Thinking about buying an A3, would appreciate some advice.

[drummer99]

Hello.
Well basically i am looking at buying an A3 in possibly around 4 months time as i will have 1 years NCB and with the price of my shares falling i have had to sell up quick (already lost £1500) therefore leaving me with abit of money. i then thought i would look up forums for inspiration and things and this looked the best one but noticed there are quite afew people selling theirs and wondered if they are really price to own. i currently own a vauxhall corsa 1.6 sport model and the fuel economy is absolutly **** (about 34mpg) i have had a look at the economy of the 16 and 1.6 se and it is around 38mpg. Just wondered if it is servicing, or just generally keeping in good condion that hurts the wallet. any help much appriciated.

sorry for the essay.

 

[leshkin]

Hello.
Well basically i am looking at buying an A3 in possibly around 4 months time as i will have 1 years NCB and with the price of my shares falling i have had to sell up quick (already lost £1500) therefore leaving me with abit of money. i then thought i would look up forums for inspiration and things and this looked the best one but noticed there are quite afew people selling theirs and wondered if they are really price to own. i currently own a vauxhall corsa 1.6 sport model and the fuel economy is absolutly **** (about 34mpg) i have had a look at the economy of the 16 and 1.6 se and it is around 38mpg. Just wondered if it is servicing, or just generally keeping in good condion that hurts the wallet. any help much appriciated.

sorry for the essay.

Hi drummer,

I just spent two years with an A3 and although it was 1.8T Sport I would imagine the same applies to a 1.6. If you're after a cheap-to-run Audi then unfortunately you should forget it... unless you know your way around a car with a spanner and a VAGcom.

Generally speaking, they are very reliable cars, but when things do go wrong, it can be a big/unexpected hit on your bank balance.

They are not cheap to service with main dealer (mine were always in the region of 350-400 pa) and if you go down the route of having the service done at a nameless garage/mechanic, the car's resale value will not be as high, plus shoddy maintenance work will soon cost you more in repair bills as parts that should have been replaced, were not, because it wasn't spotted. Believe it or not, Audi mechanics have a very long list of things to check (at least my services were always very thorough), which most smaller shops don't bother with.

Hope this helps in making your decision, but ask away if you need more help, the peeps on this forum are amazing when it comes to advice.

Oh, by the way, my A3 is for sale if you're interested

 

[rickparmar]

If your looking for a 1.6 sport, i may be selling mine (we use it as a run around)

 

[jbw]

Like leshkin said if you're looking for fuel economy then maybe audi isn't the best place to look. I had a 1.6 a3 to start with and yeah it was nice enough but the a3 carries quite a load and the engine isn't really powerful enough to cope. If you really want fuel economy then maybe try setting your sites on a 1.9 TDI a3 rather than a 1.6?

 

[TheSpaceCowboy]

As others have said, fuels not the best on Audi's if you want a cheap runaround you can find others that perform the role much better. In all honesty the Corsa is probably better on fuel than the A3 and cheaper to run overall (cheaper insurance, cheaper servicing (DIY), easier to fix)

 

[Toxik-Signal]

If you want good fuel economy AND something that's pretty nippy then the 1.9TDI PD130 [130bhp model] is great! I've not had any major problems with it in the few years that I've owned it [touch wood].

Oh and if you felt like spending about £400 or so then you can get an extra 50bhp out of it with a remap

 

[Clach]

Hi drummer,



They are not cheap to service with main dealer (mine were always in the region of 350-400 pa) and if you go down the route of having the service done at a nameless garage/mechanic, the car's resale value will not be as high, plus shoddy maintenance work will soon cost you more in repair bills as parts that should have been replaced, were not, because it wasn't spotted. Believe it or not, Audi mechanics have a very long list of things to check (at least my services were always very thorough), which most smaller shops don't bother with.

Some good points in there, but I have to disagree with Audi doing extensive checks...some do, some don't. I have had no end of trouble with Audi Mechanics, and the level of their work is average at best. A good independent is cheaper, and far better for Older Cars. Put it this way, some Audi Mechanics were 10 when my Audi was made....

Basically, Audi's are not cheap, but are good sought after cars. However, the suspension on the 8l is embarrasing for a prestige level Car, but they are generally well put together in most other areas. Trust me, you will get bored quickly with a Diesel, but I would say get a Golf!!! Same difference internally, less money...Again all the VAG group cars shake themselves loose after a while, but they are fun to try and put them back together - (i say thisi because I have owned everything from a Porsche to a Camper Van, but I love em!!

Clach

 

[drummer99]

thank you for all the replies they have been very handy. i have thought about getting a golf, but i think the look of an audi is really nice, and my mum owns an A6 and eventhough it is an estate is is still a really nice car to drive. I was hoping that the insurance for the audi would be cheaper than the corsa because the 1.6 corsa is insurance group 10 and the 1.6 audi is insurance group 9. So i was abit chuffed when i found that out. The thing about the servicing is that if i buy an audi i will most likly plan on keeping it till it is very nearly dead, so i could maby get away with doing some services by myself. i guess i will update when/if i do get one, but for now i will carry on looking at the section where guys are all posting pictures of your cars as they are looking sweet.:thumbsup:

 

[Toxik-Signal]

If you aren't bothered about acceleration and still want an A3 then a 1.6 will do you fine. I've seen quite a few posts of people with 1.6 and 1.8 NA engines asking how to make their cars quicker and without splashing out lots of money on a turbo and then a remap, you can't do much to get more power out of them. The way I look at it though is that there's no point in buying a 1.6 when a 1.9TDI gives better MPG and is quite a bit nippier.

 

[Broken Byzan]

You will regret buying a NA car in my experience, you will soon bore of its lack of pace. They are weel equiped but heavy cars therefore not fast comapared to say a paxo or similar even tho the power is supposedly the same

 

[leshkin]

Some good points in there, but I have to disagree with Audi doing extensive checks...some do, some don't. I have had no end of trouble with Audi Mechanics, and the level of their work is average at best. A good independent is cheaper, and far better for Older Cars. Put it this way, some Audi Mechanics were 10 when my Audi was made....

Oh, yeah, I completely agree with you Clach. I did a service at one dealer and will never go back. I then found another from the same group and thought that they were very good (or at least I might have been lucky with the mechanic, who did the services) as some problems were pointed out to me, which no-one else found.

I guess it really depends on how lucky/unlucky you are... I managed to find a very good independent VAG specialist 10 minute bus ride from my home, who knows his stuff and charges fair labor fees with no markup on parts. I still do the servicing at Audi to keep the logbook full of Audi stamps, but any repairs are done at the independent garage.

Leshkin