What S3 to buy?

Mattjbradbury

Mattjbradbury

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I've been looking for a S3 for a while now but i'm being really picky with what i want.

I want a post 2001 225 Bhp version unmodified. I've found a 2003 53 plate Blue (lighter colour not the ming blue) on ebay for £8500.

I love it only thing is its done 88,000miles. Am i going to have to pay for clutches/gearboxes etc in the near future as its done loads of miles?
Also its got the 17inch Avus wheels. I want to upgrade to the 18 Inch RSTT wheels when i find a good second hand set - will this pump up the ride height on standard suspension? Plus 53 plates are very rare, when did the 8L S3 go out of production anyone?

I want to stop being picky and just buy the thing so i can enjoy it, but spending this much money want to make sure i get the right one.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers
 
Hi, first of all, :sign_welcome: to ASN!

There's nothing wrong with being picky when it comes to buying cars, it's your money at the end, and £8500 is not a small sum of money, so it's natural to want the best for your monies.

Light Blue as in Nogaro Blue? @88K miles, check the cambelt has been done(hopefully along with the waterpump), as we usually recommend it to be changed every 60k miles or 5 years, which ever comes first. Gearbox failures are not common, but mine went @56k miles, but I had a rare case of diff pin firing through the side of the gearbox casing, I've only heard of 2 other cases on this forum in 7 years on here. Clutches generally wear pretty well, but this depends on how the previous owner drove the car. The actual clutch isn't expensive, but the dual mass flywheel is!, then you need to add labour on top for fitting. 18" RSTT shouldn't effect the ride height with the correct tyres fitted, 225/40R18s.

S3's went out of production in 2003, so there must be a few '04' plates knocking about from late registration for UK cars, and there are a few '54' plate 'imported' S3's also.

Now just go get yourself an S3! :icon_thumright:
 
Sounds nice. 88k isn't a massive amount - these engines are good for much more if correctly looked after.
As Jojo says, cambelt important. A set of 18" RSTTs can be bought fairly cheap 2nd hand so don't worry too much about that.

If I were you I'd just make sure that you get the colour and all the options you want, otherwise you might read about other folks' cars with their heated seats and sunroof and get the green-eyed-monster!
 
Cheers jojo! I'm going to have a look at it tomorrow so as long as its in good condition i'll probably get it! Also any way to check when buying second hand rstt wheels that they're not replicas as i've heard bad things about replicas buckling easily and would prefer a genuine set anyway.

Thanks!
 
Mattjbradbury said:
Cheers jojo! I'm going to have a look at it tomorrow so as long as its in good condition i'll probably get it! Also any way to check when buying second hand rstt wheels that they're not replicas as i've heard bad things about replicas buckling easily and would prefer a genuine set anyway.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Genuine RSTT's are offset ET32/ET33(don't remember which) and not ET35 which replicas will be, and they will be single drilled for 5X100, not multi drilled which most replica are. Somewhere on the alloy will also have an Audi stamp of some sort if genuine.
 
Great, thanks. One final thing. The guy whos selling it did say the previous owner had it serviced (at 83,000miles) and had the cam belt changed. He said they didn't stamp this in the service book however. Is there any way i can tell by looking at the Cam belt if its been done? He doesn't have a receipt of this. Or would I have to take it to a garage for them to tell me?
 
Mattjbradbury said:
Great, thanks. One final thing. The guy whos selling it did say the previous owner had it serviced (at 83,000miles) and had the cam belt changed. He said they didn't stamp this in the service book however. Is there any way i can tell by looking at the Cam belt if its been done? He doesn't have a receipt of this. Or would I have to take it to a garage for them to tell me?
Click to expand...

Tough one this, You would need to get it inspected for peace of mind, new cambelt whish has covered 5k miles should have most, if not all, the text still on the actual belt. If it's a genuine one, it will have a VW/Audi logo and 'Gates' logo on it. If not, it will have little or no text on it and possibly a few crack showing.

There was a chap who purchased an used S3 on here not long ago, was assured cambelt was changed, but it let go .... So I would make sure it's been done 100%.
 
Thanks for all your help. Much appreciated. I'll have a look around the car tomorrow and find out as much as i can before committing to buy...
 
wow never realised the s3 was soo expensive!

my 1.8T Q cost me 2700 with FSH, MOT, Tax and 76k on the clock.

i know its a better more refined car the s3 but really 3x more money?
 
audi upgrades
wow never realised the s3 was soo expensive!

my 1.8T Q cost me 2700 with FSH, MOT, Tax and 76k on the clock.

i know its a better more refined car the s3 but really 3x more money?​
Click to expand...

I paid £9500 for mine back in October!
But no, it's probably not 'worth' 3x an A3 1.8TQS.

