Thread: WARNING ANY POTENTIAL S3 BUYERS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Firstly i would just like to say hello to everyone on here, great site and thanks for your wealth of information.

Im posting here due to a general concern and also out of annoyance that the police nor trading standards are going to do anything about it...........Trying to do a good deed but have hit a brick wall.

I have been looking at buying a S3 for a couple of months now, and have been keeping my eye on the used market. I noticed a black pre facelift S3 for sale on MK Motors Derby's website. VU09 XEF. The car was advertised with 54000 miles and is still on the site but now as sold. I did abit or research on this vehicle but then decided the milage was too high, and the 5 owners also put me off. I also checked the service history to vairify the milage with audi, 3 stamps, Aug 09, Feb 10 and the last Feb 11 @ 38477.

Now the interesting bit, this car has appeared again, VU09 XEF on Piston Heads! It is by a different seller in a different location and strangely now has different milage 38500.

I thought i would post this as it baffles me for several reasons, who would not check the service book if they were to consider this car? 23 miles in nearly a year, and the nerve to advertise it so soon after it has been sold. How can this person think they can get away with this?
I would like to think that this knowledge could potentially benefit someone, although i dont hold out much hope. Some poor buyer may get ripped off. If you know anyone who is looking for a S3 please warn them. I realise that most people will do there ckecking but many won't.

I remember phoning trading standards a few years back about a cut and shut Golf that was being retailed by a local main agent. Their response was, sorry but as long as the car has an MOT there's nothing we can do. Bunch of jokers.

I would inform piston heads for starters

Thanks for the heads up.


For those that are interested, this is the piston heads ad:

Audi : Audi S3 big spec px?

And this the original MK motors ad:

Used Audi S3 Hatchback S3 Quattro 3dr | Mk Motors Derby Ltd

There is indeed a mileage discrepancy. The sellers name on pistonheads is Michael. Is that the first initial of MK motors who were selling it originally do you think?

That was the first thing i did. Not heard anything back from them and the car is still on there.
I did consider that about the initials being the same, suppose its possible.

thats terrible....put a nice sticky on here about that car.

Really puts you off buying a used car from even traders....Better to stick to main dealers

I have just piston head messaged the seller with the following:

Im very interested in your S3, looks like a tidy car. But Im a bit confused.
As with all potential purchases I make, I google as much about the car as possible, and googled the registration number of your S3.
You advertise it with 38500 miles, however, MK motors in Derby have recently sold the same car with the same registration number that had 54000 miles. This is the link to the ad which is still live on their website which I found: Used Audi S3 Hatchback S3 Quattro 3dr | Mk Motors Derby Ltd
Just wondering why there is a mileage discrepancy?
Cheers.

Will update if I receive a reply.

I have had a reply:

Not sure matey, I bought the car privately and everything all added up, HPI, service book etc, I'll look into it and let you know if a find a millage discrepancy, thanks for the info

Hi, I am glad you posted this. I looked at an S3 from MK Motors thinking that they were part of a Milton Keynes garage not far from me. It wasnt as they are in Derbyshire. The first thing I noticed was that their S3's seemed cheaper than most when you consider the options on each of them. The next thing I noticed was that they only had a mobile number and no landline which I thought was strange for a garage. No answer when I called either.

In the end I decided that the mileage was too high, it was too risky, I wanted the newer model (8P3) and, I wanted the assurance of an Audi warranty.

I hope that they aren't dodgy, and please correct me if I am wrong but, for me a few things didn't add up.

Good luck in your hunt for an S3

Originally Posted by monster_munch

I have had a reply:

Not sure matey, I bought the car privately and everything all added up, HPI, service book etc, I'll look into it and let you know if a find a millage discrepancy, thanks for the info

"Matey"...sais it all.

im sure VCDS can read the mileage from the ECU on some models. If this differed from that on the odometer you would know.

Don't want to accuse anyone of anything but it was rather cheap on mk so maybe they up the milage to make it cheaper to sell to themselves and then sell it on privately at a gain/use it to do some laundy maybe?

Wouldn't touch it though.. not a fan of the red interior.. ha

The price was the factor that made me curious initially, however i did'nt have a good feeling about it and really was after a facelift version. There are very few true bargins out there that dont have a suspicious past. 5 Owners????
I really doubt they increased the milage, audi confirmed the last service to be Feb 11. For them to be trying to sell it for nearly a year would be strange. Its possible though i suppose.

There's always the chance that it's an honest mistake...

