Back in an S3 :)

[vrbob]

Well as some of you might know i have been on the hunt for another 8L S3 for a while now as i sold my last pre facelift one about 3 years ago and have been in A4`s since then.

Managed to find one last week that was a) in my price bracket b)had the options i wanted c)was in pretty good condition and had no rust.

So i am now the proud owner of a 2002 BAM 225 S3 in Ming Blue with silver nappa heated leather. Its also got Bose, symphony 6cd, Eleccy sunroof, Cruise control, Auto Dim rearview, aluminium wing mirrors, centre armrest and 18" wheels.

Since buying the car i have done the following :using guides i found on here mostly) :

Injectors and FPR clean using ultrasonic cleaner
Painted the chrome grill surround black (the chrome had chipped off in a couple of places)
Changed the gearbox and diff oil
Replaced the oil pick up pipe and cleaned the sump
Repaired Drinks holder and climate unit as both were glued up with something like old fizzy drinks
Removed both wheel arch liners and cleared out loads of mud and leaves

I have also fitted :
New front discs and pads (painted front and rear calipers red too)
New BKR7E spark plugs
New Mobil 1 oil and oil filter
New Pollen filter
New Pipercross panel filter
LED sidelamp bulbs
2 x Falken FK452 tyres
Silicone turbo intake pipe and new breather pipe as both had perished
aero wipers front and rear

I have a Forge 007p on its way for me to fit and i am hoping to get it Revo`d either this week or next.

I spent yesterday giving it a good clean so its been clayed and then had a couple of coats of wax. Its in pretty good nick except for a few minor dings and a couple of scratches and chips so here are a few pics :

 

[damo.h]

Looks lovely dude. Question? Has anyone actually sat in them seats, Looks brand new

 

[s3dave]

Looks nice and fresh,,,well done..:icon_thumright:

 

[vrbob]

Looks lovely dude. Question? Has anyone actually sat in them seats, Looks brand new

Cheers

Look better from 4 feet than up close lol. They were all pretty manky when i got the car the but a couple of hours with some leather cleaner and they came up much better than before.

 

[vrbob]

Looks nice and fresh,,,well done..:icon_thumright:

yeah pretty pleased with it.

Just booked in to get Revo on saturday so looking forward to that too.

My temp is not sitting at 90 degrees so think i am going to change the temp sender first and then if that doesnt sort it i will do the thermostat.

 

[beanoir]

yeah pretty pleased with it.

Just booked in to get Revo on saturday so looking forward to that too.

My temp is not sitting at 90 degrees so think i am going to change the temp sender first and then if that doesnt sort it i will do the thermostat.

Car looks great!

Why don't you try the thermostat first as it's much cheaper than the sender and more likely to be the cause.

 

[jojo]

Look better from 4 feet than up close lol. They were all pretty manky when i got the car the but a couple of hours with some leather cleaner and they came up much better than before.

Same story here, I've had black leather for 12 months, and back in the Grey ones really lights up the cabin! Driverside one looks worn up close though, but looks awesome from afar. The black ones had covered 156k miles and still looked very good apart from very light wear on the driverside outer bolster where you slide in and out of the car.

 

[camscockle20vT]

Very nice dude, could i ask how many car tokens it took to get this? I like the silver recaros also, cant say iv seen them before. Good catch.

 

[superkarl]

Welcome to the mingers club.

ming blue that is.

 

[vrbob]

Car looks great!

Why don't you try the thermostat first as it's much cheaper than the sender and more likely to be the cause.

Cheers mate i think i agree so gonna get a stat and some g12 and then have a go at changing it. had a quick look at some guides on here for doing the replacement only 2 bolts but they are a little tricky to get at.

Do you have to get a stat from the steelers or will one from eurocarparts be good enough as they are only a tenner

if that does not solve the problem its 35quid from the steelers for a new temp sender (or 22.50 from eurocarparts)

 

[S3 Rav]

Looks great there. Didn't go for glens old one in the end? Nice colour that.

 

[vrbob]

Same story here, I've had black leather for 12 months, and back in the Grey ones really lights up the cabin! Driverside one looks worn up close though, but looks awesome from afar. The black ones had covered 156k miles and still looked very good apart from very light wear on the driverside outer bolster where you slide in and out of the car.

Yeah had a look at quite a few S3`s over the last few weeks and the silver leather really is the nicest interior i think. i ahd the black and blue in my old s3 which i thought was nice but much prefer this plus with the sunroof it really makes the interior a much nicer place to be.
The silver does seem to wear a bit more than the black but a quick clean makes it worthwhile.

