HELP>Tips on buying a new shape S3

[330_2_S3]

Hi all new to the forum and was just wondering if any of you S3 owners could give me a few tips on buying an S3 on what to look out for...

YES I have tried searching the topic but can't seem to find any specific threads on the subject.

I am looking for a sprint blue S3 with SAT NAV and Ipod connection etc...

Any things to look out for when buying one? i.e faults etc?

Also the best quote on insurance I am getting is £1900 in my name with 1 year NCB and thats with directline.

Thanks in advance

 

[warren_S5]

Wow your insurance quote is 'special'.

Mine is £384.

Things to look out for:

1) Slipping clutch / knackered dual mass flywheel
2) Cam lobe wear - lean bank fuelling error codes
3) Creaking windows
4) Leaking rear diff
5) Hesitation at the top of the rev range (weak coil packs / knackered plugs / faulty injectors spray pattern).
6) Rear diffusers bowing
7) Badly finished alloys with flaking lacquer
8) Worn leather seat bolsters
9) Creaking seat subframes

are all that comes to mind. Other than that I'd say you should be fine!!

 

[330_2_S3]

i'm under 25 and have always been a named driver on a policy so thats probably why my quote seem quite "special" lol

Thanks for the list, will print it off and use it as a check list when I go and view one!

Do you or anyone else know how much an ipod connection would be to the standard CD player? Also are all the CD players in the S3 BOSE?

 

[warren_S5]

i'm under 25 and have always been a named driver on a policy so thats probably why my quote seem quite "special" lol

Thanks for the list, will print it off and use it as a check list when I go and view one!

Do you or anyone else know how much an ipod connection would be to the standard CD player? Also are all the CD players in the S3 BOSE?

iPod connection was £175 inc VAT when I ordered mine. All head units in the S3 are CD players (Chorus as standard, Symphony as £265 upgrade on S3), but the Bose pack is a £355 option which gives an offboard amp, uprated speakers and a boot mounted sub (when I say sub I mean an extra bass unit, not a REAL sub in proper ICE terms).

 

[330_2_S3]

oh ok cheers, was always wondering about that BOSE sound system thought they were all standard but at least now I know!

You see the IPOD connection is it just an additional wire that connects into the back of the stereo or is it a unit aswell? Did you fit yourself or did AUDI/garage put it in for you?

 

[warren_S5]

Came as factory fit so it will be a multi changer connector which taps into the back of the head unit.

The head unit is fooled into thinking the iPod is a multichanger (wish I had properly understood this earlier on). You can only set up 5 playlists on your iPod, the 6th playlist is actually your entire library (as the head unit sees it).

Unlike with the MP3 compatible CD's you can burn, with the iPod you DO NOT see track names, artists, folder names etc... It is pretty poor really considering the money they charge, as the A3 does not have the MMI interface of some of the bigger cars. Hence the limited spec. I suppose I should be grateful that Mr Audi only robbed me £175 for the privilege of connecting an iPod really... could so easily have been more!!!

 

[330_2_S3]

wow are you serious? What about if you had a SAT NAV unit with the ipod connection? Do you think the track names would come up then? I see that as pointless if that is the case...might aswell stick to MP3 discs!

So your saying the 6th playlist is all the songs in your ipod....with no track names! thats really weak.....

 

[330_2_S3]

wow are you serious? What about if you had a SAT NAV unit with the ipod connection? Do you think the track names would come up then? I see that as pointless if that is the case...might aswell stick to MP3 discs!

So your saying the 6th playlist is all the songs in your ipod....with no track names! thats really weak.....

 

[warren_S5]

Serious as you like! When my wife and I went to pick up the car my first comment when plugging a redundant iPod into the dock (as they didn't have iPod Touch fitment surrounds) was, and I quote, "What a load of old $hit this is, I may have used that £175 to wipe my ar$e on". Verdict: Cack

 

[V6Pete]

Don't forget with the sat nav, you can put MP3's onto SD cards - this gives 4 or 8GB of tunes, so is a good alternative to the crappy ipod connector.

 

[AuldReekie]

Yeah, but with a maximum of 8 directories (folders) per card, that is pish too. The IPod connectivity is a joke and the volume level is far less than on SD or radio - avoid.

EDITED TO ADD: corrosion of wheel hubs, which should be a dealer fix.

 

[V6Pete]

Yeah, but with a maximum of 8 directories (folders) per card, that is pish too. The IPod connectivity is a joke and the volume level is far less than on SD or radio - avoid.

EDITED TO ADD: corrosion of wheel hubs, which should be a dealer fix.

Pish agreed, but not £175 either!

