Discussion
After reading so many readers cars threads I thought I'd add my own too. Welcome to my Audi S3, I bought this car (in Nov 15) as a winter hack to get me to and from contracting positions all over the country (Based in North West, contracts vary from Prestwick up north to the south coast). I knew I was going to be doing big miles in it so wasn't looking for a low mile mint example, just something that had been looked after and was not crashed. The car was only to be used for commuting/business related mileage during the week as I usually have something nicer for the weekend so rear seat space or boot space wasn't an issue.
So this one came up for £1750 with 167k miles, went down to London look at it and the bodywork was ok bar one headlight faded & the wheels were tatty but, the interior had held up pretty well and everything worked inside. On the long drive home many faults became apparent. The wheel alignment was way out, the shocks were tired and there was an oily smell emanating from the engine compartment. The car had been remapped way back in 2007 and pulled well, bum dyno felt like 250bhp. Car came with an uprated air filter and a re circulating dump valve and history up to about 120k miles.
So almost exactly 12 months later and the car is now on 210k !! and still going very strong too on the original Turbo & Exhaust!! Here's a rundown of what's gone wrong and what's been changed over 12 months and 43k miles (wow!)
Tyres new set for when I got the car then swapped to winters
4 Wheel alignment
All the PCV pipework was shot so that has been replaced with silicone pipework.
The standard Turbo Intake pipe was also crumbling so that was replaced with a Silicone item too.
changed one thermostat + coolant temp sensor
Clutch slave cylinder failed - this was the only time the car left me stranded. New clutch and flywheel were fitted when this was changed because of the mileage.
4 oil/filter changes + 1 Haldex oil service
2 sets of discs and pads all round
4 shock absorbers (could have got coilovers for a bit cheaper but I do a lot of miles so didn't want a harsh ride)
2 coil springs (both because they were snapped at the very top)
Engine coolant changed
Cambelt and water pump changed at 190K
Turbo to manifold gasket changed
X4 coil packs (only changed to upgrade to 2.0 TFSI coil packs)
I should add that all my replacement parts came from Euro car parts - I always waited until the 30% off weekend offers which saved me loads and I haven't had any issues with any of these bits and they were cheap :-)
The car now drives great and I have total faith in it that it will easily do big journeys without breaking a sweat. Its been a great comfortable car, the electric heated Recaros have been great I found them very comfortable especially on cold winter mornings. Good power for overtaking on the back roads and 4wd to help out in muddy conditions has been a great help, the air con was fantastic in the warm weather earlier this year. Still gets 30mpg so its still (just) about viable to keep using it. Should I have got a diesel? yes probably but, being a contractor means I claim most of my fuel back so im not worried about that. I've previously used a 08 A4 Tdi for about 6 months and I hated it, sure it was cheap on fuel but it wasn't fun and Id say it wasn't that much more comfy than the S3. I would always choose a petrol because I want to drive something that has a bit of poke with smooth power delivery, is reasonably refined and easy to fix and hasn't cost that much to begin with.
The biggest cost was doing the clutch slave cylinder, clutch and flywheel which came in over £700 fitted, but everything else was really cheap. The MOT only showed two advisories of rear drop links with play in them and they were only £7 each to replace. Some say be done with it and get a diesel I say roll on 250k miles!!!
I was thinking of changing to something more sensible and appropriate for the mileage I'm doing but its just so good that I cant bring myself to change it. In any case what else can I get that's got a 250bhp turbo charged engine, 4wd, heated electric seats, heated mirrors, auto dimming rear view mirror, sunroof, climate with A/C, BOSE sound system with 6 CD Changer, Factory Xenons, and bags of boost with +30mpg easily attainable at a fast cruise for less than £2k??
Hope you enjoyed reading.