One guy reads the 34,000 from the odometer
Then writes it to the sheet of paper
Another guy reads the sheet
(Who maybe reads it aloud to a further guy)
And types it into the computer

4, maybe 5 steps where someone could easily accidentally say/read/type/write or otherwise transcribe a 3 into a 5. Some lucky consumer comes along, notices the mistake (or even not) and gets himself a bargain.

I'm not saying it definitely is, but it's possible.

From what I know there's no 09s on a pre facelift 08 maybe

Its an 09 plate and its not a facelift....... I say I smell fishy flakes, hmmmm Facelift S3 (8P3) - post sept 08 onwards.....

Beat me to it nally!

There seems to be a few around. There is one at an audi dealership at the moment. It's strange, the 09's pop up now and again but i've never seen a 58 pre facelift. Maybe someone could shed some light on this.

This should definitely be a facelift model! Unrecorded accident repair on the cheap maybe? Stolen even, under false plates that belong to a proper facelift S3..

man that is one dodgy car can it really be a 09 plate car it surely should be a facelift at that age shouldn't it as that sort of miles is just to high for a 09 reg car of that nature i think

I have received another email from the seller, however Im not going to copy and paste it without his prior permission.

It does seem like a genuine seller, and like a genuine mistake has been made somewhere along the line.

He seems keen to find out why there is a mileage discrepancy, and is willing to edit the piston heads ad if needs be.

Anyway, he said hes going to keep us informed of his findings so watch this space.

Shouldn't the roof lining be black on an S3?

I really dont think there is any question about the age or being on false plates, as i said before there are some about. This is another 09 pre facelift on the approved used at Audi. I think without a doubt that there are these cars available on this year without being suspicious. My problem is only the milage.

HTML Code:

http://www.audi.co.uk/used-cars/used-car-locator/a3/2.0-t-fsi-quattro-265-ps/worcester/602317677-39979.aspx?srcmdc=se_na_re_

Originally Posted by Khufu

im sure VCDS can read the mileage from the ECU on some models. If this differed from that on the odometer you would know.

Not hard to change mileage on ECU as well as the clocks though.

Well if its any consolation, theres a 100% genuine car for sale here if anyone is interested:

http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/sale-wa...-57-plate.html

I've seen a few Pre facelift 58's & 09's. They are just registered late!

Originally Posted by S3RYE

I've seen a few Pre facelift 58's & 09's. They are just registered late!

Me too, saw an 09 plate prefacelift only recently and did a double take at first, but as Rye says, ..they are just registered late (and most likely sold a bit cheaper than the facelift model). xx

Hmm, additional Quattro badge on the hatch doesn't really add up either.

the interior in that car certainly looks to have done more than 39k miles. Looks a bit beaten for a 09 with 39k.

Don't know if it still goes on, but back in the day clockers used to change owners on the V5 in quick succession following a haircut so that the previous owner could act as a cover if contacted about the mileage.
Some people do a google search on the phone number used in car adverts as it sometimes gives a bit of background to the car/owner.

Originally Posted by a3tdi2001

Don't know if it still goes on, but back in the day clockers used to change owners on the V5 in quick succession following a haircut so that the previous owner could act as a cover if contacted about the mileage.
Some people do a google search on the phone number used in car adverts as it sometimes gives a bit of background to the car/owner.

Looks like he sold a few performance vehicles before if you google his number!

Originally Posted by S3RYE

I've seen a few Pre facelift 58's & 09's. They are just registered late!

This sort of thing used to happen all the time at Rover in the 90's where they would stock pile cars and wait until someone went to the dealer and specified this option, that option etc. If it the customers request matched one they had stock-piled they'd get this down to whatever dealer it was and give this to the customer. Quite often cars would be unsold for over a year or more but once purchased and registered they'd qualify for the latest plate.

Facelift ? What did that involve then ? I never noticed.

lol, only the bumper, bonnet, wings and headlights! :P


As for the car in question, I would not even have clicked on the ad looking at those photos. Makes the car look like a cheap S3 rep to me with those black wheels! Daft but things like that REALLY put me off.

Quick thread hijack
......that red interior looks crap with a flash on the camera....but without it looks more burnt red aka M3 type.
I was dubious of it in the photos but in the flesh from teh Audi dealers, the red looks really nice...hence why I bought one :-D

I really think there is something off about this car. It disappeared for a little while but has reappeared. It now has turned up on ebay with the plates blanked out, being sold by the same guy.
I just hate the fact that some one is possibly getting away with this.