Newbie with lots of questions

[DangerS3]

Hello people, new to the forum and this is my first post.

I will be an S3 owner very soon, well, within the next few months as I've agreed a decent price on one that would've been traded in. So I've got a few questions:

Is there much to look out for with the higher mileage examples? They all seem to hold their money, but I'm not sure if they're a ticking time bomb over 100k?
It will probably have 110k so would having it mapped be wise?
The car is a pov spec manual, so is there much that can be coded in to it to make it more premium? Like folding mirrors, cruise control, global closure or anything else? I've heard something about RNSE radios?
Is fitting facelift lights very expensive and time consuming? (not including the cost of lights as I can look at eBay for the price of them).


Thanks in advance.

 

[Scott_Crossley]

Hi mate,

My car has done 110k and I've had an apr map on it with no issues and massive tongue/bhp gains. But every car is different, any decent/reputable tuner should be able to look over your car before mapping it to give an idea of whether or not it's a good idea.
As far as coding it would be worth buying a VCD's lead from Ross-tech and 'playing' around with it.
I've activated a lot of things on my car by doing this such as cornering lights, hill assist, sidelight dimming during indicator activation, the list goes on and on.
The Rns-e is a good upgrade if you want the OEM look like I did, I picked one up for £350 from Germany in perfect condition (looks brand new from the outside no marks etc) I simply plugged it in and coded it up, never looked back since.
I also purchased a Bluetooth from Kufatec Fiscon and it works perfect including music streaming, some people on here don't agree with the kit and say Audi only etc but you can't stream music on the Audi system etc so it's personal choice really.
The headlights is a mod that I am waiting to do but I'm just waiting to find a set of headlights at the right place - I have been waiting for 10 months

Regards,

Scott

 

[DangerS3]

Hi Scott, cheers for the reply. Looks like I won't bother with the head lights then lol is it the same case for the rears too?
That's good to hear about the engine, I know they're pretty well built cars but I thought I better ask before I start making big plans for it lol.
I see you have a newer model, would the 2007 have anything like that you think?
£350 isn't bad in the scheme of thing. Also with the bluetooth, if it works then why not use it.

 

[nooone]

are those miles or kms?

I bought mine 6 months ago with 110kms, have gone to stage 2, no dramas.
The other big improvement was Coilovers and tyres. I like a short shifter as well, cost you an hour and < 50 pounds.
Personally, I wouldn't bother with the other bits you've listed unless you know what you're doing, the RNS is nice, again if you don't know what you're doing you're going to have to pay someone to do it.

The S3 is stylish without those extras (IMO), make it fast and handle well (drop it a little at the same time) and you'll enjoy it, regardless of the bells and whilsles.

I didn't know it had a digital speed on the dash until I'd had it 3 months... One of my favourite things about the car (and pretty small).

 

[S3Alex]

There are a lot of things both engine-wise and cosmetically that you can do.

On the coding and lighting upgrades,there are people here like NHN who can help you with that,and a number of people who've done facelifts on their cars.

That's not really my sort of thing,but plenty of help to be had here.

The engine and mechanicals are pretty robust,if they've been regularly serviced and well looked after,but any reputable tuner will check your car over thoroughly before mapping it,and if you find that doesn't,walk away and find another.

If the turbo is still original,mapping and increasing boost can reveal oil seal problems,but that's not a disaster,it just needs fixing.

Mine was mapped to Stg1 at 10 000 miles,and was at Stg4 by 40 000 miles,and is well beyond that now at 75 000 miles with no issues at all,so the block,head and crank are all solid,with the proviso about it having been looked after.

 

[Scott_Crossley]

Hi Scott, cheers for the reply. Looks like I won't bother with the head lights then lol is it the same case for the rears too?
That's good to hear about the engine, I know they're pretty well built cars but I thought I better ask before I start making big plans for it lol.
I see you have a newer model, would the 2007 have anything like that you think?
£350 isn't bad in the scheme of thing. Also with the bluetooth, if it works then why not use it.

The rears are easy mate, it's just getting hold of them and some wiring adapters.
My car is a 2010, I'm not sure what your would have but its worth playing about to see what you can activate.

 

[DangerS3]

are those miles or kms?

I bought mine 6 months ago with 110kms, have gone to stage 2, no dramas.
The other big improvement was Coilovers and tyres. I like a short shifter as well, cost you an hour and < 50 pounds.
Personally, I wouldn't bother with the other bits you've listed unless you know what you're doing, the RNS is nice, again if you don't know what you're doing you're going to have to pay someone to do it.

