got to stop reading this forum

[musicegbdf]

Blowing up turbos, crashing mmi , stones through condensers , dealers that scratch cars , s tronic that needs rebooting ...
Think I am going to wrap my new car in cotton wool when it comes.

Have stop reading the horror stories.
;-)

 

[drummerdimitri]

Blowing up turbos, crashing mmi , stones through condensers , dealers that scratch cars , s tronic that needs rebooting ...
Think I am going to wrap my new car in cotton wool when it comes.

Have stop reading the horror stories.
;-)

Don't worry too much about it. I doubt you will get all symptoms at once.

 

[h5djr]

I've had my current A3 for 15 months and 20k miles and the only problem I've had was a noise from the driver's door which my excellent dealer has now cured. My current car is my ninth A3 and I had hardly any problems with any of them. Stop worrying!!

 

[n3ldv]

I've had my current A3 for 15 months and 20k miles and the only problem I've had was a noise from the driver's door which my excellent dealer has now cured. My current car is my ninth A3 and I had hardly any problems with any of them. Stop worrying!!

Hi did you have wind noise at your door?

 

[h5djr]

Hi did you have wind noise at your door?

The noise I had was a creaking sound in the drivers door whenever I turned to the right. The dealer had my car for a week and finally found it was something to do with the door closing loop on the main bodywork, but I have not had the chance to talk to the Master Tech who sorted it to finf out exactly the problem.

I do get some wind noise but I don't think this is problem with the door and is just caused by the airflow over the mirrors.

 

[Supa Koopa]

Tell me about it. If I'd read all these posts before ordering my S3 I think it might've put me off. There's some real loathing for S3's and that's by the people that own them.

Don't forget about the pogo stick suspension, wooley steering, rattling engines, creaking interior, hesitation on driving away, poor residuals and theft targets....!

Why did I bother and what's the point in collecting it next Friday as they're obviously rubbish. lol

 

[musicegbdf]

Oh and I forgot the Turbo rattle...
I can't wait .... well I have to maybe till next year ...
Actually to be fair my current 8P has only had two faults ( rear LED light failure , and EGR issue sent into limp mode) in 4 and a half years. However, all the new cars I have had before , including Discovery (bad reputation , but no problems for me) , CRV , variety of VW's I never had any faults at all. So perhaps Audi has got a worse failure rate. I have taken out 5 years warranty anyway as I think if you keep for 5 years it is a bargain.....

It says something about the lust for a S3 that non of this has put me off

 

[Rob2k68]

......rusty hubs ......

To be fair that's part of the reason to buy new or nearly new to have piece of mind that you have warranty. Anything can happen there are 1,000s of parts made to tight tolerances and often at a price. Drive it and enjoy it !

 

[veeeight]

It's a "Premium" Product, complete with "Premium" faults

 

[Scottyg]

I've had my current A3 for 15 months and 20k miles and the only problem I've had was a noise from the driver's door which my excellent dealer has now cured. My current car is my ninth A3 and I had hardly any problems with any of them. Stop worrying!!

Was it a wind noise? I have it and will visit dealer once I'm back from holidays.

 

[Blackwhite]

It's a "Premium" Product, complete with "Premium" faults

And "Premium" mono. pur!

 

[veeeight]

And "Premium" mono. pur!

Fake leather, you mean

 

[Fishheskettpark]

Regardless of anything else still one of the nicest compact cars on the road. Go for an A3/S3//RS3 against anything else and you still have one of the most desirable cars in the sector

 

[veeeight]

Except a Golf R, of course, faster and cheaper

<puts tin hat on>

 

[Blackwhite]

Except a Golf R, of course, faster and cheaper

<puts tin hat on>

G word.

 

[musicegbdf]

Lynching party forming !

 

[veeeight]

Another thread ruined !

 

[Scottyg]

The R is cracking and sounds great too. The interior is the best of any Golf interior which is very bland on the lower models. I'm not talking basement spec, even the GT badged cars it looks dull!!

 

[RedTurtle]

I still think the R looks like poop even after seeing one at the detailers and not a fan of the interior vs the S3 interior, though I hear its very well setup for driving unlike the S3.

Anyway... the comments on the forum regarding the S3's faults and drawbacks I found helpful, it lowers expectations so when these issues arise and in my case several have it wasn't a surprise or a let down I just booked it into Audi and got them to do what they do.

