Ebay purchase - Audi A3 3.2 DSG Quattro Sport
Discussion
Intro -
It's been a while since I felt the urge write about one of my cars.
I've previously done threads on my Vectra 2.0T, E90 BMW 325i, E46 BMW 325i and Alfa GTV 2.0TS.
However, in the last couple of years I've also run a Lexus IS200 sport, a Volvo S60 T5 and a Ford Focus ST170 (as well as my Ford S Max family wagon) - but none have quite motivated me enough to write on here.
The back story -
Anyway, I owned the ST170 for a couple of months, having won it in an ebay auction for £870. However, though not a bad car, it was just a little underwhelming so I moved it on for £900 and set about looking for something more interesting.
This popped up on ebay as a classified ad about 20 miles from me (pic from the ad itself) -
Here is the ad itself -
" Audi A3 3.2 v6 Dsg s line
97000 miles, mauritius blue, black half leather interior,cruise control,flat bottom steering wheel, remus stainless steel back box, S3 alloys,full mot, new front tyres,all old mot's,2 keys with new batteries, new bosch battery, wipers, climate control re gassed/new charcoal pollen filter, body work has no dents. Lower tax year car. Only selling due to growing family. Please message any questions or to request viewing or my phone number. £2900. Please don't select buy it now as the eBay fees. Item location shipdham norfolk. "
I actually arranged to see it and then did a bit of research on the value - which seemed to range from £2100-2300. I then contacted the seller to cancel the viewing and politely informed them I was not going to get near to their valuation so I didnt want to waste their time.
After a while - a message came back - can go down to £2450, come and see it if you want, no obligation to buy etc.
So I did. See it, and buy it!
Didn't test drive it myself, but went for a short drive with the seller. The car really does seem as tidy as it looks in the pics. The chap had owned it since 2015, covering 10,000 miles in 5 years. Apparently paid £5k for it when he bought it but used it as a second car, to drive to the gym etc.
Pics from the day of purchase, parked on my driveway at home -
A few observations -
1. It's not an S Line, despite the badging. The online car checkers seem to suggest it's a 'Sport'. Not bothered as I'm not really into this S Line/M Sport thing. Looking at 'How Many left' the Sport is much more common - about 1500 or so on the road, compared with 80 S line cars. Must admit I do like the flat bottomed S Line steering wheel though.
2. Service history is not the best. The seller seemed to think that because he put some 30000 mile long life oil in there it excused servicing for the last 5 years. Anyway, it's since been to my local Audi/BMW indy who did an oil and filter service. Also needed two rear springs as one had a crack. Probably going to need a proper service at some point, a Haldex oil and filter change, the DSg box servicing. Anyway, it's a weekend car/runaround for me and won't be doing big miles so will get these jobs done bit by bit.
3. The car drives without any issues. The DSG box functions fine - really like those paddles on the steering wheel. I think the DSG version is a bit quicker than the manual, looking at old car reviews and stats. It certainly does feel pretty rapid and with the all wheel drive, pretty well planted, even in wet weather. Depending where you look the headline figures are -
bhp - 246
0-60 - 6.2 secs
torque - 236 lb/ft
top speed - 155mph
Insurance wise I paid the grand sum of £27 to switch my ST170 policy onto this and I think some of that was the fee to change. So basically the two cars cost the same to insure, which seems pretty nuts (though I guess the ST170 is more common and historically has plenty more claims against it than the Audi).
The car seems to have a nice upgraded stereo, the inside generally seems in nice condition and not at all bad for a 16 year old car. The 18 inch (apparently S3) alloys have plenty of kerb marks and the tyres are some iffy brand I can't recall but I can live with that for now.
4. See the most recent pics (below). I'm really sorry about the quattro decals I added to sides. I understand this will be frowned upon by the majority of the PH people. Badly modified cars and all that. Anyway, I won't be doing anything else to it. As mentioned at the start, my family transport daily is a very dull Ford S Max so I quite like my fun car to stand out, 3.2 badge on the back and all that.
5. All things considered, very happy with my purchase. Only had it just over a week and (unlike previous recent cars I've had - Lexus IS200, Focus ST170) it kind of gets under your skin. I'm thinking it's a keeper...
It's been a while since I felt the urge write about one of my cars.
I've previously done threads on my Vectra 2.0T, E90 BMW 325i, E46 BMW 325i and Alfa GTV 2.0TS.
However, in the last couple of years I've also run a Lexus IS200 sport, a Volvo S60 T5 and a Ford Focus ST170 (as well as my Ford S Max family wagon) - but none have quite motivated me enough to write on here.
