Looking to buy an A3...

[silence]

Hi guys. This is my first post so be gentle!

Having changed jobs, i'll now be driving 80 miles a day. After many test drives of different cars & marques, i've decided that the A3 2.0tdi DSG is the right car for me. The A3 interior is simple & classy, comfortable and generally a nice place to be in.

I've got my eye on a 54 plate toucon yellow S Line 2.0tdi DSG:

[URL="http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/3390/audibc2.jpg"][URL="http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/3390/audibc2.jpg"][URL="http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/3390/audibc2.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL]

It's priced at £12,500 and has the following specs:

39,000 miles
Acoustic parking system
Alcantara/leather interior
Electric/heated door mirrors
Sport seats with fine nappa leather
Bose sound system

Are there any issues that I should check for? I've noticed that there aren't many yellow A3's about, will this be an issue when selling the car on afterwards?

Any help / suggestions would be appreciated!

Thanks,

V

 

[marms]

Welcome Silence, (sounds like a good name ofr a film).

Good chose of car.

Have you actually driven the DSG? The only reason I ask is that some love it and some hate it. I'm completely happy with my DSG and wouldn't swap it for a manual but some will argue otherwise.

Things to look for? Noisy wheel bearings, noisy/creaking steering rack when manovering at low speed, leaking oil coolers, porous cylinder head.

These are reported common(ish) problems although I've had none of them (touch wood).

Yellow won't be the most popular colour but you're looking at buying it so someone will also want it when you come to sell. Might even be a way of getting the price down a little now? Black and Silver are always going to the the popular choice but there are plenty of people who want something a little different.

Also the DSG needs an oil change at 40,000 so make sure that is done.

Hope that helps.

 

[silence]

Hi marms. I drove the DSG a few days ago and was impressed by the responsiveness of it. The gear change was swift and smooth.

Well the car is actually being sold by a peugeot dealer , but they're issuing a 1 year warranty with the car with a pre-delivery inspection. They also told me that they'll get rid of any scratches on the car's body & wheels. I'll hopefully check it out sometime this week and will let you know how it goes.

 

[mister.c.]

I've had a TDI sport for 2.5 years, drove 46k and touch wood no major issues.

I'm no car expert so can only offer the obvious stuff - check out service history to see if you've got a service coming shortly - I guess it will be on variable servicing? (at 80 miles a day the service will creep up on you!), check the other obvious stuff like tyre wear (mines been through three pairs of fronts and rears).

I agree with marms - yellow will not be the most popular colour, but I wouldnt worry about it if you like it - use it to your advantage on negotiations. Others may know what its worth but there's surely scope for getting a fair chunk off the advertised price , especially now its the New Year!

 

[TDI-line]

Hello and welcome.

Sounds a very nice spec, yellow S-lines are very rare.

Like any yellow car, they can be hard to sell on, but as Marms said, someone would be after one.

Good luck.

 

[SteveTDCi]

Yellow might be difficult to sell on but it also means they are cheap to buy in the first place. Don't worry about the aftermarket warranty, anything is better than nothing and you won't be limited to an Audi dealer for repairs.

 

[silence]

Hey guys. I'm not that concerned with selling it on afterwards, as most of my previous cars have been p/x at the dealers, and i'm sure i'll do the same with this one.

Here's a better pic of the car I took today. It's had 2 services, and the next one isn't due for another 20,000 miles. It's also had 2 previous owners. What do you think?

http://imageshack.us

After some negotiating, the final price would be £12,500 with 1 year's free road tax and removal of all body scratches...

 

[SteveTDCi]

Depending on the scratches I would be inclined to leave them and go for a further discount. They will either bodge it up with some locla smart repair company or paint it in which case it might not match. If the scratches don't require paint you could always get a decent valeter to remove them. Have a look on www.detailingworld.com to see whats involved.

 

[marriedblonde]

They aren't offering you much of a deal if the price in the first post was the advertised price!

J.

 

[Amchlolor]

Hi marms. I drove the DSG a few days ago and was impressed by the responsiveness of it. The gear change was swift and smooth.

If you drive around good roads, it will seem that way.
However, you need to drive it in slow traffic and around town.
It can be a very unresponsive gearbox at junctions/roundabouts.
Look for the 'DSG delay', where there is a fair chunk of time wasted between putting your foot down and the car actually moving.
I'm the resident DSG hater here, BTW, hello

 

[RGBArgee]

If you drive around good roads, it will seem that way.
However, you need to drive it in slow traffic and around town.
It can be a very unresponsive gearbox at junctions/roundabouts.
Look for the 'DSG delay', where there is a fair chunk of time wasted between putting your foot down and the car actually moving.
I'm the resident DSG hater here, BTW, hello

Stick to manual, Bower is deserting to BMW (probably) as a result of DSG!!

