The A3 might be going for a Diesel... but which one?

Markb

Markb

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As subject my new job may involve doing a lot of travelling, and I can't justify running the A3 with the price of unleaded going above £1 a litre!

I've owned it for 2 years and still love it, but it looks like a diesel might be in order (Won't be until after GTi International though)

So what are my options? It must be VAG and a TDi.

Was thinking of an A3 TDi, but I fancy a change.

So:

Skoda VRS (52MPG, loads of torque, but a 5 door)
Polo Sport 1.9 TDi


Any other thoughts?

Mark.
 
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A budget would be useful

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/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Rob.

PS> Mark - You can't seriously be letting her go now?!? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
I know it might be a bit of a taboo, but I'm only thinking sideways because I know how I'd feel when faced with having to part with such a ride...

But perhaps LPG might be worth considering? You could dual-fuel her... Economy when you need it, and Optimax when you don't...

Rob.
 
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A budget would be useful

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Sorry should have said £8K - £12K (Don't want to take finance out)
 
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I know it might be a bit of a taboo, but I'm only thinking sideways because I know how I'd feel when faced with having to part with such a ride...

But perhaps LPG might be worth considering? You could dual-fuel her... Economy when you need it, and Optimax when you don't...

Rob.

[/ QUOTE ]

I know what you are saying dude, and I will be sad to see her go, but I don't think it would be worth my while to LPG it.

Mark.
 
With that budget why would you consider a Skoda or Polo?
You could get pretty much any Audi TDi within reason, get one as young as possible with higher than average mileage. New shape A3 TDi sport 2 years old go for £11k, mileage is pretty irrelevant IMO
 
Not a fan of the new A3 TBH that's why, and the old shape A3 TDi Quattro is rare and goes for big money. That's why I was looking at those two.
 
man, you've given that car some serious love, and your gonna chop it?

LPG it.

on the other hand, it could be start of another love affair!
 
"Not a fan of the new A3 TBH that's why, and the old shape A3 TDi Quattro is rare and goes for big money. That's why I was looking at those two"
Umm that makes sense, don't believe either the Polo or Skoda have Quattro, however they do both have shyte interiors
 
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"Not a fan of the new A3 TBH that's why, and the old shape A3 TDi Quattro is rare and goes for big money. That's why I was looking at those two"

Umm that makes sense, don't believe either the Polo or Skoda have Quattro, however they do both have shyte interiors

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Yeah fair do's I can see what you are saying about not having Quattro and the interiors (The interior in the Fabia vRS is the only thing that is putting me off the car TBH. Have even been thinking about getting Recaro front seats and having the rears re-trimmed to match. So spending money before I've even got the car)

I think another re-think is required, as I did originally say that I would get an Audi A4 S Line or, but it's just the price.

May be going to Audi and having a look at one of the new A3 TDi's will change my mind.

The daft thing is I still want a fairly quick car. That's why the Skoda was appealing, as it's 130BHP in standard form and does 0-60 in 8.5. Then when chipped it goes to 180BHP with loads of torque, and does 0-60 in 7 and a bit seconds, but still returns 40+ MPG!

So my options are spend less and get a 1-2 year old Fabia with low miles for £8K - £9K or spend anything from £11K upwards and get an older higher milleage Audi A3. Can you see what I'm getting at now?
 
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man, you've given that car some serious love, and your gonna chop it?

LPG it.

on the other hand, it could be start of another love affair!

[/ QUOTE ]

I know /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bang.gif but then again needs must....
 
"That's why the Skoda was appealing, as it's 130BHP in standard form and does 0-60 in 8.5. Then when chipped it goes to 180BHP with loads of torque, and does 0-60 in 7 and a bit seconds, but still returns 40+ MPG!"
Errr you mean exactly the same as the equivalent Audi?
Are you honestly saying you prefer the looks of a Fabia to the new A3?
 
My Dad has a Fabia VRS and you can do a straight swap for leather seats now plus about a grand??? Dont quote me on that but seems the only let down on what is otherwise an excellent car. My dad does loads of miles from the South Coast to London and back and he had never had a problem other than punctures.
Someone at the meet the other night mentioned getting seats retrimmed for about a grand so I would say Fabia VRS all day long.
The interior is the only reason I didnt get one, that and the wife being a badge snob! Hindsight is a wonderful thing....
 
The leather seats was not available as an option when Fabia vRS's came out, but is available now. And to stop early punters from losing out, Skoda are offering the early models to have the seats trimmed(or straight swop) in leather for £1k.
 
