Going S3 shopping... What should I look out for?

[grr666]

Hi all, I'm going to look at a 58 plate s3 manual sportback on Monday.
It's at an independent any make car dealer. So warranty won't be up to
much. I plan a good service and once over by my mechanic as soon as I buy it
but are there any potentially costly things that go wrong with these?
Looked through the FAQs and couldn't find a common faults section.
Any issues with water ingress for example as my last car had them something
rotten.

Any help greatly appreciated
Cheers

 

[Makka]

Would also like an answer to this as I'm also planning on viewing an S3 58 plate

 

[MrLapou]

Mileage?
Use VCDS to check for fault codes.
Buckled wheels, whizy turbo, oil level, modifications, Haldex whine.

 

[Kelza]

Classifieds: s3 8p3 2008 stage 2+ revo

 

[grr666]

Classifieds: s3 8p3 2008 stage 2+ revo

Too modded for me my friend, thanks all the same.

 

[grr666]

Would also like an answer to this as I'm also planning on viewing an S3 58 plate

Where is the car you're looking at?
We might be viewing the same car

 

[grr666]

Have no access to vcds until my mechanic can see it which means
after I've bought it

 

[Kelza]

No worries

 

[Sidhu88]

I dont own an s3, but as far as a3s go as a whole try to go for an 8p3. Black edition would be the one to go for.

In regards to the s3. The 8p3 is meant to be fairly different to the 8p2. I've read that from a few people on here.

As a car generally, look out for a well looked after car. I think an independantly serviced car would be better then a FASH car. Some specialist indi's will do better jobs than audi themselves. Check for haldex service (mileage dependant). A good sign of someone who gives a crap about their car is matching premium tyres and plenty of receipts. Most s3s will have been ragged, so maybe one thats had oil changes more often than normal. I.e every 6k rather than 12

 

[Makka]

Where is the car you're looking at?
We might be viewing the same car

Bedfordshire I think

Where abouts is yours?

 

[grr666]

Bedfordshire I think

Where abouts is yours?

Wales. So not the same car then.

 

[AndyParker]

Having just purchased an S3 the main thing I was checking was that the Haldex Oil, Water Pump and cam belt had all been over serviced I.e. they had already been done even though the cart has only done 36k.

Other than that I was just checking for the usual wear and tear and making sure It hadn't been smoked in

Best of luck both