Mind you if you get the turbo rattle... learn to love it.

 

[Supa Koopa]

I agree to some extent, but if you visit other forums they certainly don't seem to be as negative as this one. The ST forum I was on before cancelling and then ordering the S3 were full of praise with only a few problem posts, this is totally opposite and it's a welcome change seeing someone post something positive on here. Maybe Audi owners are really negative or they just have higher expectations.

The Golf R may well be a better drivers car, but who gives a flying fish this is an Audi forum and I've bought an S3 and that's what I want to know about. If I want to know about the Golf I'd be on their forum, the same if it was BMW, Seat ,Renault, etc that I was buying. Besides that I stopped wearing baseball caps years ago so not really that fussed. I saw one a few weeks ago and it just looked like a normal golf that someone had really messed up by visiting Halfords too many times it was only when we walked past it that I realised it was an R. If it's a better car then why are the residuals around £4k less than the S3 at the same age? IMHO of course

 

[veeeight]

So you'd rather be in a forum full of Audi fanboys that want an echo chamber of how wonderful the car is?

Head over to the RS3 section

Personally, I think the realism balances out the rose tinted glasses quite nicely on here.


IMHO of course.

 

[Blackwhite]

So you'd rather be in a forum full of Audi fanboys that want an echo chamber of how wonderful the car is?

Head over to the RS3 section

IMHO of course.

Right on Target!

 

[Supa Koopa]

Absolutely not, but I do question why someone who appears to dislike a car they own as strongly as you do, take every opportunity to slag it off and then compare it to another model they don't have, yet still own it.

For example, I bought a Seat Leon FR a few years ago and hated it from the first week of owning it, 4 months later I kissed its ugly butt goodbye.

 

[veeeight]

I'm tight and don't want to lose out on the depreciation

 

[musicegbdf]

Seriously though , I really like my current 8p and in particular the way the Quattro hugs the road. I have , like everyone here put a lot if money into the Audi food chain.
I am disappointed that they seem to have faults , which with modern technology isn't really acceptable for a quality product. It almost smacks of arrogance from Audi.
Has it stopped me from ordering my new S3 ? Tbh it was a close call with the Jag XE. It was only the lack of 4WD and a hatch that swung I for me.
When the XE gets the new engine and the 4WD it will be an interesting alternative
Jags had a fairly poor rep , but with Tata behind them they seem to have lifted their game.
There is something about the Audi that is special , but if it is unreliable the value of being special will be lost.

The R was a serious consideration and the dealership better than Audi. The style was too shouty for me, I prefer the subtle look of the S3.

 

[Scottyg]

Comparing cars on forums is extremely normal behaviour. As is moaning about them. You'll probably find most people join forums to find out the answer to an issue they are having with their car.
Yes, it's an enthusiasts forum, as are all the others but people are people and will moan about their cars more than anything else they own!
I'm a Mod on another forum and speaking from experience I slated my last car after the dealer messed the software up. Why did I join that forum? To find out if anyone could assist with the issues I was having!!

 

[Supa Koopa]

I'm tight and don't want to lose out on the depreciation

Certainly don't buy a Golf R then...!

 

[veeeight]

No, I'll lease it on one of those fabulous lease offers !!!

£242 per month for a 300PS car?

Sign me up

 

[s3_trev]

Veeeight, buy a Golf R and be done with it. Sheesh.

 

[veeeight]

Waiting for the R400. Or the new A45.

Can't decide.

Wait. Then there's the Focus RS !!!

 

[Martinbanshee]

Some people try a bit too hard to balance the views on this forum, like its a crime to be happy with the S3.
It's not really not unusual for people to talk about the good things in life rather than focus on the negatives but unfortunately there's always the few that seem to dwell on their negative experiences a bit too long.
By all means share the info for the good of the community, that's why we normally head to forums, but we don't need a black hole that constantly tries to swallow up the good views of the car.

 

[HawkeyeS3]

I think we have to accept that people are more likely to post when there are issues rather than when there are not. I haven't seen many posts starting "I love my S3 because....." but I have seen more than a few with "I'm disappointed with my S3 because....."

I suppose being Audi, and the premium marque of the VAG range one has certain expectations. However at the end of the day essentially the same chassis and engines are used throughout the VAG group, it's just different options and bodyshells. So is an Audi engine better than a Skoda or a Seat or a VW? Absolutely not. May be a slight different state of tune, but essentially the same mechanicals.

