Bye bye S3

golf

golf

***** rent boy
VCDS Map User
Joined
Jan 17, 2007
Messages
1,556
Reaction score
3
Points
36
Location
London
Website
jxl.co.uk
Well, I managed to sell the S3 the other day, and I've now picked up a 54 plate Mazda RX-8 231. I was actually a bit sad watching it drive off down the road even though I know I've been very critical of it, because it has been utterly dependable for the 18 months I owned it, and it was always my (attainable) dream car when I was learning to drive.

Didn't get anywhere near the original price, but it had to go to make way for the new car. The RX-8 is a different beast, revs to 9k, handles like it's on rails and is RWD. Handling/performance of the RX-8 is definitely better than the S3, but the S3 is so much better built! Didn't think it would bother me at the time, but the difference between the interiors and panels are worlds apart. I thought the S3 was thirsty averaging 21mpg but the RX8 is an absolute monster and I'm getting around 16mpg no matter how I drive.

Sold the S3 to a chap who was fairly clued up and I told him about this place, so it's probably not the last you'll be hearing from Y561.
 
Good luck with the new car, got to admit was not a fan. Has to be the worst car I had ever owned, although I have to agree on the handling front.
 
audi upgrades
congrats golf.... hope the new car stays a little longer than the rest :)

whats ya thoughts on the power/torque of the Mazda, ive had a play with a few but never really bin threatened by one pace wise
 
1animal1 said:
congrats golf.... hope the new car stays a little longer than the rest :)

whats ya thoughts on the power/torque of the Mazda, ive had a play with a few but never really bin threatened by one pace wise
Click to expand...

Thats because a fat jogger could burn one off the lights
 
16mpg and they drink oil more than the S3`s do.

Considered one when they 1st came out, even got VIP tickets to the motorshow to see it there tempting as it was Im glad I didn`t buy a new one as prices dropped quickly. They make a good 2nd hand buy imo
 
Yeah watch the oil buddy, my mate who works for Mazda told me everytime you fill up with fuel you'll be putting a drop of oil in... Trait of the rotary engine apparently. Thanks for your top knowledge, been very helpful more than once to me buddy. Stick around won't ya!
 
They are nice, but RX8 s get beaten by a mapped S3. not much of a monster in terms of power, then again everyone to their own taste. good luck
 
chris_marshall said:
Good luck with the new car, got to admit was not a fan. Has to be the worst car I had ever owned, although I have to agree on the handling front.
Click to expand...

I've heard of many horror stories with these engines, I'm awaiting the day when my rotors give up the ghost and a new engine is required. What problems did you have with yours?

1animal1 said:
whats ya thoughts on the power/torque of the Mazda, ive had a play with a few but never really bin threatened by one pace wise
Click to expand...

There is literally no torque especially until 5000 RPM, but it seems pretty nippy, would expect it to be slightly faster than a standard S3 in a straight line.

finesse said:
Stick around and share your knowledge, congrats on the sale!

16MPG :O:O
Click to expand...

I'll be sticking around, I've been on this site since I bought the A4 in January 2007, so it'll be difficult to stay away! And 16mpg is if I drive fairly sedately, as soon as you rag it the needle drops faster than an Essex girls knickers.

fran-s3 said:
Yeah watch the oil buddy, my mate who works for Mazda told me everytime you fill up with fuel you'll be putting a drop of oil in... Trait of the rotary engine apparently. Thanks for your top knowledge, been very helpful more than once to me buddy. Stick around won't ya!
Click to expand...

Yep, I keep an eye on the oil, but it doesn't seem too bad. Thanks for the kind words, I'll still be logging in every day to see what's happening in the world of A3/S3's.

S3KO4 said:
They are nice, but RX8 s get beaten by a mapped S3. not much of a monster in terms of power, then again everyone to their own taste. good luck
Click to expand...

True, it's not the quickest, but the way it corners is unreal, you can go through the twisties at a ridiculous speed, most cars would struggle to keep up with it on B roads.
 
I think they look quite good, get some pics up of the car mate, will be good to see it :)
 
i have considered a 8 as the 4 doors would be handy with the little one, my only conceren is the quality id like to think i could get somethin on par, does it have leather etc?
 
lots of people selling up this year already :bye:

wouldnt touch an rx8 with a bargepole, not even the prodrive editions, they look awesome but have the reliability of a renault 5 gtt lol

have been told of their handling though and it was all positive comments, 16mpg though, ouch!!
 
Problems I encountered was corrosion, its common around the centre rear brake light and below the doors, then the power steering played up, ended up being a knuckle just needed removing, a clean up and re grease but still annoying, then finally the rotors where on the way out lost all power and sounded like a bag of bolts so chopped it in for the S3.
 
Shame to see it go Golf, Gald youre happy with the new motor and wish you the best with it.
Now get some pictures of the RX8 up!
 
I know what you mean about the S3 build quality.

I'm loving your old S3! There is much life left in this motor ;)

A few jobs done in the last few days :)

And some summer rims going on soon, I've had them for a while just been waiting for the right car :)

I hope your loving your new motor.
 
Dave :beerchug:
Good to see you signed up to the forum. So, what 'jobs' have you done to the car? Hope you're enjoying it more than I am my new car, I'm getting 180 miles to a full tank which is killing any enthusiasm I have for it.

I'm thinking of returning to the S3 in a few months, and I personally, think you got yourself a bargain!
 
Yes it's a lovely car :)

Just some minor work to be expected on a car 9 years old :)

The oil breather had fallen apart, turbo gasket, rocker cover gasket, westfalia removable tow bar, 4 wheel alignment, light bulbs, rear tyres, and a rattle.

