First car, need a little help!

[Ciaran_A3]

Alright lads, recently discovered the site and have been reading around it alot lately! Bit of background about myself im 18 and from Ireland and basically ive just purchased my first car! 2004 A3 1.6 Petrol! 2 Owners, 78'000 Miles, Full Service History (Had to have the car exported from England to find one as clean as this with S/H!)

Not the most admirable car in the world but not bad for an 18 year old who's paid for it all himself! The car is completely standard at the minute but i have considered doing a few modifications to the car (lowering, alloys, debadge, de-wipe, tinting etc.) but i was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions on what I could do to start off!

Ill post a few pics below let me know what you think, cheers!

 

[desertstorm]

Thats a very nice car for a first car, mine was a 1967 Vauxhall Viva 1159cc that was 14 years old when I bought it. Used to be working on it almost every weekend to keep it running, Teaches you a lot driving around in a banger.
Your car is certainly not a banger and I am sure will respond well to a little lowering and some different alloys.

 

[Audiabc7]

Car looks really nice and clean, sure you'll enjoy it The first "essential" mod to do would probably be some interior LEDs, got mine from a user called t8ups, highly recommended! Then a full detail and polish is always a good idea if needed. Those are the first things I did to my S3. Also, the OEM ashtray delete gives a really nice storage compartment if you happen to have the ashtray.

Good luck with the new car and welcome to the forum!

 

[Sandra]

@Ciaran_A3 welcome to audi-sport.net. Nice looking first car. Look forward to seeing the progress you make with future mods. Where in ireland are you? Enjoy the forum. x

 

[Krony]

Welcome and nice first car, mine was a 950cc Fiesta, forget the year but was a MkI and in the end you couldn't use 4th gear as it just slowed down to a stop lol.

 

[Ciaran_A3]

Thats a very nice car for a first car, mine was a 1967 Vauxhall Viva 1159cc that was 14 years old when I bought it. Used to be working on it almost every weekend to keep it running, Teaches you a lot driving around in a banger.
Your car is certainly not a banger and I am sure will respond well to a little lowering and some different alloys.

Well thankfully so far ive had zero problems with the A3! Gave it a real good service when It arrived (timing chain, water pump etc.) just to keep on top of things and at the minute she's as smooth as a buttered balloon! Really enjoying driving it and the difference in drive comfort compared to a few of my mates corsa's, clios etc. is incredible! Really have fallen in love with Audi already!

Definitely plan to lower the car at some stage in the near future and I think a set of 18's would set her off really nicely! Its just a case of hopefully persuading the insurance company to cover me for mods!

 

[Ciaran_A3]

Welcome and nice first car, mine was a 950cc Fiesta, forget the year but was a MkI and in the end you couldn't use 4th gear as it just slowed down to a stop lol.

Cheers mate! Yours looks mint as well! Well so far so good all my gears seems to be working fine ahah!

 

[Jake 61]

Nice first car, you must be well pleased with that. A good set of wheels and lowering springs would be the way I would go, it would fill those arches nicely. You should be able to get lots of bits and pieces to smarten her up.
Hope you enjoy it.

 

[Ciaran_A3]

Car looks really nice and clean, sure you'll enjoy it The first "essential" mod to do would probably be some interior LEDs, got mine from a user called t8ups, highly recommended! Then a full detail and polish is always a good idea if needed. Those are the first things I did to my S3. Also, the OEM ashtray delete gives a really nice storage compartment if you happen to have the ashtray.

Good luck with the new car and welcome to the forum!

I hadnt even thought of interior LEDS! Are they pricey? Secondly how easy are they to install? A friend of mine had LED mods in his Clio and I thought they looked a bit cheap to be honest but then again it could be a whole different story in an Audi! Also the ashtray delete looks incredible! Was wondering were could I find a gear knob like your own only without a 6th gear?

 

[Ciaran_A3]

Nice first car, you must be well pleased with that. A good set of wheels and lowering springs would be the way I would go, it would fill those arches nicely. You should be able to get lots of bits and pieces to smarten her up.
Hope you enjoy it.

Cheers mate! Over the moon with it, even with the car standard when its polished nicely it still grabs attention really nice car, I just wish I had the money to go and buy springs and 18's today unfortunately ive got to save a little more!

