Recent content by andy2

Cheers chaps, think you are right. Will continue to look for a better one. Happy to pay good money for a car that's sorted but I'm going to be ultra picky. Might take a while to find a good one in that case?

Went to see an S3 yesterday. The car drove really nicely. An 03 model with 58k on the clock. Had the BOSE sound system too which is a bonus. Needed a bit of work though. New rear shocks required (one leaking), cambelt is due, existing tyres were budget, not a make I've heard of before and...

Just going to look at an 8L S3 for sale tomorrow. Doesn't mention Xenon lights in the advert and the dealer didn't know whether the car had them or not. But don't all S3's have Xenon lights or am I wrong with assuming that? How do I tell if the car has them fitted? Do Xenon lights make a big...

Quattro still good on mpg - 45+mpg compared to the S3's 30mpg. Insurance and tax is a lot less too. Would love an S3 but in reality it wouldn't be great as an economical mile muncher. That's why I've decided on the Tdi Quattro. Also considered a B5 A6 Avant too but it's too big really for...

Right, made up my mind, going to get an A3 1.9tdi Quattro (8L) and not an S3. When I looked into S3 running costs then they were too steep - particularly as this will be a second car to put lots of work mileage on (and I already have a 220hp Fiat Coupe Turbo to look after - which will be...

Thanks guys, sounds like it should be okay. Just out of interest is the 8L A3 1.9 TDi Quattro based on the Haldex or TorSen systems? What about the C5 A6 Quattro, Haldex or Torsen?

Considering an S3 at the moment as a more practical alternative to my current Coupe. I will be using the S3 in the winter for a trip down to the Alps, and hopefully several trips up to Glencoe and Aviemore in Scotland. I've heard that the quattro system takes up quite a lot of space and will...

Hi, looking to buy an A6 Avant for the winter as planning a few trips to Scotland or the Alps. Ideally it's going to be the TDi Quattro as this should be much better in the snow particularly if I get some winter tyres fitted. Does anyone on here own one of these? Any particular problems to...

Thanks for your advise guys - I'm in no real hurry to sell the Coupe as the past four years of ownership have been great, and its been super reliable for an Italian car too! I would like to try something different though, and because I'm now self employed then I've now got a much better work...

Hi Guys, Looking for a new car in the autumn and having driven an S3 last week at a local garage then its a very serious contender. I always loved the way the S3 looks and on the test drive I was impressed by the way it handled and the way it felt like a solid and quality package. The only...

Wow, nice to see another member of the Fiat Coupe Forum on here too! I've owned my 20V Turbo Coupe for over two years now and I love it to bits. I'm also a big fan of the S3 too and will probably get an S3 if I ever end up selling the Coupe. With an Italian car you expect the odd thing to go...

Thanks guys, Hopefully going to get a fairly late S3 - maybe an 02 or 03 with 40-50k on the clock. I guess at that age there should still be plenty of life left in the major components like clutch, suspension, cooling system etc? Am I right in thinking that the S3's are usually free from...

Thanks Dave, I'll miss the Fiat big time when it goes but its been a bit like a high maintainence girlfriend - wonderful and eager to please during the good times, but a pain in the **** when something goes wrong. I'm hoping that the Audi should prove to be more of a car that I don't need to...

So in other words what I'm looking for are the costs excluding petrol, tax, insurance etc :)

Probably about 16-17k a year. I'm not worried too much about fuel economy, insurance etc, since the Fiat will certainly cost more on all counts in that department. Its just the expected (and unexpected) costs of routine servicing and keeping the car in tip top condition that I'm interested in.