Audi A3
Posted by: Rockingdoc on 02 May 2007
I realise that I sound increasingly like Mick Parry with each year that passes but;
Mrs Rockingdoc wants an Audi A3, with a budget of about 20k. Can any of you audio petrol heads advise which is the best engine to go for, bearing in mind that a bigger engine means fewer toys (eg; xenon, aircon, and Bose) for her to play with.
Mrs Rockingdoc wants an Audi A3, with a budget of about 20k. Can any of you audio petrol heads advise which is the best engine to go for, bearing in mind that a bigger engine means fewer toys (eg; xenon, aircon, and Bose) for her to play with.
Posted on: 04 May 2007 by Graham Russell
quote:Originally posted by JohanR:quote:There was mention of the Honda Civic Type-R earlier. I've driven one for the last 3 years. I find it a great drive, great reliability and it goes round corners!! For the price it's an absolute driver's car bargain.
It is a bit noisy at speed on a motorway, but turn the stereo up and the problem goes away
I've had one to. Great fun. I cured the noise problem by winding down the side window, and then, after a while, winding it up again. After that it felt very silent.
JohanR
Brilliant
I'll give that a go 
Posted on: 05 May 2007 by Jo Sharp
So what happened Rockingdoc?
Posted on: 07 May 2007 by northpole
My experience of Audi VW service led me to the conclusion - fantastic design and engineering but truly abysmal servicing and overpriced with it. It would take alot to convince me to return to the brand.
I switched to BMW and 3 years later I'm convinced their dealer network is vastly superior.
Peter
I switched to BMW and 3 years later I'm convinced their dealer network is vastly superior.
Peter
Posted on: 07 May 2007 by Roy Donaldson
Peter,
Strange, have to say that my local experience has been the exact opposite. The BMW dealers here charge £110+VAT per hour, the Audi dealer £90+VAT per hour.
My last service, 50k miles, was £125. The car needs serviced approx. every 15-18k miles. The service before that was £250ish.
They collect my car from my work, 15miles from dealer, and return it before 6pm valeted that same day.
Roy.
Strange, have to say that my local experience has been the exact opposite. The BMW dealers here charge £110+VAT per hour, the Audi dealer £90+VAT per hour.
My last service, 50k miles, was £125. The car needs serviced approx. every 15-18k miles. The service before that was £250ish.
They collect my car from my work, 15miles from dealer, and return it before 6pm valeted that same day.
Roy.
Posted on: 07 May 2007 by Bruce Woodhouse
Rockdoc
Are you still looking? I've been on holiday for 2 weeks so just spotted this thread.
I had an A3 2.0TDI Sport for nearly 3 years, now have an A4 Avant 2.0 T petrol. Happy to share my experiences of each if this is still of use.
The A3 was great in many ways but on long journeys it gave me back pain, the seat being too low. This is something I've had with many cars so not necessarily a particular problem with the Audi. The A4 solved this.
The TDI went pretty swiftly but the 2.0 petrol turbo (the Golf GTI engine) in my A4 is very very sweet and I suspect will be nicer all round in the A3 if you don't mind the poorer economy. It is not so shabby on a long journey (just done approx 40mpg over 2000miles on holiday) but if your motoring is point and squirt in town then it will drop a lot. The A3 gave me 50mpg in general use.
Our Audis's have been totally reliable. Those quibbling about servicing and purchase cost should bear in mind that the variable intervals meant my A3 was first serviced after 19k miles, and also had a very good trade in value.
The S-line suspension is pretty firm-the situation made worse by the v low profile tyres. The best combo would probably be the sport suspension and a bit more rubber, the standard suspension was a bit too rolly for my tastes. Again it depends on your roads and driving.
Bose stereo is no great shakes, but a lot better than standard. Do not bother with the arm rest-it just gets in the way. The heated seats are good enough to fry an egg.
When I traded the car I'd have bought an A3 Sportback next for the extra room if the back pain problem had not been an issue. The Sportback has a more usable hatch and I also think it looks better. However a well specced Sportback gets into A4 price territory.
Hope this is useful. Incidentally my wife says the A3 was the nicest car I've owned-and I've had a few!
Bruce
Are you still looking? I've been on holiday for 2 weeks so just spotted this thread.
I had an A3 2.0TDI Sport for nearly 3 years, now have an A4 Avant 2.0 T petrol. Happy to share my experiences of each if this is still of use.
The A3 was great in many ways but on long journeys it gave me back pain, the seat being too low. This is something I've had with many cars so not necessarily a particular problem with the Audi. The A4 solved this.
The TDI went pretty swiftly but the 2.0 petrol turbo (the Golf GTI engine) in my A4 is very very sweet and I suspect will be nicer all round in the A3 if you don't mind the poorer economy. It is not so shabby on a long journey (just done approx 40mpg over 2000miles on holiday) but if your motoring is point and squirt in town then it will drop a lot. The A3 gave me 50mpg in general use.
