First post, although I've been reading the forums a great deal lately and learning as much as possible about the A3. Also did some searching, but have been unable to find a thread dedicated to this topic, so I thought I'd post...
I just moved to Luxembourg and am interested in buying a used A3 for dual purpose duty. Back in the States, I had a 1995 track-prepped Mazda Miata/MX5 that I would use for track days about once a month. Living so close to Nurburgring now, I'd like to have a car at least capable of providing me fun / track days a handful of times each year (outside of winter). I know dual-purpose is not ideal for a track junkie like me, but it's something I'm going to have to live with for the next couple of years. And I won't be doing it incredibly often. Unfortunately, having two cars is not an option.
So as of now, with a budget around EUR 15K, I'm looking at an 8P A3 2.0 TFSI. A TDI would be awesome for long road trips and low-end torque around town, but probably not ideal for my jaunts through the backroads each week or track days. Both can be chipped from what I've read IF I need more power. Probably will stick to FWD for $$ and weight savings. FWD with snow tires should be plenty safe when the wife is driving around in the winter and for getting us to the mountains for skiing. We need 4/5 doors for family trips and whatnot, so unfortunately getting an S3 is not an option (the 2008+ S3 Sportbacks are out of our price range). I'd rather save money and upgrade the suspension and brakes on an A3 on my own anyway. The size of the A3 (including additional storage/luggage space) and refinement of its interior is why we're considering the A3 over any other car right now.
So am I crazy for trying to make something like this work? Is there another option out there I'm missing? Or will this be a fun challenge I'm likely to have a good time with? Would love to hear feedback, opinions, tips, etc. from you more experienced A3 folks. Thanks in advance!
I just moved to Luxembourg and am interested in buying a used A3 for dual purpose duty. Back in the States, I had a 1995 track-prepped Mazda Miata/MX5 that I would use for track days about once a month. Living so close to Nurburgring now, I'd like to have a car at least capable of providing me fun / track days a handful of times each year (outside of winter). I know dual-purpose is not ideal for a track junkie like me, but it's something I'm going to have to live with for the next couple of years. And I won't be doing it incredibly often. Unfortunately, having two cars is not an option.
So as of now, with a budget around EUR 15K, I'm looking at an 8P A3 2.0 TFSI. A TDI would be awesome for long road trips and low-end torque around town, but probably not ideal for my jaunts through the backroads each week or track days. Both can be chipped from what I've read IF I need more power. Probably will stick to FWD for $$ and weight savings. FWD with snow tires should be plenty safe when the wife is driving around in the winter and for getting us to the mountains for skiing. We need 4/5 doors for family trips and whatnot, so unfortunately getting an S3 is not an option (the 2008+ S3 Sportbacks are out of our price range). I'd rather save money and upgrade the suspension and brakes on an A3 on my own anyway. The size of the A3 (including additional storage/luggage space) and refinement of its interior is why we're considering the A3 over any other car right now.
So am I crazy for trying to make something like this work? Is there another option out there I'm missing? Or will this be a fun challenge I'm likely to have a good time with? Would love to hear feedback, opinions, tips, etc. from you more experienced A3 folks. Thanks in advance!
