Any experiences with A3 3.2 Quattro ?

CanadaA3wales · Aug 31, 2020

Anyone had this car, they seem really good value for money, I have found a few along my travels for less than £4000.00
Seems like an amazing deal, 3.2 Quattro and some less than 70,000 miles.

I take it the car is a gas guzzler, but they seem super fast, or can be made to be so much faster.

I may be looking to get one cheap and do some work on it, or even a ready to drive one.

I am just wondering why they seem so cheap, I know they are old, seems they stopped making them around 2007.

-Ju- · Aug 31, 2020

I've had 2 and loved both of them.
The introduction of the S3 killed them off as the sales dropped like a stone.
Very different to an S3 with its power delivery but very addictive with the V6 noise and at the time was the only A3 to get the option of DSG and quattro.
Its an old car now being at least 13 years old so take that into account but the main issues are,

Timing chain stretch
DSG mechatronics
Halden issues
Downpipe flexi pipes
Hesitation at 2k.....solved by software upgrade

If you buy wisely and don't mind the low mpg.....you'll love it!

CanadaA3wales · Aug 31, 2020

Thanks Ju
They seem great, have seen them as low as 3500.00 with full leather.
I would imagine they may have problems with that age.
I am thinking of restoring one back to showroom condition if I can find a great one for around 3000.00 with low miles as I will have to take into account the issues you have mentioned, also other age related issues.
I think I would go for the manual as I dont think this car will be at its best with a DSG box.

I am now thinking about selling my 2014 A3 2.0 to buy one.

Bigjase88 · Aug 31, 2020

Its basically a golf R32 but in sheeps clothing.

they are naturally aspirated obvs so tuning isn’t straight forward. It not like a turbo and a remap will give you another 30%.

if you want decent power you need to bolt on a turbo or a supercharger.

naturally aspirated v6 though so sounds amazing. Proper engine. I love n/a but it’s a dying breed in this save the panda era!

-Ju- · Aug 31, 2020

I'd go dsg every time, I know you have the added worry over potential repairs but the 2 go together so well.
The V6 has great low down torque which complements the auto box. It was the first automatic car I'd owned and just couldn't go back now

The memories.....

JohnM100 · Aug 31, 2020

Good discussion but this is maybe 8P?

CanadaA3wales · Aug 31, 2020

Didnt realise it had an asperated engine, but fitting a turbo wont be too hard.
This has got me on the ropes now, could make a £3000.00 car into something really special
The only thing I would miss is the steering controls, but that can be added with time.

TYb · Aug 31, 2020

I had the same engine in a TT, it wasn’t silly fast but made a great noise. Brace yourself for increased fuel bills and make sure the dsg has been maintained properly.

I had a mechatronic failure which ended up very pricey.

The other option is to consider a TT, really liked the mk1 interior. The dashboard cluster can fail in the TT but not too expensive to have repaired.

I just found a great car on Auto Trader:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202008273005227

Bigjase88 · Aug 31, 2020

CanadaA3wales said:
Didnt realise it had an asperated engine, but fitting a turbo wont be too hard.
This has got me on the ropes now, could make a £3000.00 car into something really special
The only thing I would miss is the steering controls, but that can be added with time.

If you didn’t know the 3.2l v6 was naturally aspirated then your next claim of fitting a turbo won’t be too hard sounds a bit unbelievable.

I think supercharging is the route most go down but supercharging kits are probably the purchase price of the car and somewhat!

CanadaA3wales · Aug 31, 2020

Bigjase88 said:
If you didn’t know the 3.2l v6 was naturally aspirated then your next claim of fitting a turbo won’t be too hard sounds a bit unbelievable.

I think supercharging is the route most go down but supercharging kits are probably the purchase price of the car and somewhat!

Oh really, I thought a few parts and you could adapt a turbo, maybe having second thoughts on that then.

I really dislike the TT shape, I bet the thing flys but really cant get around the beetle type shape, for me its just not inspiring.

Will do some research on adding a turbo or supercharger to see how much I will be looking at as it will help on the fuel bills and make the thing go alot faster.

Damo S · Sep 1, 2020

My previous car. owned it for 9 years before buying the S3. Its fairly fast but too heavy to feel fast despite the 246bhp output. With the big lump in the front it has a tendency to understeer. That said, it feels pretty luxurious, solid, perhaps a touch lifeless, but not twitchy on the road compared with the s3.
That exhaust note is fantastic. MPG wise I was getting 30 plus when not booting it.

Mine was a manual, the clutch finally gave up after 140k miles but the dual mass failed well before then. The main problems were the standard annoying stuff like window mechanisms, rad / fan / water pump failing, wiper motor, maf sensor, clogged up throttle body, coil packs, lambdas, wheel bearings. The engine itself seems pretty bullet proof in standard form.

The best route to more power is a rotrex supercharger kit. They take them up to about 450bhp but at a cost of about 6 grand. Turbo kits are also available but they are even more.

Its a lot of car for the money. I thought about supercharging mine and somewhat regret not doing it. But then its a huge power hike and may well have ended up killing the engine / transmission, meaning that 6 grand was down the toilet.

Bigjase88 · Sep 1, 2020

CanadaA3wales said:
Oh really, I thought a few parts and you could adapt a turbo, maybe having second thoughts on that then.

I really dislike the TT shape, I bet the thing flys but really cant get around the beetle type shape, for me its just not inspiring.

Will do some research on adding a turbo or supercharger to see how much I will be looking at as it will help on the fuel bills and make the thing go alot faster.

The original Audi TT is a future classic, couple more years and the values are going to sky rocket. I have a 225 nogaro blue TT sitting in the garage. Got it for the sum of £1300 a couple of years ago 99k miles with full Audi history, just a bit tatty on the outside. Decent project none the less, it is just gathering dust at the minute (and value)

JohnM100 · Sep 1, 2020

Bigjase88 said:
The original Audi TT is a future classic, couple more years and the values are going to sky rocket. I have a 225 nogaro blue TT sitting in the garage. Got it for the sum of £1300 a couple of years ago 99k miles with full Audi history, just a bit tatty on the outside. Decent project none the less, it is just gathering dust at the minute (and value)

At that age, do check you rear tie arms.

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Any experiences with A3 3.2 Quattro ?

CanadaA3wales

Canadian living in South Wales - Audi A3 8V 150BHP

-Ju-

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CanadaA3wales

Canadian living in South Wales - Audi A3 8V 150BHP

Bigjase88

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-Ju-

Well-Known Member

JohnM100

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CanadaA3wales

Canadian living in South Wales - Audi A3 8V 150BHP

TYb

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Bigjase88

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CanadaA3wales

Canadian living in South Wales - Audi A3 8V 150BHP

Damo S

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Bigjase88

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JohnM100

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