The back story -
Anyway, I owned the ST170 for a couple of months, having won it in an ebay auction for £870. However, though not a bad car, it was just a little underwhelming so I moved it on for £900 and set about looking for something more interesting.
This popped up on ebay as a classified ad about 20 miles from me (pic from the ad itself) -
Here is the ad itself -
" Audi A3 3.2 v6 Dsg s line
97000 miles, mauritius blue, black half leather interior,cruise control,flat bottom steering wheel, remus stainless steel back box, S3 alloys,full mot, new front tyres,all old mot's,2 keys with new batteries, new bosch battery, wipers, climate control re gassed/new charcoal pollen filter, body work has no dents. Lower tax year car. Only selling due to growing family. Please message any questions or to request viewing or my phone number. £2900. Please don't select buy it now as the eBay fees. Item location shipdham norfolk. "
I actually arranged to see it and then did a bit of research on the value - which seemed to range from £2100-2300. I then contacted the seller to cancel the viewing and politely informed them I was not going to get near to their valuation so I didnt want to waste their time.
After a while - a message came back - can go down to £2450, come and see it if you want, no obligation to buy etc.
So I did. See it, and buy it!
Didn't test drive it myself, but went for a short drive with the seller. The car really does seem as tidy as it looks in the pics. The chap had owned it since 2015, covering 10,000 miles in 5 years. Apparently paid £5k for it when he bought it but used it as a second car, to drive to the gym etc.
Pics from the day of purchase, parked on my driveway at home -
A few observations -
1. It's not an S Line, despite the badging. The online car checkers seem to suggest it's a 'Sport'. Not bothered as I'm not really into this S Line/M Sport thing. Looking at 'How Many left' the Sport is much more common - about 1500 or so on the road, compared with 80 S line cars. Must admit I do like the flat bottomed S Line steering wheel though.
2. Service history is not the best. The seller seemed to think that because he put some 30000 mile long life oil in there it excused servicing for the last 5 years. Anyway, it's since been to my local Audi/BMW indy who did an oil and filter service. Also needed two rear springs as one had a crack. Probably going to need a proper service at some point, a Haldex oil and filter change, the DSg box servicing. Anyway, it's a weekend car/runaround for me and won't be doing big miles so will get these jobs done bit by bit.
3. The car drives without any issues. The DSG box functions fine - really like those paddles on the steering wheel. I think the DSG version is a bit quicker than the manual, looking at old car reviews and stats. It certainly does feel pretty rapid and with the all wheel drive, pretty well planted, even in wet weather. Depending where you look the headline figures are -
bhp - 246
0-60 - 6.2 secs
torque - 236 lb/ft
top speed - 155mph
Insurance wise I paid the grand sum of £27 to switch my ST170 policy onto this and I think some of that was the fee to change. So basically the two cars cost the same to insure, which seems pretty nuts (though I guess the ST170 is more common and historically has plenty more claims against it than the Audi).
The car seems to have a nice upgraded stereo, the inside generally seems in nice condition and not at all bad for a 16 year old car. The 18 inch (apparently S3) alloys have plenty of kerb marks and the tyres are some iffy brand I can't recall but I can live with that for now.
4. See the most recent pics (below). I'm really sorry about the quattro decals I added to sides. I understand this will be frowned upon by the majority of the PH people. Badly modified cars and all that. Anyway, I won't be doing anything else to it. As mentioned at the start, my family transport daily is a very dull Ford S Max so I quite like my fun car to stand out, 3.2 badge on the back and all that.
5. All things considered, very happy with my purchase. Only had it just over a week and (unlike previous recent cars I've had - Lexus IS200, Focus ST170) it kind of gets under your skin. I'm thinking it's a keeper...
Adore the engine and it suits the DSG box (MK1 TT V6 owner here!), and I agree that they get under your skin. I find the noise they make with a nice exhaust (I’ve got a Scorpion system on mine) is addictive, which as you say, makes them a keeper. I’ll likely keep mine until it no longer moves, even though I’ve got newer/faster/objectively better cars at my disposal.
Your A3 looks lovely, nice spec and the S3 wheels suit it nicely!
Your A3 looks lovely, nice spec and the S3 wheels suit it nicely!
Paid the 2450 he wanted.
Didn't have a problem with that really. Suppose I could have waited a while to see if the car hung around but you don't see too many of these - nice condition, sub-100k miles etc.
Don't disagree about the stickers, I'm still 50/50 but now I've gone to the trouble of putting them on, I'll keep them for now.
