The birth of the new Mum mobile Audi A3 SB style
Discussion
Having had nothing but Audi over the years it didn't take long for my partner to also start having Audi also....
She started with a very nice Final Edition Audi 80 Cabriolet
which then evolved into an even better TT 225
but whilst she loved driving it, the daily practicalities of being a Mum and needing to do the weekly shop meant the boot was way too small.... so that went in exchange for a 2004 3 door A3, which she loves
and it's served her very well...…. but the fact it's a 3 door was not what she wanted, she wanted a Sportback….
But it was starting to show it's age and we came to the conclusion that it was time to change and that brings us to yesterday and a chance browse on Autotrader and a local garage had a SB in nearly the spec she (me ) wanted.
Pics are from the advert.
it's a 2008 170bhp TDi, very low miles, full service history, cambelt at 5 years old (and is being done again as part of our deal).
The only bit's it doesn't have we were looking for are Xenon's, front parking sensors, built in satnav and cruise control.... all things which can be retrofitted.
Things which it needs are puddle lights, footwell lights and LED light interior swap out
The red calipers need stripping and repainting black and it'll have new discs and pads put on at the same time.
Then all it'll need is a full paint decontamination and polished to death...…
The only fault code shown on the scan when inspecting yesterday was a G28 speed sensor which the garage will sort out.
She started with a very nice Final Edition Audi 80 Cabriolet
which then evolved into an even better TT 225
but whilst she loved driving it, the daily practicalities of being a Mum and needing to do the weekly shop meant the boot was way too small.... so that went in exchange for a 2004 3 door A3, which she loves
and it's served her very well...…. but the fact it's a 3 door was not what she wanted, she wanted a Sportback….
But it was starting to show it's age and we came to the conclusion that it was time to change and that brings us to yesterday and a chance browse on Autotrader and a local garage had a SB in nearly the spec she (me ) wanted.
Pics are from the advert.
it's a 2008 170bhp TDi, very low miles, full service history, cambelt at 5 years old (and is being done again as part of our deal).
The only bit's it doesn't have we were looking for are Xenon's, front parking sensors, built in satnav and cruise control.... all things which can be retrofitted.
Things which it needs are puddle lights, footwell lights and LED light interior swap out
The red calipers need stripping and repainting black and it'll have new discs and pads put on at the same time.
Then all it'll need is a full paint decontamination and polished to death...…
The only fault code shown on the scan when inspecting yesterday was a G28 speed sensor which the garage will sort out.
Have a look through the history and see if you can see if the oil pump balance shaft has been done, if not, give your local specialist a call and see if you can get a quote for it to be done (there is an upgraded unit available) it's a known issue with these engines and its a case of when, not if it fails and when it does you will most likely take the turbo with it.
RNS-E with nav can be bought off ebay easily enough.
Cruise can be added with factory parts for about £200 and someone to activate it with VAG COM.
Xenons are not an easy upgrade though.
Enjoy it, the engines are great with plenty of pull if not the most exciting things (it's a diesel after all) and don't believe anyone who says they get 60+ mpg, my 170 averaged 50 when on a cruise but around MK it dropped to low 30's but I have a heavy foot and MK is all stop start. They also respond rather well to mapping, I had a Superchips bluefin on mine and it provided an excellent extra bit of shove without ruining the clutch.
RNS-E with nav can be bought off ebay easily enough.
Cruise can be added with factory parts for about £200 and someone to activate it with VAG COM.
Xenons are not an easy upgrade though.
Enjoy it, the engines are great with plenty of pull if not the most exciting things (it's a diesel after all) and don't believe anyone who says they get 60+ mpg, my 170 averaged 50 when on a cruise but around MK it dropped to low 30's but I have a heavy foot and MK is all stop start. They also respond rather well to mapping, I had a Superchips bluefin on mine and it provided an excellent extra bit of shove without ruining the clutch.
geeks said:
Have a look through the history and see if you can see if the oil pump balance shaft has been done, if not, give your local specialist a call and see if you can get a quote for it to be done (there is an upgraded unit available) it's a known issue with these engines and its a case of when, not if it fails and when it does you will most likely take the turbo with it.
RNS-E with nav can be bought off ebay easily enough.
Cruise can be added with factory parts for about £200 and someone to activate it with VAG COM.
Xenons are not an easy upgrade though.
