Just bought an A3 what to look for ?

[Vince70]

Not being very mechanically minded I decided again to buy another car blind via eBay and it looks quite nice in the pics in Audi racing red.

 

I will do a collection thread on this one but not live as I'm a cheapskate as my 3G is on a cheap miser contract lol.

 

I just wondered if there's anything I should look for, its a 1.8 petrol SE with a suede look interior which has a full history and has only done 54000 all for £520 and it sounds a very straight motor but I think it's been playing cambelt roulette for the last few years.

 

The only downfall is I decided I wanted to go back to the practicability of a hatchback as I'm driving an A4 saloon at the moment and when I told my father I was buying it he asked if he could have it and I know he's always wanted one so I couldn't really say no and I rather he had a nice low mileage one than an old banger.

 

So it looks like I will get the job of selling his 04 diesel Focus.

I wouldn't mind but he's only had it for a month or so and in that time he's spent a few bob on it getting in perfect and it looks a picture.

[srad34]

Head gasket can be iffy, expansion tank sensors fail, replace the bowl with sensor from TPS, good cars and well built

[garethj]

Depends on the year of A3, but on the version up to about 2004 the power steering rack can go expensively wrong with all kinds of sensor issues.  Also watch for rust underneath, a bloke in work had one and it was far rustier than the Pug 205 I had at the time.

[Formula Autos]

I might well be swimming against a vague undercurrent of VAG-hatred here, but the only thing you might have to worry about is Pogweaseling of the paintwork. Aside from concerns you would have about any car that age, obviously.

 

These things seem to survive better than most cars of a similar age - though whether that's down to Audis being good, or the owners generally taking better care of them, I don't know.

[chaseracer]

Bigger gaps in traffic.

 

[saucedoctor]

Windscreen problems. Sometimes cars in front look further away than they actually are

[Cavcraft]

Here's the only positive I can think of:

 

It's probably going to be a little better than a Focus diesel.

 

 

 

 

*Here's something less positive: cleaning your pubes with a wire wheel attached to an industrial drill is better than a Focus diesel.

[chaseracer]

*Here's something less positive: cleaning your pubes with a wire wheel attached to an industrial drill is better than a Focus diesel.

 

*Other depilation methods are available...

 

[saucedoctor]

What year is the car, Vince?

[Vince70]

It's a 2000 it's actually registered on October 22nd

It may be an omen as it's actually registered on the same day and year as my A4 and that's been as good as gold, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

 

It's a nice and original looking car in the pictures and doesn't have a max powar exhaust or Lexarse lights or cheap Halfords oversize universal alloys running Chinese rubber and it also still has working aircon and the original chorus stereo etc.

 

I just wish I was having it really but the drive is starting to look like a late 90s Audi dealership with two A4s already on it.

[saucedoctor]

• Blocked heater matrix

Blower resistor pack

Broken wiring harness near hatchback hinge

Rear washer pipe splits and drowns the tailgate lock

Nom nom axle bushes and antiroll bar bushes

Coolant temperature sensor and/or wiring. OBD codes 16500,16501,16502 stored. Causes poor starting, apparently.

Centre exhaust mounting falls off

Can be hard to get into reverse. The mechanism seizes up when water gets in through the selector shaft seal.

[Vince70]

Cheers Saucedoctor you really know your Audi's

I've actually got the dodgy sensor issue on my 1.8 A4 as the gauge goes up and down like a yoyo and never gets to temperature rather than staying at a steady 90.

I was going to plop a new one in this weekend if I wasn't going to Collect the A3.

[saucedoctor]

I forgot to add that my Audi addicted mate Neil has had 2 A3s which developed ABS issues that no-one, including a main dealer, ever got to the bottom of.

[fordperv]

check if its its got the optional indicators, many audi buyers dont opt for this when they bought new but you may get lucky

[DSdriver]

Excellent Autoshite strategy: Buys car then asks about WCPGW. Instant depression assured. I am positive* that none of the above is going to go wrong and the car will be a little belter.

[Rmx]

I would be so depressed by now if I had an Audi

 

Dacia doesn't have many sensors to go wrong

 

Audi's are normally very good, I had an A3 but diesel..........sold it at 183k and still running very well.

[Alusilber]

I used to have a 1997 one. Main problems that spring to mind...

 

As saucedoctor says, coaxial tailgate wiper/washer pipe - seems like a neat idea, but usually seizes, leaking washer fluid inside your tailgate. If the washer jet starts following the wiper around, it's seized. This is so common that Audi did a repair kit specifically for this problem.

 

All the ABS sensors on mine failed one by one, which led to ABS kicking in when you didn't expect it.

 

Rust starting under the rubber strips at the bottom of the doors. Said strips are retained by means of things that look like large nails welded into the door.  I guess the galvanisation is breached when they're welded in, muck gets trapped in there and eventually the rust creeps up the side of the door.

 

Did like it though. Only times it really let me down in 8 years were 1) when the battery suddenly gave up and 2) when the crankshaft position sensor went wonky leading to undriveable weirdness. My bog standard A3 was noticeably better trimmed that the 12 years younger bog standard Golf that followed it.