So this one came up for £1750 with 167k miles, went down to London look at it and the bodywork was ok bar one headlight faded & the wheels were tatty but, the interior had held up pretty well and everything worked inside. On the long drive home many faults became apparent. The wheel alignment was way out, the shocks were tired and there was an oily smell emanating from the engine compartment. The car had been remapped way back in 2007 and pulled well, bum dyno felt like 250bhp. Car came with an uprated air filter and a re circulating dump valve and history up to about 120k miles.
So almost exactly 12 months later and the car is now on 210k !! and still going very strong too on the original Turbo & Exhaust!! Here's a rundown of what's gone wrong and what's been changed over 12 months and 43k miles (wow!)
Tyres new set for when I got the car then swapped to winters
4 Wheel alignment
All the PCV pipework was shot so that has been replaced with silicone pipework.
The standard Turbo Intake pipe was also crumbling so that was replaced with a Silicone item too.
changed one thermostat + coolant temp sensor
Clutch slave cylinder failed - this was the only time the car left me stranded. New clutch and flywheel were fitted when this was changed because of the mileage.
4 oil/filter changes + 1 Haldex oil service
2 sets of discs and pads all round
4 shock absorbers (could have got coilovers for a bit cheaper but I do a lot of miles so didn't want a harsh ride)
2 coil springs (both because they were snapped at the very top)
Engine coolant changed
Cambelt and water pump changed at 190K
Turbo to manifold gasket changed
X4 coil packs (only changed to upgrade to 2.0 TFSI coil packs)
I should add that all my replacement parts came from Euro car parts - I always waited until the 30% off weekend offers which saved me loads and I haven't had any issues with any of these bits and they were cheap :-)
The car now drives great and I have total faith in it that it will easily do big journeys without breaking a sweat. Its been a great comfortable car, the electric heated Recaros have been great I found them very comfortable especially on cold winter mornings. Good power for overtaking on the back roads and 4wd to help out in muddy conditions has been a great help, the air con was fantastic in the warm weather earlier this year. Still gets 30mpg so its still (just) about viable to keep using it. Should I have got a diesel? yes probably but, being a contractor means I claim most of my fuel back so im not worried about that. I've previously used a 08 A4 Tdi for about 6 months and I hated it, sure it was cheap on fuel but it wasn't fun and Id say it wasn't that much more comfy than the S3. I would always choose a petrol because I want to drive something that has a bit of poke with smooth power delivery, is reasonably refined and easy to fix and hasn't cost that much to begin with.
The biggest cost was doing the clutch slave cylinder, clutch and flywheel which came in over £700 fitted, but everything else was really cheap. The MOT only showed two advisories of rear drop links with play in them and they were only £7 each to replace. Some say be done with it and get a diesel I say roll on 250k miles!!!
I was thinking of changing to something more sensible and appropriate for the mileage I'm doing but its just so good that I cant bring myself to change it. In any case what else can I get that's got a 250bhp turbo charged engine, 4wd, heated electric seats, heated mirrors, auto dimming rear view mirror, sunroof, climate with A/C, BOSE sound system with 6 CD Changer, Factory Xenons, and bags of boost with +30mpg easily attainable at a fast cruise for less than £2k??
Hope you enjoyed reading.
Edited by NicheMonkey on Monday 14th November 11:10
I had one of these years ago and they do a great job of feeling quite special. I never thought the driving dynamics were all that but for what you are using it for I suppose that's not completely at the top of the list.
I replaced the factory nav in mine for an RNS-E which made a nice difference.
I replaced the factory nav in mine for an RNS-E which made a nice difference.
mwstewart said:
I had one of these years ago and they do a great job of feeling quite special. I never thought the driving dynamics were all that but for what you are using it for I suppose that's not completely at the top of the list.
I replaced the factory nav in mine for an RNS-E which made a nice difference.
Agreed on the dynamics, it's a understeery mess in the wet even with new suspension. In the dry not so bad but definitely not confidence inspiring. After switching to winter tyres the breakaway point is a little better but not by much. It's heavy for a hatch too at 1420kg. I guess like most Audi S models it's better at the straight line stuff than the twisty bits. I replaced the factory nav in mine for an RNS-E which made a nice difference.
