As you might have guessed from the title, this thread is all about my fifth A3-series car – a 2018 S3 Sportback. In addition to other past cars, my A3 history comprises:
8P 2.0T quattro S Line Special Edition
8P S3
8P 2.0T SE high spec
8P 1.4T Sport
I passed my 40th birthday last year and, despite having lots of nice cars in the past, I've run fairly unremarkable cars since going out on a high with a supercharged Golf R32 and then being persuaded by the wife to buy our van in 2015/6. Like many a car fan of a certain age; I have gotten to the point in life where I have family commitments, life experiences, but also a bit more flexibility with finances – so I felt I’d now like to mark the big occasion with a special car, probably another S3 or Golf R. [City centre living doesn't permit something less sensible, sadly]
Yet somehow that big birthday and passed - and I didn’t press the button on a more tasty car. In fact, six months afterwards I got as far as ordering a new A3 8Y 1.5T as I'd been happy with my old 1.4T Sport and wanted something newer. But while this would have undoubtedly served us well as a family runabout, health issues in my family caused me to reflect again, to cancel the new car order and to look back towards a performance car instead. 100-mile round trips to support care are in sight for the years to come.
As I say, we do already have one fairly life-affirming vehicle in the house: Bus Blue. It's been a huge amount of fun to run as the main family wheels for the last 5 years, though the base van is now over 8 years old and we are now tending to do more miles in whatever car is run alongside it. So, in addition to meeting my needs by being more joyful, the next car also needed to accommodate the family, be good for long distance visits to (hopefully business miles, too, when post-pandemic normality resumes) and yet docile around town. I also want to own this long-term, as having our Bus has shown me just how beneficial this is to me because I really look after my vehciles... the van is still on original tyres, brake pads, discs etc at 55k miles.
I did think about upgrading the new order to an 8Y S3. I'm sure it's a great car... but the styling hasn't grown on me and there are some details like standard privacy glass that put me off. Moreover, I think that the facelift 8V S3 is a bit of a high water mark - arguably it's just as good and more suitable for me than a Golf R. The facelift guarantees some things like 7-speed DSG, more standard equipment, re-tuning of the Haldex system and the option of some snazzy tech.
Plus, crucially, by sticking with the same bodyshell and interior I doubted that my wife would notice that the car had changed at all.
(She didn't say anything when my old R32 was supercharged, but that's another story).
I also decided that I didn't want to go down the PCP route and would prefer to dip into my savings for this new car, which ruled out an 8Y or equivalent Mk8 Golf R. Counting my previous A3 as part of the budget, I had up to £30k to play with and I knew this would get me into one of the latest facelift S3s.
Handily, a March 2018 model came up at a well-respected BMW / multi-marque specialist locally:
It's a Daytona Sportback S-Stronic with the Technology Pack inc. virtual dash, folding mirrors, hill-hold assist, rear camera, wireless phone charging and some natty 10-spoke polished alloys. Being a facelift means it also gets some spec highlights including the Audi Sound System that I wanted, too. Mileage at sale was 21,811, it has a first Audi dealer service in its record and recent Potenza tyres all round. A service and MoT were due and the original handbook was missing, but it all seemed good on V-check, Cazana and Erwin - plus the service record is digital nowadays anyway.
So, it seems a decent spec and the understated colour akin to my old Golf R32 makes it likely to fit in with my needs - moreso than my old, very red, 8P S3. On balance, I'd have preferred to find one at an Audi franchise because of the warranty - but it made sense overall and so a deal was done. I found myself doing the handover last week:
And here it is at home, its understated looks melting somewhat into the background - very much as I intended. I will get some better photos when I have the chance:
I've always found that I can't properly assess a used car until it's been at home with me for a week or so, to clean it, drive it and digest the paperwork.
The history of the car is that it was PDI'd and had its first oil change service at 7,369 miles in 2019 with a main Audi franchise up north. Its next maintenance was the inspection service, rear discs and pads and MoT I negotiated with the supplying dealer at 21,811. Although it would have been nice to see an oil change in between, it still meets the longlife criteria.
However, it gets a bit confusing because this MMI screen suggests an inspection service was also done around 19k miles / August 2020:
Erwin (digital service schedule) is only recording the PDI and first service at 7k miles in 2019, but I suspect another was done in 2020 without it being recorded digitally. This would tally with the fact that the car has 4 fairly recent tyres, all on about 6mm. I checked with the Audi franchise who did the first service and it wasn't them. Ho hum.