Somewhere on the alloy will also have an Audi stamp of some sort if genuine.
Click to expand...

Behind the centre cap there should be the four rings logo.
 
Give the garage who did the job a call and find out for sure it happened, a change of cambelt and water pump is something I would definitely want to have a receipt for. IMHO if someone tells you he'd been looking after the car but doesn't have receipts puts everything in doubt, doesn't it? The fact you came here for advice in the first place kind of tells you're doubting it yourself.

It's like one of those moments when a girl tells you she doesn't normally do THOSE things and when the moon comes up you're finding yourself doing _unimaginable_ stuff under her very own leadership... Yes! it's a Chuck-Norris-in-Walker-Texas-Ranger-of-a-moment and Yes! it's amazing but there's a FAT chance you will end up having a breakfast with a cute little ginger freckled baby the very next morning at which at some stage it will look at you with it's hungry eyes and say DADDY?

Call the garage, think about the ginger kids!
 
hahaha, i will think about the Ginger kids. Good idea - I know the garage he got it from as they handily put a advertisement on the numberplate! I'll give them a call if i can't see any writing on the cam belt.
 
[/QUOTE]
DaveA3
wow never realised the s3 was soo expensive!

my 1.8T Q cost me 2700 with FSH, MOT, Tax and 76k on the clock.

i know its a better more refined car the s3 but really 3x more money
[/QUOTE]

Wow! I got my pants pulled down! either that or you got a brilliant deal!
​
 
If you cant get any proof of a cambelt change get £500 knocked of the price to cover the work being carried out. My S3 had an audi stamp in the service book saying it had the cambelt change, on phoning the audi dealership they had know record of my car coming in, I think the previous owner had a mate working there so although a basic services (I had parts receipts for oil and filters) had been done the belts had not. I had the belts changed as I had no proof of the work taking place and it hadnt, so word of mouth is not good enough, I would want to see a receipt. It might be a bit anal but I keep all reciepts of any parts I have purchased and of all work carried out on my car. If it has a FASH you should be able to find out everything undertaken by the audi dealerships it has been to.
 
Excatly, cross-reference everything and make sure you get exactly what you're paying for, it's better to be safe than sorry.
 
you could buy mine its a o3 reg imola yellow 74000 miles new clutch 12mts mot, service history,sunroof £6k i want for it is was recored as a cat d.any aa or rac inspection welcome.
 
mike-turbo said:
you could buy mine its a o3 reg imola yellow 74000 miles new clutch 12mts mot, service history,sunroof £6k i want for it is was recored as a cat d.any aa or rac inspection welcome.
Click to expand...

I heard that red ones are the fastest, no? Than there are negaro blue with canary yellow being the weakest of the bunch. ;-)
 
mike-turbo said:
you could buy mine its a o3 reg imola yellow 74000 miles new clutch 12mts mot, service history,sunroof £6k i want for it is was recored as a cat d.any aa or rac inspection welcome.
Click to expand...

My personal opinion is £6k for a Cat D is overpriced, unless you value your car @£9k if Cat clean.
 
Well you could allways pay 8.5k to 9+ for a o3 reg s3 in imola yellow mine has just had full service,neuspeed anti roll bar,genuine crome mirrors ect for 6k not a bad price.
 
u can buy my 200 a3 1.8T for 9k if u like lol :p

Dane: There are loads knocking about at around 3k. Im still suprise about the s3 prices!

Great cars tho n if i had the money i would :p my A3 is always gonna look inferior :(
 
Is 8.5 not a tad high for 88k miles? I was looking for mine for about 3-4 months before buying, and I paid 7.7k for 67k miles, FASH, 02 plate in Absolute red with a couple of options including 500 quids worth of private plate . . .

I know it's a 53 plate, but that makes 88k over average miles @ 12.5k per year . . .

Just food for thought :)
 
Hey guys. Thanks for all your messages.

Yeah i thought 88,000 was high but have just got back from viewing the car and i bought it!! Its the 4th i've seen and by far the best condition plus its only 6 and a half years old as was registered Oct 03. I know the miles are high but its been well looked after from what i can tell and drove the best out of the 4 - one i testdrove was terrible, steering off, power well down, awful condition interior. Plus the fact it's Negaro blue with Silver/beige Leather interior - 6 CD changer, heated seats, Ipod connection running through the Audi stereo, ESP and Chrome mirrors. Its exactly what i want apart from the miles are a bit high. Think i'm prepaired to make that sacrifice. Plus if the car had done something like 60k miles it would be well out my price range being a late version of the car.

Next question i need to ask you all. One button has a bit of wear on it - the Fan speed button. Are these easliy replaced? Could i get the part relatively cheap from audi and fit it myself?

