I am considering an A3 3.2 what are they like to live with

[Chabsy]

Budget is about £13000 for that I can get a '04 Sport or S-Line I have seen a 04 with 38000 miles for just under 12k It needs a service as the last was done at 18000 I recon a AVS will be about £400( about right? )
Spec is pretty standard half leather is the only extra but the standard spec is pretty good.
Same car at an Audi dealer will be 13.5 - 14k

[Meditative]

I've got and A3 3.2 Sport and I love it. It's not perfect, but I think its great. The main draw back it the jerky accelerator for the 1st few mm of travel which can be annoying around town. It also understeers a bit because of the weight in the front. But the engine is a peach and sounds great, the interior is rock solid, it is really reliable and it shifts.
I would recommend you test drive it to see about the low speed jerkyness (is that actually a word?), but if you can live with it go for it.

[brisel]

Have you considered an R32?

They depreciate more slowly & sound better.

Not as tidy inside & a bit more in-yer-face.

[PhilLL]

brisel said:

Have you considered an R32?

They depreciate more slowly & sound better.

Not as tidy inside & a bit more in-yer-face.

Why would he want something based on the previous generation car? Not really the same propostion?

[Chabsy]

Thanks for the replies

I test drove 1 on Friday it did shift and it felt fairly sharp, turn in was quicker than i was expecting.

It was a bit jerky but that was becuase the clutch biting piont was really low and the brakes were on or off i thought.

I ruled the R32 out because it is a bit in yer face and its a bit dearer, the Audi is much more subtle, sleeper even the only way you can tell is the 3.2 badge

[Dr G]

You really do get used to the 'sharp' controls - it's not the issue that reputation would have you believe.

[Waugh-terfall]

You'll get used to the clutch, I find it easier to use in the A6 than my Mothers Mazda 323 manouvering around a steep, tight driveway now.

Trust me, it can't be any worse than a 2001 Clio 1.2's, lift your left leg slightly and the pedal pings right up

Edited by Waugh-terfall on Sunday 2nd March 22:01

[PhilLL]

Waugh-terfall said:

Trust me, it can't be any worse than a 2001 Clio 1.2's, lift your left leg slightly and the pedal pings right up

Edited by Waugh-terfall on Sunday 2nd March 22:01

My girlfriend's 2002 Clio has the most horrid clutch..

[catso]

I have one and yes the throttle and brakes are both sensitive but you get used to that, mine is a DSG which makes the take-off from stop even more on/off but again a gentle right foot helps.
As said understeers some but overall handling is good and grip excellent, especially in the wet.
Nice interior - better than VW and nice and understated, yes a bit of a 'sleeper'.
Smooth power delivery, great noise, deceptively quick and at it's best on sweeping A roads at highly illegal speeds, (allegedly ) where the sensitive throttle/brakes work well - brakes are very powerful.
Had mine since new (2004) no major problems but did get the rear shocks changed under warranty (actually outside the warranty period) because they got 'noisy' I was told by the dealer this was a common issue on that model/year.
I still like mine after 4 years, especially the DSG box, the only real downside is 23-25mpg but I suppose that's not too bad when you consider the performance on tap.

[Waugh-terfall]

a JEEP Cherokee 2.8CRD does 19MPG on a 200mi motorway cruise so it's not that bad :P

[baz1985]

Its very good. I've just ditched the OE st Line suspension and replaced it with KW Variant 3 Coilovers. It is now more comfortable and significantly better dynamically.