Changing my TDI A3, thoughts?

Roady

Roady

Roady

Soldato
Joined
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Hereford
Hi guys, don't really frequent this area of the forums but maybe I should more! ;)

I've got an '06 Audi A3 TDI Sport 2.0 Quattro 140PS that I totally LOVE! I've had it over 4 years now and she's upto 118k miles so it's time to change... Before the price drops too low and she begins costing me real money (currently have s turbo/fuel related problem)...

I really like the A3 so it's pretty decided I'll get another (although I am open to other suggestions), I've always driven diesel (the dark side!) and would prefer to continue doing so. I've previously owned pugs and a couple of foci and used to do high miles as part of work, but these days (not requiring a car for work) majority of my miles are recreational. Coming from mid-wales I've always preferred 'fun' A roads than the motorway slog, although the A3 does love motorways! :D

I have a '60 private plate I've owned for a few years (without having a vehicle to put it on) and this seems like the perfect opportunity to finally put it on a car... RR60 ADY! ;)

Current Audi is a maroon 5 door and although Quattro is amazing it's not really a requirement of mine. Trade value of my A3 is approx 4-4.5k and I have upto 8k to add to that. (so max budget is £12k and trade due to the part-ex).

I've been looking for 3-door sportback's in any kind of medium-dark blue, but they are quite scarce (within my budget and relatively low-ish (<50k) miles). So I really am not too fussed about number of doors (too much) although I guess the colour is a little more important. The white ones look amazing but I'm sure I'd struggle to keep it clean enough! (Had a black car before and it was a pain!) :rolleyes:

After opinions and thoughts on what I should do? Continue looking or broaden my search criteria? :confused:

(This might be the last chance I get to get the 'car I want' and actually have some money to do so before getting any rugrats - so I'm determined to make the right choice!) ;)
 
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If you desperately just want another diesel A3 then I would just stick with what you have. You know the car inside and out, you like the car, it's less hassle etc. and that extra budget will go a long way to sorting out the problems it'll encounter.

Also at this point you've done most of the depreciating so moving to a newer car will only steepen that again.

[Edit] Oh, and obligatory "your usage suggests a petrol is the way to go here". :)
 
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Get yourself a nice 2.0TFSI Quattro and forget diesel ever existed.

You like a backroad blast, you don't do huge mileage, you'll find a nice example in your budget.

Owning a 2005 A3 I wouldn't touch a newer one with a bargepole unless its the 8V, you can tell it's an old car and I wouldn't want to drop over 10k on one. The black editions look smart exteriorly but the tech is getting long in the tooth.
 
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I guess in your budget you will be looking at the 2.0TDi CR engines which are significantly more reliable than your old PD unit in your current Audi. They will however have a DPF which will be a problem if you don't do many miles. If you don't do a whole lot of miles the 2.0TFSI would be well worth a look as they tend to have a better spec than the diesel equivalent and are a hell of a lot more fun to drive. The golf might be worth a look too as you would get a bit more for your money and in my opinion the touch screen stereo they have is a bit better than older audi nav. You could get a decent enough 2.0TDi CR GT Mk6 golf in budget but avoid the 1.4TSI twin charged unit.

Just read you said you are looking at 3 door sport backs, the sport back is the name for the 5 door car.
 
Roady said:
I've got an '06 Audi A3 TDI Sport 2.0 Quattro 140PS that I totally LOVE! I've had it over 4 years now and she's upto 118k miles so it's time to change... Before the price drops too low
Click to expand...

Reading this I don't really see much need for you to change - you "totally LOVE" your current car and by the sounds of it aren't going to be putting that many more miles on it. You worry about the price dropping too low, but are proposing to go out and buy a £12k car. I would be very, very surprised if a £12k car didn't depreciate at least as much as £4-4.5k car of the same make and potentially model, unless major problems develop.

If as your final point suggests you are concerned about not having money in future then, as I always point out in such circumstances, I would question whether you really should be spending the money now. In other words, choosing to spend money 'while you've still got it' or whatever is a fallacy as (suspect investments, divorces etc aside) money does not vanish into thin air.
 