Cheers guys
 
Sadly not, you would have to buy a new part from eBay. There was actually a link somewhere to a company that sold these second hand for around £120. Mine is suffering from the same issues, the radio as well. Both temp buttons and the fan up and down suffer :(
 
Mattjbradbury said:
Hey guys. Thanks for all your messages.

Yeah i thought 88,000 was high but have just got back from viewing the car and i bought it!! Its the 4th i've seen and by far the best condition plus its only 6 and a half years old as was registered Oct 03. I know the miles are high but its been well looked after from what i can tell and drove the best out of the 4 - one i testdrove was terrible, steering off, power well down, awful condition interior. Plus the fact it's Negaro blue with Silver/beige Leather interior - 6 CD changer, heated seats, Ipod connection running through the Audi stereo, ESP and Chrome mirrors. Its exactly what i want apart from the miles are a bit high. Think i'm prepaired to make that sacrifice. Plus if the car had done something like 60k miles it would be well out my price range being a late version of the car.

Next question i need to ask you all. One button has a bit of wear on it - the Fan speed button. Are these easliy replaced? Could i get the part relatively cheap from audi and fit it myself?

Cheers guys
Click to expand...

Sounds good Matt, it's the car you was after, and you was willing to pay a small premium to get it! The seller is happy, so the deal is done.

Now we need some pics! :icon_thumright:
 
Tqs are gay s3's arnt :) thats why there cheap. especially the pre face lift ones.

negaro blues my favourtie colour for the s3. how was the cambelt in the end?
 
Cam belt looked ok - i'm going to call the garage who did the last service when i pick up the car to ask them if they have records of doing it - it was a BMW Specialist so doesn't look like they're cowboys! I might take it to my local garage to see if they can tell me for sure too - just to make sure, i don't want to buy a new engine anytime soon! Better to be safe than sorry! It drives so well though, so think its been really well looked after.

Yeah i pick the car up on Sunday - i'll take some pics and post them up. Can't wait!
 
Don't worry about the button wear its common. Girlie nails scratch the surface off. Mine are similar so i keep touching them up with black now and again.

88k miles is fine

Enjoy!
 
P.S. I'd have sold you mine for 7k! Didn't realise they went for so much! (maybe 7.5k then!!)
 
nice, would it be rude to ask how much you paid for it? I take it hat its completely standard?

You are better of going for a younger one and not worrying so much about the miles, as mileage has no real revelance to the annoying bits that break on cars.

I heard that ming blue ones are the fastest... lighter paint of something?
 
Yeah the cars standard - no Mods - i prefer it to have no mods love it just as it is - until i want it to go a little faster in the future that is! He was selling for £8500 i got him down to £8200. Pretty pleased with the price - saw one on autotrader the other day 2002 Dolphin grey, 70k miles and they want £10,995 for it!! Well overpriced but shows some dealers think these cars are worth a lot more than they are.

Insurance company next on the list of people to call....Could be interesting!
 
?? Please don't say you've bought a car before enquiring after the insurance costs?
 
Haha, no i haven't - i've got another quote online which is only £200 more than my current costs. I've got 6 months left on my insurance though and changing over they may try and charge me a fortune....
 
well for comparison, I recently insure my S3, im 22 been driving for 5 years but had no NCBs to go on this vehicle. Also added my gf (whos 20) and cost me £920

Mine had 92k and cost me 5700, which good service history, but is a 2001. But if its the perfect spec for you its worth every penny
 
ianysm said:
Don't worry about the button wear its common. Girlie nails scratch the surface off. Mine are similar so i keep touching them up with black now and again.

88k miles is fine

Enjoy!
Click to expand...

Never mind scratches if it belonged to a gal check the clutch and gearbox, many of them are completely oblivious that it has more than 2 gears.
 
Previous owners wife for mine had long hardened nails and she has wrecked the buttons on the AC....isnt easily noticed though and when one comes up I will replace the unit.
 
Got the car! Love it, really pleased with the spec and condition of the car. Drives beautifully and love how quick it is - coming from a Polo GTi. Couple more questions now however if you wouldn't mind guys.

Firstly the engine temp normally hovers around 80-85 degrees, doesn't normally hit middle 90 degrees that much even after a 2 hr motorway drive. Is this normal? If not is there something wrong with the car? It feels fine to drive and engine is having no noticable problems.

Secondly i opened the bonnet and realised the car has a dump valve attached to it. The guy selling it didn't tell me it had one. They help keep pressure in the turbo to reduce turbo lag do they? Turbo lag on the car is hardly noticable so i presume so... Only slight downside is it makes a bit of a boy racer hiss when i change gear at full tilt. No offence to the modders here but i bought the S3 because i like its understated style. Its not too loud and i love the fact i don't get turbo lag so i'll definately keep it. Does it give any other performance advantages? I.e increase BHP?

Cheers guys
 
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