Check this out for me? (S3 Noob)

[Sacred]

Here are the details on the car Im thinking about getting -

Manual 6 Speed, 43,000 miles, FSH. Silver/blue metallic. ABS,Remote Alarm, 18" RS8 Alloy wheels, Body coloured bumpers,head light wash, rear spoiler. Central locking, Climate/air control. Rare electric Sunroof, ESP, Sat-nav. T.V. Multi play CD with Bose speakers & sub. Full black leather heated electric Recaro seats.
Xenon head lights, Stainless/chrome mirrors, Reverse parking sensors. £1500 Huge Brembo brake upgrade, Stainless cat back exhaust, Remapped to around 280BHP. Stunning car, fully loaded and very quick. Car has been previously damaged, but now fully repaired hence bargain price for a car of this spec with low mileage. Will p/x for something interesting cash either way. £11,995. ono


Does this sound good? The remap and the brembo brake upgrade make it sound interesting to me, I was a little concerned about the damage done to the front of the car but I have been told it was a bump and its been sorted out now. I will need to see that though.
Just found out my insurance isnt so bad on the s3 so I'm REALLY considering it.

I will run a vehicle check when I'm sure.

Just wanted some views and thoughts

 

[jojo]

Sounds very high spec but you fail to mention the year/plate the car is. The car is most probably Cat D registered, as the seller has mentioned it's been damaged repaired... it's one thing buying a car like this, in that you save some £££'s due to it's Cat D status, but in all honesty, you will have trouble shifting it on when the time comes to sell.

 

[Stewart]

Don't be dazzled with the extra's and toys it has, you can always do these yourself, as Jojo says, the fact it could be on the register (CAT C, D etc) will have a massive impact on the residuals.
The fact that the seller says it has had a 'bump' indicates that the damage was something more serious, otherwise why mention it?
The ad says 'rare electric sunroof', yes it was a rare option due to the cost but 95% of imports came with sunroof as well as the standard climate. Being an import won't or shouldn't affect the value unless it's still under Audi warranty.

It's a buyers market at the moment, there are flippin loads of S3's on Ebay and in the trader and on Pistonheads.

Also, it is generally accepted that modifications will not add value to a car and should be discounted. Look at the true market value.
However, something is only worth what someone is prepared to pay.

Basically, it's way too expensive considering the damage

 

[rodenal]

Yeah steer clear of damaged and repaired cars, especially at this kind of value - any bump thats enough to write off an S3 isnt a small bump, put it that way.

As said above itll also be alot harder to shift it come resell - a cat c/d car can sell for as much as 4 grand less than market value.

Keep looking there are plenty more out there.

 

[S3QuattroDrift]

Unless you know the car ie a friend or audi-sport member, be very wary of modified cars. If you increase the power to that extent not only must it be done properly but other modifications are required eg cooling etc

Also ditto to the other guys - be very wary of any recorded cars

There are lots of good cars at that money-why take a risk?

 

[Sacred]

heres the link for u guys to have a look at.

I guess youre right, its just looks like a very nice car all told to me, kitted and nice looking. But as you say, I guess I will steer clear.


BELOW! (HAD ONLY ONE POST AND COULDNT POST A LINK)

 

[Sacred]

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/121987.html

 

[rodenal]

Its nice looking but not worth it if some1 runs into you and it crumbles and does you or one of your passengers some harm

 

[C_Audiboy]

I'd be weary of that car too. And those replica wheels just don't cut it..... I'd much rather have genuine avus rims on there.

Just have a look at the other S3s on sale along side it. There are very clean, untouched examples for similar prices.

 

[Stewart]

Well dodgy!

Look at the colour of the Sat Nav Unit, its the later grey instead of piano black (I.E different colours), so that has been retrofitted which also means they have probably cut and trimmed the Climate controls unit.
I'd also bet they haven't put the TMC unit in either.

Wouldn't touch that with someone elses barge pole!

EDIT : They have cut and trimmed the climate unit, look at the chrome spacer strip to hide the gap! Crap job!

 

[simch]

I would say it is not too cheap actually.
Just got a 44k 53 reg mint in black, sunroof (import!) and leathers, bose etc FSH for 12900. So if its recorded as a stock car that one is worth about £9500-10k max. Even unrecorded I'd say its worth about 12k at present..?
Wortha punt maybe if its cheap enough and if you fancy doing some of theose mods too, but be careful of other guys modding, its not always a good idea unless its proper reputable stuff...?

 

[davidhodgkinson]

Whats in the small box of the LHS in the boot, picture 5.

Mine does'nt look like that in the boot.

 

[rodenal]

maybe something to do with the sat nav?

 

[Rev-head]

I would be going for the 330BHP S3 below it very nice indeed

 

[monkeytrousers]

I wouldn't buy it either. I would pay that price for a standard 2002 S3, but not one that has been crashed and had the interior meddled with.

Also, 280BHP from just a remap is unlikely. If it really does put out 280 then it will die very soon without other mods to accommodate that power.

I hate the wheels and single wide exhaust pipe too, but that's just personal opinion.

It's a shame that S3s are coming on the market in this condition but that's life, they've been around nearly 8 years and are knocking on a bit. Be patient because as others have said, there are much better examples around.

 

[Sacred]

thanks guys, appreciate the advice.

I think I might just get a nice looking 2001-2003 model and do it myself.
I've heard remaps arent actually tha expensive (compared to the supercharging alternative I have with my toyota celica atm)
But I don't really want to spend over 12k if I'm going to be doing more to it.

I think I'd be after those avus wheels too.

 

[madvw]

totally agree that that sat-nav has been poorly retro-fitted. There are gaps top and bottom of the unit, and there's a chrome strip at the bottom of the unit that shouldn't be there. Thats only excusable if fitting the RNS-E, but not an RNS-D where theres a model especially for the 8L.

 

[leecs3]

to give you an idea of the value. The bodyshop next door to me bought a damaged 2001 (Y) S3 with 50k on the clock for £6.5. It wasn't a CAT D either, just light front end not recorded. So that one is worth £8K repaired max.