A3 2.0 T FSI Sport DSG

I'm not keen on the new grille either, but it's a moot point, as I'm not in a position to buy a new A3 :-(

Congrats, but don't wait to get rid of it as soon as it is out of warranty.

I've long had this nagging doubt in my mind: is the DSG available with Haldex 4WD?

"Neil Hamilton" escribió en el mensaje news:d78a69$pgc$ snipped-for-privacy@newsg4.svr.pol.co.uk...

Not sure I understand what you mean. What is Haldex 4WD?

It's what they describe as "Quattro" in transverse engines, so what I would like to know is if your car is available with the same engine and DSG box, coupled with Quattro.

"Neil Hamilt>> Congrats, but don't wait to get rid of it as soon as it is out of >> warranty.

Ah. I see. Did not know the technical name for a Quattro. The only model they do the A3 in with a DSG and Quattro is the 3.2L V6.

I would have gone for that but the extra couple of thousand pounds and higher fuel consumption made me go for the 2.0L T. I chose the DSG over the quattro as I thought I would notice the most difference with the better gear box.

When you compare the performance between the 2 there is not that much in it anyway. There is only about 25PS difference between the 2 cars. I can live with that sort of thing.

I can't understand why they don't make it with the 2.0T FSI. I've only heard wonders about both this engine and DSG, but as I said before, make sure you either buy an extended warranty or get out of the lease before things start to go wrong. After seven years of ownership of my A4 1.8TQ, I can only say the car is nice but it does get rather unreliable in the long run in terms of repairs. Best thing is the engine and how efficient it is. The worst is the suspension, and the manual 5 speed gear box.

Problems I've had before getting to see 150.000 km on the counter:

.- Scratched windscreen because of faulty wipers. .- Flawed windscreen replacement. .- Had to replace faulty Throttle Body as it would not perform adaption. .- Replace 3 wheel bearings. .- Replace 2 Bose rear bass speakers. .- Replace Bose CD changer with the wonderful Phatbox - I can't but strongly recommend this. .- Replace front lower suspension arms and steering tie rods. .- Replace front shocks with Bilsteins. .- Now I'm getting a brake light possibly indicating ABS control module failure.

I can honestly say I've always pampered this car like very few drivers would do: Never a strong cold start, always watched turbo cooling procedure, avoided potholes, parked it indoors, synthetic oil and filter changes every

7.500 km, all services done even before they were due, etc.

All these repairs are worth in excess of 2,000 Euro, which is roughly 8 % of the car's value. The make has never shown any good will at all, at least in my area. All in all, be warned that these cars do give you rather a lot of headaches if you want to keep them running flawless. If I had known this , I would have got rid of mine before the car was 4 years old, which is when I started getting most problems.

Cheers,

JP Roberts

"Neil Hamilt>> It's what they describe as "Quattro" in transverse engines, so what I

Wow! That's a fair few problems. I had intended to trade up just before the lease expires, so I should be safe. I did that with my last A3

2.0FSI after only owning it for a year! I will never want to own a car outright. Leasing and trading in before the final payment is due is, in my mind, the best way to own a car, even though you stand to lose a lot of cash. Cheers, Neil

Wheel bearings and suspension are wear items. Can't really blame a faulty windscreen replacement on Audi Why did you replace the CD changer was it broken or did you want a Phatbox? Tie rods could be considered a wear item and the lower suspension arms are a known fault covered by a recall IIRC

I wouldn't say you've had a particularly expensive car.

In totality, it might look that way, but really it's not. The list is made of up problems and things that, on the face of it, are changed because of owner preference. The flawed windscreen replacement is hardly a fault of the car rather the installer of the replacement windscreen.

The replacement of 2 rear speakers is not a mechanical issue and I doubt very much that 2 speakers would fail at the same time (in fact, I've never come across a failed speaker in a car YET!), plus it won't stop the car from running. :-)

There really is only 3, potentially 4 (ABS) on that list, so it's not nearly as bad as it first looks.

An interesting thought, but not one for me. If you constantly change your car I can see the value in it, but if like me, you keep a car for several years (usually around 5-6) then outright ownership is most definitely the way to go imo.

