some rubbish out there for sale

Yeah when I was looking for my current car I set a budget of £18k
I travelled hundreds of miles looking at 4 cars which were supposed to be immaculate!!
They were absolute dogs and I didn't even road test 3 of them. I agree they seem to be a difficult car to find in pristine condition.
Only advice I'd give is don't give up and don't settle for something that's not quite right.
I love mine and glad I kept looking.

gmanwrx said:

Been out and about at the weekend looking at s3's for sale.
looked at 3 at three different garages and all of them were dog ruff, yet advertised as excellent examples.
seems like it's a car that gets badly abused? Did anyone else have similar trouble finding a good example?

Thanks

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I think all performance hatches,they tend to be either loved or used and abused.

You don't often find one in the middle that's been looked after,and used.

Cosworths used to be a prime example of this,with most having been thrashed within an inch of their lives.

I bought a sportback recently with the spec I wanted, it was a little uncared for paint work wise I must admit. But, not all S3 owners are enthusiasts, but I've found it a project to take on. The car was looked after mechanically, just taken down the local car wash once in a blue moon.
I looked at one, went over budget, but bought on the spec. I think a grand later, and it will be right. Once I've finished detailing the car, it will be mint. At the end of the day, my car is five years old. The best, and most maintained cars are off car forums such as this, and have bought a few modified cars off of forums, and have always been very well looked after.
When looking for a white sportback with the pana roof and satnav, there was little choice about. The ones that were reasonable were snapped by the traders and sold on for a premium. There is a 3door white 2010 S3 near me at Audi Cambs, mint but at 25k! Same miles as mine, but a little more money. I searched for a month, and got lucky with an Autotrader alert. Good luck

Mines not an s3 but searched for 8 months to get a low mileage 170 quattro 23k on the clock in mint condition been on the site 2 months and already £700 on mods lol

Saw one bad one, travelled 3 hours to see it. Then lucked out and spotted on only 45 mins from me, with the spec i wanted bar buckets, was a little on the dear side but after seeing it, inspecting it and driving it there wasnt much i could fault. Few niggles since but nothing major whatsoever. Paintwork on it had been detailed recently with Gtechniq and was stunning.

Like all rare cars though you have to be patient and be prepared to travel. I spent 3 months actively looking and viewed two.

It is worth the wait and hunting down a minter is good fun. We have struck lucky twice recently. About 2 months ago we located an excellent TT from 2008 with 23,000 miles and 2 weeks ago, a 2009 R32 with only 16,000 miles on the clock. Excellent condition throughout. You have to be patient and do not consider anything unless it is up to your requirements.