Very nice dude, could i ask how many car tokens it took to get this? I like the silver recaros also, cant say iv seen them before. Good catch.

I paid £4200 for it its had 2 owners from new and FSH with 100k on the clock. The main reasons i went for this car is after looking at alot of 8L`s this was one of the only ones with no rust (roof rails or bottoms of doors) plus it had lotd of options from the factory plus the heated seats that i really wanted.


Have spent about £450 on bits for the car so far as i mentioned in my first post plus will spend another £300 on Revo on saturday so all in i should just be under £5000 which was my original budget.

 

[vrbob]

Welcome to the mingers club.

ming blue that is.

Really like the colour looks great in the sunlight so am a proud new member of the mingers club

 

[vrbob]

Looks great there. Didn't go for glens old one in the end? Nice colour that.

Had the flight booked to go get Gens old S3 but phoned up my insurance company and once all the mods were declared they wouldnt insure me so had to walk away.

and the next day this one popped up i had seen it earlier but as i hadnt found anything better i went back and made the guy asn offer which he excepted and the rest is history.

So far am really happy with the car its not as mint looking as Glens old car but its not bad for what i paid and i can do some mods to this one that are insurance friendly lol

 

[vrbob]

just sorted the rattle in my driver door turns out one of the side impafct bars was a little loose

 

[rhubarb4]

Very nice purchase it looks mint bob welcome back to the money pit lol. I have the same rattle I'm going to have a go sorting it the weekend. +1 for the seats I had them in my old one they come up really well when cleaned.

 

[sportstractor]

Very good buy there! You must be over the moon with that.

 

[beanoir]

Cheers mate i think i agree so gonna get a stat and some g12 and then have a go at changing it. had a quick look at some guides on here for doing the replacement only 2 bolts but they are a little tricky to get at.

Do you have to get a stat from the steelers or will one from eurocarparts be good enough as they are only a tenner

if that does not solve the problem its 35quid from the steelers for a new temp sender (or 22.50 from eurocarparts)

Well I got a 'stat from Eurocarparts and did the job, took about an hour and I didn't even need to top it up with G12 actually. Its a bit of a fiddly job, you need to remove and unplug a couple of bits, but really straight forward. Worth doing yourself rather than the £175 you'll get charged at the stealers. The 20v engines are known to go through 'stats fairly regularly, i'm not sure if it makes a difference to have a genuine one or not if i'm honest.

I've just found out tonight that I also need a temp sender too, and that it's best to get a OEM one, so i'll pick one up when I go in for the coil pack recall.

 

[camscockle20vT]

Have spent about £450 on bits for the car so far as i mentioned in my first post plus will spend another £300 on Revo on saturday so all in i should just be under £5000 which was my original budget.[/QUOTE]

Id say its a steal mate as theres so many out there at un-reasonable prices. Only ask about price as iv always had a soft spot for the s3 and if i see a minter for that kind of money when im looking for a new car next year then ill be thinking long and hard between the a4 1.8t quattro or an s3.....? Mmmmm its months off but its on my mind which is the better car?

 

[Ian W]

Looks like a good'un.

I'm on my second S3 and I agree the silver interior is much nicer to be in than the black.

Edit - Spec sounds the same as mine...except I have special order paint and a centre headrest

 

[vrbob]

I did look at a few that were overpriced as they had some nice extras too but they had rust in the roof rails and they wouldnt budge to negotiate for getting it sorted so walked away.

Also saw a few sheds that were described as immaculate one of which the bonnet was sitting proud of the grill by about half an inch and one headlight was just loose.

Was getting annoyed with it as was travelling quite far to see stuff that just wasnt worth the effort so thats why i am happy with what i have ended up with.

Gonna get a stat today (eurocarparts) and some G12 as i lost some yesterday checking the temp sender so think its worth doing a properjob.

Also concidering doing an RNSE retrofit as had this in my last A4 and its a nice bit of kit and have seen its possible to fit an A4 one in these cars so might be my next purchase.

 

[vrbob]

Managed to change my thermostat after work today and now the needle sit at 90 at stays there so looks like that fixed the issue.

 

[Jimmeh]

Looks lovely bob. That interiors mint! Always wished my S3 had the silver leather instad of black...

I spy a few more Audi's on the drive there. Anymore pics of the mauritius blue Avant?

 

[vrbob]

Looks lovely bob. That interiors mint! Always wished my S3 had the silver leather instad of black...

I spy a few more Audi's on the drive there. Anymore pics of the mauritius blue Avant?

Yeah wasnt sure when i had my last S3 if i liked the silver or not but am now convinced its defo the nicest colour option.

