Audi A3 (8L, 96-03 model)

Captain Slow IRL

I was considering getting one of these as a commuter, reasonable mpg and good safety rating. (1.6 litre petrol)

I was just wondering if there is anything to look out for with them? Is there any engine that appears to give more trouble than others?

Also, what are they like, suspension wise - are they as complex as the A4's?

Anything else to note or be wary of?!

MuppetCheck

1.6 has a drink problem. It's very heavy on juice. Had an 06 Leon and regularly got under 30mpg Cork to Dublin return with the same running gear.

The gearboxes give problems - needed a rebuild at 80k km. Air con compressors give trouble too. 30k km mine lasted.

It will cost more but a 1.9tdi might be worth finding.

ShaunieVW

I have a 1.8t one of these. I also had a PD130 a3 aswell and S3. The 1.8t is the best engine out if them all they rarely give trouble, the odd coilpack and clear the pick up pipe and everything is all good then as long as they are service correctly. The PD was noisy and forever getting boost leaks but I still loved it. The 1.6 are awful underpowered and usually return worse MPG than the 1.8t. I only drive 11 miles to work and once its warm Im no eco driver and I always see 34mpg using the fuelly app. Try find a well specced 1.8t 3dr though. I got lucky when buying mine!

Suspension is identical to the mk4 golf. Much less to go wrong than the a4. Anti Roll Bar bushes wear but now they have a revised part. Appart from that its nothing out of the usual.

Captain Slow IRL

Thanks for the info; I was looking on parkers for fuel consumption and they claim 39mpg for the 1.6.

I'm not going to be able to afford a diesel unless it has intergalactic mileage

Seweryn

Captain Slow IRL wrote: »

Thanks for the info; I was looking on parkers for fuel consumption and they claim 39mpg for the 1.6.

I'm not going to be able to afford a diesel unless it has intergalactic mileage

Are you looking for an economical compact car, or does it need to be an A3? Almost any Japanese equivalent car would be better on petrol.

Captain Slow IRL

I was looking at jap cars until I came about 10 feet away from a head on collision last friday, now I want something that has a fairly high NCAP rating!

ba_barabus

Personally I think a MK1 facelift Avensis 1.6 would suit you fine. 4 star rating at the time of it's test and was considered very very good. And from personal experience I wrote mine off in a crash and walked away with nothing worse than a bit of seatbelt burn. The car did it's job.

Very reliable, solidly if blandly built inside. Not a bad drive (not truly wonderful either) and genuine 40+mpg is possible. Parts are all nice and cheap and freely available.

This recommendation will of course be followed by a few comments about oil burning issues but at this stage in the cars lift those badly affected have either had the engines changed or been scrapped. Gearboxes can be a weak point but again at this stage most have failed or never given any bother.

I followed up the Avensis with a MKIV 1.6L Golf and it was completely shyte, I really wanted to like it but couldn't. One more badge of honour for the Avensis is that I bought one for my OH as a first car as she needed something really cheap and reliable. It has only required service items in it's two years of ownership.

i57dwun4yb1pt8

i have one ,

got 77k miles on it 13 years old

i get 11 kiloms a litre on the motorway = about 31 mpg .

timing belt with water pump is needed after every 5 years / or 100 miles i think .

the instrument cluster has a habit of blowing a component so that it does not read temp or tank properly
mine reads too much in each case - so the temp alarm goes off once in a while the odd time then drops back and empty is closer to middle on the tank gauge,

alternator had to be refurbed last week

radiator hose went three years ago

thermostat sensor went last year

try to get the manual for the car for the fcuking radio pin number if you lose battery power as it locks out the radio

does under steer a tad .
otherwise its been great so far,

ba_barabus

Wasn't the timing belt revised to 4 years or 45k miles on the 1.6l VAG engine? (or something like that)

porsche959

Agree with ShaunieVW , go for the 1.8t, great little engine that.

i57dwun4yb1pt8

ba_barabus wrote: »

Wasn't the timing belt revised to 4 years or 45k miles on the 1.6l VAG engine? (or something like that)

dunno, but its done now ( second time in 13 years )

DaDumTish

DaDumTish wrote: »

...

i get 11 kiloms a litre on the motorway = about 31 mpg .
,

That's 27mpg, not 31mpg

i57dwun4yb1pt8

Augeo wrote: »

That's 27mpg, not 31mpg

well, genius , i think you'll find it is 31 mpg

but hey , if you want to believe your figure you go right ahead.

colm_mcm

Probably thinking in l/100km

Captain Slow IRL

ba_barabus wrote: »

Personally I think a MK1 facelift Avensis 1.6 would suit you fine.........

..........I followed up the Avensis with a MKIV 1.6L Golf and it was completely shyte, ..........

The older engine or the vvti unit?

I was considering a 1.6 golf at first, mrs. had a 1.4 version and I liked that car!

colm_mcm

Facelift would be VVT-i

ba_barabus

Captain Slow IRL wrote: »

The older engine or the vvti unit?

I was considering a 1.6 golf at first, mrs. had a 1.4 version and I liked that car!

My own Avensis was the older 1.6, a few family members has the VVTI engine in the MK1 facelift Avensis and all found them very good. Not as economical as the 4A-FE engine but more responsive and probably nicer to drive.

I had a 1.6 16V Golf. Personally I loved driving it. It was a Highline model but it spent weeks off the road with various issues before the garage offered to take it back so they could get rid of it. I was heartbroken as I really wanted one but it was rubbish and compared to teh Avensis it drank petrol. As above, I'd get a 1.8T if I was getting one as there is nothing to be saved with the smaller engines. The 1.4 is ok for pottering around. Some will tell you they're a poor engine that uses oil, is underpowered and suffers HGF. I test drove one after the Avensis and found it dead beyond belief. I always rose a smile when people put their nose up at my "boring, slow Toyota" and then proclaimed the virtues of their 1.4 Golf.

Captain Slow IRL

Are they problematic, engine wise?

ba_barabus

Captain Slow IRL wrote: »

Are they problematic, engine wise?

Which car/engine?

ba_barabus

If it's the VVTI:

They can burn a touch of oil. Nothing to worry about really at this stage and if you lift the bonnet and keep an eye on the levels you'll be fine. Gearboxes and steering racks gave issues when new but they were all replaced long ago. Other than that they are cheap too run, simple to repair and easy to sell on. Depending on your budget you may even afford a new model 03.

If it's the 1.4L Golf:

They have a reputation of burning oil, blowing their head gaskets, not being as efficient as the 1.4VVTI Corolla or 1.6VVTI Avensis, parts are generally cheap at this stage unless you need new parts. They can give electrical problems also especially with door locks which can be an expensive PITA to fix. They also feel underpowered and slow compared to the Avensis which wasn't an autobahn stormer of any kind back in it's day. It wasn't as bad drive a drive as people who have never driven one will have you believe either.

TBH both are well know in the trade at this stage so servicing costs are cheap.

Captain Slow IRL

Update; took all the advice in and ended up buying a '00 accord instead! 4 star NCAP rating and got it for peanuts, full main dealer sh and a shade under 100k miles on the clock

Special Circumstances

Captain Slow IRL wrote: »

Update; took all the advice in and ended up buying a '00 accord instead! 4 star NCAP rating and got it for peanuts, full main dealer sh and a shade under 100k miles on the clock

Solid bangernomics choice, well wear!