Quirks of the A3 DSG S Line

sprout99

sprout99

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my girlie has fell inlove with an A3 S-Line TDI DSG

What should I be looking out for? She's going to drive it in the morning.

is £14k good price for an Audi garage car with 53K on clock?
It's Mauritius blue and just had 1300 spent on it (tyres, service, timing belt, DSG oil and filter)

Any pointers would be much appreciated.

Ian
 
sprout99 said:
my girlie has fell inlove with an A3 S-Line TDI DSG

What should I be looking out for? She's going to drive it in the morning.

is £14k good price for an Audi garage car with 53K on clock?
It's Mauritius blue and just had 1300 spent on it (tyres, service, timing belt, DSG oil and filter)

Any pointers would be much appreciated.

Ian
Click to expand...

How old is it? Any other spec details? wheels? Is it leather etc:icon_thumright:
 
why timing belt done already - 53k miles?
not due until 80k, and NO franchised Audi dealer will change the belt THAT early....
Also, how recent was that 1300 quid spent - the DSG oil & filter change is due WAY before 53k, at 40k....
 
Timing belt is 80k or 4 years ? so it might be about right presuming its an 04 car.
 
it's an 04 54 S Line 2.0 TDI

18's + half leather + light pack

I'm only presuming the timing belt was done. Definitely had DSG service and tyres. I don't know much about the 2.0 TDi
 
I would make sure that she is happy with the DSG traits so a good lengthy test drive is in order. I would suggest with pleanty of mixed driving in traffic etc.

You either love or hate the DSG box. :yes:
 
Gti Jazz Blue said:
I would make sure that she is happy with the DSG traits so a good lengthy test drive is in order. I would suggest with pleanty of mixed driving in traffic etc.

You either love or hate the DSG box. :yes:
Click to expand...

Agree with above plus price sounds about right as a starting point, get negotiating...
 
Whilst my SE is with the dealer for the steering rack to be replaced I have a 57 reg 2.0 TDi S line manual - I'm afraid the term 'poverty spec' springs to mind.

Apart from leather seats it has lots missing. No auto wipers, pain when it's snowing, no auto lights, pain when you put them on then forget to turn them off, no cruise control and I'm afraid on our local pothole roads the ride is unacceptable.

I'm also really missing the DSG - the 'press clutch to start' procedure is proving a nightmare. Despite 10 minutes trying to sort the seat and steering wheel positions you have to push the clutch in far further when you want to start the car than you do to change gear.

If I set the seat so I can start it I'm too close and braking is uncomfortable, move the seat back and my left leg needs to be fully extended to start the car - I have stalled the car this morning at a set of lights and restarting it was difficult. Clutch was in, but obviously not far enough (but enough to change gear) and turning the key resulted in nothing.

If you want an S-line find one with plenty of extras.
 
daveyjp said:
Whilst my SE is with the dealer for the steering rack to be replaced I have a 57 reg 2.0 TDi S line manual - I'm afraid the term 'poverty spec' springs to mind.

Apart from leather seats it has lots missing. No auto wipers, pain when it's snowing, no auto lights, pain when you put them on then forget to turn them off, no cruise control and I'm afraid on our local pothole roads the ride is unacceptable.

If you want an S-line find one with plenty of extras.
Click to expand...

What a load of nonsense!
Having to put the wipers and lights on yourself hardly means it's "poverty spec!"
Same with the cruise control.
Jesus, what a mollycoddled bloke you must be!
I take your point about the ride though.
It is hard, but it also boasts far better body control than the wibbly-wobbly SE.
Poor body control will always annoy me more often than a hard ride.
This is obviously the distinction made by Audi, between the SE and S-line.
One is for people more concerned with comfort, one is for people who drive harder.
Or those that want to be perceived as a harder driver...but that's a whole different argument.
 
I'm afraid after nearly three years with A3s fitted with auto lights and wipers they are now on my essential list.

They are no different to power steering, power windows and central locking to me - or would you buy a car without these "mollycoddling" features?
 
nope, i've got an S Line, but it does have auto lights and dimming mirror ! I prefer the firmer suspension though
 
Auto lights and wipers - for lazy people in my opinion.

When I drive I'm 100% in control and know what's going on with the car, weather, traffic, etc etc. The more you automate, the more you become a 'drone' to the car and the more likely you are to fall asleep or do something because you're not paying attention.

And since when does it snow enough here for that to be an issue?
 
haha just read Davey's sig too, he's clearly one of the more mature Audi drivers..

walnut trim, reversing sensors and calls 17" wheels an upgrade... perhaps you'd prefer the softer ride of 16" wheels Davy??

I'm not ageist, but there are certain features of cars/driving which always seem to go hand in hand with older drivers.
 
