I would agree with the comments relating to the mechanical durability of these cars, given proper maintenance.
I would disagree that £9k is in any way reasonable for a car of this mileage. See sense and buy a lower VAG clone with the same power unit for sensible money.
659.
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Paying £9 grand for a very ordinary diesel box with four times the book mileage on it is ridiculous. There's no comparison to a 46K one. It's fleet disposal auction value would be nearer £4 grand - and then only from the haircut boys.
The 2-litre is nowhere near as durable as the 1.9 - particularly in respect of the head. This one is at the point that the first owner has squeezed it dry and has bailed out before all the big bills roll in.
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I would disagree that £9k is in any way reasonable for a car of this mileage. See sense and buy a lower VAG clone with the same power unit for sensible money.
It's not the 1980's any more, 100k is not a magical number where cars self destruct.
£9k is reasonable for a 2.0 TDI Audi A3. It's not a Ford Focus so it won't be pennies despite the high mileage.
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Maybe not still the 80's but thats still a lot of money to spend on not much of an upgrade. Year newer with a few bits on.
I'd bet its due a timing belt as well.
I can see the point of wanting something comfortable for the motorway commute, and I 've bought plenty of high miles cars (ours are currently 140K and 120K) but that sounds expensive to me. compare to A4/3 series costs.
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i have had a look on autotrader and 9k seems a very good price.
only 3 or 4 in the country if you do a national search on the autotrader for an audi a3 tdi, less than 3yrs old.
and then this is highly specced with bose stereo,cruise control,parking sensors,leathers,xenons etc,
its been an ex compnay car, been serviced every 20k by audi,
cambelt was donein january 2006 at 73k.
i was told by the dealer that the tdi audi is the most desireable one and will hold its value best.
all the ones on the trader have got highish miles on them around 100k
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Just part ex'd my 2005 2.0 TDI (5 door not 3 though) for £10900 with 63k on the clock, they will probably sell for close to £13k at the dealers. I have to agree with other posters about the steepness of the £9k price tag - although if it's got lots of toys and they give you a years warranty then this will keep up the price. Mine was the SE spec with additonal leather.
As for the engine - mine was sweet as a nut after 63k, did 50mpg and had the right balance of grunt and ease to drive. Swapped it for a new 170 TDI quattro last weekend(again A3 sportback) and have had a smile on my face ever since!!
Other posters mention buying an Audi clone, true it will save you money of course but it might not make you smile as much in the morning when you look at your A3, (assuming you don't check your bank accounts every morning at the same time !!)
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The engine might well be good for twice this mileage, but at 120k the shocks will be well past their best, bearings and bushes will be probably into the last 25% or so of their lives, and countless other tiny things like electric window and central locking motors/linkages and wiper motors will be getting towards the end of their lives. This is a car that, to keep it feeling fresh, will probably need small, but fairly constant amounts of money spending on it during your ownership.
I have no issue with high-milers - I drive a 135,000 mile car 70 miles every single day, and it has never let me down, but there is no way I'd pay £9k for the privilege and no way, however well it was built in the first place, that it will feel as good as a similarly treated and cared for 60,000 miler unless it has had, and continues to have ongoing maintenance beyond the normal schedule.
Yes, Audis are well made, and yes they probably wear 120,000 miles better than most, but to assume 120,000 miles will have no effect because it's an Audi is not true. It's the bits you can't see or hear that you need to watch.
Cheers
DP
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04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
Edited by DP on 08/10/2007 at 11:03
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Having run 2 Audi A4 TDi's to over 200k miles, I can - with a degree of confidence - say that DP's post is complete and utter tosh!
In fact, I had more things go wrong in the first 100k than the 2nd 100k - on both cars!
And £9k for a high spec TDi A3 - even with 120k - is perfectly reasonable providing it's in good general condition, especially given the spec.
Edited by whoopwhoop on 08/10/2007 at 13:17
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Having run 2 Audi A4 TDi's to over 200k miles I can - with a degree of confidence - say that DP's post is complete and utter tosh!
Well, having seen the bills my brother-in-law racked up on a mechanically identical B5.5 Passat over 100,000 miles (and sold the car for that precise reason - he loved it otherwise), and the similar experiences of my neighbour with a BMW 318i past 100,000 miles, I can say with a degree of confidence that my post isn't "complete and utter tosh".