Enjoy it, the engines are great with plenty of pull if not the most exciting things (it's a diesel after all) and don't believe anyone who says they get 60+ mpg, my 170 averaged 50 when on a cruise but around MK it dropped to low 30's but I have a heavy foot and MK is all stop start. They also respond rather well to mapping, I had a Superchips bluefin on mine and it provided an excellent extra bit of shove without ruining the clutch.
Thanks for the reply. RNS-E with nav can be bought off ebay easily enough.
Cruise can be added with factory parts for about £200 and someone to activate it with VAG COM.
Xenons are not an easy upgrade though.
Enjoy it, the engines are great with plenty of pull if not the most exciting things (it's a diesel after all) and don't believe anyone who says they get 60+ mpg, my 170 averaged 50 when on a cruise but around MK it dropped to low 30's but I have a heavy foot and MK is all stop start. They also respond rather well to mapping, I had a Superchips bluefin on mine and it provided an excellent extra bit of shove without ruining the clutch.
The balance shaft issue is already known and will be checked out.
Will either do the RNS-E but the fact you can't do full postcode will annoy her so may do an aftermarket OE style Android replacement.
Cruise is a very easy replacement, a replacement stalk is about £40-£60 and will fit and code myself, done it a few times, did it on the A3 and my S5.
The main issue with doing the Xenon's will be the headlight washers in the bumper and self levelling, I agree it isn't an easy swap.
This won't be mapped, it's plenty powerful enough for her......
89forever said:
Thanks for the reply.
The balance shaft issue is already known and will be checked out.
Will either do the RNS-E but the fact you can't do full postcode will annoy her so may do an aftermarket OE style Android replacement.
Cruise is a very easy replacement, a replacement stalk is about £40-£60 and will fit and code myself, done it a few times, did it on the A3 and my S5.
The main issue with doing the Xenon's will be the headlight washers in the bumper and self levelling, I agree it isn't an easy swap.
This won't be mapped, it's plenty powerful enough for her......
You can get a modified nav disc that will do full postcode search, didn't try it with mine as the nav did a good enough job without, have been looking at Android units for the camper, let me know how you get on..The balance shaft issue is already known and will be checked out.
Will either do the RNS-E but the fact you can't do full postcode will annoy her so may do an aftermarket OE style Android replacement.
Cruise is a very easy replacement, a replacement stalk is about £40-£60 and will fit and code myself, done it a few times, did it on the A3 and my S5.
The main issue with doing the Xenon's will be the headlight washers in the bumper and self levelling, I agree it isn't an easy swap.
This won't be mapped, it's plenty powerful enough for her......
Well the eagle has landed
all good, full cambelt done, with water pump and tensioners. G28 was replaced and that is now ticked off.
In the week I bought completed new discs and pads to fit, whilst there is technically nothing wrong with what is fitted, they are worn a bit and scabby looking, so wheels off tomorrow to fit them and strip the bloody awful red calipers and paint them black.
Also got a full oil service kit, with all filters... start as we mean to go on and all that....
Just had a fun 30 minutes sat in the car with VCDS ticking code boxes....
all options wanted or not wanted are now set.
It is a shame that the needle sweep can't be activated despite being in the options. There must be a cheat somewhere to get that sorted?
I attacked the leather steering wheel and gearknob with a load of leather wipes as they were too shiny, they are going to need a bit more love yet.....
all good, full cambelt done, with water pump and tensioners. G28 was replaced and that is now ticked off.
In the week I bought completed new discs and pads to fit, whilst there is technically nothing wrong with what is fitted, they are worn a bit and scabby looking, so wheels off tomorrow to fit them and strip the bloody awful red calipers and paint them black.
Also got a full oil service kit, with all filters... start as we mean to go on and all that....
Just had a fun 30 minutes sat in the car with VCDS ticking code boxes....
all options wanted or not wanted are now set.
It is a shame that the needle sweep can't be activated despite being in the options. There must be a cheat somewhere to get that sorted?
I attacked the leather steering wheel and gearknob with a load of leather wipes as they were too shiny, they are going to need a bit more love yet.....
absolutely boils my piss the lack of care some show to cars.
Went to do a simple job this morning of putting my new number plates onto the A3
I hate having branded, screwed on plates as I prefer the clean lines of simply stuck on ones.
