Audi A3 Saloon Advice

[versavius]

Hi everyone, newbie here my apologies if i have posted in the wrong section but im after a little advice.

I am looking to buy a 2nd hand Audi and i have kind of decided on an Audi A3 1.6 TDI Sport Saloon 4dr, its a 2014, diesel model, great condition, full history and even has two months of warranty left.

The current millage is mostly motorway driving by the current owner and has done 130k miles on the clock.

So is the millage too high or do you think it is ok? I do about 10-12k a year on average and i would look to keep the car until it is uneconomical to repair. The car is currently priced at £8800.

What do you think everyone, should i avoid it?

A bit more about the car i have attached below.

Running costs
Urban mpg
62.8 mpg
Extra Urban mpg
83.1 mpg
Average mpg
74.3 mpg
CO2 emissions
99g/km
Annual Tax
£0
Performance
Engine power
108 bhp
Engine size
1598 cc
Brochure Engine size
1.6 litres
Acceleration (0-60mph)
10.7 seconds
Top speed
126 mph
Drivetrain
Front Wheel Drive

 

[Jimbbobw1977]

Serious miles for the age!! Depends really at that kind of mileage repairs may appear, worn suspension steering components, DPF replacements, clutch & DMF - diesels used to be great for high mileage’s but the extra environmental parts need to replaced. I’m not saying now but things you may need to consider in the future.

If it was me I probably wouldn’t for that price and mileage...

You could probably find a far lower mileage petrol that would be less costly in the long run

 

[versavius]

Thanks Jimbbobw1977 that was my concern (part replacement on the milleage), my concern with this car is due to the high milleage in a year or two parts will start to go due to wear and tear, my current car i spent £8000 on and had it from 2005 to this month, went from 19,000 miles to 147,000 miles.

With regards to Audi petrol / diesel is there a specific milleage i should go for i.e.under 100k?

How are audi's in regards to wear and tear costs etc ?

 

[Reltub]

In general most diesels are fine past 100,000 as long as they have a full service hirstory and have been reasonably well looked after, and if this is the case I wouldn’t be worried.

With regards to costs of parts, Audi is a premium brand so expect premium prices!

Take a look at this:

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/99536/high-mileage-cars-should-you-buy-one

 

[DrEskimo]

I would be more worried about only doing 10k in a diesel. Particularly a used one with high mileage....

Unless your journey is predominately motorway I would be worried about inevitable repair costs to the EGR and DPF.

 

[Daveotto]

Welcome to the forum.

130k in under three years is a hell of a lot of mileage (around 1000 miles a week) and even if the car has been well looked after you are likely to run into a lot of wear and tear replacement.

Personally I would not be considering it but if you are still keen I would ask to see the detailed service record and possibly be paying for an independent car inspector from the AA or similar to be giving it a thorough inspection

 

[RichardT]

You say it has some warranty left, but the standard Audi warranty is 3years/60K miles. So unless it has some sort of special cover, it's out.
Buying a very high mileage car is a risk. But I had a Honda Accord which did 220,000 miles in six years and nothing really went wrong with it.
I would say that £8800 is pretty cheap so obviously is taking in consideration the high mileage.
But to be honest, if you can afford a bit more I would look some more.

 

[versavius]

Thanks for the input everyone, still early days but yes still having a good look at whats out there My main concern is spending alot on a car with high milleage then having to spend a good deal on replacements parts from wear and tear. I know that is normal i just dont want to start spending a fortune, i would rather spend a bit more and not have to worry so much and go with a lower milleage car.

 

[Jimbbobw1977]

I would expect at that mileage it to be some type of company car and probably well serviced - at the same time very well used. Problem is through components on a modern diesel are just not cheap to replace at all. It wouldn’t be to bad if you were doing small mileage from now on in it - if you did want it you would really need to scrutinise the all the previuous service bills, what’s been replaced, what is likely to need to be replaced in the future... have you got a link to the website you are looking at for it?

