Looking to get an A3 1.4 tsi - advise needed!!

[matts1]

Hi all,

looking to get an A3 1.4 and ideally 150. Looking for white or Daytona Grey and with a nice spec.

Problem is that there are very few for sale and most are main dealer, being new i guess, but, am I right in thinking that later this year as the new reg comes in they are 3 years old and so many will be being handed back and coming onto the market??

Ideally looking to spend £18-19k, but dealers at £21.5k with very low miles. Could buy a cheap motor for a month or so, or if it is not likely the market will open up then will settle for the earlier shape Black Edition for a year.

Also, the 140 and 150 -is there much difference? I dont want to sound like a boy race, far from it, but normally have cars at the 200bhp and worried that the lower power is quickly going to feel like a boring gutless drive.

Any input would be much appreciated.

 

[RichardT]

150 was introduced in 2014, so will only be 1 year old this year.
It's difficult to be objective, but I think my 150 goes plenty fast enough. It's really powerful. Get a test drive and try it out.

 

[matts1]

Thanks Richard, I didn't know that about the 150, would explain the real lack of those.

 

[leosayer1]

I don’t think there are that many petrol A3s around compared to diesels. Once you start to narrow down you criteria with colour, engine and spec it gets harder to find. I went through the same dilemma last year and ended up buying new. The new model 3 door came out in Sep 2012 so you’ll have a few months to wait to see if any come through after 3 years. The 5 door was later still and the 140 COD engine was released in 2013.

The 150 has 7% more power than the 140. I doubt the difference would be noticeable and of course I’d prefer the more powerful engine but I wouldn’t pay extra for that alone. They both have the same maximum torque – 184 lb/ft so the additional power will only be available when you rev past 4000rpm.

I’ve got the 140 and it more than fast enough for ‘normal’ driving and any car that does 0-60 in 8 seconds and can top 140mph could never be described as slow. But if you regularly use the 200bhp of your old cars then of course 140bhp is going to feel slower unless it’s a lot heavier. A test drive will tell you this. What about the 1.8? What about a Golf GTi?

The list price of a 1.4 150 SE 3 door is £20,700 before discounts…so you could buy new within your £19k budget but of a course a nice spec will bump that up.

 

[Nickmann1]

I'm looking to sell my 1.4 TFSI SE 122 (Fully Loaded S3 Replica) If you're interested, a stage 1 Remap and Induction etc would boost it up to the 150/60 mark straight away for the small price of around £300.

Send me a message if you're interested - > www.facebook.com/nickmannlol

 

[Fishheskettpark]

I had the same problem when I decided that I wanted the 1.4 COD over the 2.0 TDI. Looking for a nearly new 150 PS COD with low mileage was too much hard work but wanted one quickly as I was concerned my old car was going to break down and leave me with a big repair bill before I could trade it in. So in the end I went for new but one already on order at the dealers but managed to get 9% discount leaving me with not too much more to pay than some of the low mileage nearly new ones I was looking at. Added to what I thought was a good trade in deal it all worked out to roughly what I wanted. maybe missed out on some of the options I might have had speccing it myself but I ended up with a nice S-Line that I now have to fight my wife to drive as she likes it so much.
I also test drove the 140 COD and would say there is not much difference between the 140 and 150 - maybe the 150 is a little bit quicker but I bet side by side there would be little in it. It is a delightful little engine that is stupidly quick for a 1.4 compared to other cars I have had in the past

 

[RichardT]

The list price of a 1.4 150 SE 3 door is £20,700 before discounts…so you could buy new within your £19k budget but of a course a nice spec will bump that up.

I wonder if anyone has ever done that - bought a base model with no options. Would be a supreme exercise in restraint!!!

 

[daydotz]

On a forum maybe in the real world I expect it's quite normal

it have a look at the amount of low/no option cars for sale

 

[leosayer1]

I wonder if anyone has ever done that - bought a base model with no options. Would be a supreme exercise in restraint!!!

Dealers offered me a few new cars in stock that had very little eg. SEs with metallic paint and comfort pack only, so they do exist.

Of course, the 150 is a far from the base engine.

 

[matts1]

Thanks for the replies guys, it is all helping, especially knowing when certain models came out etc. Nick, thanks of the heads up but not what i am after, good luck with the sale though, if it is the one on ebay then it looks a lovely motor.