Graham

You're just as ignorant of everything as anyone can be. A flawed windscreen is a windscreen that's deformed and it is of the uttermost importance to see where you're driving. Nothing like owner preference. It's plain to see you know nothing at all about cars. Maybe about marketing. You're talking nonsense. Faulty wheelbearings or a Throttle Body that does not respond are nearly as dangerous as a running the car on flat tyres.

The fact that you have not experienced this does not mean anything at all, as any scientist will tell you. Science progresses not through denial but through keeping an open mind. A loudspeaker is an electromagnetic mechanism, and if it's sold under a Bose label - when it's in fact a Panasonic - it should well last longer than 3 four years. The quality of the sound was unbearable, and if I had wanted that I'd never have bought the Bose system, don't you think? Again, total nonsense.

What the heck are you talking about here? Once more you know nothing about this. The ABS system is made up of a hydraulic pump and a computer device called a control module, then there are 4 (it might be 3 on a three-wheeler but that's hardly the point here) sensors. The fault affects the control module, and is some $1.500, if you're educated enough to conduct a search on the internet.

Yes, but if you read my full post, you'll realize that the suspension has been really well looked after, so at 90,000 km, and 128.000 km they're not in the normal wear wavelength, if you know what I mean. Take any car that's half the price of this and you'll see some 180,000 before the wheelbearings go, and possibly well over 200,000 before any problems with the suspension (other than shocks) become noticeable by the driver.

It was the windscreen itself that was distorting all views, not the workmanship. The subsidiary that makes them is to blame.

It was totally broken, but now I'm glad it did. Again, these units are Panasonic.

Sorry, did I write lower? I meant upper arms. And no, they're not covered, at least not here.

That's subject to your opinion, but I think any car that is going to be costing over 5% of its nominal value in some 7 years of ownership is not the best example of realiability, and that's a very mild way of putting it.

Don't judge Audi quality by merely one usenet whiner. I currently have three Audis, with a grand total of 450,000 miles, and they are by far the most reliable cars I've ever owned. The cost of ownership has been very low, and I attribute that to good cars that get well-taken-care-of.

We'll all breathe a sigh of relief when JP gets rid of his clunker Audi and moves on to some more reputable brand. One that doesn't have any wear items to replace, and thus complain about.

E.P.

Check the bentleypublisher.com forums for information about the repair of the ABS unit at much lower cost (in the USA).

You very well know that none of the items in this thread were replaced because of normal wear and in fact the only one that could have arguably been subject to real wear if I had abused the car on dust roads - which I never did - would have been the upper suspension arms. Anyway, you have brought a reputation on yourself for inconsistency and for nitpicking because of Nettiquette, and furthermore your words have 0 credit to me.

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote: [snipped]

I have to say my A3 TDi has so far been the most reliable car I've owned. I've had lots of VW's, all of which have been pretty good, a Seat, which was pretty good too,a Mini, which was OK considering it was built up the road at Longbridge, and a Volvo 480, which was shit.

The A3 is now nearly 6 years old (60K miles), and I've had it for 3 and

30k miles). Here's the full list of work beyond oil changes and filters, since I've had it:

3 windscreens (stone damage)

1 alarm unit (warranty) 1 repair to reverse switch wiring (£7 approx for plug kit from dealer) 6 tyres- 4 front, 2 back (consumables) (fronts pretty worn at purchase) 1 set rear pads (consumables) 1 set front pads & discs (not comnpletely knackered, but discs a bit scored, pads 3/4 worn) (consumables) 1 Timing belt and tensioner (scheduled change at 60k miles)

Basically the only actual failures have been the alarm, and the switch wiring. The car still looks nice, goes well, and does 50+ mpg (imperial gal) all the time- and I drive quickly. It's comfortable, and nothing has fallen off. There are very few rattles, and it's nicer to drive than many newer cars. The work I've done myself on the car has been easy, due to the fact it comes apart and goes back together easily and logically. I'd put the build quality as excellent.

Actually, I know no such thing. I know you to be a whiner and an Audi-basher.

My reputation or credit with you is meaningless to anyone but yourself.

Someone you really need to get over.

E.P.

Lucky you!