Would like advice on buying an a3 please!

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seshwan

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Hey guys,

Just joined the forums. I am in the early stages of looking for an a3 as I have 4ish months of saving to do so hoping to buy one in jan/feb. Due to crashing my previous car ( not my fault I swear) my insurance is pretty high so I can only afford to insure a 1.6 untill I can build up a few years no claims. I am going to be saving for the insurance and financing the car from a garage and I am looking for around a 2005-2008 maybe with a nice amount of miles on the clock.

I would really like to do the sline bumper conversion that I have been reading about on Ads thread but am a complete novice when it comes to audi's. First question is are the shapes of the 1.6's 1.9's 2.0 etc all the same? what I mean is will an sline bumper from say a 2.0 sline go on a 1.6 a3? Sorry if that a stupid question lol!

Second question would be what would you reccomend to get as in like fsi se sport all that. I dont think i'd be able insure a 1.6 sline/sport for less than 3 grand so would have to be something other than sline and maybe sport.

Third question is what is fsi? and what is it equivelant to in terms of what the insurance would be if you assume that sline is more to insure as sport and sport more than se and se more than just plain standard ( just a guess)

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to answer these questions even though they may seem stupid to some, ok all, of you.

Cheers
 
I was looking at buying a 1.6 too but I was told they are discontinuing them as they have the old engine in and pushing forward with the new engine in the 1.4
 
I really wouldn't recommend a 1.6
How much money do you have to spend on buying the car? If you can afford it I'd go for a newer 1.4 tsi engine, cheap to insure, tax and run plus enough power to chuck that heavy A3 body about.

1.6 insurance more than 3k? That's crazy talk!
I'm sure the sline bumpers are the same regardless of the engine but someone will correct me on this if I'm wrong.

Fsi is just a different type of fuel injection that newer vag engines use. As for insurance I wouldn't say there would be much difference between se/sport/sline. Get a few dummy quotes on a comparison site and let us know if it does make a difference
 
To be honest the A3 is not a light car. Anything without a 'T' in the badge name is going to feel lazy unless you aren't bothered about power. 1.4T is best bet.
 
Cheers for the welcome! Well its about 2300 at the cheapest for a 1.6 a3 2005 ish insurance wise for me.. will check now what its like for the 1.4t, like 08?
 
The thing is I am going to have to be paying alot for insurance anyways so it doesnt matter what I get I will be paying alot, just checked a 106 gti is 3300 .
 
audi upgrades
Out if interest. How much would a 1.2 litre say, a corsa cost for you to insure??
 
I'm 19, 20 in march next year which would be 2 months, ish, before i'd have the money.
 
audi upgrades
for a "2008 Vauxhall Corsa Active, 1229CC Petrol, 3DR, Manual" paying monthly 2200. paying in one like 1800 but i'd rather pay the extra grand for a better car if im paying that much in the first place
 
Hell, I feel for you. I've had an expensive policy here and there. However I've had no accidents...recorded ones anyway... ;)

If I was you I'd buy an old banger. say £800, 1.0 mini or something. even a tax except one. Insurance has gotta be free in those things right?!

Run that for a year. Then have at least one years no claims.

I wouldn't pay that cash for a years insurance on ANY car anymore, insurance companies getting mega ££££ hungry. ludicrous.

When I was 17 my first car was a 1996 1.9 XLDT 306. £1,200 to insure,

Then at 18, 2000, 2.0HDI meridian 306,£900 to insure,

Age 18- MG-ZT 2.5 V6 190+, £1400

Age 18- A3 tdi 170 58 plate was £2,050!!! stupidest thing I've even done.

20/21 years old S3 09, £1,050

22 years old - S3 12, £914

No claims makes such a difference.
 
Yeah Im going to build up some no claims but just want to get an a3 haha, would a 1.6 a3 be that bad for a few years no claims? i can get insured for 2300 ish so.. aslong as it lasts. I would buy from a garage but no brand new like a 2007/2008
 
I can well understand the love for the A3/S3 8p platform, that's why we are all here afterall.

