Looking for an a3...

[coolguydudeman]

Hello everyone,

Ive recentlely been looking for a new car and Ive wanted an audi for such a long time.... Trouble is the ones I am finding in my current price range all seem to be very high milage!

I have £5000 saved at the moment and i'm hoping to have 6000 by next month, is it realistic to get a half-decent a3 on a 03/04 for this kind of money with about 50-60k on the clock?

I saw this one in a local car garage Value Cars Direct - supplier of quality used cars - Stock the other day. But 90,000 on the clock is kind of putting me off... What you guys think?

Cheers

 

[Lings]

For the milage you want you need more cash .

 

[coolguydudeman]

Whats a good figure to aim for you reckon? And is the high milage a bad thing? I hear so many things for and so many things against it.

 

[MartayMcFly]

I had a pretty rough time with a high-mileage S3 last time, so decided to fork out the extra money for a low mileage approved car. Don't think the savings are worth the risk and potential hassle. I know a lot of these cars will sail past 150k, but I don't want to be behind the wheel when they do. Just my opinion though.

 

[Naj]

Hi, I recently bought an 04 A3 2.0 TDI Sport with 72K on the clock. Mostly Audi service history. Got it down to £5200 as I had to spend another £500 getting the cambelt and service done.

I'd get the diesel over the 1.6 petrol all day. And high mileage on these diesels is much less of a concern if it has been maintained well.

 

[coolguydudeman]

I had a pretty rough time with a high-mileage S3 last time, so decided to fork out the extra money for a low mileage approved car. Don't think the savings are worth the risk and potential hassle. I know a lot of these cars will sail past 150k, but I don't want to be behind the wheel when they do. Just my opinion though.

Thats how I'm thinking mate. How much did you end up paying for an approved car?

 

[MartayMcFly]

Thats how I'm thinking mate. How much did you end up paying for an approved car?

I've got an 08 S3, so a fair bit more than £5000.

 

[Minstadave]

6-7k should find you a reasonable 03/04 model, but can you afford the running cost is the most important question. Servicing/tyres/cambelt change/new turbo/DSG failure/DMF failure.

Be careful you do your sums because an old Audi is not cheap to run. A new turbo or DMF aren't uncommon and you're looking at around 1k each.

 

[N8]

I've got an 08 S3, so a fair bit more than £5000.

 

[MartayMcFly]

I should probably have said something more along the lines of "about 10% above what I would have paid for the car privately".

 

[Hellz]

Might be able to pick yourself up a decent 3.2 for between 6-8k but the comment "Be careful you do your sums because an old Audi is not cheap to run" best applies to this however, cracking engine! Insurance might sting a bit too depending on your age/history.

 

[McDHibs]

Shop around for insurance as im just sorting out my renewal 6 years no claims v6 3.2 A3 £580 from admiral on a multicar policy £370 from Hastings like for like cover. not everyone is on the compare sites.

 

[coolguydudeman]

I've got an 08 S3, so a fair bit more than £5000.

Haha, well I can always dream cant I?


Its probably best to save the extra cash and go for a newer model by the sounds of things. Not looking for a 3.2 engine the insurance would be well beyond what I'm willing to pay i'm only 24. Would probably be looking at a 2.0 TDI.

 

[N8]

2.0 TDI is where its at !