The 3 cars on the driveway are my old A4 2.5TDi quattro sport (the akoya one) and my Dads is the mauritius blue one its also a 2.5 TDi but an SE. Its now up for sale as my Dads has bought my A4 off me as it had more options like RNSE and is also an Auto so he is gonna sell the SE not got any pics i can post up but here is a link to the PH advert Audi : Audi A4 Avant 2.5TDi 180 Quattro 6 speed

 

[vrbob]

My Forge 007p was delivered last night so managed to get that fitted so am now all ready for the remap on saturday.

Also thought that my DV boost pipe seemed a little soft and might be restricting airflow so have bought a silicone one to replace it with off ebay.

 

[1animal1]

Welcome back you old git!! lets hope you look after this one much better than you did the last

 

[vrbob]

Welcome back you old git!! lets hope you look after this one much better than you did the last

Cheers Bud!

Well this one is better condition to start with so should be more of a challenge for me to make it screw up than the last one lol. Will see how the remap goes saturday hopefully this one will have a bit better results than my old one with the custardcode on it.

Looks like you have moved up in the world with an 8P S3 whats it like compared to your old 8L?

 

[1animal1]

Well best of luck with it mate, really...i know how much crap you put up with the last time, more than anyone i can remember.

Yeah best not to ask how the 8P compares

See the 8P section for further info

 

[kwistof]

Well best of luck with it mate, really...i know how much crap you put up with the last time, more than anyone i can remember.

Yeah best not to ask how the 8P compares

See the 8P section for further info

I just read all the posts on that thread and WOW..... lol.

 

[Gops]

Where did you get your aero wipers from mate? Cant seem to find any

 

[vrbob]

Where did you get your aero wipers from mate? Cant seem to find any

This is what i bought and for the money am very pleased with the results eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace

 

[vrbob]

Well best of luck with it mate, really...i know how much crap you put up with the last time, more than anyone i can remember.

Yeah best not to ask how the 8P compares

See the 8P section for further info

Yeah well hopefully the clutch in this car is ok as i really dont wanna go down that route again and well defo never use that garage again if i did need to replace it.

will go have a looksie at your thread over in the 8P section

 

[Ian W]

Vrbob - without doinga search are you the guy who took his S3 for a clutch change and it ended up costing thousands because the garage made of mess of it? I had just bought me S3 then and that thread scared me!

 

[1animal1]

Yeah well hopefully the clutch in this car is ok as i really dont wanna go down that route again and well defo never use that garage again if i did need to replace it.

will go have a looksie at your thread over in the 8P section

You gonna castle combe mate?

 

[1animal1]

Vrbob - without doinga search are you the guy who took his S3 for a clutch change and it ended up costing thousands because the garage made of mess of it? I had just bought me S3 then and that thread scared me!

Ian, you are both one of the same, both had S3's previously...then bought the rarest purple your ever likely to find...BOTH of you

 

[vrbob]

Vrbob - without doinga search are you the guy who took his S3 for a clutch change and it ended up costing thousands because the garage made of mess of it? I had just bought me S3 then and that thread scared me!

yup that was me, not a great moment in my car history and damn glad i got it sorted in the end. It did end up costing crap loads and almost made me go crazy but i am now back in an 8L S3 and really enjoying it.

Still no idea how i took a perfectly healthy car with a slipping clutch into a garage and ended up with a knackered car with a good clutch! Still lesson learnt just cos a garage looks very proffesional it doesnt mean that they are, and sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and pay the extra and take it to the stealers.

 

[vrbob]

Ian, you are both one of the same, both had S3's previously...then bought the rarest purple your ever likely to find...BOTH of you

Mine only looks purple in some lights others its blue with metallic flakes and in dull light it looks black as most people keep telling me and i have to say no its blue actually.

 

[vrbob]

You gonna castle combe mate?

only had the car a week so dont think i will start tracking it yet lol. Gonna enjoy it driving round and tinkering with it first.

Had a quick browse thru the 8P forum and saw your thread where you were selling the 8L and moving ot the 8P. I did concider it but just cant afford one right now infact i managed to sell my A4 for more than i bought the S3 for so have a few pennies in the bank now!

Looks like your enjoying the car did you get one with the DSG box if so how you finding it?

 

[DaveA3]

nice car in the best colour too. My old one was that colour and i miss it!

edit: Still a nice car but i thought it was dark purple but its blue lol

 

[vrbob]

nice car in the best colour too. My old one was that colour and i miss it!

edit: Still a nice car but i thought it was dark purple but its blue lol

As i said above its a bit of a chameleon and the colour changes depending on the light so sometimes it is purple!