 

[AuldReekie]

Took me a while to work that out , but yeah, you are right. If you have the Nav, thats all you need. I have binned the whole IPod thing and faithfully spend my night ripping from Itunes to SD 4Gb. They are far easier to store than a car full of CDs too.

:looking for a boot mounted sub?!:

 

[330_2_S3]

cheers guys, I was making this a "must have" when buying an S3 or would have added it on...thanks to this forum I will no longer require this as a must have!

The SD card slot is only available on the SAT NAV systems though? Am I right in saying that?

What would be the best and most cost effected RE-MAP for the S3?

I was thinking of getting a 3.2 new shape TT but i think there is more potential out of the 2.0T engine...

 

[warren_S5]

Mate, a car is an asset, and a very expensive one at that. A cheap, unsupported map is a very brave move.

Go to a large supplier like Revo, GIAC, APR, P-Torque, Custom Code etc.. where you can get support, updates, ongoing customer service, an assurance by the fact they continue to develop new services with extensive R&D (inc. race experience).

To do anything less is a negative economy in the long run, and yes, the 2.0 is more reasonably tuned than the 3.2V6 which can be quite expensive to tune in a BHP per £ ratio.

 

[330_2_S3]

I've rumours about just a re-map giving 30BHP....thats with no mods?

I believe that alot of turbo engines have quiet effective gains with re-maps...

I've never owned a turbo car...my last hot hatch was a type-r, and I enjoyed modding that...

 

[warren_S5]

30+ bhp. Most on the S3 are seeing between 40 and 50bhp from stage 1.

However the turbo whilst highly tunable, needs to be partner matched with caution.

Increased boost sees intake temps rise, and more heat soak. Ideally at stage 2 you'd want to be looking at adding increased cooling with a Forge Twintercooler or something similar as significant increases in inlet temp decrease the efficiency of the burn and reduce power. Also running to hot wears components faster.

Depends what you want to end up doing. It can be difficult to plan an upgrad path end to end as you may just want to keep going. Map intelligently with an end goal in mind, but remember that power will need to be supported with handling / braking upgrades in some cars, and then cooling / improved air supply mods in others.

Also look to resolve OE weak spots (DV's are known weak spots, although better since the front side relocation). Adding more boost means the DV has to work harder. Aftermarket DV's have stronger springs to accomodate this gaining the most from your remap investment. Then you want to get cold air feeding into the car as quickly, and as much as is possible. Enlarged intake feeds with directly routed flows (removing the OE airbox) see efficient gains.

First thing to decide, is if its purely for your enjoyment, set a budget and get the work done in intelligent stages. If you aim to do more (eg. track days), your upgrade path may differ slightly, but you will need to consider the end game in your purchase route.

Best of luck with whatever you do though, just don't cut corners, it NEVER works out in the long run.

 

[AuldReekie]

cheers guys, I was making this a "must have" when buying an S3 or would have added it on...thanks to this forum I will no longer require this as a must have!

The SD card slot is only available on the SAT NAV systems though? Am I right in saying that?

What would be the best and most cost effected RE-MAP for the S3?

I was thinking of getting a 3.2 new shape TT but i think there is more potential out of the 2.0T engine...

Yes, I believe that is the case with OEM ICE, but there may well be aftermarket head units that have them also.

With regards to the SD cards: although you can only have 8 folders, if you so wanted you could just put multiple albums in the same folders - much the same as Itunes playlists, up to (IRC) 255 files. So two 4gb cards gives the average person more than enough music for any journey.

I have four of these badboys that are fit for purpose (note that they have to be plain vanilla SD, not SDHC as I found out!) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Transcend-F...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1236769294&sr=8-1

As for tuning - you have definatley come to the right place for advice as many of the guys on here have a wealth of experience (as Pete and Warren demonstrate). Keep us informed and good luck.

 

[330_2_S3]

Cheers for the advice guys...just had some kinda bad news that day about work so didn't get a chance to return,,,has kinda put my plans on hold but I think I am going to take a risk....F this recession

As for what I want out of the car:

1. Slightly better than the avearage bhp increase...(re-map, CAI or similar)
2. I do want to track the car too...

Any ideas of the cost of a decent re-map? And what is peoples opinions do the IMOLA YELLOW S3 colour and re-sale value on it?

cheers

 

[S3Alex]

Cheers for the advice guys...just had some kinda bad news that day about work so didn't get a chance to return,,,has kinda put my plans on hold but I think I am going to take a risk....F this recession

As for what I want out of the car:

1. Slightly better than the avearage bhp increase...(re-map, CAI or similar)
2. I do want to track the car too...

Any ideas of the cost of a decent re-map? And what is peoples opinions do the IMOLA YELLOW S3 colour and re-sale value on it?

cheers

You'd be looking at about £500 for Revo remapping on your car.

