decided to buy an A3, a few question's,

[GARAGE HERMIT]

what does "FSI" mean,

what's special about the "special" model,

it's a 2004 model i want, 1.6,

is the "SE" the base model,

is there any particular point's to check on the 1.6, before buying,

,

[WPAWS]

Fuel Stratified Injection (FSI) technology 

Special i`m not sure but would say has extras 

and yes the SE standard edition is the base model

[Magnet]

WHello Paul ( the original poster),

I think you will find there isn't anything special about the Special. It's Audi's badging (well I don't think they actually badge it as such) for Basic and as far as I'm aware, they were all fitted with the 1.6 engine. If you want performance, walk away' but.......We have had one in the family since new and it now has c146K miles under its belt and has been ...... No, tempting fate!

SE? In my book was always 'Special Equipment' - a mid range specification. 

Kind regards,

Gareth 

 

[Adbro]

Hello Hermit,

 As Steve has pointedly out FSI is engine information for Audis petrol engine. 

Regarding the car spec on A3 - base models will be advertised as A3 1.6FSI with no other acronyms. Then you will typically get the SE or Sport models as mid range cars that cater for different buyers with s-line being the top spec standard cars. The special edition if my memory serves was just before the slight face lift in the mk2 A3. So the special edition cars normally have different alloy wheels slightly different trims and a few extra electrical features in the early mk2 cars. Later we see black edition models that are based on s-line trim. 

 You really want a car that's been looked after with plenty of history to back this up. Mileage isn't really a problem but the 1.6 has no real power. Not to put you off cause any A3 is worth having. 

Hope this helps - Adam

[GARAGE HERMIT]

thank's for the reply's,

 

i'm not really interested in top speed/power, hence wanting the 1.6, i just like the look of the A3, the shape remind's me a bit of the astra Mk1 gti i had a long time ago,

if a 1.8 came up in the right colour, green , with cream leather interior, (if audi produced one ?) i'd buy it,  so i'm not locked into the 1.6,

 

 

 

[Magnet]

Hello Paul,

It might be worth bearing in mind that this 1.6 car's engine revs high per 10mph in top gear - I would say c 3,500 rpm - at least - at 70 mph so it's working quite hard, and is never as economical as a lower revving engine. We have a non-Audi petrol car which just tops 2,000 rpm at the same speed as comparison. 

People get hooked on mileage, but tend to ingnore the 'work' the engine is doing to attain that mileage. If we compare our non Audi with the 1.6 A3 driven at 70mph, it's easy to see that the Audi engine has 'turned over' one and a half times more than the non Audi in the same  mileage, or expressed as mileage , it has done 1.5 times the mileage. Speed and power may not be high on the agenda, but the engine still has to work rather hard even during non enthusiastic driving.

Having said all that, this one has covered over 145k so.........

Good luck on finding what you want.

Kind regards,

Gareth.

[Shortie1979]

In terms of the "Special Edition", that is basically the Base model (S) but with Alloys. The SE model is above the S & Special Edition. I would try and get the Sport model as that comes with better seats, Dual Zone Climate, a better Stereo and if your lucky, like i was, the Bose Speakers. It really depends on what type of driving you do, but the 1.6 is a bit sluggish and not great on fuel, the diesels are obviously much better, with the 1.9tdi being probably the safest bet as they are pretty much bulletproof.

[GARAGE HERMIT]

2 hours ago, Shortie1979 said:

In terms of the "Special Edition", that is basically the Base model (S) but with Alloys. The SE model is above the S & Special Edition. I would try and get the Sport model as that comes with better seats, Dual Zone Climate, a better Stereo and if your lucky, like i was, the Bose Speakers. It really depends on what type of driving you do, but the 1.6 is a bit sluggish and not great on fuel, the diesels are obviously much better, with the 1.9tdi being probably the safest bet as they are pretty much bulletproof.

thank's shortie,

sport it is then, but it has to be a pre-facelift model, think 2003/4, as the one's with the big rad grill look too heavy at the front,

never owned a diesel in 40 year's of driving, and i've no intention of starting now, not bothered about MPG, as i dont do that many mile's now,  it's just going to be a car to fiddle with a bit, different wheel's, exhaust, lowered a bit, etc, etc, just minor mod's to make it my own, look's like i'll have to travel, as there's not much to choose from near me, at the moment, we'll see what come's up,