I did sticker my volvo s60 t5 with a few touring car decals but later took them off.
Didn't have a problem with that really. Suppose I could have waited a while to see if the car hung around but you don't see too many of these - nice condition, sub-100k miles etc.
Don't disagree about the stickers, I'm still 50/50 but now I've gone to the trouble of putting them on, I'll keep them for now.
I did sticker my volvo s60 t5 with a few touring car decals but later took them off.
paradigital said:
Adore the engine and it suits the DSG box (MK1 TT V6 owner here!), and I agree that they get under your skin. I find the noise they make with a nice exhaust (I’ve got a Scorpion system on mine) is addictive, which as you say, makes them a keeper. I’ll likely keep mine until it no longer moves, even though I’ve got newer/faster/objectively better cars at my disposal.
Your A3 looks lovely, nice spec and the S3 wheels suit it nicely!
Agree with the above. Not a great auto box fan but this car is fun.Your A3 looks lovely, nice spec and the S3 wheels suit it nicely!
And yeah, I like the wheels too, certainly don't look out of place.
Nice purchase, especially for that sort of money. I owned a manual version for a couple of years and loved it, particularly the sound with a Milltek resonated exhaust. I always felt that the manual box was a bit difficult to get right in the change from 1st to 2nd but beyond that it was a nice place to be and served me well.
I didn’t know these existed tbh. Its basically the Audi version of the vw R32 in proper sleeper spec. Fair play bet that surprises a few!
I like the intent of the decal, just needs to be smaller. Also I’d be tempted to have it black with black callipers.
I like the intent of the decal, just needs to be smaller. Also I’d be tempted to have it black with black callipers.
Edited by fantheman80 on Tuesday 29th September 20:55
Good car! Not without their problems though; hopefully you won't have the same as my friend's son. We pulled the engine out with suspected timing chain stretch which turned out to be the exhaust cam VVT pulley being worn out. The clutch had died too so a new one along with flywheel went in. The pulley was £500 on its own and the clutch about £600 from memory. There were a few other bits and pieces that needed doing while the engine was out and he spent about £1600 in total making it a decent car again. We did change the timing chain too because it would be silly not to while it was all apart. That cost was with my labour for free too 
On the plus side, yours looks more looked after than his, and the engines are very easy to remove if you do have a problem
I hope it serves you well, when they're 100% they're lovely engines
On the plus side, yours looks more looked after than his, and the engines are very easy to remove if you do have a problem
I hope it serves you well, when they're 100% they're lovely engines
Gallons Per Mile said:
Good car! Not without their problems though; hopefully you won't have the same as my friend's son. We pulled the engine out with suspected timing chain stretch
Yeah, heard about the timing chain issues. Pretty sure the place I've just had it serviced gave it a pretty thorough going over and the timing chain is of no concern at present. Fingers crossed.andy118run said:
Yeah, heard about the timing chain issues. Pretty sure the place I've just had it serviced gave it a pretty thorough going over and the timing chain is of no concern at present. Fingers crossed.
Find someone with VCDS and measure blocks 208 and 209. This will tell you if the car is starting to (or already is) suffer chain stretch.FWIW, my TT is currently on 133,000 miles and the chain stretch is still in tolerance.
paradigital said:
Find someone with VCDS and measure blocks 208 and 209. This will tell you if the car is starting to (or already is) suffer chain stretch.
FWIW, my TT is currently on 133,000 miles and the chain stretch is still in tolerance.
Interesting. No idea if this is what my garage did but they do specialise in Audi and BMW and seem to have the latest diagnostic equipment. I have a pretty basic understanding of this sort of stuff so much of what they were telling me was going over my head.FWIW, my TT is currently on 133,000 miles and the chain stretch is still in tolerance.
I have one of these albeit the manual version. Bought as an approved used car on just over 40,000 miles around twelve or thirteen years ago, now on 192,000 miles with relatively few problems in that time. A few O2 sensors and a new control box for the Haldex (caused by water ingress from a car wash) but other than that pretty much just routine servicing items.
I never, ever want to part with it.
I never, ever want to part with it.
It's not always chain stretch that's the problem though, sometimes it's just the exhaust cam pulley that won't time properly due to the oil fed mechanism inside wearing with 'long life' oil changes. The stretch problem was mainly on earlier cars with the original Sachs chains according to my research. I think this set the precident and since then any timing issue is 'timing chain stretch'. The critical difference is that if you're careful you can replace just the pulley with the engine still in the car!