Condition
A good clean reveals completely original paint with no evidence of repairs anywhere, including the wheels. Sadly, I suspect my wife will trash said wheels and I know refurb options are limited to just 1-2 sessions on the lathe with these. They look good in the meantime though!
There's a little tar to the sides of the car and slight fine marking from car washing all over, but really it's very good bodywork. Inside the car, it's also perfect apart from a tiny repair to the driver's side bolster - again done as part of the sale. Unfortunately, I did notice this crack on the windscreen on the drive home from the dealer - it's in a really unfortunate location and could be a replacement issue, but either way it's being attended to at their expense next week:
Done so far:
- Added a dateless 3x3 plate
- Remap; fairly conservative at 350hp / 335lb.ft - I've had enough of them over the years to be confident in going for one
- Added OEM accessory boot lip protector and boot tray; OEM rear door sill protectors ordered
- Added replica roof rails... hands up, this is facile fakery - though probably the only controversial thing I'll do to the car
To do next:
- Windscreen inspection next week - with a view to repair or replacement
- Haldex oil and brake fluid being changed next week
- Drive it and get some decent photos!
I've only managed to do around 80 miles in the car so far and it won't be rising quickly as we live a very local lifestyle and commute by bicycle. The upside being that driving is always something to look forward to, usually longer-distance / for fun and so the overall annual miles are kept low - probably 4-5,000 per year, unless business miles take off again or care visits become needed a lot more.
Within those limitations, I'll just say that this new S3 is a fine, fine car on first acquaintance - feeling mainly like my old 8P S3 in the body of my last 8V A3. The combination of S-Tronic 'box and Hill Hold make it really easy to use and I just love shifting manually for those up-change exhaust parps. I am going to be very boring and say that the performance potential of this car won't be used very often... but I've tested it and can assure you it's there (traction control kicks in at full throttle even at high speeds, unless you disable it!). It's certainly more usable than my old and admittedly lower-order supercharged R32 or tuned Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo, both of which ran slightly higher peak horsepower figures. But it's mostly "more usable" in the sense that it only slightly less comfortable than the old A3 and still has a comfy interior, decent boot etc.
I'll keep the thread updated as things develop...
8P 2.0T quattro S Line Special Edition
8P S3
8P 2.0T SE high spec
8P 1.4T Sport
I passed my 40th birthday last year and, despite having lots of nice cars in the past, I've run fairly unremarkable cars since going out on a high with a supercharged Golf R32 and then being persuaded by the wife to buy our van in 2015/6. Like many a car fan of a certain age; I have gotten to the point in life where I have family commitments, life experiences, but also a bit more flexibility with finances – so I felt I’d now like to mark the big occasion with a special car, probably another S3 or Golf R. [City centre living doesn't permit something less sensible, sadly]
Yet somehow that big birthday and passed - and I didn’t press the button on a more tasty car. In fact, six months afterwards I got as far as ordering a new A3 8Y 1.5T as I'd been happy with my old 1.4T Sport and wanted something newer. But while this would have undoubtedly served us well as a family runabout, health issues in my family caused me to reflect again, to cancel the new car order and to look back towards a performance car instead. 100-mile round trips to support care are in sight for the years to come.
As I say, we do already have one fairly life-affirming vehicle in the house: Bus Blue. It's been a huge amount of fun to run as the main family wheels for the last 5 years, though the base van is now over 8 years old and we are now tending to do more miles in whatever car is run alongside it. So, in addition to meeting my needs by being more joyful, the next car also needed to accommodate the family, be good for long distance visits to (hopefully business miles, too, when post-pandemic normality resumes) and yet docile around town. I also want to own this long-term, as having our Bus has shown me just how beneficial this is to me because I really look after my vehciles... the van is still on original tyres, brake pads, discs etc at 55k miles.
I did think about upgrading the new order to an 8Y S3. I'm sure it's a great car... but the styling hasn't grown on me and there are some details like standard privacy glass that put me off. Moreover, I think that the facelift 8V S3 is a bit of a high water mark - arguably it's just as good and more suitable for me than a Golf R. The facelift guarantees some things like 7-speed DSG, more standard equipment, re-tuning of the Haldex system and the option of some snazzy tech.
Plus, crucially, by sticking with the same bodyshell and interior I doubted that my wife would notice that the car had changed at all.
(She didn't say anything when my old R32 was supercharged, but that's another story).
