Looking for advice, €5k to spend, S3 hopefully

Jumpaddict

Long time lurker, first tiime poster, hope I can get some sage advice from ye:D

Will have around the €5k to spend in February, looking for something sporty and have settled on the Audi s3, hopefully get a 02/03 for that money by then.

Is there anything I should be aware of when looking?
Are there other options you think I should consider?

Thanks for your help guys

Wildly Boaring

S3 holding value well, get a clean 02/03 GTI for that money (or less) but dunno about an S3

Leon Cupra R has same engine (210/225 bhp depending on age)

I've been on the lookout myself

Neilw

Make sure they have been serviced on time and with the correct oil, there can be problems with the oil pickup pipe blocking if servicing is neglected.

Some nice S3's out there but also a fair few rough ones, be careful.

Damie

At this stage I prefer the S3 to the Gti, think I would get a Leon Cupra ahead of the Gti but the S3 is ticking all the boxes at the moment...

Still open to other suggestions tho, looking for some advice like this myself, cheers

Some examples for ya

S3
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1700780

Cupra(get rid of the tint)
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1702911

Matt Simis

Damie wrote: »

Some examples for ya

S3
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1700780

Wow S3's got cheap. MPG and Tax on them is actually quite affordable too.
Try to avoid Silver ones though, S cars deserve to be seen!

guerito

I've been looking at them too, although I'm probably going to go for an e46 325 coupe . There are a couple of high-mileage examples on donedeal, around 120K miles, for around your budget, or this on carzone for a bit more:

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Audi/S3/1.8-T-QU/201038199630992/advert?channel=CARS

It's hanging around for a while, so you should get a good deal in the new year.

There's also this on donedeal, which you should be able to get at or under budget:

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1693441

If you're looking at one, be sure to get it checked out by a mechanic first, as by all accounts they can bite your wallet pretty hard if something goes wrong. Vagdrivers.net is good for info and the odd one for sale sometimes. There are a few posters on here who have or have had one too.

Jumpaddict

Jees, S3's seem to be popular now all of a sudden:D

Thanks for the help n suggestions....what is the max bhp of the gti? I think the standard on the s3 is over 200, not sure the gti is near this unless remapped

Wildly Boaring

Jumpaddict wrote: »

Jees, S3's seem to be popular now all of a sudden:D

Thanks for the help n suggestions....what is the max bhp of the gti? I think the standard on the s3 is over 200, not sure the gti is near this unless remapped

Mark 4 are either 150 or 180
As I said Cupra R is same as S3 210 or 225, 225 from sometime in 2003 onwards

ytareh

Matt Simis wrote: »

Wow S3's got cheap. MPG and Tax on them is actually quite affordable too.
Try to avoid Silver ones though, S cars deserve to be seen!

MPG ' quite affordable' on a turbo 4wd petrol???!!!Sure?

Neilw

ytareh wrote: »

MPG ' quite affordable' on a turbo 4wd petrol???!!!Sure?

They would average 30+mpg at a steady 120kph, I doubt a 1litre micra would do any better at that speed.

Gumbo

guerito wrote: »

I've been looking at them too, although I'm probably going to go for an e46 325 coupe . There are a couple of high-mileage examples on donedeal, around 120K miles, for around your budget, or this on carzone for a bit more:

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Audi/S3/1.8-T-QU/201038199630992/advert?channel=CARS

It's hanging around for a while, so you should get a good deal in the new year.

that car has not been hanging around at all for a while!
thats my old car, i sold it a month or 2 ago privately and for alot more than the advertised price there!

i can honestly say that the air freshner in the advertisement is the same freshner that i put into it! probably a little stale now though

i have lots of pics etc and if anybody is genuinely interested in it, give me a shout and i'll duscuss.

VeVeX

Neilw wrote: »

They would average 30+mpg at a steady 120kph, I doubt a 1litre micra would do any better at that speed.

and about 25mpg around town.

Matt Simis

ytareh wrote: »

MPG ' quite affordable' on a turbo 4wd petrol???!!!Sure?

Eh... yeah I am.

Gumbo

VeVeX wrote: »

and about 25mpg around town.

Matt Simis wrote: »

Eh... yeah I am.

in the 6 months i owned mine it averaged 20.9MPG and that was a 5 mile commute through light to medium traffic from Finglas to City Centre with the usual weekend use/blast.

although that car was remapped in the UK before i owned it so pushing circa 250bhp.

Matt Simis

kceire wrote: »

in the 6 months i owned mine it averaged 20.9MPG and that was a 5 mile commute through light to medium traffic from Finglas to City Centre with the usual weekend use/blast.

Its worth noting for those that skimmed your post and just saw "20mpg" that your commute of just 5 miles in traffic is absolute worst case driving possible for economy.

For what it offers; performance, AWD, comfort and style its affordability is really high.

Gumbo

Matt Simis wrote: »

Its worth noting for those that skimmed your post and just saw "20mpg" that your commute of just 5 miles in traffic is absolute worst case driving possible for economy.

For what it offers; performance, AWD, comfort and style its affordability is really high.

now when i say traffic, i mean traffic light ques.
its a 25-30 min commute max, not heavy start stop traffic tbh and i leave my house at 7.30 am and im in town, parked and clocked in at 8am.

tossy

The 1.8T is a surprisingly economic engine when driven well,esp surprising i na car like a Cupra,TT or S3 but if you are buying any of the above cars and are the type that worries about MPG then buy something else.

Matt Simis

kceire wrote: »

now when i say traffic, i mean traffic light ques.
its a 25-30 min commute max, not heavy start stop traffic tbh and i leave my house at 7.30 am and im in town, parked and clocked in at 8am.

Lol, its all relative, thats sounds like Urban stop start to me.
Thats 33% of the time mixed with likely 1/6 th of the distance I do and you have heavier traffic to deal with than I would. You prolly even have to stop at Traffic lights on occasion! :pac:

guerito

kceire wrote: »

that car has not been hanging around at all for a while!

My bad - probably seems like longer cos I've been looking up S3s pretty much every day...

Sent you a PM

hairyman

Ever thought about the Octavia V/RS?.

Its a huge amount of car for the money,sure you wont get the same retail as the Audi but it should be cheaper to purchase.

Jumpaddict

The interior of the vrs leaves a lot to be desired though. What year did the diesel vrs come out?