Our Audis's have been totally reliable. Those quibbling about servicing and purchase cost should bear in mind that the variable intervals meant my A3 was first serviced after 19k miles, and also had a very good trade in value.
The S-line suspension is pretty firm-the situation made worse by the v low profile tyres. The best combo would probably be the sport suspension and a bit more rubber, the standard suspension was a bit too rolly for my tastes. Again it depends on your roads and driving.
Bose stereo is no great shakes, but a lot better than standard. Do not bother with the arm rest-it just gets in the way. The heated seats are good enough to fry an egg.
When I traded the car I'd have bought an A3 Sportback next for the extra room if the back pain problem had not been an issue. The Sportback has a more usable hatch and I also think it looks better. However a well specced Sportback gets into A4 price territory.
Hope this is useful. Incidentally my wife says the A3 was the nicest car I've owned-and I've had a few!
Bruce
Posted on: 08 May 2007 by Duncan Fullerton
quote:Originally posted by Deane F:
Even though I'm an ardent Alfa Romeo fan, I must say I would happily own an Audi RS4 (although I would audition it first...)
I'm lucky enough to happily own an RS4. Superb car, or as Clarkson put it "biblically good". Eats 911's for breakfast ...
OTOH a friend has an A3 and has had no end of issues with it. Too many to list here. Not sure why there should be such a difference ... different production environments??
As for time to deliver an S3, I ordered my RS4 in early Feb 07 and it arrived mid March. So I am surprised to hear that delivery on new S3 would be November.
Duncan
Posted on: 08 May 2007 by Roy Donaldson
If you're looking for a S3, then call around some dealers. I know Edinburgh Audi had 4 for sale last time I was over there. They'd pre-ordered 5 and were in the process of selling what they had.
Roy.
Roy.
Posted on: 08 May 2007 by northpole
Roy
I suspect that there are regional variations in the quality of dealerships and the service they provide. I had a couple of extremely poor experiences one with an A4 and later with a TT, I went all the way back to Audi UK without a satisfactory outcome. I won't bore you with the details but I'll never have another Audi which is a shame as I think they are excellent. The sports seats in the A4 were the most supportive on a long journey I've experienced.
With the local BMW dealers, I was fortunate to have an all inclusive 3 year service pack - and that really is all inclusive apart from tyres. In London the hourly charge is even worse - I think the figure is beyond £145+vat per hour!
But in my experience they appear to be much more competent. The fact that I still have the 330D after four years says alot - twice as long as I normally would. (Could also be partly down to my reaction to the latest designs!!).
In other regions I don't doubt the opposite could be the case with dealers - all down to personalities rather than brands at the end of the day.
Peter
I suspect that there are regional variations in the quality of dealerships and the service they provide. I had a couple of extremely poor experiences one with an A4 and later with a TT, I went all the way back to Audi UK without a satisfactory outcome. I won't bore you with the details but I'll never have another Audi which is a shame as I think they are excellent. The sports seats in the A4 were the most supportive on a long journey I've experienced.
With the local BMW dealers, I was fortunate to have an all inclusive 3 year service pack - and that really is all inclusive apart from tyres. In London the hourly charge is even worse - I think the figure is beyond £145+vat per hour!
But in my experience they appear to be much more competent. The fact that I still have the 330D after four years says alot - twice as long as I normally would. (Could also be partly down to my reaction to the latest designs!!).
In other regions I don't doubt the opposite could be the case with dealers - all down to personalities rather than brands at the end of the day.
Peter
Posted on: 08 May 2007 by R32 Paul
If no one mind's I'll add my two pennyworth...
We bought a A3 2.0 TDI S-Line, with all the toys.
The box stuck in 3rd gear in town and despite several attemps to fix it using the microsoft method I gave up.
After it had been recovered on the Saturday I finally got someone at the dealers to talk to me by 5pm on the Monday conversation then went like this:
Me - Have you found the fault?
Audi - Nothing wrong with it...
Me - Have you driven it?
Audi - No but we have had it on the computer and that doesn't show any fault's
Me - But it is stuck in 3rd gear?
Audi - Well the computer say's it's fine
Me - Please drive it.....
15 Minutes later...
Audi - We've tried to drive it but we can't.... it appears to be stuck in third gear.....
SIX week's later we got the car back - complete with a new gearbox - the car then started to behave strangely - so we rejected it.
Long story sideway's I am on my third BMW now!
BMW dealers far better than Audi at all stages (we have since tried to by an A3 again and gave up - after being frustrated by the dealers).
We bought a A3 2.0 TDI S-Line, with all the toys.
The box stuck in 3rd gear in town and despite several attemps to fix it using the microsoft method I gave up.
After it had been recovered on the Saturday I finally got someone at the dealers to talk to me by 5pm on the Monday conversation then went like this:
Me - Have you found the fault?
Audi - Nothing wrong with it...
Me - Have you driven it?
Audi - No but we have had it on the computer and that doesn't show any fault's
Me - But it is stuck in 3rd gear?
