Audi A3 3.2 Quattro

[cogginsmill]

Hi all, first time positing here, i've always had fun browsing the classifieds but never actually registered for an account.
I've owned a number of cars in my time:
- Lexus Soarer 2.5TT
- Lexus Soarer 4.0 GT
- Saab Aero HOT
- Lexus RX Hybrid (current car bought from a main dealer for reliability reasons!)
- Various small run arounds.

Anyway to the point:

I've been looking for an A3 3.2 Quattro for the last couple of months, we live in an area with small country lanes and the Quattro would be great!
I've never bought a second hand car outside of a dealer apart from the two Soarers that came from an importer (two most reliable cars i've ever had)
The experience of looking for a second had car is not a great one, having to drive miles to find out you've been lied to or the car is not as advised.


What exactly am I looking for:
Audi A3 3.2 Quattro
2006 onwards
<= 65K miles
Black or silver
Preferably S-Line
Not fussy on nav
<=£5k

I have a 2001 Golf diesel 2.0 that I hope to trade in for circa £600.

Browsing eBay and Autotrader returns mixed results.
Yesterday I went and took a look at this car.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

I called Audi and asked them for a service history, they were not aware of the car on any of the plates an HPI check returned (alarm bells) this was surprising as the advert clearly states it has one, you would also think there would be 1 or 2 Audi services. I used the Audi spec / service check service on 0800-542-3037

After accepting this and the fact the car had slightly more miles than I wanted I called the garage and they assured me it was mechanically sound and did indeed have a full service history and in addition had a recent gearbox and engine oil change by an "Audi" specialist.

On arrival I was shown the car, the bodywork appeared to be in good condition for it's age and the inside was nice and tidy.
When it was time for a test drive I was told it would need to be jump started as somebody had left the lights on (alarm bells)

We drove down the road allowing the car to warm up, once it had reached normal running temperature I decided to put my foot down, wow did it go! I then I decided to change up and down the box using the paddle shifters, what a mistake! The car appeared to put itself into neutral while flashing the symbols "PRND" and a check engine light on the dash. I pulled over immediately and the garage owner told me that it had never happened to him before and he would take to his mechanic.
We turned the car off, started it again and the "PRND" lights stopped flashing but the check engine light was still on. He then dove to his mechanic with me in the passenger seat, it felt like the car was in some kind of "limp home mode".

It turns out the mechanic was his "Audi" specialist and I was told he was the one responsible for the engine and gear box oil changes. I was instructed to wait in the car while the garage owner went to talk to his mechanic. After a short while the mechanic came out with a "SnapOn" code scanner and hooked it up. After a short while of fiddling about the scanner returned two codes, they were very cagey with the machine at that point but I did see the word "detachment". They cleared the codes and blamed it on the flat battery the car had earlier (insert nonsense expletives here)

He drove the car back to the garage and explained how he had been driving it for months without an issue. I then asked him to try it himself, he had exactly the same issue.

Maybe this was genuine, maybe not but it took me a while day to get there and back.


I then found this on eBay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUDI-A3-S-LINE-3-2-V6-Q...f:0

This looks like another great deal! I managed to get the registration number from them to check the MOT history. It looks like the last owner really did not care about the car at all. It has so many minors, including suspension problems that are going to turn out to be big issues as soon as it's driven away.

What shall I do? Do I need to up the budget? I feel like giving up!

[petop]

Cant really give you much advice on the issues you experienced with the first car other than if you dont feel right then do not do it.
But i had a A3 3.2 V6 and it was a awesome car. It was a manual and with nothing on the back apart from the tiny Quattro badge. So it was a bit of a sleeper. It could easily pass off as a 2.0 TDI until you put your foot down.
So wait until you find a good one which you feel comfortable with.

[RedSwede]

Looking at cars is often a frustrating experience for the reasons you say.

Number one, at this price, I would much rather buy privately - although looking on A/T that really limits the current availability. Private sellers are often more honest and chances are will only sell their own car if they are genuinely comfortable that it is broadly OK. A garage will not know the car other than a handful of miles and are professional salesmen. Some of them are professional liars too.

£4k seems well into the market, so there should be a good one. It is a rare-ish car though, so might need some perseverance. I think that is the only advice here.

[chriscoates]

Patience is key here I think - 3.2 A3s are not a common sight. I have a BMW 130i which is a similar type of car (large engine in a small car, therefore rare) and had to wait around four months before finding the right car. Don't be tempted to take a punt on something which will end up emptying your wallet.

[johnxjsc1985]

My wife has an 05 one its a cracking little car but they are getting on a bit now even an 06 will be 13 years old so FSH essential and low ownership . They seem extremely cheap for what you get and if you push it makes a lovely noise.
Wait for the derogatory comments about them but she had hers for over 3 years and simply wont change it.

[mrbarnett]

I've always quite liked these as a Q-car, but they are getting a little long in the tooth now. Nothing wrong with that as such, but it does mean there will be a few out there that haven't been looked after with the care they deserve, as you have found.

