Help wanted please - decision to make buying S3!

[JonBoi25]

Hi guys , reasonably new to the site. i know you have the s3 buying guide on here ive had a glance over it.

Could you chaps have a peek at this car ..

2001 AUDI S3 S3 QUATTRO 3DR + FULL LEATHER FASH + STUNNING CAR

Would you say it looks like a good deal? and it that e reasonable price for the millage ?

Is this model the 225 Hp version? and what sort of things shoudl i be looking for on a car of this millage when i go for a viewing ?

Manyh thanks, Jon

 

[beachbuggy]

That'll be an AMK engine 210bhp.

Looks a good price with FASH but not a bargin.

Mileage shouldn't be an issue. Just check for smokey engine, noisey turbo and clutch on it's way out.

Look at a few though as there's lots out there and different specs as well for about the same money

 

[mk1chopper]

Phone up or go to your local audi dealership and give them the reg, they should be able to tell you where and when it was serviced to confirm fash so you'll be able to identify if its had the cambelt change too and they'll also be able to tell you the engine code which will confirm if its 210 or 225

 

[JonBoi25]

Thanks for the reply chap, ahh i see i thought all the facelifts were 225, so when does the s3 change to the 225hp model?

mm i had your comments in mind but he seems to think its really tidy which it does look. think thats why hes asking for more than id expect to pay for 100,000 miles :/.

 

[JonBoi25]

* AMK 210bhp it is chap - i rang up audi - good shout's. cheers

 

[s3dave]

I think it is a very fair price from a dealer, just make sure things check out...

 

[JonBoi25]

In your opions , which is the better year to go for the newer 225 model or older 210 ? what would the newer model have that the older ones dont ?

Does the older model have the same turbo etc... just derated ?

 

[sportquattro]

They both remap to the same and condition and spec is always much preferable to 225 over 210, I've got a 1999 APY 210 Pre facelift and perfromance wise i'ts every bit as good as the later 225's. Condition and history are key, cambelt and waterpump changed on time vital.

 

[superkarl]

the difference between that one and a later 225 is absolutely naff all, just 11hp, but if your intent on tuning then they tune exactly the same, same hardware, same everything. its the early APY that differ from the facelift AMK and BAM.

seems good price to me, mileage is low considering the age.
you should be looking at:
clutch done? when?
cambelt done? when? (including water pump and tensioners)
check for no lights on the dash
if you can, take someone with VCDS to scan the car for faults
check for rusty roofrails, arches, bootlid handle
on a test drive listen for any knocks, whines, grinding etc.

it does look clean original example. hope it turns out a good'n

more receipts for wear and tear parts the better really

 

[JonBoi25]

'Superkarl'
Thanks for the comment - ive borrowed a code reader from work so that should be ok.
it had belt done by audi at 76000 miles so i pressume being audi they did the tensioner aswell.
only thing that doesnt appear to be replaced is the clutch - any idea how long are are good for on average? ( can you tell via pedal travel how low the clutch material is) ?.

 

[jojo]

I think it's a fair price for the mileage and age, even better that cambelt was done @76k, but probably didn't do waterpump at the same time. So dependant on bodywork condition, it's a fair price, plus it's not as if you can't go there to haggle on price is it?

 

[JonBoi25]

'Jojo'
Fair comment , ive just never contimplated buying a car with more than 80,000 - seems like a lot of money for me for a car with that mileage, ha yeah i wish i was any good at haggling - hes said 4200 lowest !!

 

[s3dave]

It is a lot of car for £4200 especially from a dealer as said, clutch is a hard one, but its not the end of the world and try get a bit of warranty, plus been a dealer he has to abide by the "code" fit for purpose on all that.....

 

[thegoal007]

Dealer selling it at £4200 still means he's making a good living out of buying and selling cars. I think most here would cringe at what he got it for !

 

[JonBoi25]

Thanks for your opinions guys, just been to have a look - Code reader came up with coolant error P1296....? doesnt seem like anything major, car was mint apart from the odd scuff, drove silently with no knocks etc. everything worked as it should. shame the price couldnt drop a little more , but i went with it in the end. if you persuade me otherwise im only loosing the 200quid deposit. but im pretty sure its a decent buy.
Not too sure id be keen on thrashingit with the slightly high mileage tho :/ . Cant wait to get it home tomorrow

 

[s3dave]

Mileage is not bad for these cars,,,get the pics up asap well done...if it has full ASH you might want to give the oil a good flush and renew as it is most likely on the long life service

 

[superkarl]

As Dave said above, that is a must! Give it a flush, check the oil pick up and everything should be fine.
With that fault, just a guess but its prob coolant temp sensor related, im guessing it wont quite reach 90 degrees. Just a guess but im sure youl let us know.

Do not be put off with that mileage! It's low compared to A LOT of people on here including mine, and i thrash the ****** out of it and others run silly Bhp and mods. Just hope its been well maintained, and do the same, and you could have another 100k of fun!

