Buying an A3 - advice needed

[batwad]

My quest for a TDi quattro is progressing; I've driven two today and should be going to see another one tomorrow :thumbsup: The first one was a disappointment; it didn't have any leather, no CD player and some of the interior was broken yet the dealer wanted £12k!

The second one was pretty neat though (link to Autotrader ad: http://tinyurl.com/npt4a) From the photos I thought it was black but it's actually a very dark metallic blue. All very nice but prompted a couple of questions.

1. On my current car (Pug 306) the engine management light comes on for a few seconds with the ignition as a self-test. This A3 didn't. Is it supposed to or is this a potential problem?
2. One of the foglights was broken, the glass smashed. Any idea how much a replacement is?

There was a minor crack on the rear bumper, but nowt major. Haggled to £10,200 but walked away cos I wasn't too sure, and it didn't have cruise control and for some reason I never got that "wow, I must buy this" feeling that I usually get

I've just spotted this one which I shall go and see tomorrow, which looks pretty much the same but with cruise control

What do you reckon folks, am I being too picky? Will I be a lemon if I keep hunting?

 

[madvw]

all dash lights briefly illuminate before you start the car. Sounds more than a bit dodgy to me.

 

[rickparmar]

if you are going to spend that much mate, i think you should consider a s3

 

[MarcA3Turbo]

Hey,

try www.micksgarage.co.uk for the foglight. I got mine for about €60, whatever that is in GBP, very quick delivery too.

Marc

 

[batwad]

if you are going to spend that much mate, i think you should consider a s3

Ha ha, don't you start as well! My flatmate's been trying to persuade me to get an S3 for the last six months.

I've been through it all, and £10k is the top-end of my budget and there's no way I'm getting an 52/03-plate S3 for that. Well, one that isn't an absolute dog anyway

Plus the extra running costs will take me to pieces. The TDi is a nice trade-off between quattro fun and sensibility. Now I just need to find one.

Incidentally, does anyone know any good places to check other than Autotrader?