Just bought an A3!

Adeel43

Adeel43

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Just picked up a lovely 2005 A3 Sportback for my wife. It's a 2.0T and as with any new car I can't wait to to get stuck in and make it perfect! It has 2 niggles that I need to fix. The panoramic roof cover at the front has a broken clip and the armrest catch is brokwn. Hoping I won't have to replace them!

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looks like another niggle is your rear wiper, plenty of advice on here you can find to fix that however. Xenons too, nice!
 
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@Adeel43 welcome to audi-sport.net. Nice car. Lots of info in the faqs thread at the top of this section. Hope you enjoy the forum. :)
 
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Nice. I bought the same (2005 S-Line 2.0T) for my wife and now I spend lots of time experimenting with it haha. It's a good solid car, apart from guzzling ️ like there's no tomorrow

Have a look at http://www.lightnings.dk/index_en.html for a starter on what retrofitting you can do.

Welcome to the club.


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nates said:
looks like another niggle is your rear wiper, plenty of advice on here you can find to fix that however. Xenons too, nice!
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Thanks. Yes Xenons are very nice but I'll be looking to upgrade the bulbs to something newer!

How can you tell the rear wiper is a niggle?
 
maxpayne said:
Nice. I bought the same (2005 S-Line 2.0T) for my wife and now I spend lots of time experimenting with it haha. It's a good solid car, apart from guzzling ️ like there's no tomorrow

Have a look at http://www.lightnings.dk/index_en.html for a starter on what retrofitting you can do.

Welcome to the club.


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I instantly regret opening that link but thanks! This is my wife's car but I have a feeling it will quickly become my new hobby!
 
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Adeel43 said:
The car has Xenons but look like original bulbs. Will look at Philips as a replacement as they are meant to be very good!
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Of course! Now that I looked closely its already got projectors. Lucky you!
 
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MikeSel^ said:
Hello! Welcome to the forum :) hope you're enjoying the A3 as much as I enjoyed my first one! I'm now on A3 number 3 with an S3 on the way... it's like an addiction! :)

Will we be seeing you at any events this year? (http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/categories/events-trackdays-and-meets.13/)


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I only picked it up today and so far so good. It's a car I think I'll grow to like very much...if I'm allowed to drive it I may well turn up at a few events!
 
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Just read up on the armrest catch and it's a NEW lid that's required! Looking about they are circa £100. That's crazy considering the armrest is ok. More research required. Still not found any info on the panoramic roof cover catch l.
 
Have you considered getting one 3D printed? There maybe someone local who could do it for you?


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Never occurred to me but to be honest I would have no idea where to start. I've just seen that some people just install a few magnets and remove the armrest catch mechanism when broken. Not OEM but at £5 It's difficult to argue with! Need to make these fixes cheap as I want to retrofit a MF steering wheel and replace the head unit asap
 
Adeel43 said:
Just read up on the armrest catch and it's a NEW lid that's required! Looking about they are circa £100. That's crazy considering the armrest is ok. More research required. Still not found any info on the panoramic roof cover catch l.
Click to expand...

You could get a fully working 2nd hand armrest for cheaper than that. If you look on eBay though you can buy just the catch and so you can just replace that.
With regards to the rear wiper you can tell that is naff as it's at the wrong side, it's resting position should be on the drivers side of the window, for this you have to buy a new wiper motor which is a fairly easy diy fix.
 
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ab1702 said:
You could get a fully working 2nd hand armrest for cheaper than that. If you look on eBay though you can buy just the catch and so you can just replace that.
With regards to the rear wiper you can tell that is naff as it's at the wrong side, it's resting position should be on the drivers side of the window, for this you have to buy a new wiper motor which is a fairly easy diy fix.
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Cheers. I couldn't find the catch alone for an A3..lots for other VAG models. I'll have a look at the wiper..!
 
