Prospective S3 owner, advice please!!

[Chris_ess3]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As a prospective S3 owner I have been reading through your site with great interest and I’ve picked up a few nuggets of information that I didn’t already know about the S3.

I have recently test driven my first S3, disappeared with it for about 45 mins and didn’t want to give it back!

Given that it was the first S3 I had driven I got a bit carried away and forgot to check out a few things ie Operation of the trip computer, does it have BOSE audio, etc….

I will be going back for another look sometime this week and wonder if there is anything in particular I should look at or any simple tests that can be done to spot any possible problems with her. I am fairly technically minded having worked in the motor industry and now working in offshore oil engineering.

I know there is something wrong with the wipers, they come on as soon as the ignition is turned then switch off after around a minute. Is this purely a wiper problem or could it be a sign of a wider electrical problem.

The car was a 1999 V in Ming Blue, 61K miles, £10.5K with a years warranty.

The only thing that is holding me back at the moment is that it’s a year older and has covered more miles than my current car (2000W Focus Zetec 1.8 3Dr, 42K Miles, Panther Black). The focus is lighter on her feet and a bit more of a Go-Kart but nothing can compare to the pace, grip and style of the S3.

Any buying advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Chris

 

[madvw]

could be a broken wiper stalk, or a nasty electrical problem. Either way, make sure it's fixed before you commit.

 

[monkeytrousers]

Hi

There's a buying guide and FAQs pinned to the top of this forum.

Also check out a recent post about common faults on the S3: http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/showthread.php?t=28036

Of course I'm biased - but it's a great car. My first truly fast car and still love it.

 

[rickparmar]

i think 10.5 is a little to much,

if you look there are 2 s3's

pre-facelift and facelift,

face lift has better lights, and few interior changes,

ill let other people talk about engine,

look on auto trader, you could get a better one for 10.5 k

 

[rickparmar]

i would put 500 pound extra and get somthing like this

http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/WW...category=CARS&channel=CARS&id=200637249211598

 

[paul_brad]

thats definitely too much for a V reg. With 10.5k in your pocket, I would go to facelift, which is halfway through X reg onwards.

The easiest way of telling facelift is with the rear lights as Rick says, but watch out that many people swap them over on pre-facelift cars. Headlights are harder to change so less people do em, the facelift lights are one piece on facelift.

 

[tonedef]

I'd agree with the general consensus here that 10.5 is too much to pay for a 99 car, you really have to check if the 12 month waranty is worth the paper it's written on too.

Look for a facelift car, and check for service history and what's coming up. My wife bought our 2001 car at a good price but it was 8K miles from the major service (80K) which costs the extra lump due to needing cambelt and water pump job doing.

Another thing to check for with earlier facelift cars, many are advertised as 225 when they are actually 210. Check the label in the spare wheel well for the engine code, AMK=210, BAM=225. Makes no difference if you're gonna have it chipped but it's good for haggling the price down if advertised wrong.