2001 Audi A3 1.9 Tdi queries

jamiecall

Hi lads. Long-time viewer, part-time poster here so bear with me!

Went looking at a 01 Audi A3 1.9 Tdi tonight. Car has 117000 miles. Nct until April 2011. Car is a 5dr in black. I have a couple of queries:

What kind of Mpg should I get?

How much € is a timing belt to change?

When driving it there was a vibration through the clutch pedal. Any ideas of the causes of this?

And finally, the temp guage never moved while driving it. Causes?

Thanks lads.

Jamie

Tropheus

In terms of MPG, it really depends on how you drive. You should get low to mid 30s with mixed motorway/urban driving once you're light footed.

For a timing belt, it depends on where you get it done. Around €1k from a dealer, but you'll get it for close to half that from an independent.

The clutch problem could be many things. Is it the original clutch? If so, it could be due a change. It would be best to get a mechanic to take a look at it before you buy. If it's just a replacement clutch required, you could use that to bargain. Around €350 for a clutch replacement at an independent.

Did the temp gauge stay at around 90c or stay at the coldest position? If it went up to 90c (dead centre) and never moved, then that's normal for recent VAG cars. They stay dead on the norm regardless of temperature fluctuations and only move to the real temperature if the onboard computer deems the temperature to be out of normal operating range. Not sure why they see this as necessary, but that's Germans for you.

Mr Benevolent

jamiecall wrote: »

What kind of Mpg should I get?

How much € is a timing belt to change?

When driving it there was a vibration through the clutch pedal. Any ideas of the causes of this?

And finally, the temp guage never moved while driving it. Causes?

Clutch pedal vibration suggests the DMF is on it's way out. That's expensive. How long were you driving it? Normally takes 2-3 miles for the temp gauge on a 1.9TDI to start moving. Otherwise the temp sender could be gone. Gut instinct says avoid this car.

You should get low to mid 30s with mixed motorway/urban driving once you're light footed.

More like 42-47mpg!

jamiecall

Thanks for the quick response. Clutch is original. Temp never moved from cold! Never reached the 90.

Mr Benevolent

jamiecall wrote: »

Thanks for the quick response. Clutch is original. Temp never moved from cold! Never reached the 90.

Avoid this car so. I'd be more worried about the clutch pedal vibration tbh.

Barr

jamiecall wrote: »

Thanks for the quick response. Clutch is original. Temp never moved from cold! Never reached the 90.

Could be something simple like the temp sensor , or it could be masking a bigger problem . If I were you I would get a mechanic to look over the car , it couls save you big money later.

What kind of money is it ?

jamiecall

Car is € 4,800. Think I might avoid. Sounds like a can of worms!

Mr Benevolent

jamiecall wrote: »

Car is € 4,800. Think I might avoid. Sounds like a can of worms!

Good call. Never buy something with an obvious defect unless it's incredibly cheap and you know how much the repair will cost.

Here's another one for you. Was this the car you were looking at?

jamiecall

Thanks for all your help everyone.

Barr

jamiecall wrote: »

Car is € 4,800. Think I might avoid. Sounds like a can of worms!

At that price I'd give it a skip . It would need to be very cheap to worth the hassle.