How far do I go?

[BAN430G]

Hi guys,

On impulse purchase I bought a roughish X reg 210bhp S3 for £2000 off a guy down the road 3 months ago. Its completely standard in black with 127k mileage with yellow/black interior. Most of the documentation and service history has been lost.

I just spent £850 on the paintwork with Revive getting all the wheels, scratches all around it and some surface rust sorted and it now looks presentable especially with my private plate. Got a new windscreen being fitted next week on the insurance since mine is cracked, hopefully they will replace the rubbers around it since these are all brittle. Just got myself a 2nd key as well and getting it serviced on Friday.

I still have the following problems:
- Oil leak needs to be investigated
- Knocking on front suspension (can see something hanging down)
- Several small dings still around the bodywork
- Headlights are cloudy
- One of the doors has a tear on the yellow material
- Under the front bumper there is a black strip which is damaged
- Under dashboard around steering wheel seems to be loose and not clipping back up properly

My questions to you guys is
- how much would this car be worth in really good condition?
- realistically what kind of mileage do these cars go up to?

I have made up my mind to keep this car until it dies - its part of my environmental conscience since so many good cars get scrapped unnecessarily these days and people regard everything as disposable unnecessarily. However I think I need to be careful just throwing money at it, might make sense to stop after the oil leak and suspension knocking.

thanks
Paul

 

[nobbybonez]

mechanicals first, no matter how shiny it is you'll still look a **** with the bonnet up on the side of the road...

 

[vivalacoulter]

Yes, first port of call should be the oil leak.

These cars realistically will go on for many years more, depending on whether you realise that mechanical parts don't last forever.

All turbo's eventually need changing/overhaul, oil strainers need cleaning or replacing, servicing should be spot on from now if you want it to last...

I take it bit by bit, there's still cosmetic things I need doing on mine, but trying to sort the transmission and handling first

Hope you have fun with your new project!

Also, as for the lights, try some 2000 grit wet and dry, then a non gel Toothpaste on a rag and rub until your arm falls off! Then get some lamin-x headlight film to protect it from any more UV damage.

 

[ayfreetee]

With very regular oil and filter changes, these engines are known to go in exess of 250k miles, but the turbo won't go that far of course.

 

[BAN430G]

Hey guys,

Latest update - I'm progressing well with the car and loving it!

- Replaced the main turbo pipe with a Forge item since was suffering from leaks
- Had it serviced today - wow what a difference in drive and they fixed the oil leak was the sump nut not done up tightly enough!
- Next week got 4 new tyres coming and getting a new windscreen, plus managed to buy the missing windscreen strip.
- Suspension knocking was the ball joint, getting it replaced and MOT week after next

Its beginning to come together - will stand me in around £3500 now which I think is reasonable.

Will still leave me with the following problems to address over time:
- Several small dings still around the bodywork
- Headlights are cloudy - am intending to try the Meguiars headlight restoration kit
- One of the doors has a tear on the yellow material
- Under the front bumper there is a black strip which is damaged
- Under dashboard around steering wheel seems to be loose and not clipping back up properly
- The plastic fins on the doors have come loose a bit which, not sure whether to try glue

Will keep you updated
Paul

 

[marcusp13]

For the headlights, Ive had two or three cars with this issue and found a fine wet n dry paper sorts this out a treat and then polished them up with chem guys V compounds. All personal choice though.

 

[ayfreetee]

The 3M headlight kit is very good, it comes with all the different stages of wet and dry discs and polish required to refurb your lights.

 

[vivalacoulter]

Just don't forget to protect them from UV damage again after.

 

[ayfreetee]

Uv protector comes in the kit too.

 

[vivalacoulter]

Mine came with a gel UV protection that never really worked.

I ended up doing them again and protecting with Lamin-X.