Thanks for the advice guys, as mentioned I am currently seeing some turbo/fuel related problems which has been put down to a bad 'batch' of fuel, my garage has put additive into the fuel and I'm to use up the tank before filling with a 'premium' diesel (Shell vpower or BP Ultimate?) but as of yet I've not found a Shell garage selling diesel vpower, I've not checked the local BP's yet. Any other 'premium' diesel suggestions?

Only once this premium fuel is flowing and the turbo has a good chance to clean itself will I know for sure my A3 is ok. She has always been hungry with oil and coolant which has always made me think to change before something major goes wrong... No garages (Audi and others) have confirmed or denied why this is. :eek:

I've done around 46k miles since I got the car (4.5 years) would that still be considered low mileage? It's certainly lower than I used to do! I enjoy the economy of diesel (always have) and with the power of the A3 I really don't see why I should change to petrol... Bear in mind I've always driven diesel (17 years), the petrols I've driven (work cars/vans) are nothing in comparison (except the R8 and Gallardo's I've also driven)! It's probably worth me taking the TFSI for a test drive, I'll probably stall it! ;)

I was mainly looking to change now as the fuel problem (which might not 'just' be fuel!) made me think to change before I end up with a bigger problem (turbo will be a £600+ fix, if it doesn't recover from this problem, what's going to go wrong next!?). Running this car into the ground I imagine is going to cost me £2-3 over the next 3-4 years, opinion is that's a better investment than a newer car which will depreciate more than that in the time (but 'in theory' not have any problems)?

I take HangTime's point about my 'not having money in the future' comment on board. I've always lived well within my budget, never bought anything on finance, only used my credit card twice and always worked hard. I've always put money to 1 side (savings) for myself and usually spent it on changing my car rather than keeping an older one on the road. I hope to never be in the situation that I need to sell my car to finance any debts.

If I *was* going to keep a 'weekend' car, I'd probably get an older shape Focus RS, but that'd go against my diesel principles! ;)
 
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Once you get over the 'wow new car' thing you will realise it's the same car. The same interior. The same exterior. It's the same. Then you'll realise its a waste of money.

Keep your car until you can afford the new model A3, then make a proper upgrade.
 
Anything from 2003 to 2012 will be essentially the same car just with a few styling tweaks, and arguably the newer diesels are less reliable.

If you like a B road blast, look for something a bit different and petrol, the Audi's have never been the 1st word in ride and handling.
 
So the '06 (8P) changed to a '60 (8V) is not a worthy upgrade? What's so special about the new A3 over the 8V?

I've never bought a 'new' car, I got really put off them after I bought a 10 month old focus for £7k less than someone paid for it new... That kind of forecourt depreciation scares me! :(
 
'60 isnt the 8V, the 13 plates are 8V.

The 8P came about in 2003 and the model ran to 2013, it had facelifts along the way and the engines were changed in 2008, but all said and told, its basically the same car in terms of feel,ride,handling & image.
 
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[TW]Fox;26025300 said:
The only thing more ridiculous than an E46 M3 suggestion in a thread about diesel hatchbacks is the above reply.
Click to expand...

Lol! Couldn't agree more!

Ahh, sorry about the 8P/8V! I thought the change was in 2010 for some reason! :)

Am I really in the minority when I feel I should seriously consider changing my A3 now its the wrong side of 100k miles, started to show some problems and rather than spending money fixing it (now, or very soon down the road) the money would be 'better' spent on a newer, low mileage one less likely to 'play up' (I've not had good experiences with cars on high mileage, but none were Audi's).

Not sure why but 'knowing' the value of the car will depreciate (and a rough idea of how much over 4-5 years) seems to be much more of a sensible option, than a high mileage car with potential to cost a substantial amount (admittedly not as much as the cost buying newer) and be much less likely to incur expensive repairs... And be pretty much worthless when 4-5 years down the line I really have no option?

I'm very close to my '06 seen as an insurance 'write-off' should I need to claim for anything, due to the age. Newer car will also be cheaper tax and cheaper insurance. Newer car will also be blue! ;) :p
 
My 530i has been the wrong side of 100k for 8 years. It's just a number.

If you are that worried about how fragile and unreliable the A3 has become why would you want another one :p
 
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If I were in your position I'm not really sure what I'd look at, but I'd probably get something like this. You could also consider an Alfa Brera or 130i?
 
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