On removing the rears I found that the dumb f
k monkey nut brain mechanics at the place we bought the car from has simple drilled the metal rear hatch to attach the plate, totally ignoring the factory plastic boss.No paint protection applied to prevent corrosion at all...…
I've now pained inside and out and sealed the hole but it's still not as good as it not being drilled in the first place...…
I've emailed the dealership to get their opinion but I won't hold my breath
Edited by 89forever on Sunday 2nd December 12:36
Well the garage thought it acceptable to offer a £100 as a "goodwill gesture" for their bodge.... my response was less than goodwill...
anyway line in the sand and moving on, on the flip side there are some good willed companies in the world still.
About 3.5 years ago during the restoration of the 80 Cabriolet I bought various suspension components, one item being a set of Pi springs direct from Pi themselves, I never used them and they sat in the cupboard under the stairs and the Cab was sold etc.
Various attempts to sell them resulted in them still sitting collecting dust. For the Passat CC I also bought a set of Pi springs again direct. So I had a look to see what was available from Pi for either the S5 or the A3 SB. They had various options for the A3 so I contacted them asking (cheekily) if I could exchange the Cab ones for a set of A3 lowering springs. I explained that i'd had the Cab ones for a long time.
Not a problem came their response, as long as they are still new looking (which they were) we'll happily exchange them.....
I sent them off, carefully wrapped and a couple of days later this arrived at the door
not being a fan of the red as standard
(image of the red shamelessly stolen from my Passat thread as I didn't take a before)
I thought i'd have them stripped and powdercoated black for that OE stealth look
Just need a quiet dry day and fitting commences.... (I need to order some top mounts as they're bound to be fked)
so a huge thumbs up to Pi for their customer services...
anyway line in the sand and moving on, on the flip side there are some good willed companies in the world still.
About 3.5 years ago during the restoration of the 80 Cabriolet I bought various suspension components, one item being a set of Pi springs direct from Pi themselves, I never used them and they sat in the cupboard under the stairs and the Cab was sold etc.
Various attempts to sell them resulted in them still sitting collecting dust. For the Passat CC I also bought a set of Pi springs again direct. So I had a look to see what was available from Pi for either the S5 or the A3 SB. They had various options for the A3 so I contacted them asking (cheekily) if I could exchange the Cab ones for a set of A3 lowering springs. I explained that i'd had the Cab ones for a long time.
Not a problem came their response, as long as they are still new looking (which they were) we'll happily exchange them.....
I sent them off, carefully wrapped and a couple of days later this arrived at the door
not being a fan of the red as standard
(image of the red shamelessly stolen from my Passat thread as I didn't take a before)
I thought i'd have them stripped and powdercoated black for that OE stealth look
Just need a quiet dry day and fitting commences.... (I need to order some top mounts as they're bound to be f
ked)so a huge thumbs up to Pi for their customer services...
Edited by 89forever on Saturday 8th December 13:22
So Thursday I got a very upset partner type message with this as an image
some dumb fk had swerved at her and she avoided and clipped the kerb.....
So Monday evening, the car looked like some had done away with the wheels I took all 4 to work on Tuesday...
Dipped in acid to strip the old finish off, sanded back and re powdercoated in Smoked Chrome and then the tyres were fitted this afternoon
and fitted back on the car tonight, light is st as it's dark...
the white on the tyres is the goo they use to lubricate the tyre....
all equals a happy wifey...… and the car is back to how it was pre kerbing.....
some dumb f
k had swerved at her and she avoided and clipped the kerb.....So Monday evening, the car looked like some
had done away with the wheels I took all 4 to work on Tuesday...Dipped in acid to strip the old finish off, sanded back and re powdercoated in Smoked Chrome and then the tyres were fitted this afternoon
and fitted back on the car tonight, light is s
t as it's dark...the white on the tyres is the goo they use to lubricate the tyre....
all equals a happy wifey...… and the car is back to how it was pre kerbing.....
Over the Christmas break good old eBay came up trumps for a very cost effective Cruise Control Stalk and lower cowl.
We start with something missing
Old and new stalks
Old and new cowls
and all buttoned up as per factory
plug VCDS in and changed the codings on Module 16 Steering wheel and Module 1 Engine to recognise that cruise is now fitted and just like it left the factory...
That's one more thing ticked off the list...!!!
We start with something missing
Old and new stalks
Old and new cowls
and all buttoned up as per factory
plug VCDS in and changed the codings on Module 16 Steering wheel and Module 1 Engine to recognise that cruise is now fitted and just like it left the factory...
That's one more thing ticked off the list...!!!
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