Unless of course adding four rings to the grille invokes some kind of witchcraft that renders the car impervious to wear and tear.
I'm sure some are troublefree to 200,000 miles, but I personally wouldn't spend £9k to find out. Each to their own though.
Cheers
DP
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04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
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Well having seen the bills my brother-in-law racked up on a mechanically identical B5.5 Passat over 100 000 miles
Given you haven't even read my thread properly, this thread is even more tosh than your previous!
I said that in both cases, my Audi's had more faults and more spent on them in repairs
in the first 100k than in the second 100k.
(and sold the car for that precise reason - he loved it otherwise)
Shame - if he'd have kept it, he'd probably have spent less on it in repairs then the car which replaced it!
Unless of course adding four rings to the grille invokes some kind of witchcraft that renders the car impervious to wear and tear.
Not witchcraft, just reasonably decent engineering. (i.e. not ford or Renault!)
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rubber there is no such car as a 2003 polo tdi sport 1.9 100bhp.
there is an sdi,or there is a 1.4TDI
if your car is indeed the 1.4tdi then the allowance offered is spot on book,( assuming average miles)however as already said by esteemed members i also wouldnt want to give 9g"s for a 120,000 car no matter what the badge says
how many oil changes has this audi had by the way?
Edited by bell boy on 08/10/2007 at 13:38
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its definitely a 2003 vw polo 1.9 tdi 100bhp pd. sport spec. have a look on autotrader. plenty of them on there.
car has got 94k miles on it.
is 4k for part ex a good price?
interesting debates on the subject.
the auid has had 6 oil changes, approx every 20k on the long life regime.
its done nearly 120k in 3 years, at 40k a year....i assume motorway miles
am i right in saying motorway miles are not hurting a car if you get what i mean?
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whoopwhoop
You must do a stellar annual mileage to have clocked-up 400,000 miles since the 2.0TDi came out in late '03? Or are you being a tad duplicitous as to specification?
Why do you think cost-sensitive fleet managers dispose of cars at a maximum of three years: because they fancy a change?
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It was mentioned above this car has been serviced every 20k.
10k is acceptable for oil changes on a diesel 20k is too long for me.
£9k for a small, three year old (or coming up), 3 door, 120k mile hatchback does seem high.
Does this car have an MOT or has that yet to be done ?
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It was mentioned above this car has been serviced every 20k. 10k is acceptable for oil changes on a diesel 20k is too long for me.
You obviously think you know better than all the manufacturers, with their millions of pounds invested in R&D then!
My 200k Audi's both had 20k intervals... never had any problems with them.
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You obviously think you know better than all the manufacturers with their millions of pounds invested in R&D then!
Not really, just information and knowledge gained from watching the guys over the last decade spending "millions of pounds" on behalf of car manufacturers and how they care for their own cars.
My 200k Audi's both had 20k intervals... never had any problems with them.
20k intervals were introduced to get the CPM down to make the cars more attractive to company bean counters. Doesn't mean it's necessarily good for the car.
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hi,
its got 119k miles on it.
the spec is quite high from what ive seen
cruise
leathers
xenon
bose stereo
parking sensors
steering audio controls
wood pack
heated seats
climate control
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Which is a very nice spec.
How much of a warranty will you get and you still can't get away from the fact it has still been the equivalent of almost six times around the planet already. For £9k you could have a relatively unmolested more mainstream car approx. 6 months old maybe only been half way round the planet and the balance of a 3 year manufacturers warranty.
Just had a look at What Car? valuations and they reckon for a 2.0TDi 3 door:
Audi A3 Hatchback (03-) 2.0 TDI 140 3dr 2004 (04)119,000 miles Used car review
Dealer £8,630
Private £7,925
Part exchange £7,645
Trade £7,245
Cost new £19,100
OK, yours maybe an SE or S Line and has quite a few toys but if I was looking for a reliable motorway car for my wife I'd be looking, as I said above, at more mainstream alternatives with the balance of the manufacturers warranty.
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You must do a stellar annual mileage to have clocked-up 400 000 miles since the 2.0TDi came out in late '03?
