Buying S3 - With these issues

Zeldoz

Zeldoz

Registered User
Joined
Mar 30, 2015
Messages
26
Reaction score
2
Points
3
I viewed an S3 last night, and i noticed these problems.

Back wheels very sluggish. Felt like they was being dragged at low speeds when turning into roads slowly.

No computer screen, lots of lines across and unreadable.

Broken oil dip stick

Abit if rust that can be easily dealt with.

Mileage is 150k is that a concern, it sounded absolutely fine and drove lovely! Although the accelerator was feather light!

Can anyone lemme know if the back wheels are a problem! I don't want a complete money pit! And how could I sort the LCD screen in the clocks?

Cheers
 
Dragging rear wheels is a sign of haldex problems... could be a faulty controller or even the plates binding from lack of oil changes

Pull fuse 31 and see if the dragging stops

Get someone with VCDS and scan the car for fault codes too...

Light throttle? not sure what you mean but S3's are drive by wire and so not directly connected to the throttle bosy so feel 'light' on the pedal if thats what you mean

There is a buyers guide inthe FAQs

LCDs can be replaced... been recently discussed and comes around a lot... a search on this forum will get you the results you need

Broken dipstick is common and costs a fiver to replace

150k is ok as long as the oil changes are kept to 12months/6-9k intervals... oil pump pickups get blocked though but there is a how to in the FAQs on sorting this..

Read the FAQs :)

<tuffty/>
 
Zeldoz said:
I viewed an S3 last night, and i noticed these problems.

Back wheels very sluggish. Felt like they was being dragged at low speeds when turning into roads slowly.

No computer screen, lots of lines across and unreadable.

Broken oil dip stick

Abit if rust that can be easily dealt with.

Mileage is 150k is that a concern, it sounded absolutely fine and drove lovely! Although the accelerator was feather light!

Can anyone lemme know if the back wheels are a problem! I don't want a complete money pit! And how could I sort the LCD screen in the clocks?

Cheers
Click to expand...

Personal opinion, there's loads out there, and going for pretty low prices! So unless this is dirt cheap @150k miles, then I'd find a better example.
 
  • Like
Reactions: <tuffty/>
When speaker to the seller he had explained be unplugged the haldex to make it FWD, as the dragging wheels was annoying and he needed to service it. I can assume he was only unplugging the fuse you mention above!

He said it needs a filter / oil service. When I test drove it all back on, driving was perfect just the low speed cornering.

How much am I looking at to replace he LCD display? I found a website online that starts from £40 'ukclusterrepairs' is there another better way?

The haldex units are around £100-£200 used on eBay, would mine possibly need a replacement?
 
all the above is why its £1100 from the sounds of it... its cheap for a reason mate

<tuffty/>
 
Personally you can find a bargain for less than that with a better car. I got my 1.8T 150 bhp model for 1025 on 123K two months ago. One of the doors doesnt open from the inside but all locks etc and oil pickup needed cleaning and I did N249 bypass as it was boosting strange. That was it! For 1100 I'd shop around personally!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Freeman_1986
This is an S3 not an A3 though... cheap S3's are cheap for a reason... 1100 is a fair rate for a decent enough A3 but for an S3 its a borderline parts car at that money...

Prices fluctuate wildly but as already said there are plenty of cars out there... unless there is a compelling reason to go for this one (ie... getting it cheap as you plan to turn it into a 500hp monster) then continue to look about...

There are some nice cars available if your budget can stretch a little more IMO...

<tuffty/>
 
Smanderson said:
Personally you can find a bargain for less than that with a better car. I got my 1.8T 150 bhp model for 1025 on 123K two months ago. One of the doors doesnt open from the inside but all locks etc and oil pickup needed cleaning and I did N249 bypass as it was boosting strange. That was it! For 1100 I'd shop around personally!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I do understand. It's had a few mods. Noticed a full samco hose kit, a forge 007? DV. The n249 was bypassed and it's boosting at around 18 PSI? Allegedly it's had a map, but no idea how I could tell.

The owner is a friend, so I don't mind investing in replacing the LCD & Haldex. I just wanna know im not buying a something that needs way to much spending!
 