Audi - Well the computer say's it's fine
Me - Please drive it.....
15 Minutes later...
Audi - We've tried to drive it but we can't.... it appears to be stuck in third gear.....
SIX week's later we got the car back - complete with a new gearbox - the car then started to behave strangely - so we rejected it.
Long story sideway's I am on my third BMW now!
BMW dealers far better than Audi at all stages (we have since tried to by an A3 again and gave up - after being frustrated by the dealers).
Posted on: 08 May 2007 by Roy Donaldson
Seems like there is definately a big variation in dealers here then. There are 2 big dealers up in Central Scotland. Glasgow Audi and Edinburgh Audi. I can't rate the guys in the service dept. of Glasgow more, always excellent service. They once had a A3 of mine for 2 weeks looking for a fault, they gave me a courtesy car and weren't giving me my car back till they'd found the problem and fixed it. (turned out to be a faulty sensor, reporting the system was fine, but in fact was faulty).
Edinburgh Audi excellent sales team. Sales manager is fantastic.
2 guys in our office have 5 series and have had no end of problems with them, with the dealer apparantly not particularly concerned.
Guess, it's buy an Audi up north and get a BMW down south then.
Roy.
Edinburgh Audi excellent sales team. Sales manager is fantastic.
2 guys in our office have 5 series and have had no end of problems with them, with the dealer apparantly not particularly concerned.
Guess, it's buy an Audi up north and get a BMW down south then.
Roy.
Posted on: 09 May 2007 by Rockingdoc
Thanks for all the advice. Spent much of the weekend sitting in the back during the test drive thing, and I feel that I did very well at keeping my mouth shut. She tried all the engines and Mrs Rdoc found;diesels too noisy, 1.6s too slow, 2.0 sports too hard and quick, and the new 1.8 petrol just right. Only niggle being the popularity of the new 1.8 engine means a 10-12 week wait.
She decided the Civic R was too ridiculous for a woman of her maturity, and the Golf was just a cheapers A3.
She is short, so the 3 door A3 was big enough. It's on order with the SE pack and new iPod-slot ICE.
ps. Mr Audi Sales wasn't smarmy at all, but his manager trying to sell all the financial/insurance packages afterwards certainly was.
She decided the Civic R was too ridiculous for a woman of her maturity, and the Golf was just a cheapers A3.
She is short, so the 3 door A3 was big enough. It's on order with the SE pack and new iPod-slot ICE.
ps. Mr Audi Sales wasn't smarmy at all, but his manager trying to sell all the financial/insurance packages afterwards certainly was.
Posted on: 09 May 2007 by Deane F
quote:Originally posted by northpole:
In London the hourly charge is even worse - I think the figure is beyond £145+vat per hour!
I'm stunned by these prices! At current exchange rates, £145 works out to around $370 NZ per hour.
The local Alfa Romeo (and soon to be Maserati) dealer, Euromarque, charges out workshop time at $85 per hour (£31.20). I'm willing to bet that the BMW dealers in Christchurch don't charge too much more than that, either.
Posted on: 09 May 2007 by living in lancs yearning for yorks
Just to add to the BMW v Audi servicing debate:
My experience of BMW dealers (oop north) has largely been negative (local dealer in Preston missed at least one item I'd asked them to address every single time it was in, other than tyres), whereas my brother's experience of them (largely down south) has been excellent. My last BMW (525D) required a new turbo at 3 years and 6 weeks (75k miles), after BMW goodwill contribution this cost my employer £1450-ish. I read in motoring telepgraph recently that someone with 4 yrs and 50 weeks old 530D also needed new turbo but cost to him only £400.
My experience of Audi dealers has not been nearly as bad - easier to get car booked in for service, courtesy car easy to get, cleaned inside as well as out. but I did for a while have an A4 that had been stolen recovered - the Audi dealer who returned the car repaired had fitted the wrong size tyres on the front and had put inner tubes in tubeless tyres (although might be that thieves did this but dealer only looked at the tread...)
Have just got an A6 2.7 diesel estate - seems good so far except for notchy gearchange and tyre noise
My experience of BMW dealers (oop north) has largely been negative (local dealer in Preston missed at least one item I'd asked them to address every single time it was in, other than tyres), whereas my brother's experience of them (largely down south) has been excellent. My last BMW (525D) required a new turbo at 3 years and 6 weeks (75k miles), after BMW goodwill contribution this cost my employer £1450-ish. I read in motoring telepgraph recently that someone with 4 yrs and 50 weeks old 530D also needed new turbo but cost to him only £400.
My experience of Audi dealers has not been nearly as bad - easier to get car booked in for service, courtesy car easy to get, cleaned inside as well as out. but I did for a while have an A4 that had been stolen recovered - the Audi dealer who returned the car repaired had fitted the wrong size tyres on the front and had put inner tubes in tubeless tyres (although might be that thieves did this but dealer only looked at the tread...)
Have just got an A6 2.7 diesel estate - seems good so far except for notchy gearchange and tyre noise