Looks great!
I do that thing of waiting for the 30% off weekends. Even just for things like oil and antifreeze to stock up. Unfortunately stuff like Brenna brakes and Bilstein suspension aren't on that deal, otherwise I'd have snapped them up.
Last weekend I ordered rear drop links, antifreeze, five litres of oil, oil filter, fuel filter and pollen filter and it staggered me how cheap that came to altogether
I do that thing of waiting for the 30% off weekends. Even just for things like oil and antifreeze to stock up. Unfortunately stuff like Brenna brakes and Bilstein suspension aren't on that deal, otherwise I'd have snapped them up.
Last weekend I ordered rear drop links, antifreeze, five litres of oil, oil filter, fuel filter and pollen filter and it staggered me how cheap that came to altogether
Well done Sir, always liked these!
As a fellow advocate of using a somewhat unsuitable car for work, although my mileage is no where near yours, I fully salute your choice and wish you the best of luck.
Resist the urge to change to a diesel, although it must be said that my 330D was great, and enjoy it for as long as you can.
As a fellow advocate of using a somewhat unsuitable car for work, although my mileage is no where near yours, I fully salute your choice and wish you the best of luck.
Resist the urge to change to a diesel, although it must be said that my 330D was great, and enjoy it for as long as you can.
f1nn said:
Well done Sir, always liked these!
As a fellow advocate of using a somewhat unsuitable car for work, although my mileage is no where near yours, I fully salute your choice and wish you the best of luck.
Resist the urge to change to a diesel, although it must be said that my 330D was great, and enjoy it for as long as you can.
Thanks, the plan is 250k miles I reckon I'll be there Aug/Sept 2017.. After that I think I'll be replacing it with a sheddy 8P S3 with DSG because I'll be needing an auto to rest my left leg hahaAs a fellow advocate of using a somewhat unsuitable car for work, although my mileage is no where near yours, I fully salute your choice and wish you the best of luck.
Resist the urge to change to a diesel, although it must be said that my 330D was great, and enjoy it for as long as you can.
JakeT said:
I thought about one of these, but having owned a 1.8T engine they're quite tempremental things once they've got some miles under their belt. 40mpg is easily achievable on a not mental run though, and they feel much quicker than they are.
Ive never had over 30mpg, but I drive it hard, last time checked the computer which I never reset it was on 30.6mpg over 93 hours of driving.. I've had a few 1.8T's over the years in Seat, Audi and VW flavours. The BAM 225 is a strong engine with uprated internals I've not been easy on it at all and the engine has been fantastic. I find it's all the bits connected to the engine which end up failing, quite often as well but parts are very cheap when things go wrong.
210k miles on the original Turbo, exhaust, gearbox & engine is pretty good going I think.
For reference my weekend fun car is usually a fast Honda of some sort so I am in no way a Audi or VW fanboy, I prefer a better steer over power buy that don't mean I'm gonna do big miles in my other shed EP3 Type R. it's just hard to argue what else could be found that's 4wd turbo with a high spec interior and reasonably refined for way less than 2k.
For the record my driving style is making progress rather than thrashing it so Im Rarely using full power, I was stopped by plod a year ago for doing 110mph and got 6 points, I still remember the magistrate saying "I don't want to see you again" so i keep the speed down.
wjb said:
Nice S3 op, I've just bought a TT from the same era. Nice to see one comfortably over 200k still going strong.
Thanks, I believe the TT and S3 are identical underneath. I was considering a TT but I thought the S3 would also do for tip runs with the back seats down you'd be surprised what you could get in there. Edited by wjb on Monday 14th November 21:52
Keep the oil fresh and good quality, I use castrol magnatec c3 5w/30 and consumption is about 500ml per 1000 miles if I'm not on it a lot. Also made sure the oil pick up pipe was changed and the sump cleaned on the first oil change in my ownership, there was crud in the pipe which leads to oil starvation in the turbo on these cars it's a common fault.
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