Std boost is around 12psi so sounds plausible its mapped... logging boost request in VCDS will confirm this

Unfortunately its a lottery as to if you end up with a decent fixer upper or a lemon these days... have seen a few high mileage S3's that have faired better than cars with half the mileage but it is a car that is cheap enough to be bought by people that rag it for a few months then sell on... these cars tend not to get serviced (haldex service is a prime example of something that gets missed off when no longer dealer serviced) and accumulate other 1.8t issues like split pipes etc...

Engine wear is subjective on 100k + engines but regular oil changes is a must on these....

If you can get a compression and leak down test done on the engine... this should give you an idea of how worn it is... have seen engines with 150k plus do 170+ psi per cylinder and engines with much less do worse...

Not mentioned the year/engine code either... change over was 2001 to facelift... pre facelift and post facelift have some significant differences that can make or break things

<tuffty/>
 
<tuffty/> said:
Std boost is around 12psi so sounds plausible its mapped... logging boost request in VCDS will confirm this

Unfortunately its a lottery as to if you end up with a decent fixer upper or a lemon these days... have seen a few high mileage S3's that have faired better than cars with half the mileage but it is a car that is cheap enough to be bought by people that rag it for a few months then sell on... these cars tend not to get serviced (haldex service is a prime example of something that gets missed off when no longer dealer serviced) and accumulate other 1.8t issues like split pipes etc...

Engine wear is subjective on 100k + engines but regular oil changes is a must on these....

If you can get a compression and leak down test done on the engine... this should give you an idea of how worn it is... have seen engines with 150k plus do 170+ psi per cylinder and engines with much less do worse...

Not mentioned the year/engine code either... change over was 2001 to facelift... pre facelift and post facelift have some significant differences that can make or break things

<tuffty/>
Click to expand...

It's an x reg. AMK engine? I used to be heavily into my vw's.

It definitely needs a full service. I would do this upon buying.

Something else to note. It currently doesn't start. We bumped it to get me a test drive. He's checked fuses, replaced the ignition, and the last thing he's doing this week is the starter motor.

Is this something that's common? Keys in, turn all lights come on, turn to start and literally NOTHING. No clicking as if it was a dead battery. Battery was replaced and still nothing.


Bump start it and she'll idle, drive and boost Perfect. I was even surprised myself how much it pulled in comparison to my weekend Nissan s14a.

It's a friend, so I know the car is 'ok'.

are the 1.8t lumps cam chain, or cambelt driven! As his is something I'll need to check in its history.
 
starter motors go on these too... have seen a couple go myself...

Scan it with VCDS... you can buy a lead for £8-9 from eBay and use VCDS lite... best money you will spend when owning a VAG... this could elude to the starting issue but test the starter first...

1.8t has a belt for crank/cam and chain for cam to cam... this should be a 60k/5yr change interval... also change the water pump and tensioner damper as these fail too and are easier to do when changing the belt

X reg should be APY... check the engine code tab on the head to confirm

<tuffty/>
 
<tuffty/> said:
This is an S3 not an A3 though... cheap S3's are cheap for a reason... 1100 is a fair rate for a decent enough A3 but for an S3 its a borderline parts car at that money...

Prices fluctuate wildly but as already said there are plenty of cars out there... unless there is a compelling reason to go for this one (ie... getting it cheap as you plan to turn it into a 500hp monster) then continue to look about...

There are some nice cars available if your budget can stretch a little more IMO...

<tuffty/>
Click to expand...

Ah my apologies, I did not realise he had said S3 rather than A3, was still relatively early in the day for me when I first commented ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: <tuffty/>
After reading this I feel I should of got a lot more car for what I paid.
I spent 1550 on a '99 A3. with 62.5k miles. Full service history.
But It needs a new clutch relatively soon (very high bite).:blink:
 
Gut feeling on this car for me would be to walk away, shop around.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
Newbie With S3 Turbo issues!!
Replies
3
Views
970
mo_s3
M
S
New S3 owner with major issues
Replies
29
Views
3K
smest
S
C
A few Issues with my S3
Replies
20
Views
2K
coyle
C
Y83OLK
Daily Issues with s3's.....Anyone else?
Replies
6
Views
881
talentwalsh
talentwalsh
S
multiple issues with A3 1.8T (Not S3)
Replies
8
Views
1K
Scrappy
S
Top
Back