A3 advice please

[jj579]

Hi there, new to this site & after some advice/guidance?!

Fancied an A3 for some time now & have my eye on a '10' plate 1.6TDI S Line on 48000 miles.

Anyone experienced any major issues with similar model at this age/mileage?! Anything I should keep an eye out for when I go for a test drive?

Many thanks in advance.

[Robbish]

Hi jj579, I have had an A3 2.0 TDi, higher miles and older, but there are a few issues. Throttle actuators need to be looked at regularly, they can shear teeth, here is a wee bit of info. The fuse gets blown and this then manifests itself in the engine Amber light on. Get an obd II sensor and the light can be turned off temporarily.

http://www.audi-forums.com/8l-forum/53592-a3-2-0-tdi-sport-throttle.html

A few electrical issues, too. Rear wash/wipers seem to be a common issue on these. A neat looking one with built-in jets, these jets seem to be the main issue. The jet can get blocked and starts to leak into the boot. This then dribbles into the boot/ hatch locking mechanism and shorts the central locking system, which in turn, activates the alarm, which is not great, to say the least. The arms also fail on a fairly regular basis, but these can be picked up for not too much.Another common fault appears to be the light switch, which contains the rheostat for the dashboard, lightening and darkening the display, tsese can default to their darkest setting. When testing the car, make sure you that the aircon is working by making sure the economy light can be turned off, if it can't, then the aircon is faulty.

The front elec windows can fail, too, again, though, the kits for the these are about £20 and can be bought on eBay easily. Bodywork, keep an eye out for the front arches, they're better than Mercs, in this regard though.

These are good cars, but for me, they do have their glitches, especially central locking, windows, dashboard issues, but this is the same for all VAG vehicles. Solid build, soft touch plastics, nice dashes and prestige are where they shine, but driving dynamics, you'll probably be better off with a Beemer, if you want unerring reliability, you might want to look at Lexus or even Honda. However the mileage and age you are looking at, I think you should be fine for a few years. The engines give a great shove in the back at all revs and the sheer ambience of an Audi is very appealing. Hope this helps and I haven't been TOO negative, cheers.

[jj579]

Many thanks for the info, much appreciated

[Siena547]

I also own a 5 year old audi A3 2.0 tdi and in over 12 months since I purchased it the car has never missed a beat... MOT pass no advisories and all I've had to buy for it is Diesel !! All in all the best car I've ever owned and I've had about 25-30 cars in my life so far.