Possibly buying S3

[briand88]

Hello Everyone first post be gentle lol



Im looking at potentially buying an S3 there is just a few things that
are making me hold back. i would like to clear up first, I have
previously owned a facelift focus ST and had it mapped and modded and
after 3 years of ownership putting 70.00+ a week in fuel in the thing
just started to really get on my nerves and paying 330.00 per month for
it. I admit i did drive it in boost a fair bit but why not its what the
car was built for. My average mpg was 17.8 when i traded that in. I then
made a somewhat silly/impulsive buy decision, i traded it in for a 2.0
CDTI Insignia SRI Nav. And at the ripe old age of 25 and 16 months later
felt that this was just to i dunno drab/OAP/reps car for me. So what i
was after was something with a little power when needed, turns heads can
also be driven nice and calmly and return decent mpg when doing so.



So when i was browsing the forecourt i came across the S3 in Black it
was a car that never even crossed my mind to buy. But i really liked the
look of it and speaking to the salesman, he said ill show you the
current average mpg it was. 15.1 now i know this is NOT from it being
driven normally it has either been reset and then just diddled about the
forecourt OR on small short journeys after being reset or the person
that brought it up from down south was hammering it all the way up .



The salesman's boss the owner off the company then went onto tell me
that he had and S3 and was doing city driving and some country driving
to a destination about 30 minutes from where we were and told me he was
getting 37 MPG. The salesman then told me he could show me the goverment
figures for that car and it was 23 About town/short journeys (door to
door as he said) and 40 combined doing both.



The salesmen then took me into the sales room to start talking figures
the car was 15,595 he was after 280 odd a MONTH which is not bad in one
way its a cracking looking little car the pictures do it no justice at
all, its a good spec has sat nav,
full leather etc, BUT when you look at it in the other hand this car is
almost 6 years old and i admit the mileage is not to high at 48k BUT
isnt this alot of money to be parting with on a car at almost 6 years
old? What is a realistic figure of MPG with sort of normaly driving and
the occasional bit of fun? Are there any common problems with Audi S3?
And how do they hold their value so well? are there any tell tale signs
under the bonnet to suggest that the car has been modded? and lastly
would YOU pay this for an S3 and WHY? what makes it so good that at
alost 6 years old its still worth 15.5k?.



Here is a link: Used Audi S3 Hatchback S3 Quattro 3dr in Edinburgh, Midlothian | Deutschmarque Ltd

I know there are alot of questions would just like my mind put at ease.

Thanks for reading.



Brian

[Bald Eagle]

I used to work with a guy who had an S3 and he got rid of it due to petrol costs.  He went for a 1.9 diesel Saab instead.  Still a fairly lively motor, but not quite the oomph of the S3 (250 bhp?)

 

My A3 is a 2-litre 197 bhp turbo petrol and I can get a silly 9.1 mpg if I really push it.  Or I can get a respectable 42 mpg on a run.  I might get even more in the 50 mph traffic management bit of our local motorway.

 

I have exactly the same point of view as you: I want decent performance when I want to move it, and respectable economy when I need it, but why have a quick car and drive it slowly.  It's quite a battle between enjoying the car and making the fuel last.

 

My last motor was a 2.2 diesel Mondeo that I took from 155 bhp and 295 lb ft to 180 bhp and 325 lb ft with a few mods.  It was a lot of fun but could still give me over 60 mpg when I was gentle.  

 

Why not test drive a 2-litre diesel A3 and see if it's fast enough for you?  If it is, you can have a bit of fun when you want and be frugal in between!

 

Audi motors hold their value simply because the price when new keeps numbers down, so there are not the numbers on the road compared with Focuses and Astras.