Bingo! Have ordered some bits from Amazon. Just need an easy fix for the roof cover
 
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Got a weird squeak from the car when starting and after checking the rear wiper it is indeed seized! I bought it from a mechanic friend and lucky he is happy to fix little niggles FOC
 
ab1702 said:
No don't buy it
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Thanks bud! Having had the steering wheel in my BMW recovered by Royal steering wheels it makes such a difference but really want a more modern MF wheel as the base.
 
nates said:
looks like another niggle is your rear wiper, plenty of advice on here you can find to fix that however. Xenons too, nice!
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It's easy to rotate it 180 degrees just take off the plastic that is on wiper nozzle and there is a 13mm bolt to unbolt, then if as said above is seized, you need to replace (or check connections) on your wiper motor, (take off the plastic cover on inside off tailgate and it's just on top, 3 10mm bolts to get off)

Adeel43 said:
Just read up on the armrest catch and it's a NEW lid that's required! Looking about they are circa £100. That's crazy considering the armrest is ok. More research required. Still not found any info on the panoramic roof cover catch l.
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check on gearbest for 5 quids you will get the catch/handle, but you need to be an DIY to do it because as far as I know, you need to separate the plastic from upper upholstery part. If not check locally on scrap yards or ebay.
 
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Marek196c said:
It's easy to rotate it 180 degrees just take off the plastic that is on wiper nozzle and there is a 13mm bolt to unbolt, then if as said above is seized, you need to replace (or check connections) on your wiper motor, (take off the plastic cover on inside off tailgate and it's just on top, 3 10mm bolts to get off)

check on gearbest for 5 quids you will get the catch/handle, but you need to be an DIY to do it because as far as I know, you need to separate the plastic from upper upholstery part. If not check locally on scrap yards or ebay.
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Thanks. Very useful advice. I've ordered a handle from a company in Germany do hopefully can resolve it. I'll pass the other info on to my mechanic when the car goes back to him.

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Matt268 that's very generous of you. I'll drop you a PM.

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i just bought a new armreat straight from germany at a cost off £40 but not 100 % sure if it will fit my 57 plate S3 as it looks different from mine the more i look at it so i will jot down yhe item number here and you can have a look on ebay and see if it would fit your car and if it doesnt fit mine well u can have it for the price i paid and postage to you . if it does fit i will keep it and then i will have an armreat with the iphone 3g cradle in it if thats any good to you .you can always get back to me ( 201559331158 )
 
ch1z64 said:
i just bought a new armreat straight from germany at a cost off £40 but not 100 % sure if it will fit my 57 plate S3 as it looks different from mine the more i look at it so i will jot down yhe item number here and you can have a look on ebay and see if it would fit your car and if it doesnt fit mine well u can have it for the price i paid and postage to you . if it does fit i will keep it and then i will have an armreat with the iphone 3g cradle in it if thats any good to you .you can always get back to me ( 201559331158 )
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Thanks for the offer. I had a quick look and the armrest you bought is black textured fabric and the one I have right now is black leather. I've bought a new handle so hopefully that will work bit if not I'll probably just put some magnets in as some others have done.
 
no probs mate hope it works out for you , if I mind rightly I am sure I seen a video on you tube showing you how to fix the clip
 
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Adeel43 said:
Thanks for the offer. I had a quick look and the armrest you bought is black textured fabric and the one I have right now is black leather. I've bought a new handle so hopefully that will work bit if not I'll probably just put some magnets in as some others have done.
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Just in case instead of magnets: eBay
 
Having the same armrest lid problem on my 2009 A3. Can anyone kindly link me to the latch mechanism?
 
. you might want to take a look at this video but it is in german hope this might help you take the old clasp out and put a new one in . check out Total Technik on you tube too to see how to remove the lid cover first
 
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this is the link for the removal off lid first.
 
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Adeel43 said:
Thanks!

If I need that metal clip I have not ordered the right part Thanks for the links!


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As metal clip you can go to hardware store and take the 1mm thick rod and bend it
 
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Had a go a taking the bobbles off my drivers seat. The alcantara has suffered cosmetically after 100k miles! I bought a JML clothes shaver for about £6 and set to work. Looks much better already but need a a bit more work.

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And a few pics!
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