I also decided that I didn't want to go down the PCP route and would prefer to dip into my savings for this new car, which ruled out an 8Y or equivalent Mk8 Golf R. Counting my previous A3 as part of the budget, I had up to £30k to play with and I knew this would get me into one of the latest facelift S3s.
Handily, a March 2018 model came up at a well-respected BMW / multi-marque specialist locally:
It's a Daytona Sportback S-Stronic with the Technology Pack inc. virtual dash, folding mirrors, hill-hold assist, rear camera, wireless phone charging and some natty 10-spoke polished alloys. Being a facelift means it also gets some spec highlights including the Audi Sound System that I wanted, too. Mileage at sale was 21,811, it has a first Audi dealer service in its record and recent Potenza tyres all round. A service and MoT were due and the original handbook was missing, but it all seemed good on V-check, Cazana and Erwin - plus the service record is digital nowadays anyway.
So, it seems a decent spec and the understated colour akin to my old Golf R32 makes it likely to fit in with my needs - moreso than my old, very red, 8P S3. On balance, I'd have preferred to find one at an Audi franchise because of the warranty - but it made sense overall and so a deal was done. I found myself doing the handover last week:
And here it is at home, its understated looks melting somewhat into the background - very much as I intended. I will get some better photos when I have the chance:
I've always found that I can't properly assess a used car until it's been at home with me for a week or so, to clean it, drive it and digest the paperwork.
The history of the car is that it was PDI'd and had its first oil change service at 7,369 miles in 2019 with a main Audi franchise up north. Its next maintenance was the inspection service, rear discs and pads and MoT I negotiated with the supplying dealer at 21,811. Although it would have been nice to see an oil change in between, it still meets the longlife criteria.
However, it gets a bit confusing because this MMI screen suggests an inspection service was also done around 19k miles / August 2020:
Erwin (digital service schedule) is only recording the PDI and first service at 7k miles in 2019, but I suspect another was done in 2020 without it being recorded digitally. This would tally with the fact that the car has 4 fairly recent tyres, all on about 6mm. I checked with the Audi franchise who did the first service and it wasn't them. Ho hum.
Condition
A good clean reveals completely original paint with no evidence of repairs anywhere, including the wheels. Sadly, I suspect my wife will trash said wheels and I know refurb options are limited to just 1-2 sessions on the lathe with these. They look good in the meantime though!
There's a little tar to the sides of the car and slight fine marking from car washing all over, but really it's very good bodywork. Inside the car, it's also perfect apart from a tiny repair to the driver's side bolster - again done as part of the sale. Unfortunately, I did notice this crack on the windscreen on the drive home from the dealer - it's in a really unfortunate location and could be a replacement issue, but either way it's being attended to at their expense next week:
Done so far:
- Added a dateless 3x3 plate
- Remap; fairly conservative at 350hp / 335lb.ft - I've had enough of them over the years to be confident in going for one
- Added OEM accessory boot lip protector and boot tray; OEM rear door sill protectors ordered
- Added replica roof rails... hands up, this is facile fakery - though probably the only controversial thing I'll do to the car
To do next:
- Windscreen inspection next week - with a view to repair or replacement
- Haldex oil and brake fluid being changed next week
- Drive it and get some decent photos!
I've only managed to do around 80 miles in the car so far and it won't be rising quickly as we live a very local lifestyle and commute by bicycle. The upside being that driving is always something to look forward to, usually longer-distance / for fun and so the overall annual miles are kept low - probably 4-5,000 per year, unless business miles take off again or care visits become needed a lot more.
Within those limitations, I'll just say that this new S3 is a fine, fine car on first acquaintance - feeling mainly like my old 8P S3 in the body of my last 8V A3. The combination of S-Tronic 'box and Hill Hold make it really easy to use and I just love shifting manually for those up-change exhaust parps. I am going to be very boring and say that the performance potential of this car won't be used very often... but I've tested it and can assure you it's there (traction control kicks in at full throttle even at high speeds, unless you disable it!). It's certainly more usable than my old and admittedly lower-order supercharged R32 or tuned Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo, both of which ran slightly higher peak horsepower figures. But it's mostly "more usable" in the sense that it only slightly less comfortable than the old A3 and still has a comfy interior, decent boot etc.
I'll keep the thread updated as things develop...
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I'm undecided TBH, I had them left over from before. I don't want to turn this into a roof rails thread, but obviously they won't be left on when I'm done with the car.
Ben. Enjoy.
