Audi A3 1.6 as my first car?

Joelksmith

Joelksmith

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Hi guys,

I'm turning 18 on the 24th of this month, and I've finally been able to start driving as I've now got a just under full time job. I have my theory in December 14th and having about 10 - 15 lessons then doing my practical. Anyway, I'm dead set on buying an Audi A3 as my first car, as I don't want just some old banger I want something very nice and something I'll be proud to be seen in.

I've looked at insurance quotes are they're around £4,000 for me (I don't know if It will get cheaper or what when I'm 18) but I'm happy to wait 3 - 4 months to save up for the car, and happy paying up to £500 a month for insurance.

So what I'm here for, is advice and help on whether or not I should be even considering getting an A3 as my first car. Also I am going to ask to be put up to 40 hours a week after Christmas so I'll be earning a lot more.

Also I'll be putting got my Dad, Mother, Brother and possibly my uncle as named drivers.

Cheers,

Joel
 
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audi a3 1.6 P-reg in cactus green was my fiirst car when I passed my driving test. Was fine, but incredibly slow, still managed to write it off though...
 
Just read your post again. Why oh why would you even consider paying 4k a year for insurance. By a scooter, save the cash and buy an s3 when you're 21!
 
ouch, i complained about having to pay £1500 a year for my first years insurance. if you're that dead set though then good luck! yea dont expect much in terms of performance out of the 1.6's but still nice to look at.
 
Lavis89 said:
ouch, i complained about having to pay £1500 a year for my first years insurance. if you're that dead set though then good luck! yea dont expect much in terms of performance out of the 1.6's but still nice to look at.
Click to expand...

What 1.6 would you guys recommend I get? I do like the look of the MK4 Golfs
 
Let me give you a little insight. I am 23, drove a little fiesta from 17-18. I turned 18 and got myself an audi a3 1.6 from team valley car sales near newcastle. It was a 4 door and when I drove it 20 miles away from the garage the fault light came up. Thinking it was something small I carried on the extra 20 home and called in at my local garage. I bought the car for 4k back then. The ecu and the throttle body was f*** and was a major cost to fix. I took it back to the garage and demanded a refund but they only gave me 3k back. I lost 1k in 24 hours. Phoned trading standards but they didn't care. So anyway, I bought another a3 because I liked them so much. A 1.6 se model had climate control and armrest. Great car! Only came with 1 key though which I lost. I then had to claim on my insurance and because it was going to cost more changing the locks and the ecu they decided to pay out. That was my own doing but that car was great. I then bought another 1.6 3 door from Liverpool which I own for 3 years now. It's a nice car, safe and it brakes when you want it to! However I have had several problems with spark plug coils, throttle body, thermostat housing, starter motor, several sensors, the fan and several over issues. The fault light In mine seems to come on if you even cough in my car. My parents own a3's the same and they never have problems. It is the luck of the draw, you take a chance when buying so it's best to check it thourghly when you buy! It does lack a lot of power though especially with a car full you will notice the difference. Never buy one from a private seller and then at least you have a chance at getting it fixed or some of your money back! Like any car you buy you do your checks, put a wet cloth over exhaust and see if smoke comes out anywhere if it does you have an exhaust problem.
 
You may be better off buying a lesser engined/power car to start with, if you start with a great looking Audi eg, then if you do have any altercations you will not have lost a decent example. Save a bit more money every month and put it towards a decent Audi/insurance when you are 21. Also the A3 1.6 isnt the best engine to have, no real gains from tuning it either.
 
Don't get a diesel though. I don't like cars that sound like vans. Just sell your mothers house and buy an r8. I'm sure with the change you could keep her In a B & b for a few nights :)
 
ticketyboo90 said:
Don't get a diesel though. I don't like cars that sound like vans. Just sell your mothers house and buy an r8. I'm sure with the change you could keep her In a B & b for a few nights :)
Click to expand...

Why not?

The Diesel engine offers better performance, better mpg, and lower insurance than a 1.6.
Is also easily tunable should you wish in future.

While they may sound like a bag of spanners from outside when started, the TDI PD engine in my golf is smoother and quieter when cruising than my S3.
 
personally i'ld reccomend something **** and as cheap as possible on insurance for your first couple of years and wait till you can get a 1.8T a3. it's a total pain in the *** and probably not what you want to hear but worth it.

my first few cars were a 1 litre 106(crap)
1.4 mk2 astra (crap but very reliable)
306 (crap)
another 306 (even worse than the last one, but only cost £50 and last 6 months)
1.8 mk2 golf (loved it but unreliable)
then a 1 litre mk1 punto for a few months whilst tracking down my a3.

