Thanks for the replies FunkyMelon & Yobbo!
Interesting hearing about the HID upgrade and at such a reasonable cost too. Are they completely MOT legal?
I've also seen the MP3 FM transmitter devices on eBay for peanuts so this could be an easy solution.
I'll be sure to check out any cars I look at for rattles from the drivetrain that could be a worn DMF etc.
With regard to the fuel consumption thing if you look at pre-facelift D5s the official MPG figures are 21.2 urban, 41.5 extra-urban and 30.7 combined, which is horrendous for a diesel. I was thinking it might be due to the older version of the Geartronic 'box but then the facelift cars are 29.1/52.3/40.4??!
The manual stats are better still at 34.0/55.4/44.8 and by the sounds of things these claims don't look too far off
Thanks for the tip on the driveshafts too. I can imagine that they must be under some serious strain given the torque.
On a couple of the cars I've seen the electric window motors didn't sound too strong/healthy. Are these prone to failing and if so, are they an easy/cheap fix?
Also, some models seem to have an upgraded audio system. Which models get these as standard and how can you tell it apart from the standard stereo?
Are the speakers easy to upgrade too? Or do you need to start worrying about amps, fiddly wiring and MDF mounting brackets?
J