However, in reality, a 1.6 is a bit high at your age especially with Zero no claims. I was very lucky to have 92 rampant horses in my 306 for my first car purely becuase my sister didn't like it. so I had it. not going to argue with that. A free car! :)

Not to mention, and please, I do not intend this to offend anyone, the 1.6 in the A3 is not great.

Im a strong believer in " do it once, do it properly" (the 1.6 isn't in my eyes doing things 'properly')

I say bite the bullet and sit it out.

The 8P's will drop in value too as the new one has come out.
 
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What would you say to an 8l for a year or two for no claims? :p
 
There are some lovely examples of 8L's however insurance may still sting you..

Audi= premium car = premium prices= premium maintenance costs = premium ball ache.

I think a lot will depend on your budget, if you paying per month for insurance then it makes it easier, so you could essentially push the boat out a little bit.

Just don't go mad. Whatever you think you can afford per month, halve it. I know I should have done.
 
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I'm going to be honest about that 8L.

I'd rather eat my own foot....

If you we're fine paying £280 a month then I guess you may aswell indeed stay in the 8p's and continue paying that?

You are financing your potential future car right? I say get a rough quote on what that cost is per month and then go from there as you need to add the 2 figures together ie insurance payments and finance payments and deduct that from your monthly wage, as then that will equal how many tins of baked beans you can have on the shelf in the pantry....
 
crunchie said:
Not exactly your average 18 year old's choice of chariot lol.
Your grandpa must have left you it or something surely??
Click to expand...

No joke, I did a straight swap for it. my 306 HDI 117k for the MG ZT 89k.

The MG was actually a LOVELY car. I'd have one again. it was Solar Red and it was in mint condition. it had xenons, 6 cd changer, half leather, cruise control. you name it!!

HPI clear too!

Engine was smooth and sounded really nice.

One of the best cars I've owned.

I never actually met my grandpa, my dads an old git (77) and cancer seems to be in the family. Doh! :(

Ah well! :)
 
Well I was goiing to save for the insurance and pay it off fully in one because its quite a bit cheaper that way. I can save 500 of my wage a month from now already got 500 saved for insurance so should need 4 months to get 2500 for the insurance then finance the car hopefully. Can I do things to my car when its under finance? please say yes
 
Yes you can, tell you insurers though.

it's not always easy to get a car on finance at a young age, there was a fair bit of ummm-ing and arrr-ing when I did it 4 ish years ago. I put a big deposit down which swayed it.

The chances are they'll say no, the mrs couldnt even get a phone contract as she had no credit history a while back.

Go to a garage an ask them about a car, get a finance quote on a car you like, and see if your accepted.
 
Modifying a car will only add to your insurance, regardless of whether your finance agreement allows it. And, though some people may say otherwise, I can't urge you enough to make sure you declare all mods on your insurance or if something happened (even if not your fault) you could be left with invalid insurance leading to driving without insurance etc charges, points on licence, black mark for future insurance and the bill for any repairs landing on your doorstep.

Also, rather than doing an S-Line conversion, why not look for an S-Line in the first place?

If I were in your shoes, I'd be looking at saving maybe £1000 of your insurance budget and putting it towards the car, but go for something cheaper to insure. Get yourself a 1.25 Fiesta or something for a year, get a NCB built up, then look at Audis when they're not ridiculous to insure.

I got my first S3 when I was 22 and had 0 NCB (named driver on mum's car for 5 years), and it was only £600 for the year.

FSI stands for fuel stratified injection, and it's just the injector technology use in newer engines, won't make an difference to insurance as (as far as I'm aware) you can't get an FSI and non-FSI version of the same engine.
 
seshwan said:
Well I was goiing to save for the insurance and pay it off fully in one because its quite a bit cheaper that way. I can save 500 of my wage a month from now already got 500 saved for insurance so should need 4 months to get 2500 for the insurance then finance the car hopefully. Can I do things to my car when its under finance? please say yes
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Where do you live? Must be London or a big city like that for such high premium quotes?
 
warren_S3 said:
To be honest the A3 is not a light car. Anything without a 'T' in the badge name is going to feel lazy unless you aren't bothered about power. 1.4T is best bet.
Click to expand...