The other thing we have to bear in mind is that given the number of Audi's on the road, its only the minority that may have issues, and you will get that from any major manufacturer. I think what has irked most S3 owners on here more than anything else is Audi's attitude to the turbo rattle, and if nothing else that has set the scene that they all do it, whereas the fact is that some do, some don't (I can understand the annoyance with those that have it, don't get me wrong).

The simple fact is that I think when you buy an Audi, you somehow get the view that it will be perfect, and simply its not. I've had issues with my S3 at 8k miles (requiring new High Pressure Fuel pump, 2 injectors and new turbo), which I'll admit I was disappointed with (my God its an Audi for crying out loud, they don't do this), but the fact is they do.

Whilst this forum may be a little more "voluble" about Audi's faults, it's probably because it has such a wide following globally. Other forum's don't but you still have those posting about issues. I'm not saying they shouldn't but as said above, at least those buying S3's or A3's go into the sale with their eyes a little more open than going in blind perhaps.

Would I buy another S3 after the issues I've had? Yes I would, but I'd also have a look around at other makes to see what fits my lifestyle and needs at that time. And then join the relevant forum to find out what a mistake I made LOL!

 

[veeeight]

^ +1 Excellent Post

 

[Supa Koopa]

I agree with all that, but the point I was making was on the other sites, FocusST for instance, someone will go on there and post about a negative issue they have there are those who will offer advice, others will confirm they have had the same and how it was rectified, but it always comes back to don't worry it's a great car and is worth it in the end.

Now on here, the same thing happens someone comes on here with a fault for advice, someone offers some help and then someone else comes on and spouts don't worry as the car is crap anyway, you've wasted your money and you should have bought X. It's like a stuck record and as helpful as a chocolate teapot. I don't normally open my gob but for some reason this attitude seems to be more annoying than usual. Maybe I'm just turning in to Victor Meldrew.

I just feel if you don't really have anything valuable to contribute you should just keep your trap shut. There's many posts on here about big wheels, rolled arches, hydro-dipped whatsits, etc that I think are down right ugly and pointless but I don't comment because it's just not constructive. If I replied to every person who posted about their new wheels that they look stupid, you're an idiot and you've wasted your money what would people think of me as a contributor to a valuable forum. I think it would be more along the lines of 'okay, you don't like modded cars we get it, now give it a rest grandpa'.

Every manufacturer has faults, NASA for instance built the shuttle parts to have a 0.1% failure rate. Not bad eh? Well it consisted of 6,000,000 parts so that means 6,000 parts could fail on each flight, not so good anymore and we all know how well that went. Maybe someone should have been on their forum telling them to buy a Russian Soyuz.

 

[veeeight]

Use the force, Luke.

Use the ignore function, to skip over anything you don't like

 

[h5djr]

So is an Audi engine better than a Skoda or a Seat or a VW? Absolutely not. May be a slight different state of tune, but essentially the same mechanicals.

In fact nearly ALL the engines used by all the VW group are made in an Audi factory in Hungary.

 

[veeeight]

And all the gearboxes, both manual and DSG, are made by VW in Kassel.

 

[sunscreemer]

I think most of us use a forum to find out about things we should know about or you search to see if anyone else has a similar problem to help you find a solution. I forget the numbers but there's a saying about how many people an unsatisfied person will tell about an incident than a satisfied one. When it come down to it I know what to expect so i know what i listen to and what i take with a pinch of salt. There are some broken records however but you learn what to filter out. I've been on a number of forum's for other cars and tend to agree there is more disappointment the higher up the perceived brand line up you reach as you can't get away from the fact that many people pay more and have higher expectations as a result.

 

[Martinbanshee]

However at the end of the day essentially the same chassis and engines are used throughout the VAG group, it's just different options and bodyshells. So is an Audi engine better than a Skoda or a Seat or a VW? Absolutely not. May be a slight different state of tune, but essentially the same mechanicals.

Nothing new of course, my sons MK5 Golf R32 had the same 3.2 VR6 engine and DSG/S-Tronic gearbox as my MK2 TT. Haldex system was probably 99% identical too.

 

[Blackwhite]

I just want to say, people have
the right to their opinion good
or bad. But what I don't like is
certain people on here seem to get condemned for it.