Audi A3 for £3k? What else should I look at?

Abraham · 13 Sep 2011 at 11:31

alx said:
But that doesn't really mean anything in isolation.

You could own a car described as the most reliable ever, but happen to own one of the few 'dogs' that always breaks down, and vice versa.

Not saying the GTI180 isn't more reliable, you just need to look at the bigger picture reliability wise to see if it's worth changing.

But he is talking about the precise car he will be buying, not just one of the same model.

GeX · 13 Sep 2011 at 11:34

Abraham said:
But he is talking about the precise car he will be buying, not just one of the same model.

Exactly.

alx · 13 Sep 2011 at 16:53

Abraham said:
But he is talking about the precise car he will be buying, not just one of the same model.

My bad, missed that bit.

Disco Boy · 13 Sep 2011 at 16:54

Firstly, this:

[TW]Fox;20058329 said:
You want something more reliable so your first thought is an old Audi?

Go for a Focus or a Civic or something.

Secondly. A3s are knobs cars. That's not to say that everyone who drives one is a knob, but that knobs drive them. If you can live with that image then go for it.

paradigm · 13 Sep 2011 at 17:17

Disco Boy said:
Secondly. A3s are knobs cars. That's not to say that everyone who drives one is a knob, but that knobs drive them. If you can live with that image then go for it.

Do you drive one then?

Dogbreath · 13 Sep 2011 at 18:15

Skoda Octavia VRS

mjt · 13 Sep 2011 at 19:25

Leon Cupra

GT3 · 13 Sep 2011 at 19:44

Keep the Xsara! It's not worth selling it for what they are worth. You might as well wait until it breaks and you could get most of what its worth now selling it as a parts car to a GTI-6 owner.

I sold mine when the BSI unit played up as I thought it was the start of many problems with the car. My mate bought it, took it to citroen who fixed it for £70. He then did about 5k miles in it completely trouble free so I bought it back off him and have done another 12k miles since then. The car seems to get more and more reliable the more miles it does. (I bought it as a very low mileage car 51 plate in Dec 09 with 36k on it)

You really do have to spend thousands to get a much better all round car, so keep a few hundred quid aside for repairs, make sure the cambelt is changed on schedule and pocket the rest of the money. A 206 gti 180 is an inferior car tbh

DannyW · 13 Sep 2011 at 22:48

get an st220 just make sure its got fsh and been looked after

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Mond...0257456?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item2eb7aff430

this car needs lifters (would cost less then a grand to put right) and it dont matter you can still drive it just as normal its just rattley

the car i posted, if it went majourly wrong you would get your money back stripping it for parts

Nickyyy · 13 Sep 2011 at 22:56

get something diesel, and get it remapped, transforms a car, makes it more efficient and a lot more fun to drive, my focus diesel keeps up with st170's on real roads. Plus its a lot less to tax and fuel.

DannyW · 13 Sep 2011 at 23:02

i wouldnt recommend remapping a 3k diesel, a 3k diesel will be 5 years old and done over 100k a remap will be putting more stress on the components, if it was meant to have that much power it would come like that from factory as standard. remapping a turbo petrol is a good idea, your only putting abit more stress on the turbo and they are generally cheaper (depends on car) and so is the clutch. the op only does 7 miles aday he might aswell get a v6 guzzler

[TW]Fox · 13 Sep 2011 at 23:05

Nickyyy said:
get something diesel, and get it remapped, transforms a car, makes it more efficient and a lot more fun to drive, my focus diesel keeps up with st170's on real roads. Plus its a lot less to tax and fuel.

But you have to put up with a 4 cylinder diesel engine.

DannyW · 13 Sep 2011 at 23:07

if i did 7 miles a day i would have a 540i the thought of owning a derv wouldnt even enter my head

Nickyyy · 13 Sep 2011 at 23:26

[TW]Fox;20064888 said:
But you have to put up with a 4 cylinder diesel engine.

Whats wrong with that? VAG engines are class and have amazing tuning abilities.

My friend has a 1.9tdi ibiza standard 100. It's now sitting at 200 and smokes r32's vxr astras etc.

It's all about torque, obviously when you get to silly 3 digit numbers the petrols are always gona pull but in nice short straights etc the diesel has them every time as it's power band is all low down.

[TW]Fox · 13 Sep 2011 at 23:27

Nickyyy said:
Whats wrong with that?

Noisy, vibrate at idle, lumpy power delivery and its all over after 3500rpm.

My friend has a 1.9tdi ibiza standard 100. It's now sitting at 200 and smokes r32's vxr astras etc.

No, it really doesn't. He isn't smoking Astra VXR's in a 1.9 TDI Ibiza that was originally 100bhp.

It's all about torque

It's all about torque at the wheels, not torque at the flywheel.

Nickyyy · 13 Sep 2011 at 23:31

[TW]Fox;20065124 said:
Noisy, vibrate at idle, lumpy power delivery and its all over after 3500rpm.

No, it really doesn't. He isn't smoking Astra VXR's in a 1.9 TDI Ibiza that was originally 100bhp.

It's all about torque at the wheels, not torque at the flywheel.

He really is. its got a hybird turbo, bigger injectors, intercooler, etc. Savage mavchine and you'd be suprised at how well it pulls for a diesel.

I've been in the car with him racing vxr's etc

DannyW · 13 Sep 2011 at 23:31

you can tune a 1.9 tdi to 200 bhp at a stupid expense and it would keep up with a lot of 2.0 litre turbo cars look at vids on you tube

Stormster · 13 Sep 2011 at 23:52

Good mate of mine has an Ibiza Cupra with a hybrid turbo and some fancy gubbins and its running about 240 brake and 400lbft, its savage alright lol.

If you have a Xsara VTS you may find an A3/MK4 Golf/Leon pretty boring to drive, they're a lot more comfy but not as direct or "racey".

Dunno what I'd suggest for that money, an old higher mile civic type r maybe.

Disco Boy · 14 Sep 2011 at 00:04

DannyW said:
you can tune a 1.9 tdi to 200 bhp at a stupid expense and it would keep up with a lot of 2.0 litre turbo cars look at vids on you tube

A 1.9 keeping up with a 2.0? Dun dun dun...

Joshy · 14 Sep 2011 at 00:05

Nickyyy said:
He really is. its got a hybird turbo, bigger injectors, intercooler, etc. Savage mavchine and you'd be suprised at how well it pulls for a diesel.

So he's put all of that time, effort and money into modifying a car and ended up making a whole 200BHP? I'd be quite upset if I were him.

And let me guess, he originally went for the Ibiza for economy reasons? So he's spent a grand or two on mods, compromised fuel economy, surely upped his insurance bill considerably to produce a power figure that isn't even all that impressive for a 'quick' hatch'. Good game.

Nickyyy said:
I've been in the car with him racing vxr's etc

They weren't trying.

I'm not disputing that he might have had a bit of 'play' on a dual carriageway and I am not disputing that he might have 'kept up', but he didn't "win" and certainly didn't "smoke" them if they were genuinely trying. I've had plays with stuff like E46 M3s and Caymans in the past, I've even ended up 'ahead' when they decide to back off, but they obviously decided their license and safety wasn't worth proving themselves against some random 90s Toyota much further into lol triple digit speeds, I back off too, we share a thumbs up and move on with life. I certainly would never, ever, ever have the cheek to go on an internet forum and say that I won, let alone say I 'smoked' one.

The only time I can say I've witnessed something be 'smoked' from a dual carriage way roll race is when something had a minimum 100bhp disadvantage, and even then the distances weren't bus lengths.