Possible Purchase, DSG Worries

[Brendan12]

Hi, I'm looking to buy an Audi A3 3.2 Quattro and I'm going to view one over the weekend. The model in question has DSG but I'm worried about reliablilty. It's a 53 plater with 74,000 miles. Should I be worried?

 

[wez3570]

I've had mine about 5 months, 2006 plate, 65,000

No probs so far, gearbox is a pleasure to use.

DSG oil change due every 40k, mines going in with the next month

I think main dealers quote was £180 approx

 

[NHN]

Urmmm as its a 3.2, that would be my worry should it have any issues like Paddy's did.

 

[paddy]

As Nige says, be very careful because the 3.2 can have issues. Its not a car to try and run on a budget, its a premium car and cost premium money if it goes wrong. Think financial write off if you get timing chain stretch or DSG problems at that mileage.
The problem is people buy these cars because they are cheap for what they are and yet really the last people who should buy these cars are people who are buying because they are cheap. I would say buy a 2.0 tfsi Quattro manual if cost is an issue, it will cost you more than a 3.2 to buy but if you cant afford it then you cant afford to own a 3.2
If money is no problem then buy as new as you can, preferably after 2006 and S-Line but expect to pay £400 road tax.

 

[CraigHarrison]

I am also looking to swap to a 3.2 v6. I have tried searching for related threads but the stupid search on this forum makes it very hard to search '3.2 v6'.

I currently have two cars, one of which im used to spending money on to keep it in tip top condition but it would be a good help for someone to enlighten me on the typical faults and costs??

also were there any key changes in the early v6's to the later ones? also what year did they stop the production?

Thanks

 

[paddy]

Craig.....looking at you avatar...why do you want a V6 ?

 

[NHN]

Thats a ****** good point tbh paddy lmfao

 

[-Ju-]

As Nige says, be very careful because the 3.2 can have issues. Its not a car to try and run on a budget, its a premium car and cost premium money if it goes wrong. Think financial write off if you get timing chain stretch or DSG problems at that mileage.
The problem is people buy these cars because they are cheap for what they are and yet really the last people who should buy these cars are people who are buying because they are cheap. I would say buy a 2.0 tfsi Quattro manual if cost is an issue, it will cost you more than a 3.2 to buy but if you cant afford it then you cant afford to own a 3.2
If money is no problem then buy as new as you can, preferably after 2006 and S-Line but expect to pay £400 road tax.

Wise words Paddy!
The 3.2's are cheap now due to the big engine being "out of fashion" , but in reality they don't cost that much more in fuel than a 2.0T and are a peach to drive. However if anything does go wrong its megabucks to fix, for that reason alone i've been getting itchy feet myself recently, but after looking around I'm struggling to find something that I would be happy to move into. For me the 2.0T quattro could not replace the 3.2 and an S3 sportback dsg is probably another 12-15k on top of mine.
Back to the OP's question, the DSG is not 3.2 specific so any potential issues can affect any A3, but then in the 4 years or so I've had A3's, I've not heard that many stories of catastrophic failures...... if any! If you are worried then go manual but then you will be missing out as the DSG and 3.2 is a match made in heaven.
The only 3.2 issue that you should be concerned about is the timing chain. There are many stories coming through of problems relating to stretching of the timing chain and although non of these have resulted in snapping, they have given rough running issues and after diagnosis can cost anywhere from 2k to 3-5k to fix.
My advise would be to spend a little extra and be selective on where you buy from!

 

[N8]

DSG oil change due every 40k, mines going in with the next month

I think main dealers quote was £180 approx

My car has just hit 40k, and I'm having a major service next friday, they are doing at the DSG oil @ £150 inc vat.

 

[Brendan12]

Thanks for the replies.

Well in the end I went for a 3.2 with a manual box. Running the car isn't really an issue, but it is due a cambelt or timing chain now. How much is it to get done?

 

[N8]

Paddy will advice, expensive I think dude! But well done, get some pics up

 

[paddy]

Bren
The timing chain should last the life of the engine and obviously it has no timing belt. the early cars did have a problem with stretching chains but not all of them. Things to watch out fo re cam chain are
1/ Error code saying camshaft set point not reached.
2/ Miss fire after start up approx 2 mins into a journey but then clearing after a few miles.
3/ early sign can be a rattle from the chain cover.
4/ Check that the car will hold 2k revs smoothly in Neutral.

the bad news is a Cam chain can cost a lot of money. the engine needs to be separated from the gearbox and lifted at an angle to get the cam chain cover off. you are probably looking at £3k but the reality is it will cost more because there is no real point in doing the chain without the sprockets , tensioners and VVT units while the engine is apart. You will be looking at another £1k for the rear tensioner as its part of the timing cover so the whole thing has to be replaced and the VVT units/ top sprokets.

With luck you will not need to do any of this but its down to which chain you have. Some had the makers name stamped to deep into the links and that weakens them....silly but true.

 

[wez3570]

My car has just hit 40k, and I'm having a major service next friday, they are doing at the DSG oil @ £150 inc vat.

Good price, who's that with?

 

[N8]

Manchester Audi, its going in for a service on Friday!

 

[paddy]

I seem to remember the DSG takes about 6 ltrs which is why its never cheap on oil changes. worth every penny though, its the perfect gearbox

 

[N8]

7 litres I heard, but its got to be done!

 

[Brendan12]

Thanks again for the replies, i guess I dont have to worry about the timing chain as such!

 

[N8]

Its ok Brendan