 

[Daveotto]

Yes this is the car:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201709169373713?sort=price-asc&body-type=Saloon&radius=1500&make=AUDI&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&postcode=e140bq&year-from=2012&maximum-badge-engine-size=1.8&advertising-location=at_cars&page=1


i was also looking at this one a 2012 model for £5300 which had 99,000 miles on it, still high millage, different type of car, just less milleage but driven over a longer period

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201707117271638?onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&maximum-badge-engine-size=1.8&year-from=2012&make=AUDI&radius=1500&postcode=e140bq&sort=price-asc&advertising-location=at_cars&page=1


Any thoughts ?

Saloon is the looker without doubt but the one most likely to give you value for money in the long term is the older SB (assuming the service record looks sound)

 

[B5NUT]

As what someone else has commented on, the warranty has long since gone on that car. Also with that amount of mileage you would struggle to get any 3rd party warranty.

That sort of mileage will put a lot of people off, so buyers will be limited I would push for a lower price.

 

[Matt Titanium]

People get hung up on diesel economy, but at 10k miles a year, the difference in fuel cost between a petrol and diesel is relatively insignificant compared to other ownership costs. I would go sensible mileage petrol for your money.

High mileage cars with ever more complicated engines, electronics and no warranty are luck of the draw. It could be a bargain and give you 5 years trouble free motoring. But if I bought a 130k mile car for £8k I would be worried about getting a few months motoring then possible major problems, then considering if the car was a total loss case and not worth repairing at that mileage. A £4k repair bill would still leave you with a car worth only £8k.

A mate at work had a 90k mile A4 1.8 petrol with a cam chain tensioner that failed, the chain jumped and wrecked his cams and head. Big Big bucks.
Over the years I drove three cheap Ford DI diesels into the ground and the bodywork always fell apart whilst the engines were still good at 150k miles plus.
I also had a Mondeo TDCI from 30k to 95k miles, serviced every 6k miles. The fuel pump let go, blocked the injectors etc. etc. and was going to cost around £2k to repair at an indie - nigh on impossible to repair myself at home due to needing specialist tools and programming. At 6 years old it was worth more in salvage than to repair. But £7k for 4 years and 65k miles in a fairly new car was still great value for money motoring.

That car could be a bargain or it could cost you a fortune.

 

[deanshaw24]

Unfortunately these engines haven’t really been tested on high mileage yet. If that was a renown 1.9 tdi VAG engine I wouldn’t even hesitate on buying it even with 200k miles.

In theory newer parts, newer technology the engine should last well and be fine. Just bear in mind newer technology just means more things to go wrong and will be expensive if it does. I always think about selling a car before I buy one. Would it be easy to sell on a few years with 150k+ mileage? Probably not.

 

[Carefree69]

Typical.

I've just traded in my 2010 A3 2.0 TDI Sportback Sport in immaculate condition for £6300. And, as well as a full service history I had the cambelt/water pump and thermostat changed 2 years ago AND it had just 49,300 genuine miles on the clock.

I know I could have got a bit more for it, but I just couldn't be bothered with the hassle of putting it up for sale.

 

[saq85]

You may want to remove them autotrader links as it has your post code in there. E14...

 

[Carefree69]

You may want to remove them autotrader links as it has your post code in there. E14...

Who is this meant for, me or the OP?

My car was never advertised on Autotrader.

 

[Rideen]

If VAG diesels are as good as before I wouldn't be scared of buying a high mileage one as long as I have money in my pocket prepared for a new DPF.

My previous 2.0 TDI had 200k miles on the clock and I drove it for 5 years (not that it didn't break though but I did buy engine that was considered unreliable).

 

[saq85]

Who is this meant for, me or the OP?

My car was never advertised on Autotrader.

Sorry i should have quoted the message, now its gone missing. It was aimed at whoever put the autotrader links, it had the postcode of who ever was searching... to show nearest cars etc.