Hey everyone..... 

I'm Beck from South Wales

Im looking to buy an used Audi A3 preferably from a private seller as you seem to sometime grab a bargain :)

any advice for i.e. Common faults etc 

new to buying an Audi my present car is 206 HDI 

 

thanks in advance 

Hey Beck,  welcome to the forum :) 

youll find the members on here are a friendly and helpful bunch :)

what year of a3 are you after, and what engine/gearbox you after? 

Cheers

steve

Hi Steve

Thanks for your message :)

 

Looking for something around 56,07,57 budget is approx £4k

Ideally a S-Line manual 2.0 might sound fussy but don't really want a sport back.... I see a lot of these about.

prefer a 3door but can cope with 5 if the car is right

either black or grey

 

as you will probably see ^^^ I'm the worlds fussiest person 😂 

No, not fussy at lol!?!

you will probably find lots for sale so be picky. Go for a car with the most spec you can lowest miles and full service history.

Questions to ask are when is cam belt due? When is next service due? Obviously MOT due? But also make sure all 4 tyres are with a good tread, last thing you need to do is have to spend £400 on tyres and £200 on a service straight away.

 

Hope that helps a bit Beck.

Hi dan

Thank you for your info, it will help a lot :)

ive looked all weekend to he point where I'm dreaming Audi's lol

ive always gone by as soon as I see the car I know it's the one and it hasn't failed me in the past.

im in  no huge rush either which doesn't help lol

 

Don't worry Beck your not being fussy at all! 

As Dan has pointed out there should be plenty of a3's that match your requirements as they were popular :) 

also has Dan has rightly pointed out, any prospective  purchase needs to be checked to see if the cambelt/water pump has been changed. Also if the a3 your looking at has fully Audi service history then you can ring Audi to find out what work has been carried out on it. 

cheers

Steve

Thanks Steve

I've seen so many but not had that gut feeling it's right. 

Except for yesterday but when I rang it had gone 😭😭

Your welcome :) glad I could help :) 

also it might be worth you asking any potential seller if he is happy for you to get an independent inspection carried out. Companies since as the AA and RAC offer this service. It will give you peace of mind plus if the seller refuses or is reluctant than you have to wonder what they or the car has to hide! 

Your best bet is not to rush, as rushing into a purchase could mean your buying trouble! 

Cheers

steve 

I defo plan to ask the question about an independent check.

whats your views on a DSG gearbox?

The dsg gearbox in my opinion is fantastic and is easily the best auto on the market in my opinion :)

if you are looking at an Audi with dsg make sure the gearbox has been serviced correctly - at the right time/mileage and that the correct oil has been used. I say this as the dsg gearbox can be expensive to fix. 

Also on a test drive make sure the gears change smoothly both in manual and auto modes -e.g no juddering, jerking or hesitation when gears are changing. 

Cheers :)

steve