Thinking of buying a A3 (but high amount of owners)? YES/NO

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jav786

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Hi guys

Im thinking of buying a s3 replica, I have spoken to the person and he has told me it has 5 owners, making me the 6th. it has 78,000 on the clock with full service history, he said it is HPI clear and never been damaged.

But it is a 53 plate, making it a near enough 9 year old car.

I have not done a check on the car as of yet, but really want this car it looks amazing and he told me the condition is immaculate and cannot fault it?

Opinions?

here the link... Swap - AUDI S3 53 PLATE 2010 REPLICA IN BLISS WHITE TAXED AND TESTED


Regards


Jay
 
Its not a 2010 Rep, its got a pre-facelift front end.
 
I swear thats the S3 kit?
your telling me if that drove past you wud not think it was a s3?
 
audi upgrades
yes its an S3 but a pre 09 look! not that important it still looks exactly like and S3. just need to change the plate cause they didnt do a "53" plate S3
 
Bcuz were not all millionaires like u Arnie...
Visually.. you cannot tell the difference?
But would 5 owners put you off?
 
Ye my bad it is the pre 09 look, i dont care about that as long as it looks like a s3, always wanted 1 in white aswell!
ohh the plate would definitely be getting changed.
 
Me personally, i'd steer well clear of crappy replicas and also early 2.0L TDI diesel A3s due to the head problems they potentially have, that's probably been thrashed all over Lancashire all because it says S3 on the grill.

By a decent S line and modify that to your tastes at least that way you know what's been done to it and how well the work has been done.
 
I agree with AidenUK, buy an sline and make it your own...would be nowt more embarrasing than getting beat at the light coz its not actually an s3
 
jav786 said:
Ye my bad it is the pre 09 look, i dont care about that as long as it looks like a s3, always wanted 1 in white aswell!
ohh the plate would definitely be getting changed.
Click to expand...

Why not wait and save for longer and get a S3? Cheapest pre facelift S3 i've seen was up for £11.5k and cheapest damaged one was £8k. A replica will never live up to the real thing and always be an A3 with a body kit.

I wouldnt be suprised if its been involved in an accident before and just had S3 body kit fitted. And 5 owners is off putting probably just been passed around locally. Alot of the guys around by me do that. There is a MK5 GTI going around and has 8 owners and 7 of them all local lads. And the reason they moved it on so cheap (£3000) because the car is "hot". I personally wouldnt bother with a car that has such a poor for sale advert doesnt mention service history. Just that "all paper work present". At least make a bit of effort. If you do get the car loss the S3 badges

Arnie said:
errr why woudl you label something s3, when it's not ?
Click to expand...


+1 not the biggest fan of cars been badged up as something they are not.
 
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jav786 said:
Bcuz were not all millionaires like u Arnie...
Visually.. you cannot tell the difference?
But would 5 owners put you off?
Click to expand...

Wish I was one ;) wouldnt be driving 04 plate myself
I am 6th owner of my a3, and it is fine. If it has Audi's FSH you should be ok with it.

But always check for model specific issues etc.
 
Arnie said:
hmmm what about "down labelling" ? stick 1.6 on S3, some boy-racers may not realize and try to take off faster from lights:)
Click to expand...


I think thats quite amusing! :laugh: Dan with jonnyc old big turbo S3 use to have a 1.9TDI badge on the back!
 
Ash B said:
I think thats quite amusing! :laugh: Dan with jonnyc old big turbo S3 use to have a 1.9TDI badge on the back!
Click to expand...

I am on positive side of keeping my a3 3.2 and will stick 1.6 on it then. remove quattro sign aswell, and see what happens ;]

regarding the thread subject, I would suggest get the car history straight before you buy it. maybe like some say it was crashed and someone put s3 kit after that, while fixing it, you never know
 
HPI it, then really thoroughly look it over for signs of repair. So many of these replicas have been previously damaged. The amount of owners would put me off buying it, simply because selling it on is harder for the same reason.
 
I wouldnt be suprised if its been involved in an accident before and just had S3 body kit fitted.

This isn't always the case mate my s line has never Been in an accident and I give it the full 2010 s3 facelift just cos I like it so some will just be genuinely done cos of looks not cos it's been damaged.
 
if i were you i would ignore most of these irrelevant coments and forge on.
its a nice replica but you need to get this car checked over with a fine tooth comb.
check for previous accident damage regardless of CAT D or CAT C status or HPI clear as many slip
through the net and tend to be a slap-stick filler job.
buy the car with your head and not your heart.
once bought, prepare to get stopped by the rozzers more often than usual when thet
pull behind u and do a PNC check and it comes up otherwise.
 
My last Tdi 04, 5 previous owners, with Audi history and 84000, was the best-running car I've ever had, (I've had a lot), until it got T-boned! It ran better than my present 05 one-owner 45000 miler. :crying:
 
£5k nige.

First thing ....go look at it, you cant tell anything from pictures taken with a flash at night. Ibis wasnt around then so what colour are the door shuts and inner wings etc. And if you are looking at £5k motors i would guess insurance might be an issue so get a quote given all the mods as well.
 
get it scanned. then checked by the aa
2010 lmfao ****** tool
 
cheerz guys, im actually 22 with 4years ncb, so insurance aint a big issue tbf. he actually wants 5800 for it, but the owners was putting me off... before i buy it i wil be gettin it checked over and doing a HPI check, atm im just browsing but it caught my eye..
 
get it scanned its prob got 300000000000 on the clock +1 on revoming the s3 badges
 
jav786 said:
cheerz guys, im actually 22 with 4years ncb, so insurance aint a big issue tbf. he actually wants 5800 for it, but the owners was putting me off... before i buy it i wil be gettin it checked over and doing a HPI check, atm im just browsing but it caught my eye..
Click to expand...
want to buy my 3.2 ? :)
 
Seem to be an increasing number of S3 'replicas' on the bay / car sites and an increased number of S3's getting nicked :idea:

First portt of call should always be an HPI check and an AA inspection with cars that have had such extensive changes just to be certain the owner has made the changes for the right reasons, and not as part of a cover up. If it comes back sound you've got a lot of car for not a lot of money and it's all good.
 
I don't really care about number of owners on a car, my last car was 4 years old and I was the 4th owner. What's more important to me is that you can trace the history easily. I often get the details of a previous owner and call them to ask if the car was okay.

No harm in having a look at that car but I'd be wary of it. The fact it's been converted to an S3 look a likey and has been passed around like a joint at a party rings alarm bells with me. If you are so into your car that you spend the money on converting it to an S3 and then go to the bother and expense of painting the whole car (which must have been done since that colour wasn't about in 2003) then why wouldn't you hold onto it to enjoy the work you've paid a small fortune for? Who knows, maybe a previous owner did keep it for a few years and lavish it with love and attention but I'd hazard a guess that going on the fact it's a TDi in the trendy colour converted to look like an S3 complete with badge it's been owned by a long list of tits who have ragged it too death.
 
You can pay DVLA £10 and get full list of all owners. Sometimes cars get passed within family even under same address, Dad buys first car, then upgrades, leaves car to wife, then son gets car after wife, thats 3 owners already:)

Edit: sorry its currently £5, not sure if you can get all keepers at one go but you could get info by filing a form few times, it's V888 as fat as I remember
 
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