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With that budget why would you consider a Skoda or Polo?
You could get pretty much any Audi TDi within reason, get one as young as possible with higher than average mileage. New shape A3 TDi sport 2 years old go for £11k, mileage is pretty irrelevant IMO

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Do you mean a 1.9 TDI
As i have never seena new shape 2.0 for that price
 
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[ QUOTE ]
With that budget why would you consider a Skoda or Polo?
You could get pretty much any Audi TDi within reason, get one as young as possible with higher than average mileage. New shape A3 TDi sport 2 years old go for £11k, mileage is pretty irrelevant IMO

[/ QUOTE ]

Do you mean a 1.9 TDI
As i have never seen a new shape 2.0 for that price

[/ QUOTE ]
In fact i have never seen any TDI in the new shape for that price,
 
Well there's a few on autotrader right now at £11k:
2004 AUDI A3 2.0 TDi Sport 3dr Diesel Hatchback,
89,500 miles, Dolphin grey, FSH, 3x3 point rear seat belts, ABS, Alarm, 17" Alloy wheels, Climate control, Cloth seat trim, Bose sound, Trip computer, Front and side airbags, Front armrest, Interior light pack, Factory immobiliser, 1 owner from new. £10,895. ono

2004 04 Reg AUDI A3 2.0 TDi SportManual 6 speed, Diesel, . One owner with full service history, ABS, Adjustable seats, Alloy wheels, Anti theft system, Computer, Cruise control, Electric mirrors, Electric windows, Foglights, Front armrest, Sports seats. 1/2 leather sports trim. high motorway miles. Full dealer facilities £11,495.
 
stretch to the new A4 if you can - they feel completely different to the new A3.

They feel bombproof and quality..
 
I'm a bit confused about this /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif Basically you have a budget up to a max of £12k. You want a diesel to replace your current 1.8T to save on the fuel bill. I dont know how old your 1.8T is or the mileage, but lets say it's worth about £6k. Clearly you've spent a lot of money on it recently. How many miles will you have to do to make up the approx. £6k difference between the two cars in saved diesel costs?
 
did you know the astra diesel is availible with a triple 8 tuning / styling kit as an option. It pushes power to 200bhp rivaling the VXR. I thought this was pretty impressive.
 
That's a good point, if that's the only reason to change I calculate 96k miles before you break even (& that's given that you get twice the mpg on the TDi which is unlikely even unchipped).
 
Are the 1.8T's really that expensive to run? - I'm considering going the opposite way to you at the moment and selling the TDI for a petrol as i only do about 5-6000 miles a year now.

Also I know it's a bit of a shameless plug but my TDI's up for sale at the moment in the trading post - not sure if it'd suit the student lifestyle though mate /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/lol.gif
 
I think that's what we're saying, they aren't that expensive to run, so unless you need to change the car anyway (need a bigger one, family, kids etc) it doesn't make sense to change it just to save on the mpg.
Obviously the example above is hugely simplified as there's no account of depreciation and what the S3 would be worth with galactic mileage being put on it, but my philosophy is if you're gonna be doing huge mileage then buy a car already with a big mileage to minimise the effect.
OK the running costs maybe slightly more but easily offset by the tail off in depreciation.
 
Swap in a diesel engine into your A3. You may well as you've done everything else to the car.
 
depends if u want a quatty tho, which handle far better
 
audi upgrades
[ QUOTE ]
I think that's what we're saying, they aren't that expensive to run, so unless you need to change the car anyway (need a bigger one, family, kids etc) it doesn't make sense to change it just to save on the mpg.
Obviously the example above is hugely simplified as there's no account of depreciation and what the S3 would be worth with galactic mileage being put on it, but my philosophy is if you're gonna be doing huge mileage then buy a car already with a big mileage to minimise the effect.
OK the running costs maybe slightly more but easily offset by the tail off in depreciation.

[/ QUOTE ]

Plus... as fuel prices go up, the %saving on diesel goes down, so you have to be driving even further to make diesel pay.

(Same argument goes for Optimax. It's getting easier to make the slight increase in mpg pay for the extra cost of the 98 over the 95.)

Having said, my current fuel bill is nothing short of rediculous compared to 10 years ago in my 205GT at 40 odd pence!
 
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Swap in a diesel engine into your A3. You may well as you've done everything else to the car.

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Yes, do this Mark, and get the engine bay sprayed up in the process. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
"Plus... as fuel prices go up, the %saving on diesel goes down, so you have to be driving even further to make diesel pay."
Don't quite know how you came to that bizarre conclusion as petrol prices will increase at the same rate as diesel so you'll actually have to do less mileage to make up the £6k when compared to the same mileage using petrol.
 
[ QUOTE ]
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Swap in a diesel engine into your A3. You may well as you've done everything else to the car.

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Yes, do this Mark, and get the engine bay sprayed up in the process. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

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I have been considering this option, but I'm not sure.

I suppose I would get £1K - £1.5K for my engine (60K, AGU big port head, Recent cambelt + water pump)

Not sure what sort of price the TDi lump fetchs though /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
Is it going to be a commute or is it going to be business miles as I'd have thought you'd get an allowance or a car for that many business miles? also if you haven't got either job yet I wouldn't rush into anything.

PS when I was doing around 600 miles a week a few years ago I wouldn't have wanted to be in anything less comfortable than the S3 so make sure you get a car with a nice interior and very comfortable seat.
 
"so make sure you get a car with a nice interior and very comfortable seat"
That's the Skoda & the Polo out then!
 
audi upgrades
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"so make sure you get a car with a nice interior and very comfortable seat"
That's the Skoda & the Polo out then!

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Well I didn't want to spell it out as such, people like to come to their own decisions, but yes! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
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