TT (manual)

 

[h5djr]

I'm the resident DSG hater here, BTW, hello

Purely in the interest of balance I think the DSG is great. I've had two A3s with DSGs and would never want to return to a manual box ever again.

I'm the resident DSG lover here, By the way, Hello and welcome to the forum.

 

[silence]

They aren't offering you much of a deal if the price in the first post was the advertised price!

J.

The initial price was in fact negotiated over the phone when I spoke to them a few days ago when I enquired about the car. The original price was £13,000. I knocked £500 off by saying it's a rare colour, etc. When I saw the car today, they told me that they'd remove the scratches from the bonnet for free.

I'll most likely put down a refundable deposit and see how good their paint job is, and make a decision accordingly.

 

[SteveTDCi]

Get it in writting that you will reject the car and want your deposit back if its not upto standard. Also make sure the car is kept dry so you can see it.

 

[RGBArgee]

Hi guys. This is my first post so be gentle!

Having changed jobs, i'll now be driving 80 miles a day. After many test drives of different cars & marques, i've decided that the A3 2.0tdi DSG is the right car for me. The A3 interior is simple & classy, comfortable and generally a nice place to be in.

I've got my eye on a 54 plate toucon yellow S Line 2.0tdi DSG:

[URL="http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/3390/audibc2.jpg"][URL="http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/3390/audibc2.jpg"][URL="http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/3390/audibc2.jpg"][URL="http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/3390/audibc2.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]

It's priced at £12,500 and has the following specs:

39,000 miles
Acoustic parking system
Alcantara/leather interior
Electric/heated door mirrors
Sport seats with fine nappa leather
Bose sound system

Are there any issues that I should check for? I've noticed that there aren't many yellow A3's about, will this be an issue when selling the car on afterwards?

Any help / suggestions would be appreciated!

Thanks,

V

Looks OK, only issue for me is that it's not Black!!:icon_thumright:

 

[Amchlolor]

Stick to manual, Bower is deserting to BMW (probably) as a result of DSG!!

TT (manual)

I was going to mention the other faults the car has had, but you're actually 100% right.
I'd probably forgive the car it's other faults, if that damned gearbox didn't spoil the driving experience.
I don't really expect faultless cars, but I can forgive problems if I enjoy driving them.
I can't say I've ever really enjoyed driving the A3.
I've enjoye some of the trips I've made in it, but never the actual drive.
It's just competent A to B transport.
I'm after a bit more than that though, hence the Alpina.

 

[RGBArgee]

:icon_thumright:

Looks OK, only issue for me is that it's not Black!!:icon_thumright:

Not sure about the 18in Slike wheels not sure they are original OEM. Could not get 18's on our 2.0T Quatro Sportback ordered in Jan 2005. Others will know my views about standard or OEM extras!!

TT
R

 

[Amchlolor]

:icon_thumright:

Not sure about the 18in Slike wheels not sure they are original OEM. Could not get 18's on our 2.0T Quatro Sportback ordered in Jan 2005. Others will know my views about standard or OEM extras!!

TT
R

Those wheels are standard on an '05 S-line.
I have those 18's on my '05 sportback, which was ordered December '04.

 

[RGBArgee]

Those wheels are standard on an '05 S-line.
I have those 18's on my '05 sportback, which was ordered December '04.

Correct, these are S line wheels, we picked up 05 2.0T Quattro Sport SB on 1 March 05, there were no Slines in the dealership prior to then TTBOMK. Not sure when S Line 3 doors came out so you are probably correct. The Leather and Alc is an odd mix for Sline though. Our soon to be departed sport had this option (£670). I have just found (sad) the Jan 05 Pricelist which shows S Line pack as a £1000 option with Leather and Speed cloth seats. Just a bit suspicious as Leather and Alc not shown re S Line only shown as a Sport Option!! (Back to sewing badges on my Audi Anorak! - Black of course!:icon_thumright: )

Have just seen the car on Auto Trader at Charters of Camberley (we lived there once) (Big Peugout dealer). I may be overly suspicious but I would find out more about car, could be an import, lots of forces nearby, who would trade and Audi for a Pug? Big Car Auction at Blackbushe. Worth a few questions to the dealer I think!

TT
R