Hi All,
Finally got myself an Audi after being in awe of their designs for a while now and I thoucht to make an account to engage with like minded people.
So found an Audi A3, 2010, 2.0L D S-Line in black for sale on Autotrader, mileage at 88k. Did a bit of research and thought the price was fair. Knocked him down a hundred quid on the phone then decided to travel an hour and a half to see it on father’s day to make the purchase.
I checked the MOT history and it all checked out, no major issues and between MOTs and services there was around 6000 miles, it had been driven around the outskirts of london however the sale was from up north. Full service history also, from afar it looks like it’s been well maintained.
I arrived at the car and immediately realised they were wheeler dealers. The documents and history stated one owner from new and they had litetally just got the documents through to flip for a profit I assume.
Anyway, got them down to £3300 which I thought was good at WBAC at the time was listing it for £3350.
On my drive home the engine light came on, I was gutted but checked it right away and it was the EGR, only one fault code. I can stomach this, so took it to a trusted guy I know and he deleted the EGR and DPF ECU functionality and manually scraped out the DPF and welded it back together and put a stage 1 remap on it (Couldn’t resist) , he actually commented that it was a good car and he didn’t notice anything untoward which I was happy to hear.
Car drives absolutely lovely now…
Ive touched up a good few scratches with a paint pen which matches the cars colour, not perfect but for a £3300 car I don’t want it to be perfect.
Anyway… £300 later (completely fine) I realise there’s a dent under the left door in the sill, I have no idea why I didn’t spot this on the day, I can only imagine my mind wasn’t in the right place on the day, dragging my family up north on father’s day.
My biggest fear is that it’s structural damage and therefore a MOT failure.
I have seen repair kits online that use hot glue and clamps to pull out dents and a few people use it on sills but i’m not sure if that would be effective on an audi of this model.
First question, has anyone had this problem and is it worth trying that repair above myself ?
I have noticed also the drivers door hinge isn’t perfect, I think it’s worn and I imagine it would be a advisory on a MOT, it’s functional, in addition the door seal is worn and flapping around, are these two things an easy fix ? I see seals for a few quid online. This is a must fix where as the hinge I think can wait.
Overall im happy with how the car drives and looks inside, I was grateful of the single fault code, it feels like it’s been mechanically looked after but maybe the first owner sold because of the sill damage maybe they hit a curb or something like that. I worry i’ve bought a bad car and just looking to understand what your thoughts are. I don’t mind the odd scratch around the car. I have had cars in past which trouble my mind so much because of how pristine they are, now my partner has that car but this Audi I just want it to be functional and safe but without looking too bad if you know what I mean. I can get a photo loaded later this evening when i get back to it
Edit, car also has 4 brand new michelin tyres and new injectors.
I deffo feel like i’m missing part of the puzzle as to why the first owner sold it. Hence why I fear the Sill damage might be structural (HPI check completely clear no crashes or insurance cat )
