S3 anything to look out for?

I’m considering selling mine, however it’s just over £70k but not by much. Running costs arent too bad, watch out for a worn clutch, also the rear wiper motors are poorly designed so can become rusty due to water ingress.
 
I would be wanting a decent warranty for peace of mind. A full service history is very important and I would want time/ distance services and not long life. Extra things to service like the Haldex, check they have been done.
Check for dodgy modifications as many of that age will have been played with. Nothing wrong with modifying but it needs to be done properly.
As a starter, when you buy a car, check and change the fuel pump cam follower as if it wears through it ruins lots of engine parts. This is not on the service schedule.
Be prepared that the car never looks as good in real like as in the advert photos. We drove 130 miles to see an S3 that was described as excellent and the photos were pretty good too.
Totally the worst S3 I have ever seen. Never even bothered driving it. Gave my son a bo******** for wasting my day!
 
Now if you look carefully through the posts on here you will see the good and the bad things about an S3 , you will see what costs are involved even buying the aftermarket things for the S3 so really to answer your question i personnally would make sure it had FSH a warranty and 2 good tips 1) if you know someone with Vcd's get them to go along with you and ask to do an autoscan and 2nd secondly mind the Pharse ( you only get what you paid for ) so if it sounds to good to be good walk away .Hope this helps you decide
 
Clutch would be the main thing, I had to get mine done at around 70k on my 2008 S3 as it started to slip, rear calipers give them a good look at as well I had to replace them and they were not cheap! The back seats on that car look like they have been marked, little things like that to look out for, its overpriced in my mind, 28mpg I was getting if you want an idea of mpg.
 
Make sure you take out warranty if it’s possibke I got mine in feb with 39k it had a boost pipe leak and more worrying the Haldex clutch pump packed in cost £610 all on to fix
 
Ouch. Sounds like I am shopping right in the "time to break" mileage.

I think I will go back to the idea of a low mileage 2.0t A3 then.

I would have to compromise with a manual one (I have very little room with my left leg above the clutch) but a DSG S3 is out of budget.

Thank you!
 
I purchased a MY61 S3 Sportback, 55090 miles from a main dealer with a 1 year warranty in January 2017. Full Dealer history, I’m 2nd owner. It’s spent 6 weeks (through out the year) in Audi having warranty repairs not including the work carried out by an independent.

Personally I don’t think Audi care for, or can (know how...) be bothered working on a car more than 3 years old.

If I was to choose again I’d still get from a main dealer with warranty for piece of mine - if that means anything. Otherwise I’d look to purchase from a member on here as at least it would be cared for, regardless of whether it was Stg2+ or more. I’d also go DSG cause I’m lazy. My search criteria was <55k miles which I’d still stick with.

Check for the key maintenance such as the items in this thread: http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/preventative-maintenance-audi-s3-bhz-cdl.341180/. If you’re unsure then my advise is to get it done.

Echoing @R222cet - you’ll get problems with any car - just get an S3. You’ll always be thinking Quattro, S3 badge...

My S3, I love the car and it’s now as I want it maintenance wise. I know what’s done and what needs to be done. Performance wise, I think Ive barely scratched the surface but it’s a work in progress. On a recent trip back from Manchester I averaged just on 36MPG so not that bad really.
 
For what it’s worth, try and scan any car for fault codes after a drive. I bought a 2012 S3 and 3 weeks later the Quattro stopped working., turned out it had an intimitant fault. As I had warranty the car was fixed at a total cost of £4800 from Audi, new rear dif/final drive and haldex unit. Great cars, but a warranty seems to be a must if you don’t have deep pockets. As said above, a car from an owner on here would be a fairly safe buy.
 
£10k budget, probably less now actually. I am looking for sub 65k miles, FSH, 3 doors, full heated leather interior (not part leather either). Preferably dimming rear mirror, cruise control. And preferably an 8p3. Which for S3 seems to be £13k budget so I was gonna compromise as I was going 8p2 - 8p2 but now I am driving an 8p3 so......don't really want to go backwards.
 
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