Hello all,
I would appreciate your expert opinions on buying an high mileage diesel A3. I have an opportunity to buy an Audi A3 TDI 100bhp SE 2003/03 with FSH but am concerned about the high mileage of 112,000 miles. Although this will be taken into account in the price, I am worried that I could be looking at expensive repairs or overhauls. What mileage can reasonably be expected with scheduled servicing and average luck?
What checks should I do before buying to see if engine is sound? I suppose the turbo may be worn, is there any way I can test this?
All comments appreciated.
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Vsiible inspection then pay AA..
madf
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I would not be overly worried but try and establish what sort of driving has been done and who owned it before. Hopefully it will be one company owner who has been sat with it on the motorway for 4 years and had it serviced on the dot by Audi (on their long interval service plan)
I have a 2003/52 Audi a3 130bhp SE bought a year ago at 102k. Only niggle is that the velor upholstery on the drivers seat is the only giveaway about the high mileage
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Isnt the timing belt + tensioner due at 120K ? check the cost.
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Realistically this car is not going to go on forever. Company car ownership can be good & bad - motorway miles are good but CC drivers aren't necessarily respectful towards their cars, I've seen some shocking things, handbrake turns etc.
If you fance a MK4 Golf GTi 1.8T with just 66k on the clock for £6649 ovno, let me know though!
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Being objective, as someone else has said, they dont go on forever. However my knowledge of the A3 is that they are an above average car in their sector, with high interior and exterior build quality. The only things to really watch for are :-
Service history must be fully intact paying special attention to CAM belt changes, (which should have had tensioners and possibly even the water pump changed at the time). The only other bad area is the multi-link front suspension, it should not clunk when turning or going over moderate bumps.
From the engine perspective, they are fairly sound as long as they have had the correct servicing. The diesel should pull strongly from 1700 revs, and have no flat spots. A bit of black smoke is nothing to worry about, but blue smoke on acceleration could be a bad turbo.
If all of these boxes are ticked, I dont think you would have any real problems with the car for a while.
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Surely A3, Golf, Octavia have McPherson strut front suspension to accomodate the transverse layout?
A4, Old Passat, Superb have the dreaded multi-link set up which looks like a test rig to destroy balljoints and bushes.
As far as I know, the VW McPherson set up is reliable.
659.
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Mak, the car is not far off it's second and expensive 60,000 mile service and will probably need a second cam belt change with all the ancillaries , tensioners, pulley and water pump (brass impellors). Several hundreds of pounds. Can you speak with the owner and ask them about the car? How it's been, what type of use has it had and try and judge if they've been knowledgeable and sympathetic drivers - simmering the turbo after a run, what running in guidelines did they follow, has it used any oil, how do they rate the people who serviced it, any service or warranty problems? I wouldn't pay more for it than a similarly powered Golf or Octavia with 50,000 miles less on them and less risk.
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Surely A3 Golf Octavia have McPherson strut front suspension to accomodate the transverse layout?
Sorry, you are right, I had my A4 head on when I wrote this. Still, its one less thing to worry about on the A3.
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