I'm a bit fussy! It's gone to s good home and it's in good company, I also have one of the last Corrado VR6 and I recently fitted the Vag 1.8t into my BMW mini track car :)

My mate is a painter and we are considering a full repaint for the S3 the only problem is will be to worried to use it then!!
 
Golf, you'll be back in an S3 before you know it, just can't keep away, seems like a 'love' 'hate' relationship... Lol :)
 
luckydave said:
The oil breather had fallen apart, turbo gasket, rocker cover gasket, westfalia removable tow bar, 4 wheel alignment, light bulbs, rear tyres, and a rattle.

My mate is a painter and we are considering a full repaint for the S3 the only problem is will be to worried to use it then!!
Click to expand...

Blimey, you've not hung about! So have you sorted the blowing exhaust? What light bulbs did you change and what rattle?

finesse said:
Let's see the RX-8 :p:p
Click to expand...

Not mine, but it's pretty much identical to this.

%21Bo%284jzw%21mk%7E$%28KGrHqMH-CMEu%2891EnY5BLnQsIOP+w%7E%7E_12.JPG



leggy said:
Golf, you'll be back in an S3 before you know it, just can't keep away, seems like a 'love' 'hate' relationship... Lol :)
Click to expand...

It's certainly looking that way, or a VAG car at the very least. I really don't see me keeping the RX-8 too long, excellent car but a terrible ownership prospect.
 
My mate has an RX8. Nice cars. Great handling and brakes but the mapped S3 has the straight line legs. I'm supprised at your 16mpg? You must drive in traffic alot? That can't be right if not!
 
The RX-8 is a really nice car, but the rotary engine is its downfall. Thirsty, unreliable and high-maintenance are just three of the not-so-good points about the engine.

It drives beautifully and you can swing the tail out pretty easily (don't know if that's good or bad!) but in the back of your mind you're just worrying that the engine will go bang at any time. It's not exactly a rare occurence. I do a lot of short journeys, and apparently 16mpg is about average for that sort of driving. There's a guy on the RX8 OC who lives in central London and gets 12mpg in the low powered 192 :faint:

I only do around 100 miles a week but if I'm going to spend £50 a week on fuel then I may as well get an S4 with a bulletproof engine and better fuel economy.
 
16mpg is a joke for a car with 231bhp! I mean if it had 400bhp, then you wouldn't mind, even driving at snails pace around town. Glad I never got one, as I was tempted to trade my S3 in for one back when they we're a few years old.
 
jojo said:
16mpg is a joke for a car with 231bhp! I mean if it had 400bhp, then you wouldn't mind, even driving at snails pace around town. Glad I never got one, as I was tempted to trade my S3 in for one back when they we're a few years old.
Click to expand...

Yep that's the thing, for the performance the fuel economy is absolutely atrocious. The most annoying thing about it is the RX-8 fanboys on their forums. So deluded it's unreal, I've only made around 40 posts but I've got a reputation as being the miserable pessimist because I dare to question the ****** reliability of the rotary. I posted that the piston engine was far more reliable than the rotary and I was called a troll :tocktock:

I thought the S3 boys on here were cringeworthy at times, but the RX8 OC are much worse. They don't mind the fuel economy, or the fact that many of them have had to get new CAT's (£1000+), engines (£3500+) and coils, leads, spark plugs (£400) every 30,000 miles, and say it's all alright because of the way it drives and looks. Madness I tell you!
 
Ha ha, I was thinking of going for the 350Z next, always fancied one, but insurance will be high because of my age. I'm not sure what else is out there, I was thinking of getting something cheap and cheerful like a Renault Clio Sport, but then another part of me is saying go crazy and spend all your money on a massive N/A engine with many cylinders and unnecessary noise. I can hear the R32 calling me again.

Any suggestions lads?
 
golf, post the link to the rx8oc forum, interesting to see what life is like over there?
 
Welly said:
V8 M3??

Yeah baby, now they are SEXY!! :wub:
Click to expand...

I don't think I could afford one just yet, and no one will insure me on it seeing as I'm 23. A mate's uncle has one and it's absolutely awesome. Looks, sounds and drives superbly. And he gets 18mpg in town :motz:

finesse said:
golf, post the link to the rx8oc forum, interesting to see what life is like over there?
Click to expand...

rx8ownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php. I don't want to link directly to it as the moderator's will see the referring URL and trace it back to me and probably ban me! Also all similar topics are merged into one, so the engine failure thread is over 30 pages long. So rather than several different threads by different people which is easier to digest there's a massively tedious 31 pages to trawl through.

Oh, and to get proper access they charge you £30 a year! This in itself I wouldn't mind, but the mods and 'comittee members' ram this down your throat at every given opportunity. Their marketing ploy is that you get 10% off certain retailers but the truth is you can get these anyway regardless of being a fully paid up member or not. I appreciate that running a busy forum costs money for hosting/bandwidth/domain name etc but I object to paying £30 for no good reason. As you can tell I'm not too fond of that other forum, but it does have a lot of useful information so it's not all bad.
 
Last edited:
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

voorhees
Bye Bye S3
Replies
54
Views
4K
voorhees
voorhees
Jgould
Bye bye s3
Replies
1
Views
789
DJ_Troopa
D
R
bye bye S3
Replies
13
Views
1K
N8
N8
Felon
Bye Bye S3
Replies
6
Views
1K
Felon
Felon
SanityClause
Bye Bye S3
Replies
3
Views
696
SanityClause
SanityClause
Top
Back