Never mentioned engine size - I said "TDI"... As it happens one was a 1.9 - the other a 2.0.
Why do you think cost-sensitive fleet managers dispose of cars at a maximum of three years: because they fancy a change?
You don't have a clue what you're talking about. Cheapest fleet costs are usually 4 year terms. 3 years are more expensive. Per month obviously.>> whoopwhoop
Edited by whoopwhoop on 09/10/2007 at 09:54
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say that DP's post is complete and utter tosh!
You don't have a clue what you're talking about.
(i.e. not ford or Renault!)
You obviously think you know better than all the manufacturers
this thread is even more tosh than your previous
You might want to look up the word "manners" in the dictionary. Why are you so aggressive?
Being polite and respectful even in moments of disagreement, is something most people on this forum are quite capable of. Yet it seems to be beyond you. Shame.
Cheers
DP
--
04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
Edited by DP on 09/10/2007 at 11:09
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I echo DP's comments entirely. It hasn't gone un-noticed that WhoopWhoop's general attitude on here is rude and aggressive.
Either lose it; or your account - your choice.
DD.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 09/10/2007 at 11:37
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interesting points mentioned.
wife likes her german cars.
im sure for 9k there is plenty of cars around
fuel consumption isnt really too much of an issue as all fuel is paid for.
so all in all is the car a good or bad buy?
i took a quick look on the autotraderr website at 5yr old audi a3 tdis and they around the 5.5- 6k mark
so running this car for two years, depreciation wil be around 3k
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im sure for 9k there is plenty of cars around
fuel consumption isnt really too much of an issue as all fuel is paid for.
So why pay a diesel premium? (You might of course end up saving more of the business mileage that is paid out unless it's a simple question of providing receipts for the actual expenditure).
so all in all is the car a good or bad buy?
The car is probably well priced against other 2004 Audi A3s... but it's still an awful lot of money for a three-year-old car with a massive mileage.
i took a quick look on the autotraderr website at 5yr old audi a3 tdis and they around the 5.5- 6k mark so running this car for two years, depreciation wil be around 3k
I doubt they had 160k miles on them though.... with a new A3 either out or due by then, I'd expect this one to make just under £4k in three years' time - i.e., depreciation will probably be worse than on a new supermini.
The fact is that the car is not overpriced for an A3 but I cannot for the life of me think why you would want to spend more than double the value of the car you have now for something that is only slightly larger, slightly more desirable and slightly newer with possibly twice or three times the mileage.
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Make sure you HPI check the car or run a similar check before buying. With a car of this quality it's easy to clock the digital dash and forge the service history. Equally it may have been in a prang if it's a bargain. A pre purchase check will show this up and if there is any finance owing on the car.
Audis, BMW, Mercs and other prestigeous make will not easily show signs of high miles, how do you know this car hasn't done 150k? Hopefully it hasn't.
Sorry to be negative but be careful before you buy, check out the service history, previous owner and HPI as above and you should be ok.
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Hey guys
We've been here before. Every month or so 'rubber' turns up with another car for us to consider for his wife to drive from Halifax or Huddersfield to Manchester (its the same journey BTW). So far we have had Jags, Mitsu Evos, Imprezzas, and now an Audi chugger with very high miles and silly spec. There have been others as well. Each more improbable than the last. If I was his wife, I'd tell him to mind his own business and that I'm very happy with my current car thank you. Even I have never considered so many different cars in so short a time.
I'm bored and he is a.....
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Troll
Edited by Espada III {P} on 15/11/2007 at 22:36
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Whether rubber's a closet dealer or not, his question has provoked a decent debate, with much useful information in a very mainstream type of buying decision process, so I welcome it!
One of the good things about the car is that it's only 2004, so parts unaffected by mileage are still new-ish, such as electric window etc.
Mileage presumably only affects shocks, engine, gearbox, and if it mostly motorway which seems likely, each will be in better condition than mileage suggests. Perhaps better indeed than same age and only 25,000 around the centre of Manchester.
Whether it's actually worth paying a premium for the Audi over a Focus or Golf or Astra I'm not qualified to say. Is there really much evidence that the total lifespan and repair bills for Focus' are shorter and higher respectively than for Audis? A Focus Ghia from 2004 with 30,000 might cost only £6,000?
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