Anything with a T that isn't followed by a DI is your best bet.
 
seshwan said:
Decided I will try and get a 1.6 sport. 2005/2006
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To be honest I don't see the point, it's slow and thirsty. Why finance a car that won't give you anything a focus won't give you for half the price.
 
Minstadave said:
To be honest I don't see the point, it's slow and thirsty. Why finance a car that won't give you anything a focus won't give you for half the price.
Click to expand...

One thing, looks.

The way I see it is I am going to have to get a few years no claims either way before I can get anything over a 1.6 ( thats decent anyway), so if the insurance on a focus and an audi is the same and I can afford the pay for the audi on finance then why settle for the inferior car? Nothing wrong with a focus but there just not my thing. I'd rather get some experience with an audi a3 as when I can insure a 2.0 I am wanting to get a a3 anyway so may aswell get used to audi. Most of my driving will be town driving with the ocasional trip down the country for work once a month, maybe more, so I really want something that is going to be comfortable and more reliable than an old focus because the price of a 1.6 audi a3 sport and a 1.6 focus of the same age and rougly same milage are around the same from what I have seen on autotrader and other sites.
 
Just to put things in perspective, I didn't own "fast" cars until I was 25, when I was 19 I had a Rover Metro 1.4.... I personally think your trying to run before you can walk. It's one thing buying a car on finance and then paying high insurance but what about actually running the car, maintenance etc...

If I were you, I'd be looking at a Corsa, Fiesta even a Mini Cooper to build your no claims on and then get an Audi etc in a few years.

At the end of the day though it's up to you, but the advice being giving here from lots of members is don't bother buying a 1.6 A3!
 
I wonder how many 1.6 owners we actually have on here...I can only think of one...? think franA3 (red one) is one isn't it?

**Just remembered they made a 1.2tfsi A3! get a quote on one of those!!** although they may be expensive due to being relatively new.
 
A 1.6 litre, 7 year old, sport spec A3 is neither good looking or well performing. I don't see the attraction. I own a 2005 sport and I can forgive its rep mobile looks because it has a half decent engine. The 1.6 is a god awful engine, the only way to get it to look ok is to add an s line front and rear bumper and spoiler, which you won't get much change out a grand for. Your better off with a focus/fiesta that'll be newer, faster, handles better, more economical, more reliable and better specced.
 
mjr901 said:
I wonder how many 1.6 owners we actually have on here...I can only think of one...? think franA3 (red one) is one isn't it?

**Just remembered they made a 1.2tfsi A3! get a quote on one of those!!** although they may be expensive due to being relatively new.
Click to expand...

Yeah FranA3 does have a 1.6... He is the only one I know of.
 
seshwan said:
if the insurance on a focus and an audi is the same
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That's a pretty big 'if' - even a 1.6 Audi is an Audi, with Audi repair costs. The Focus is 99.99% guaranteed to be a LOT cheaper to insure. And they're fantastic cars, much better standard kit than an A3, better driving, faster (1.6 vs 1.6) - only the interior build quality isn't up to Audi standards (though top-trim Fords are advancing significantly in that area), nor the badge appeal, but when you're looking to just build no claims can beggars be choosers?

I'd say get a Focus, you'll get used to the Audi when you get the 2.0l.
 
At age of 20 I paid £1025 for my old s3 210 bhp my a3 is more expensive to insure than a s3 8L. No claims doesn't make a huge difference.

my first car was an A2 1.4 petrol then I got a s3 1.8turbo most people I knew said I wouldn't be able to maintained it etc etc had it for a year maintained it well and then got a two litre diesel a3 :rock:

also wouldn't buy a brand new car as my first because there's going to be dents and scuff as a learning curve I'm speaking from my experiences.
For example going around a mini roundabout rear car hit pavement tyre popped :keule:. Paid £150 for two new tyres because nearest tyre shop took advantage of the state car was in
 
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