 

[jojo]

Thanks for your opinions guys, just been to have a look - Code reader came up with coolant error P1296....? doesnt seem like anything major, car was mint apart from the odd scuff, drove silently with no knocks etc. everything worked as it should. shame the price couldnt drop a little more , but i went with it in the end. if you persuade me otherwise im only loosing the 200quid deposit. but im pretty sure its a decent buy.
Not too sure id be keen on thrashingit with the slightly high mileage tho :/ . Cant wait to get it home tomorrow

Wouldn't worry about the mileage, I just gave my 156k miler a good thrashing the other night, and came home in one piece still making the power! Cooled it down properly before I parked up and switched off of course. Look after it, and it will look after you(unless your name is Welly that is).

 

[thegoal007]

jojo, So you look after your car by giving it a thoroughly good thrashing. Let me just....- I feel better now.

 

[jojo]

jojo, So you look after your car by giving it a thoroughly good thrashing. Let me just....- I feel better now.

Nope, I looked after it by warming it up before I went for a thrashing and cooled it down before I parked up. Of course you can buy and own an S3 to drive like miss Daisy, no one can stop you from doing that, but a 1.6 would do the same job! Buy an S3, drive the thing when you can!*

*Yes, I know I've got a low mileage one gathering dust in the garage aswell, but I don't have time to drive both! lol

 

[mk1chopper]

As said before Audi will be able to tell you everything thats been done if its FASH, if you ring the dealer that undertook the service they will be able to tell you if the tensioners were done and the waterpump.

 

[s3dave]

jojo, So you look after your car by giving it a thoroughly good thrashing. Let me just....- I feel better now.

At least his wont be coked up, whats your DIS saying on your mpg as a matter of interest...

 

[JonBoi25]

NOW picking up the car friday but yeah ill get on here soon as and update you chaps,

- yeah fault code description/cause online said it to be coolant temp sensor of thermostat, lets hope when these get replaced all will be tickedey boo ,
- Cheers for the heads up on the long life service - i plan to give it a good once over - oil change,filter change,fuel filter,new panel filter,general clean up and polish.
- Can you chaps think of any other important things that should be done before i get driving it properly ?

- also it sounds daft but is there a way to check the oil pick up without removing the sump ?
- noticed the oil dipstick had lost a bit of the plastic which i pressume has found its way into the sump, i spose tht could get stuck in the pick up but its unlikely to be a worry right ?

Many thanks, Jon

 

[jojo]

At least his wont be coked up, whats your DIS saying on your mpg as a matter of interest...

MPG you mean? 27.9 think, it's never accurate once it's remapped though....

 

[s3dave]

MPG you mean? 27.9 think, it's never accurate once it's remapped though....

No i meant MR.Goals...it must be in the 40s.....

 

[superkarl]

No point owning a high performance car if you dont thrash it from time to time. What a waste!

Jonboi, its a sump off job, and a must do as im sure many others will agree, just for piece of mind. One of the biggest issues is audis long life servicing and cars suffering from oil starvation.

 

[thegoal007]

ok, ok jojo, s3dave & superkarl

1. I don't think anyone owning an S3 will be driving like miss daisy.
2. It was the word thrashing - conjured up bad images in my little brain. So your happy to tell poeple you like to give your car a good thrashing occasionally - Well, I hope you don't get put off when buying car with a similar past.
3. My mpg DID actually reach 43mpg once. I had reset it just before getting on the motorway and going half way round the m25 and upto Bedford AND back. Cruising anything between 60-90mph dependant on traffic.
4. I have reset it to keep an eye on my town driving and it's showing 26mpg (it's been about that for a year) at the moment.
5. Thrashing....to me sounds like you hit the rev limitter on most gears , brake hard, turn hard and do the same all over again and over and over !
6. I too drive 'wildly' sometimes, but somehow I don't call it or see it as thrashing and I certainly don't do it every time - like I'm getting the message from you lot are doing.

I think you (we all do) obviously love your cars judging from the attention and effort your putting into them so you drive to enjoy them and fully occasionally.........NOT THRASHING the B*LL*cks out of them !

 

[jojo]

5. Thrashing....to me sounds like you hit the rev limitter on most gears , brake hard, turn hard and do the same all over again and over and over !

I do this out on the track, though I don't think I've ever hit the rev limiter out on the track, but on the GTI Inters drag strip I have in 1st and maybe 2nd.

If your car can't handle this type of abuse in the first instance though, it's not worth buying is it? I'm talking about maybe 1 or 2% of the time out of 100% does my car ever get driven to it's limit out on the open road, out on the track, you tend to push it since you have runoff areas and the like to catch something if it goes wrong!

'Thrashing' was just a term I just used at the time of writing, I don't 'thrash' my car everytime I drive it, it's just nice to know that the car can handle it when it's called up on!... even a 156k miler that I'm rolling in, and it's a tribute to the previous owner who has serviced and maintained the car regardless of cost! I have a folder full of receipts from a reputable specialist to back it up!!

Re: the mpg thing, it doesn't really concern me what mpg my S3 gets, I didn't buy it for the economy, I have a TDI for that, but I keep tabs on my mpg to know my car is running right. Out on the track, my calculations show I'm getting around 13mpg, which is pretty darn good for a 250bhp turbocharged 4wd hatchback.

Use it or lose it chaps.