Btw, my friend's son checked those measuring blocks before we pulled the engine and they were only marginally out, but in real life the exhaust cam was way off. With the new pulley and also new chain as we had the engine apart, it felt like a new car again. Much more power now everything was in time, and I didn't think it was that bad beforehand when I test drove it.
Btw, my friend's son checked those measuring blocks before we pulled the engine and they were only marginally out, but in real life the exhaust cam was way off. With the new pulley and also new chain as we had the engine apart, it felt like a new car again. Much more power now everything was in time, and I didn't think it was that bad beforehand when I test drove it.
Little bit of an update =
2 months into ownership/Just over 700 miles covered.
It's been an enjoyable couple of months when I have had the chance to get out in it.
Anyway, the other day I had a bit of a problem -
My driveway parking is a little tight - I have the main driveway for one car and then a gravel area next to it, but only one gateway/opening so I have to reverse through at an angle and then manoeuvre back and forth to fit over on the gravel. Something I've done many times with bigger cars than the A3 - Volvo S60/ BMW 325i spring to mind.
Anyway, while doing this I reversed into the house! Well, the window sill. Must admit I feared the worse but amazingly the bumper is pretty much unscathed, barring a barely noticeable chip.
At this point I should say I'm the least capable DIY-er/mechanic you will ever meet. I'm the one who pays Halfords to change the bulbs.
But after a quick look on YouTube and a while searching ebay I realised it might be something I could sort myself.
Yesterday I paid a nice chap called Josh £23.00 for a replacement light via ebay and today I made the 1 hour trip down to the Norfolk/Suffolk border near Lakenheath to collect the item.
A few minutes of fiddling about and hey-presto! As good as new.
So from that horrible feeling of thinking I'd done some serious damage, to the high and satisfaction of resolving it myself for not a lot of money...
2 months into ownership/Just over 700 miles covered.
It's been an enjoyable couple of months when I have had the chance to get out in it.
Anyway, the other day I had a bit of a problem -
My driveway parking is a little tight - I have the main driveway for one car and then a gravel area next to it, but only one gateway/opening so I have to reverse through at an angle and then manoeuvre back and forth to fit over on the gravel. Something I've done many times with bigger cars than the A3 - Volvo S60/ BMW 325i spring to mind.
Anyway, while doing this I reversed into the house! Well, the window sill. Must admit I feared the worse but amazingly the bumper is pretty much unscathed, barring a barely noticeable chip.
At this point I should say I'm the least capable DIY-er/mechanic you will ever meet. I'm the one who pays Halfords to change the bulbs.
But after a quick look on YouTube and a while searching ebay I realised it might be something I could sort myself.
Yesterday I paid a nice chap called Josh £23.00 for a replacement light via ebay and today I made the 1 hour trip down to the Norfolk/Suffolk border near Lakenheath to collect the item.
A few minutes of fiddling about and hey-presto! As good as new.
So from that horrible feeling of thinking I'd done some serious damage, to the high and satisfaction of resolving it myself for not a lot of money...
6 month update
The end of March marked 6 months' of ownership.
So here I sit here rather bored on Easter Sunday feeling an urge to provide a brief update.
Although there is no news really. The car is not getting used enough - probably due to this lockdown business and nowhere much to go.
I appear to have done around 1400 miles in total.
When we had a week or so of snow here in Norfolk I actually used it daily for my short drive to work - which is rather out in the 'sticks' - though I wouldn't kid myself its AWD capability was essential, it certainly did a decent job on some pretty iffy country roads.
After it's good work I gave it some time off - probably around 10 days - and was rewarded with a flat battery which a nice AA man kindly sorted for me by way of a jump start. Anyway, lesson learned - the car now gets started up for half an hour or so on the driveway if its not been used for a few days.
Finally, a few more pictures (and looking forward to lockdown easing/spring weather so it gets out a bit more) -
The end of March marked 6 months' of ownership.
So here I sit here rather bored on Easter Sunday feeling an urge to provide a brief update.
Although there is no news really. The car is not getting used enough - probably due to this lockdown business and nowhere much to go.
I appear to have done around 1400 miles in total.
When we had a week or so of snow here in Norfolk I actually used it daily for my short drive to work - which is rather out in the 'sticks' - though I wouldn't kid myself its AWD capability was essential, it certainly did a decent job on some pretty iffy country roads.
After it's good work I gave it some time off - probably around 10 days - and was rewarded with a flat battery which a nice AA man kindly sorted for me by way of a jump start. Anyway, lesson learned - the car now gets started up for half an hour or so on the driveway if its not been used for a few days.
Finally, a few more pictures (and looking forward to lockdown easing/spring weather so it gets out a bit more) -
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