The S3 is stylish without those extras (IMO), make it fast and handle well (drop it a little at the same time) and you'll enjoy it, regardless of the bells and whilsles.

I didn't know it had a digital speed on the dash until I'd had it 3 months... One of my favourite things about the car (and pretty small).

Sorry it will be about 110,000miles.
I will definitely be buying a short shifter, IIRC Forge make a decent one that you fit on top of the gearbox?
Tbh, I have no idea what I'm doing lol. This will be my first VAG so I'm just sort of replicating what I have seen being done. With regards to the stereo, I know it's got the budget spec one and I really dislike the look of it. I wouldn't mind a built in handsfree too.

There are a lot of things both engine-wise and cosmetically that you can do.

On the coding and lighting upgrades,there are people here like NHN who can help you with that,and a number of people who've done facelifts on their cars.

That's not really my sort of thing,but plenty of help to be had here.

The engine and mechanicals are pretty robust,if they've been regularly serviced and well looked after,but any reputable tuner will check your car over thoroughly before mapping it,and if you find that doesn't,walk away and find another.

If the turbo is still original,mapping and increasing boost can reveal oil seal problems,but that's not a disaster,it just needs fixing.

Mine was mapped to Stg1 at 10 000 miles,and was at Stg4 by 40 000 miles,and is well beyond that now at 75 000 miles with no issues at all,so the block,head and crank are all solid,with the proviso about it having been looked after.

Awesome thanks, I just like things to look a little more updated. Although once I get the car my mind may change altogether, just buy a set of 5K HIDs.

Everything is original but I know the car has been looked after and if it's needed anything the owner has just had it replaced....what, if anything has been replaced I've yet to find out.

I know the cambelt will need doing (if it's not the chain driven engine, my mechanic friend couldn't find out without the engine code).

I'm assuming the oil seals is a fairly straight forward job?

Will the gearbox oil need changing?

The rears are easy mate, it's just getting hold of them and some wiring adapters.
My car is a 2010, I'm not sure what your would have but its worth playing about to see what you can activate.

Ok cool. Does it just do a list of stuff and then you tick a box to activate it?

 

[Slovicej8]

Mines on 166k on a 2.0 tfsi with revo stage 1 and all is good with mine. As long as its serviced it will be ok

 

[S3Alex]

If the turbo oil seals gave up,it would be better to look at a hybrid such as the TTE420 I think and go the whole hog so to speak.

Gearbox is supposed to be sealed but can be drained and refilled.

Mine has been in bits a few times now!

 

[Scott_Crossley]

Ok cool. Does it just do a list of stuff and then you tick a box to activate it?

Yes mate, you just go into Long coding and you can pretty much see what you can have and you can tick boxes. It's worth getting Vag Com/VCDS just to have a play about, I bought mine and it has paid for itself over and over again mate

 

[DangerS3]

Mines on 166k on a 2.0 tfsi with revo stage 1 and all is good with mine. As long as its serviced it will be ok

Awesome. Thanks for your reply.

If the turbo oil seals gave up,it would be better to look at a hybrid such as the TTE420 I think and go the whole hog so to speak.

Gearbox is supposed to be sealed but can be drained and refilled.

Mine has been in bits a few times now!

I agree, whilst it's out why not get a better one.

Oh ok, I was just wonder about the haldex system and whether that needs new oil.

Yes mate, you just go into Long coding and you can pretty much see what you can have and you can tick boxes. It's worth getting Vag Com/VCDS just to have a play about, I bought mine and it has paid for itself over and over again mate

Looks like it's going to be on my "to buy list" then cheers.

 

[DangerS3]

Checked the car over yesterday, apart from it being a basic model with no extras turns out it has Bose speakers and a flat bottom steering wheel. By all accounts these appear to be quite desirable on here.

One thing I did notice is that that bottom corner of the bumper, the rear splitter/diffuser is pushed in. Can this easily be bent back out or is there a bracket behind it that will need repairing?

I'll try and upload the photos later. As the guy still owns the car I didn't want to start yanking the bumper about to get it sitting right lol.

 

[Robert Williams]

You can see what extras you have if you register it my MyAudi https://my.audi.com/

 

[DangerS3]

Pictures of the bumper