One thing to mention is that these, along with the TT V6, were the first cars to be fitted with DSG, and consequently will ahve been used by VAG to test and improve the technology. Considering the bork-factor with these gearboxes and their cutting edge status when these cars were new, I'd look for a manual myself for that added piece of mind.

Still, hope you find a good one (that first one would have had me ruining a mile); the engines in these were truly the peak for this class of car. Wonderful motors.

[The Hypno-Toad]

I had one of these for a while and it was a fantastic car. As mentioned above very discreet until you put your foot down.

Keep looking for the best one you can find, the rewards will be great if you get a good one.

[b14]

We've got one - 54 plate car, DSG box, 70k miles, half leather/alcantara trim. It's great - my wife loves it. Not a particularly exciting drive handling wise but I love the engine. I rate the engine and gearbox much more highly than the contemporary BMW N52 and 6HP19 box that I've got in my 2006 530i (but the BMW is a much nicer car in terms of driver involvement - would love the Audi engine in the BMW chassis).

Things to watch for:

- DSG failure - you've already experienced that... note these are one of the earliest DSG cars on the market. More common on the 7 speed cars (I don't think the 7 speed was offered on the 3.2) and usually avoidable if they have had the right DSG services every 40k miles
- timing chain stretch (google it)
- Haldex controller dying that causes Quattro to cease operating and TC light on. Easy fix provided you can get it on ramps, take the controller off the rear diff and get it sent to the guy up north that fixes them. Replacement is £800+ but the fix is £165ish, if it can be fixed (apparently most can).
- ABS module failure. This is less common I understand.
- rusty rear coil springs

We've done 30k miles in ours since buying it back in 2014 and it's been faultless save the Haldex controller which I fixed myself. As my wife's car with two small kids it is perfect for local use and with a roof box has hauled some big loads for UK holidays. I keep some money back for what some suggest is inevitable DSG failure but reality has been very different.

I'd offer you ours but my wife says she'll never sell it!

[Jayho]

Were there not some software upgrades to the dsg box at some point?

Was very near purchasing one a couple of years ago but some personal reasons made me miss the boat. Manual and sounded awesome.

Think they're everything the Golf R32 of that era was, but without the frilly bits. The Golf are quite desirable and highly rated.

Is there any reason it must be 06 plate or newer? Think you'll be paying a lot more for Tax compared to a pre 06 plate.

[ZX10R NIN]

These are good cars but I'd swerve the DSG versions & go for a manual then you're just left with the possibility of the timing chain stretching, you can get these checked by a specialist to see how much they have or haven't stretched.

Although ove budget this would be my pick.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[nobrakes]

ZX10R NIN said:

These are good cars but I'd swerve the DSG versions & go for a manual then you're just left with the possibility of the timing chain stretching, you can get these checked by a specialist to see how much they have or haven't stretched.

Although ove budget this would be my pick.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Very Q/sleeperish.

[johnxjsc1985]

any car that is 12 years old or even older can at anytime have problems all you can do is ensure Service history is complete and try to get a low number of owners. Ours had just one previous owner and fsh and so far (fingers crossed) the DSG has been great but the car only does about 5k a year mostly local so it doesn't get thrashed unless I manage to steel it whilst the wife isn't about.
Its doesn't have the pull of a Golf but a very enjoyable car to own and drive

[cogginsmill]

@b14 - if it's nice and well maintained, i'll make you an offer :-) Thanks for all the things to look out for.
@jaho - I see, might be a good idea to look older than 06 then, thanks for that.

I found a nice looking on on here - more than I wanted to spend, but might be worth a look at if he's still got it.
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

[b14]

cogginsmill said:

@b14 - if it's nice and well maintained, i'll make you an offer :-) Thanks for all the things to look out for.
@jaho - I see, might be a good idea to look older than 06 then, thanks for that.

I found a nice looking on on here - more than I wanted to spend, but might be worth a look at if he's still got it.
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

Looks pretty good, low mileage, seems to be well maintained, with the wheels I like. Not sure about the "future classic" line but nice to dream. The three doors look nicer than the five (ours is a Sportback, not the greatest looking thing). Pricey but probably pitched to reflect the mileage. Looks fairly basic spec although I can see cruise control. Nice to know that ours at around the same mileage might be worth around what we paid for it (£6k back in 2014).

I'm not sure about the scare stories on the DSG. I was worried about them being some of the earliest DSG cars (and I think ours was one of the first delivered in the UK, full stop) but if you do your research the 6 speed box is way more robust than the 7 speed that they used in the diesels. It is a great box, super smooth and pretty good at slow speed parking etc where the equivalent SMG boxes were terrible. But, it's quite short geared - it shuffles into 6th by the time you are doing 30 which is fine but means 3k+ rpm at motorway speeds (although the car is still perfectly refined at that speed). I've never found it a problem as the car kicks down so quickly if you need pace, but would like a 7th gear on the motorway.

MPG is worth considering. Ours does 32 on a run, 28 with roof box on and full car, but hovers around 22 - 25 for local driving.