Audi A3 owners.....

bartman100

...being offered a 2012 2.0L Diesel Sportback 5dr Sport. Any experiences? Servicing costs? Expensive repairs? (I'm thinking stop/start tech, air-con etc....)

crispybug2

Audi's

Designed by experts

Built by craftsmen

Driven by c****

bartman100

Hilarious. Anyone else?

eric_draven

Crispybug beat me to it,I could not agree more

which is a shame because i do like Audi's,well the older ones

sirmol

Family and friends all have Audi's and it think they are cracking cars - cost i think is similar to any car if you go to the dealers you'll pay a fortune if you use a local garage you'll be charged normal rates. They have always been reliable for people i know and they have never had a huge bill for anything! Touch wood

ballysmate

bartman100 wrote:

Hilarious. Anyone else?

No, only c****.

jordan_217

Usual proven mechanicals which are shared by other VAG cars, such as the VW Golf. Typically hold their value as they are deemed to be a 'premium' hatch, though in the real world you have to try hard to justify the higher price. The sportback is no estate car and is just a regular 5 dr hatch by all accounts. I found the rear seats cramped and quickly discounted one as the kids would feel claustrophobic, even with seats down it would be wheels off for getting the bike in.

If its an auto/DSG (depends on power) then check for gearbox service stamp which should be done at 40k. The gear box oil isnt cheap and they need to be looked after.

Audi servicing at a main dealer is fixed and I know Skoda were charging more for comparible work. My mates A4 cost less than my Octavia vRS for a cam belt change, for example. Independant specialists (plenty of them) are significantly cheaper but do some reaearch to find a good one.

IMO, you'd have to really want one to pay the extra over a Golf, Octavia or even an A4. All of these are more practical and will probs have a better spec and lower miles for the same price.

jordan_217

Oh...and some Audi dealers charge £100 per hour labor for their 'non-fixed' work.

Dave_P1

Depending on the mileage the turbo may need replacing, which is something that's quite common on VAG TDI's

tangled_metal

Mate had one from new for 3 years without any problems. He only swapped it for downsizing to a 1.7 tdi a1. He wasn't going to change but Audi offered an amazing deal. He said Audi were offering those lease buy deals which made getting a new car cheap as a second hand a couple of years old. Plus his a1 was zero.ved! Drove well too. Very nippy. The A3 is even better although not as thrifty with fuel.

Have you looked into what deals for new audis? They'd pretty solid cars, well made and well engineered.

bernithebiker

Had an A1 TFSi 185cv for 2 years now.

Cracking little car, best I've ever had. Very quick, handles well, high quality interior and I can get my bike in the back without taking the front wheel off!

bernithebiker

Had an A1 TFSi 185cv for 2 years now.

Cracking little car, best I've ever had. Very quick, handles well, high quality interior and I can get my bike in the back without taking the front wheel off!

keef66

The A3 TDCi Sportbacks are pretty common in our car park at work; they make sense as a company car from a tax perspective. I'm on my second one. My wife likes the Audi badge, otherwise we'd have the equivalent Golf. First was a 1.9 TDCi which gave pretty impressive fuel economy; absolutely nothing went wrong in the 3 and a bit years I had it*. When I swapped I went for the 1.6 TDCi which claimed to have the same power / economy as the older, bigger engine. In practice it's sometimes a bit under powered, and the economy isn't as good. Still does 55 mpg overall. Water pump needed replacing after a year (warranty) but otherwise mechanically sound after 2 and a half years.

Not exactly inspiring to drive unless you get the Sport or S Line variants with lowered, stiffened suspension. Rear seat backs don't fold flat, so they aren't as useful for carrying bulky things as they might be. Power socket in the centre console is in a stupid place if you're plugging in a TomTom, but now I'm getting picky...

* apart from 6 trips to the body repair shop. One of which involved the thing rolling backwards down a hill and taking out a neighbour's wall when I was out on the bike. If you get one, always leave it in gear.

keef66

While they were faffing with the leaking water pump I did have a loan of an A1 with a 2 litre diesel engine. Now that was an absolute hoot to drive. Might have one of those next since the kids are just about out of our hair now...

bernithebiker

keef66 wrote:

While they were faffing with the leaking water pump I did have a loan of an A1 with a 2 litre diesel engine. Now that was an absolute hoot to drive. Might have one of those next since the kids are just about out of our hair now...

Try and get the 7 speed semi-auto with paddles in 185hp. Now that is a hoot! It's only a 1.4 litre engine, so if you pootle around you can get 50mpg out of it, but it's a little rocket when you rev it beyond 4500rpm!

On a separate note, check you engine bays for rats!

