Buying an A3 tdi 140 (few questions)

[maccy]

Hi Guys, 

First of all, I'm new here and completely blue to audi's, so go easy on me. I just have a few questions before finalising my decision on a purchase of an Audi A3 or A4. Coming from the golf, I knew everything about the cars, which engines to go for, what to look out for when purchasing and how much roughly a clean model is really worth. However being completely new to Audi's, always wanting one and being in a position to purchase one, I am looking to get some questions answered. I have looked through this forum, looked for buyers guides or pointers and couldnt find anything to answer my questions. 

So, first of all, how much are these cars really worth? I know this is subjective, however lets say a clean example, with fsh and not a crap ton of miles, how much am I looking to pay? I have a budget from 3,5 to 5,5k, and I am looking for a clean example, preferably 06 onward however an 08 would be the perfect spot. I'd like a diesel, fuel economy is important for me. I have already read into this whole 1.9 vs 2.0 tdi's and whats wrong with the 2.0 and how its not as reliable, however after gathering all that information i am still leaning towards the 2.0 tdi 140.

What should I be looking for? What big parts need replacing after certain miles? I heard the turbo needs replacing around 150k miles, so I thought to look either for a low mileage example or one that already has the big jobs done. Any problematic parts on these cars that like to go, certain sound I should be looking for? I'd like to finally buy a car that will drive me for the next few years without headaches and constant worry and taking it to the garage all the time.

Difference between the 8P and the B7? I like the size of the A4 B7, and i always loved something about an estate, avant in terms of audi talk (still confusing). It might seem like a family car but I love it haha, is there certain engine codes i should avoid or look to buy? I understand that the A4 and A3 is very similar platform running the same engines? I just have all these questions in my mind, hopefully this is in the right place and im not causing chaos.

Thanks in Advance,

Mac. :)  

[rbdazza]

the 2l PD engine is prone for oil pump failure! either buy one that has evidence its been done or dont bother, i wouldnt anyway. i stumped up a few more quid and got the later 2l common rail engine 

[rbdazza]

as for pricing, just do a run on autotrader and eBay of similar spec/mileage models and get yourself an average value to work from

[Trevor]

Hi Mac....welcome to the Forum

Coming from Volkswagen, you should find most of the components (engines, gearboxes, etc) pretty much the same....so no surprises there then.

Prices, probably the best bet is to research this independently as prices vary nationwide.

Parts shouldn't necessarily need replacing at a specific time period and durability depends on how it has been treated in the past....for example: turbo's that have been allowed to warm up and cool down properly with plenty of oil supply as opposed to ones that have been caned and switched off immediately.

It's just a case of trawling through the posts on here to determine the known faults and then trying to find one that has had those parts already replaced by the previous owner(s).

Good luck with your homework and the search for a good one

Cheers  Trevor

 

[maccy]

Thank You for the replies :) I have looked on auto trader and seen prices varying from 2,500 up to 7,000. Just generally looking at A3's A4's.. I read somewhere about the oil pump being problematic, and if that goes engine is gone too isn't that right? How do I check whether the 2.0 is a PD or CR? Did they come in after a certain date? Looking at auto trader I haven't seen much information what engine, just that its a tdi with 138bhp.

 

[rbdazza]

Yup if that pump goes you're looking at a bill for thousands. 

The PD is the first 2l diesel after the 1.9 engine up to 2008 I think. The B7 has PDs, the B8 common rail

[rbdazza]

The earlier 1.9 PD engine is awesome, btw. 

[maccy]

Yes I know the pd 1.9 in golfs had a very remarkable reliability, if taken care of and serviced properly could go for hundreds of thousands of miles :) However I am looking for a car after 04, and most 1.9 lack a bit of power there, I will be looking for CR engine. Noticed somewhere that CR engine codes have 4 digits instead of 3 of a PD engine. So ill be looking at that, and cars 2008 and after. 

Is there anything else to look at, like in golfs there were those nasty rusty wings, is there anything in these audis thats a quite common issue to look at? 

Many thanks for the replies :) 

[rbdazza]

I have no idea. I just picked a car that didn't have loads of reports of chewing it's engine up lol  I was originally looking at the 2l PDs and 2l 3 series. The BMW 20d engine in my price range is known for throwing it chain in a hissy fit so passed on them too  

when I was looking there were loads of a4 and a3s in your price range. You just need to look hard to find one with the mileage and spec that you're after. 

 

I wrnt high mileage so I could get an S Line in budget. But then mileage doesn't put me off like t does others. 

[maccy]

See i dont mind high mileage as long as the body is kept in good condition and there is full service history so i can look what has been done, however with a car that i dont know, like you said, if i didn't know about the oil pump, it could have been a hefty bill, but on paper the car could of looked gold. Ill have a shop around, see what there is, and pick accordingly. Thanks for all the help :) 

[rbdazza]

Just don't forget all the cars you're looking at will have dpfs which can be troublesome. But then again all modern diesels do. Make sure you have a good long test drive, get the car up to temp and up to speed. 

I assume you do a few miles hence wanting a diesel so the dpf shouldn't cause you many problems 

[maccy]

Well, I do travel quite a few miles between home and university on the weekends, however I'd also like a car that I can take on a few days road trip and not pay hundreds of pounds for fuel. 

I heard about DPF's causing trouble, but I assume if I warm up the car properly and cool it down, it shouldn't cause much trouble? I avoid using the car for things like getting to lessons or to the gym, however the car is gonna be city driven. Im going to have more read into DPF, the costs involved and if its worth looking for cars that had it done already. 

[rbdazza]

400 quid gets rid of any potential problems for good AND improves fuel economy. 

 

No brainer really

[maccy]

Yes i saw Darkside Developments does this service, although wouldn't it fail on emissions or MOT? I'm just hoping to finally buy an example thats been taken care of and I won't have to fork out hundreds or thousands on repairs anymore. 

[rbdazza]

Yeah just take your time with the purchase and you'll be fine. 

 

Diesels dont currently have have an emissions test so no it won't fail