bad year range

This is a good point but it wouldn't be a long term relationship. Different cars needs needed for bombing the isle of wight and cruising Europe! I did the south of France about 18 years ago in my V12 XJ-S and that was what that car was made for!

[Davey Blueeyes]

Wow, great response, thanks guys.

The MX5 is a weird one, it's really not my sort of car but every time I've driven one, especially somewhere like the island, it is just so much fun.

1781cc - thanks for sharing your own experience of these, it's a lovely car you've got. I'm still not sold on an auto for what I want and i'm not sure the 3.0TDi would be the best bet for island blasting but it is, in my head, what I want!

ainarssems - I'd probably try to find a well kept older one, however I'm not sure how many will still be knocking around with injector problems about 12 years after it all surfaced? Surely they've all been sorted by now (he says optimistically!)?!

HPsauce - you know your island living! I live in Sandown, about 200 yards from the beach. Yay! No point living on the isle of wight and not being on top of a beach! There are people here who have literally not been to Freshwater or Yarmouth in 25 years near me! Island living does strange things to your sense of distance!

It is amazing how cheap both of these cars are to pick up these days. Probably cheaper in the winter!

[J i m s t e r]

The wife has had a B7 3.0TDI for the last 5 years and it's been great. Goes very well. Only issues we have had are a few injectors, a few rear-parking sensors and a roof malfunction light which came on in October so didn't cause us too much consternation until the following "Summer".

Turns out the bushings on the roof operation motor can come off very easily and cure was to replace the motor. This was a very reasonable £95 at the time, fitted, by www.vagpro.co.uk * in Leicester who always has a supply of refurbished motors in stock.

* = I am not affiliated to the company in any way but if you have any roof issue on a VAG product, he's your man.

[1781cc]

Thanks for the link, a good roof person is always worth knowing, had no issues on my old cab, but didn't know anyone who was any good so that was lucky!