Hi folks, taking a test drive today, car looks in perfect condition, 18.5k miles. Any obvious things to look / listen for? S tronic as well.
Full service history etc etc. Just struggling to find any warranty recall issues with the 8V, likely none but just checking to see if I can spot that these have been undertaken.
Has B&O, Comfort, lighting, hold assist, front / back sensors, etc... No tech pack but im cool with that as coming form a B7 RS4 it will still be lights years ahead.
Any info appreciated,
Cheers
D
Dave,
All the usual checks apply when buying a used/ cherished secand hand car. Check Coolant levels and Oil levels especially on the S3. Some cars have had issues with these two points.
Coolant should be between the min and max lines. If its above the max on a cold engine the owner might have had issues previously and this is the first thing Audi advise to do. Ie overfill. There is a fix for this now (apparently) from Audi but depends if car still has warranty. Some of the early cars are starting to get close...63 plates etc
Oil usage. Some cars like to sip oil, this is nothing to worry about necessarily but just be aware. Oil should be clean
Ask the owner about these two points especially.
The DSG should be smooth in all modes and aggresive in Dynamic. It might be a little lumpy for 2 mins until oil is upto temp but otherwise it should be perfect.
Engine/Turbo rattle/rustle. You may notice a slight rustle noise when the car is under light load. This is normal, Golf R and S3 and even 1.8 and standard 2.0 TFSI turbo engines emit this noise. Audi still working on a poential fix.
Turbo - There was a batch of turbos which did have more chance of blowing. Manufacturing default etc. Do a forum search for numbers etc. Sorry I cant recall further info. But at 18k hopefully its all good by now. They tended to go pop pretty quick / early in life.
Service- S3 should be serviced yearly really or atleast have oil changed. Some cars were put on long life. So double check.
Exhaust tips. All four should be clean ideally, the inner two soot up quicker but this will help you see if the current owner truly loves his cars. Its one area a lot of people just dont clean.
Wheels- Check for kerbing. £120 circa to fix as diamond cut edges if standard wheels. £50 for a quick glance test fix.
Tyres - All S3's if on 18 wheels came with Conti Sport 5 tyres. I would have thought these would be up now so see what they have replaced them with. Michelin PS3/4 or Goodyear F1 Eagle Asy2/3 and Dunlop Sportmaxx all rated tyres for the car. Many owners actually dont like the Conti Sport 5. I had no issues with mine but changed for the sake of curiosity.
If you have VCDS ask to do a scan or take a £10 dongle with you from Amazon and perform a quick scan. You would be surprised what can flag up.
Ask the owner if they have completed any VCDS modifications? Popular items are - exhaust flaps/ alarm chirp/ windscreen wiper service etc.
Remaps- Ask the owner if the car has ever had a ECU remap or DSG TCU map. These are not necasarily bad things but you should be aware of them. And if car has had a proper ECU map then even if flashed back to stock it may well trigger a TD1 flag due to ECU count changing. Audi will pick this up if the car needs major engine / turbo warranty work. (TDI flag).
Ring up the Audi garage where the car has been serviced - check records and ask about the car. Give them the VIN so they know you are serious and they might throw some more light on the car. U can do this with the owner/ without.
I think you can tell a lot about the car from the owner. How its cared for, documentation on the car, and how they first drive the car. Step back and let them take the lead. Let your mind rule not your heart!!
All the best Dave... These cars dont have the same engine noise as the RS cars but they sure fly and are a very very pleasant place to be. A step above many other hot/ hyper hatches.
Regds
Jungle