 

[Audiabc7]

I hadnt even thought of interior LEDS! Are they pricey? Secondly how easy are they to install? A friend of mine had LED mods in his Clio and I thought they looked a bit cheap to be honest but then again it could be a whole different story in an Audi! Also the ashtray delete looks incredible! Was wondering were could I find a gear knob like your own only without a 6th gear?

I guess price depends on what lights you want to replace, if you have the light pack with the puddle and footwell lights, glove box, license plate lights etc. Installations was really easy for all the interior lights, a bit more difficult for the puddle lights since the wiring can be really short...

Here's some more info on the LEDs and some guides on the install:
http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/interior-led-package-installed-pic-heavy.127133/

As for the gear knob, it is available as a 5-speed version too I ordered mine directly from audi, here are the part numbers for the 5-speed version:

8X0 863 278 R QQX - Black stitching
8X0 863 278 R XBA - Silver stitching
8X0 863 278 R ZDP - Alabaster white stitching
http://audi-oooo.blogspot.se/2013/01/audi-a1-quattro-aluminium-gear-knob.html

Also available here:
http://www.bks-tuning.com/audi/a1/a1-8x/interior/oem-audi-a1-a3-8p-q3-alu-shift-knob-gear.html

 

[enc]

looks nice n clean. not bad at all for a first car especially at 18 !
could do with some new plates and maybe a surround ?
Any interior pics ?

 

[pluves1]

Welcome. Nice first motor.

As others have said I'd go for simple OEM mods to give the car a bit of oomph. This would be my shopping list
Alloys S3 ones or whatever suits your personal taste.
Number plate surrounds
Pressed metal number plates
LED rear lights if you havent already got them (cant tell from pics)
Depending on what you have in the interior then FBMFSW (Flat Bottom Mult Function Steering Wheel)
Cruise Control especially if doing FBMFSW
RNSE if you use Sat Nav
That should keep you busy

 

[Ciaran_A3]

looks nice n clean. not bad at all for a first car especially at 18 !
could do with some new plates and maybe a surround ?
Any interior pics ?

Ill get some interior pics put up once I have a chance, but its a fairly standard interior. Thinking about purchasing some leather seats for it soon though! Pressed plates and number plate surrounds are definitly on my shopping list as well!

 

[Ciaran_A3]

Welcome. Nice first motor.

As others have said I'd go for simple OEM mods to give the car a bit of oomph. This would be my shopping list
Alloys S3 ones or whatever suits your personal taste.
Number plate surrounds
Pressed metal number plates
LED rear lights if you havent already got them (cant tell from pics)
Depending on what you have in the interior then FBMFSW (Flat Bottom Mult Function Steering Wheel)
Cruise Control especially if doing FBMFSW
RNSE if you use Sat Nav
That should keep you busy

Ive been offered a set of 19" S3 Alloys for £250 quid with tyres so I might have a go at them, im just worried would 19" kill the acceleration of the car? Number plate surrounds and pressed plates are also a big want!

LED Lights would be a dream but they seem so expensive any possibility you could hit me with a link to some, dont really know what im looking for!

And as for the steering wheel, how easy is it to change the current steering wheel?

The 19" S3's im having a look at !

 

[pluves1]

Ive been offered a set of 19" S3 Alloys for £250 quid with tyres so I might have a go at them, im just worried would 19" kill the acceleration of the car? Number plate surrounds and pressed plates are also a big want!

LED Lights would be a dream but they seem so expensive any possibility you could hit me with a link to some, dont really know what im looking for!

And as for the steering wheel, how easy is it to change the current steering wheel?

The 19" S3's im having a look at !
View attachment 45469

Personally I think 19" are too big for small cars but, I'm sure others will disagree. I baulk at the price of 18" tyres so remember 19" will be even more expensive.

LED rears pop up on EBAY from time to time where the scrapyard doesn't realise the true value. There was some on the other week and I think someone on the forum snapped them up for £60 delivered!

Search for steering wheel swapout - there are plenty of threads covering it. Personally I'm not mechanically minded so will be using the services of one of the forum sponsors JMB Retrofits. There are others who will assist for beer tokens.

 

[Veedubnoodle]

Nice looking wee motor. Set of wheels and some springs will do the job and then do the simple things like new plates, bulbs and keep it clean