I suspected I might have one in my Cayman, and this was confirmed when it decided to bail out coming down our drive (maybe engine had got too hot?) and was subsequently squished by the back wheel.

To get to the engine you have to take a big panel off inside the car, and there nestled in the top was a good sized nest made of leaves and insulation foam.

Fortunately only 1 wire had been chewed down to the copper and I've taped it up; I reckon the rat was there since our hols, so 2 weeks. Had it been more, the damage would have been much worse....

jordan_217

bernithebiker wrote:

keef66 wrote:

While they were faffing with the leaking water pump I did have a loan of an A1 with a 2 litre diesel engine. Now that was an absolute hoot to drive. Might have one of those next since the kids are just about out of our hair now...

Try and get the 7 speed semi-auto with paddles in 185hp. Now that is a hoot! It's only a 1.4 litre engine, so if you pootle around you can get 50mpg out of it, but it's a little rocket when you rev it beyond 4500rpm!

On a separate note, check you engine bays for rats!

I suspected I might have one in my Cayman, and this was confirmed when it decided to bail out coming down our drive (maybe engine had got too hot?) and was subsequently squished by the back wheel.

To get to the engine you have to take a big panel off inside the car, and there nestled in the top was a good sized nest made of leaves and insulation foam.

Fortunately only 1 wire had been chewed down to the copper and I've taped it up; I reckon the rat was there since our hols, so 2 weeks. Had it been more, the damage would have been much worse....

Hoses and heat shrinks taste sweet to vermin apparently. As does anti-freeze, consuming one of those will kill them and also make you happier. You pick which one to serve

meanredspider

Audis tend to have very "wooden" (without feel) steering - I couldn't own one for that reason alone. It seems to be something Audi design in.

With some small cars (thinking about the A1) it's a mistake to go for too much power. We've recently bought a 65bhp Fiat 500 Lounge (kids learning to drive) and it is a riot to drive - far more fun than much more powerful small cars I've owned. Part of the charm is maintaining momentum - all at sensible speeds.

metronome

meanredspider wrote:

With some small cars (thinking about the A1) it's a mistake to go for too much power.

Why?

jordan_217

meanredspider wrote:

Audis tend to have very "wooden" (without feel) steering - I couldn't own one for that reason alone. It seems to be something Audi design in.

With some small cars (thinking about the A1) it's a mistake to go for too much power. We've recently bought a 65bhp Fiat 500 Lounge (kids learning to drive) and it is a riot to drive - far more fun than much more powerful small cars I've owned. Part of the charm is maintaining momentum - all at sensible speeds.

Have a crack in the 500 Abarth and you'll soon retract that statement

meanredspider

metronome wrote:

meanredspider wrote:

With some small cars (thinking about the A1) it's a mistake to go for too much power.

Why?

For exactly the reasons I give: it's just not necessary to make a great car. You end up with a heavier engine, fatter tyres and (because they're considered premium models) lots of crap in the car too. All of this, of course, makes them faster but, even at legal road speeds (let alone the speeds you can really go because of traffic) they just aren't fun (in my opinion). The Fiat has been a real eye-opener for me and reminds me of the AlfaSuds I used to own. Funnily enough, the Fiat's spec is almost identical to the original spec of my 1969 Alfa Giulia GTJ upon which my race car is based. Whilst the race car is road legal, I can't realistically drive it on the road - it's just too fast now that it has 190bhp and weighs only 800kg and has wide (road legal) race tyres and huge 6-pot brakes.

I think the GT86 (Japanese RWD thing), works on the same principle as the Fiat: it's not very powerful, skinny tyres, not especially fast, RWD and designed to put the fun back into everyday driving.

meanredspider

jordan_217 wrote:

Have a crack in the 500 Abarth and you'll soon retract that statement

I have - it's fun and would be excellent around Knockhill but at cornering speeds that are safe (for that cyclist sprawled in the road just around the corner), it's just not engaging. It's about having fun at sensible speeds.

jordan_217

I'm with BtB on this. The A1 is a cracking little car, the best looking Audi IMO (not including RS/R range). I recently spent a day in all the RS and R cars and one of the stand out cars on the day was a drive of the S1, it was the slowest by far but it was just full of character and you really wanted to drive it*



*though I still prefer the Fiesta ST with a mountune conversion

bernithebiker

meanredspider wrote:

You end up with a heavier engine, fatter tyres and (because they're considered premium models) lots of crap in the car too.

I agree with the principle but the A1 185cv is only a 1.4 litre engine, so it remains light, the tyres are reasonable (it has 17 inch 215's I think).