It's quite interesting to see the replies from people on what extras are for young/old and for those that want to drive hard/soft.

I'm 28 and have ordered a tdi s-line 170 quattro with light and rain sensors , cruise control AND parking sensors. I consider myself to drive relatively hard and anyone who thinks these extras are for old men is a bit of an idiot.

I drive fast most of the time but still use the cruise to do so, also light sensors are great if you're blasting into a tunnel and don't want to take your eyes off the road to put the lights on. Parking sensors enable me to reverse quickly and easily only having to glance in the rearview.

It's all about what you want in a car. I don't want to be 'mollycoddled' but if there's mindless tasks to be done (like turning on and off lights) why not have the car do them for you?

Anyone who says light/rain senors are for old men is a total hypocrit. They will be standard on all cars in the not too distant future.
Do you whine about central heating being for lazy people too? Why don't you get off your **** and light a fire instead of being lazy and letting the thermostat control the temp in your house!

Not wanting to start arguments, just putting things in perspective...
 
Garth_S3 said:
I'm 28 and have ordered a tdi s-line 170 quattro with light and rain sensors , cruise control AND parking sensors. I consider myself to drive relatively hard and anyone who thinks these extras are for old men is a bit of an idiot.

I drive fast most of the time but still use the cruise to do so, also light sensors are great if you're blasting into a tunnel and don't want to take your eyes off the road to put the lights on.
Click to expand...

I don't think age has anything to do with it, but auto lights and wipers are hardly essentials.
Your suggestion that auto-lights are a safety boon is dubious too.
I don't have to take my eyes off the road to switch my lights on, why do you?
It's not as if Audi have put the switch in the ****** glovebox.
It's readily to hand, takes a split second to do.
In fact, there is an argument that says you should be switching your lights on before blasting into a tunnel, not waiting for auto-lights to react to the darkness, by which time you could have travelled many yards, no matter how quickly they react themselves.
This is what leads to the 'lazy bloke' argument.
 
bowfer said:
Your suggestion that auto-lights are a safety boon is dubious too.
I don't have to take my eyes off the road to switch my lights on, why do you?
Click to expand...
I can see your point on this, but when you drive as many cars as I do (at least 4 different models in a given month) then it is not second nature when they all have a different light switch. In this case, auto lights and wipers definately ARE a safety bonus. It means I do not have to think where is the light switch in this car? then turn them on.
I do not know what the auto lights are like in the A3, but in the 2 BMW's I drive (330cd and Z4), they react so quickly that they are on before I would have got to the switch myself anyway.

I understand that people will say these kind of things are for lazy people, but I remember when electric windows with a 'one touch' feature were starting to become mainstream and some of my mates said they were for lazy people. Would they say the same now? I think not as they all have them and not many people I know would want to go back to manual windows winders, would you honestly?
 
daveyjp said:
I'm afraid after nearly three years with A3s fitted with auto lights and wipers they are now on my essential list.

They are no different to power steering, power windows and central locking to me - or would you buy a car without these "mollycoddling" features?
Click to expand...

Have got Auto Lights and wipers on an 06 Mini we have in the family (ex demo with all options bar Sat Nav!) and on my previous 07 A6, IMHO Auto lights and wipers are a pain in the ar**. I would not pay extra for them!!

Cheers

R:hubbahubba:
 
Garth_S3 said:
I understand that people will say these kind of things are for lazy people, but I remember when electric windows with a 'one touch' feature were starting to become mainstream and some of my mates said they were for lazy people. Would they say the same now? I think not as they all have them and not many people I know would want to go back to manual windows winders, would you honestly?
Click to expand...

A good point.
I must admit though, I view electric windows differently, as the biggest problem with manual ones was always winding down the passenger one!
I wouldn't entertain a car without electric windows, but it'll be a long time before I consider auto wipers/lights in the same way.
If they ever come standard though, fine.
 
Too many issues to respond to but lets just say I was happy to return the manual S line which managed all of 29 mpg over 70 miles of urban motoring.
 
audi upgrades
If the Auto Wipers are anything like they are on my Dads MK5 Golf then they are more hassle than they are worth!

Does cheese me a bit though that the S-line doesn't come with cruise control as standard
 
the auto wipers are useful in that the range of speeds / wipe frequencies is far wider than the 3 or 4 options for the intermittent wipe without auto.

for that reason i would have the auto option - the auto lights - we could argue all day but if the technology can do it anyway, then why not? assuming the price isnt too much

i have had 3 audis and the intermittent wipe is always just not enough or too much where as the auto wipe is much more appropriate.

as for other options - each to their own - thats why they are on the option list so that cheapskates can miss out the things they dont value.....ha ha
 
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