None of those cars cost me more than £300 barr the 106 which set me back a grand.
you'll probably be much happier and save a tonne of money in the long term + there are lots of enthusiasts with 1.8T a3/s3's so you should be able to find one that has been well looked after, then with all the money you've saved (if you do save it) you'll be able to afford a nice set of wheels + rubber, some paint if the car needs it and have plenty left over to play with
 
4 Grand! Thats crazy! I would go for a 1.1 or something to be honest, my first car was a KA which was a 1.3, propa womens car but propa fun to drive, good round corners, its like a little go kart and the insurance wasnt too bad either. I agree with others wait till you can get decent insurance on a s3, i know its long bit it will be worth the wait as ive just found out.
 
JimS3 said:
Why not?

The Diesel engine offers better performance, better mpg, and lower insurance than a 1.6.
Is also easily tunable should you wish in future.

While they may sound like a bag of spanners from outside when started, the TDI PD engine in my golf is smoother and quieter when cruising than my S3.
Click to expand...

i have to agree there, my cuz has a 1.6 zetec s tdci 2010 with a remap and it goes like sh*t of a shovel, if you drove it you would not believe its a diesel, and its actually really quiet. My next car may well have to be a diesel.
 
My story? I had a 2.0 mondeo as my first car, my dad got it for £250 and built it back up! Cost me £1200 to insure but was on my dads insurance. Try and get your insurance on your parents name for the first 2 years or so. I wrote the mondeo off and then bought a fiesta 1.25! I loved that car soo much! Kept it for 3 years until I turned 21... Then I went out and bought myself this s3! I'm 23 now and I never look back saying "I ruined my rep!" Instead I used to say "let these kids have their fun, wait till I drop a wicked car!!" Now I have an S3 that puts Porsches to shame..
 
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My first car was a rover 25. Now without laughing too much, when I got it back in 2008 it was only 6 years old, 50k miles and cost less than a grand. In this, it had a 100bhp 1.4 which was surprisingly nippy. Swap the suspension for a zr set and you've got a half decent handling car as long as you don't lift off going round corners (mine tried to kill me a few times!) but best thing about them is they are built like Lego, if you crashed it it's easy to fix.
But it was very cheap to insure.
I've had a few other cars since then but like many on here, I'm 22 and driving an s3.

You should also look at doing pass plus / advanced driving course. The latter really brings your insurance down.
 
Joel
Good luck on your theory next month,after an Audi as a first car is a good call and paying for it yourself even better,I personally would wait but you need to hear. it from the horses mouth (an insurer)
Ticketyboos right that it can be the look of the draw,can be with sellers as well,I bought my S3 from Audi I was back within six months with problems with the car despite their 299 point check blx,best bet is get an AA/RAC vehicle inspection for peace of mind as you may have a ten year old car but brand new Audi parts. will be going on.
Good call putting named drivers on,my son passed last year and it plummeted with named drivers also a box fitted and he actually got refunded monies later for sensible driving.
 
£4k for a year?? my god how expensive... I pay £700 a year for my s3 here in finland... but our tax-system is totally ****ed up lol
 
Surely an S3 can't be much more expensive to insure than 4 grand!.... Just saying.

On a serious note, no matter how good a driver you think you are, or could be... It's still a learning experience in your first few years of driving, so you are better off buying a beater car and building up some no claims for the upgrade at a later date. Driving on the roads today is totally different to when I passed my test approx 18 years ago, so many idiots on the road, and it's them that you need to look out for!
 
I've got right now a 1.8 N/A A3. Is a lot less laggy than the 1.6 but of course way way slower then the 1.8T and 1.9tdi. IMO good for a first car. Less expensive crap to break than on the turbo'd (including diesel) cars, overall the engines are old and shouldn't be expensive at all to maintain and pretty much every guy who has seen atleast one german engine inside out should easily know his way around them. You will however always drool over 1.8T-s and S3-s and will every now and then find yourself thinking why you didn't wait and bought a 1.9tdi or 1.8T. There aren't really any obvious performance tuning options either, it is what it is. Yet I think it will suffice for a first car. I have no clue about the insurance stuff in your country so I didn't take that into consideration.
 
It was a good few years ago now but when i was in a similar situation lloking for a 1st car i looked at what was the lightest quickest car in the lowest ins category i could get cheap insurance for. Options i had then were cars like citroen Ax gt 1.4, diahatsu charade gtti 1.0 turbo, i ended up with a suzuki swift gti 1.3 16v, 101hp in a car that weighed as much as a crisp packet (0-60 in 8.4-8.7s?) grp 11 insurance on that also, was worth it imo.
 
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