I also have a Porsche Cayman, and I would say it's easier to drive the A1 fast (especially in the wet) than the Cayman.

meanredspider

I guess I just prefer the back-to-basics driving fun the 65bhp Fiat gives you. I even run it on Michelin Energy tyres yet it puts a massive grin on my face as it hops and skips around corners. We swapped a 155bhp Alfa Mito 1.4Turbo for the Fiat (pretty similar in spec on paper to the A1). In the short time that we had both cars, I'd choose the Fiat over the Alfa every time. The Alfa was beautiful but the Fiat was so much better to drive hard.

I once practiced in an 1965 FIA Appendix K historic racing version of my car on crossply tyres (I was meant to be sharing it in a race at Spa but then my son was diagnosed with his tumour) and that is a similar thing: the car is slow, the brakes are dreadful, but the owner had to drag me kicking and screaming out of it because I was just having so much fun throwing it into the corners then collecting it all up. Like the best things in life, it's not always about speed but being totally immersed in the moment.

debeli

In reply to the OP, an A3 is (and always has been) a Golf in a nice frock. The various brands of VW are a glorious layer cake of related but differing strata of social snobbery. Audi is near the top; certainly above the middle.

The A3 is a solid, well built car. An owner or driver is likely to be happy with it. Nonetheless, it wears a badge that we have somehow decided to attach a premium to - and that badge therefore carries a premium in purchase price, resale, residuals and elsewhere. We (humankind) are a funny lot.

On the later matter of small, underpowered cars being a hoot, I think that is spot on.

1980s: Citroen AX 10. An absolute giggle at street-legal speeds. 205GTi an absolute giggle, but dull at legal speeds.

1990s: Ford Ka (pushrod motor) as the AX above.... Alfa 147 QV.... nice enough, but dull at legal speeds.

And so on.....

The same is true with motorcycles to an extent. A nice 500cc Guzzi or XBR500 or GPz500 (back the the 80s) was much more fun in most conditions than a GSXR or an EXUP. Not as cool, but much more fun.

bernithebiker

Debeli wrote:

The same is true with motorcycles to an extent. A nice 500cc Guzzi or XBR500 or GPz500 (back the the 80s) was much more fun in most conditions than a GSXR or an EXUP. Not as cool, but much more fun.

I had 2 GPZ500's one after the other. I loved them (I was only 21), and polished them fanatically!

But when I got my ZZR600, I loved it more, as it had about 40hp more.

Then the VTR1000 for popping wheelies in 2nd at 30mph, then the Ducati 999 with 125hp.

Each was more fun than the last.

animal72

bernithebiker wrote:

keef66 wrote:

While they were faffing with the leaking water pump I did have a loan of an A1 with a 2 litre diesel engine. Now that was an absolute hoot to drive. Might have one of those next since the kids are just about out of our hair now...

Try and get the 7 speed semi-auto with paddles in 185hp. Now that is a hoot! It's only a 1.4 litre engine, so if you pootle around you can get 50mpg out of it

From experience, 50mpg is but a dream.

Great fun though...

jjsh

Had a 12 plate 2.0 TDI 140 Sportback. Put 140,000 miles on it, mostly motorway, before I got the new platform model in November. Had one issue, water pump that went about 100,000. Engine computer thingie picked it ip before anything went bang, all fixed in an orderly manner.

To be honest, I couldn't fault it given my work pattern at the time put Captain Kirk miles on it in such a short space of time.

The only thing I changed when I went for my new one was not to get tempted by the S-Line trim level. The bad boy, rubber bands for tyres, alloys on the S-Line mixed with the stiffer suspension made it a fairly harsh ride on country roads.

A sensible millage one would make a solid 2nd hand buy, IMHO.

ballysmate

crispybug2 wrote:

Audi's

Designed by experts

Built by craftsmen

Driven by c****

QED

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... Corsa.html

VTech

I am surprised at some of the earlier "knobby" comments, obviously by people who can't afford an Audi maybe ?

Anyway, rule of thumb is, Audi don't build cr4p, they are reliable, the best in category for build, maintenance, emissions, reliability, quality, spec.

I have a few and haven't looked back since.

meanredspider

VTech wrote:

I am surprised at some of the earlier "knobby" comments, obviously by people who can't afford an Audi maybe ?

Anyway, rule of thumb is, Audi don't build cr4p, they are reliable, the best in category for build, maintenance, emissions, reliability, quality, spec.

I have a few and haven't looked back since.

Depends what you think is in "category" but I don't think they are usually best in the satisfaction tables - not in the Top 10 of either manufacturer or models in 2014 (unlike Merc or sibling brand VW). I've always found the interiors fall a bit short of the equivalent Mercedes and the performance models (RS4 RS6 and S8) have some shocking reliability issues (with eye-watering bills - as attested to by my bro and a couple of colleagues - £5k gearbox anybody?).

I think I can afford most of the Audi range but I wouldn't consider one.