If you're in the south-east,AMD are highly recommended.

 

[Slipp Digby]

Also the best quote on insurance I am getting is £1900 in my name with 1 year NCB and thats with directline

you might want to check that again (might be wrong but from memory)directline refused to quote for me (age 30+) with less that 2yrs NCD on an S3 back in august 08. maybe this has changed but they would quote on the 2.0T but not the s3 in fact the S3 wasnt on the online quote and I had to ring up

 

[330_2_S3]

cheers for the re-mapping info, will look into it....

as for the insurance quote I seemed to get one online pretty easily it could be if you've had claims in the past or something along those lines...

 

[dmal]

you might want to check that again (might be wrong but from memory)directline refused to quote for me (age 30+) with less that 2yrs NCD on an S3 back in august 08. maybe this has changed but they would quote on the 2.0T but not the s3 in fact the S3 wasnt on the online quote and I had to ring up

I also had this issue. They list it under "AUDI A3 2.0T S3 QUATTRO". It isnt immediately obvious which is the S3 until you read through each model. I also have no idea why they print the first bit in Bold but the rest isnt.

Even after finding this I still had to call them to get the quote through and had to explain to the girl how to find the S3.

 

[330_2_S3]

Deposit laid down......All systems go....can't wait to pick it up

 

[Slipp Digby]

cheers for the re-mapping info, will look into it....

as for the insurance quote I seemed to get one online pretty easily it could be if you've had claims in the past or something along those lines...

errm yeah, no claims discount is a way in which they assess that along with getting you to disclose any claims in the last 3 years is it not?

not trying to be confrontational but trying to help you avoid a potentially expensive mistake. if you read my post I am trying to flag up that directline dont list the s3 on the quotation tool on the website, so you can't have got a valid quote online for an s3 unless you ring them up. in short, if you havent had hassle on an s3 with directline, you quote probably isnt right.

there are several 2.0TFSI's listed but these are distinct form the s3 which is a much higher risk in insurance terms than the 2.0 turbo's. unless you have quite a lot of no claims directline might refuse to quote. if you declare it as as a 2.0TFSI not an S3 and crash it, you insurance potentially wont be valid.

i asked why they wouldnt quote and they said nothing (age location) is a barrier unless you have <2 year NCD in which case they wont even quote.

if you want the nearest online equivalent, put all you details in again and list it as a 3.2 quattro which is similar ish in insurnace group etc. I just did using 1 year NCD, no convictions or claims in the last 3 years and they refused to quote. ring them and you will probably get the same response.

 

[330_2_S3]

No thanks for the advice mate I totally understand what you mean now...but I did put in the registration of the car and I do believe that it did come up as as 2.0T FSI S3 but since you've mentioned this I will double check on the quote I saved in my e-mail. cheers and will keep you posted.

 

[330_2_S3]

You were right mate....but surely everyone who has got one of these cars has maybe made the same mistake and not realised?!

I am on the phone to them now....I am going to argue that they give me the price they quoted

 

[BigBird]

Useful stuff guys. I managed to get an on line quote for the S3 from Direct Line - it was hidden away as they often are. I rang up yesterday when I picked the car up & the premium was pretty similar to my online quote.
They went off the reg. no. & quoted me back that it was an S3.

The mandatory £250 excess and the fact that they'd not give me a reduction for a Tracker was annoying though...

Won't affect my love for the car though

 

[Slipp Digby]

Useful stuff guys. I managed to get an on line quote for the S3 from Direct Line - it was hidden away as they often are. I rang up yesterday when I picked the car up & the premium was pretty similar to my online quote.
They went off the reg. no. & quoted me back that it was an S3.

The mandatory £250 excess and the fact that they'd not give me a reduction for a Tracker was annoying though...

Won't affect my love for the car though

I stand corrected BigBird - apologies, it is indeed on the list but well disguised as an A3 2.0T S3 FSI (06-)

OP hope you get it sorted, you might need to go to another insurer to get a quote, although with 1 yr NCD it might be un-economic through any insurer

surprised if its quoted wrong if you used the reg number, surely they need to honour that?

 

[330_2_S3]

yeah thats what I said to them on the phone....the guy on e fone said no its a direct link from the DVLA so its there records that are screwed...(yeah whatever) and that it says in the policy when accepting the agreement you have to check that all the details are correct in the policy...

 

[Mark300zx]

Hi all and sorry to drag this thread up again from the past, but as the S3 has aged a little more, I wanted to know if any more known issues have surfaced as I am going to look at one this weekend?