Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

Hey guys,

I'm contemplating the purchase of a A3 2.0T possibly this year. My best friend is probably going to get the A4 since they now offer the 3.2 model with a 6spd manual.

I know Audi's include 4 years of maintanence.

However, how much does the service run after for like oil changes, 15K & 30K interval services stuff like that. I've heard from a lot of people it's expensive to maintain. But just how expensive is it.

And if any of you have any opinions about the A3 please share. I've loved this car ever since it came out.

I've got a lot of things that I'm questioning about getting an Audi. I'll post those concerns in a new thread later when I am closer to purchasing the car.

GIBSON6594

I thought Audi was getting rid of the 4 years of maintanence

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

They are I forget which year they are doing this, but they are still available at the moment for 2006 model year vehicles.

Sarlacc

I really liked the A3 when I drove one...the DSG was good it almost convince to forget manual (and the manual in the A3 sucks.)

BUT I don't like FWD on it...and I don't like that the 3.2 A3 uses the crappier of the two Quattro systems.

So, allow me to ask why an A3 and not a A4?

The dealer oil changes...and oil changes in general will be more because Audi uses sythetic. When I was trying to buy a used S4 Avant I think the dealer changes where $60

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

My wife and I thought about it, and the wagon is a better fit. The price difference between an A3 and A4 avant was nearly 12K! And after going to the stealership last night and checking an A3 out for the first time, it was actually very roomy in the back, with decent amount of room in the hatch. I was worried it was going to be cramped in the back but it was actually a little more roomy than the A4 sedan that we test drove. I didn't get a chance to test drive the A3 yet. But I will hopefully soon.

The main reason my wife and I are contemplating getting a car now is because we're thinking ahead and if we are going to have kids we'd like to have a car that is rommier and has more cargo space. But not a van (yet). I've got a CL now, so the 2-door is a problem. And the other thing we thought about is if we buy a car now, we'll have less to pay off later when we do have kids. So we can put more money towards a new home and to the kids. And the A4 will slow us down by a year because of the 10K-12K price difference.

I know there's the WRX wagon, or even getting another Acura. But I've always wanted an Audi, and the A3 seems like a perfect fit. And on top of that, the TSX will be updated and be out towards the end of next year. I'd hate to buy a new TSX now, and then find out that the new one is a lot better and for not much more $$. that would just piss me off more than anything. And I do like the TL, but that's quite pricey too.

What's your take after reading that...

I figured they'd run a little more. I'm paying about $30/oil change at Cerrito's Acura. So it sounds like an oil change for an A3 would probably be around double that. I'm more worried about repairs and things if the car needs it.

As it is, i've been driving from Phillips Ranch all the way out to Cerritos for any service to my car. It's a pain in the butt, but i've been going there for 9 years now and have had great service there. That's why i continue to go there. But if we get the audi, there is a dealership right next to my work in Pasadena I could take my car too when needed.

rezurex

i have A4, my warranty covers just about everything. repairs out of warranty will be costly, i would recommend extending the warranty if you could.

in general though, audi's are reliable as long as you take care of them. im 6 months into my audi with no problems, had a fuse go out but thats about it.

i test drove the A3, def a nice car. but quattro a4 was just a lot more fun although not as fun as the b6 s4 i almost bought

good luck with your car buy

Sarlacc

Damn, you work near Rusnack Audi? You must in one of those buildings in the corporate parks north of colorado.

I've been to that dealer twice and did not love them...but based on what you are saying the A3 sounds like a good car. I still really like them. The DSG is awesome. the open sky roof (if you get it) is great. Its roomy, well laid, and drives nice. That new 2.0T is VERY punchy and a great engine.

So, if that what you want. Go drive one and get it. Just make sure you get the sport package...the base model sucks a fat one.

Sarlacc

My friend up in oakland just bought a new 2005.5 A4 for a steal of a price. He said the same thing. He had been test Driving audis for weeks.

But its for future kids so...

What about a preowned A4 avant? Or you really want new because of the longer warranty? Can't blame you for that one.

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

Actually I work at JPl just north of the dealership. but only by a few miles. But very convenenient.

The opensky system is a must. If i get the A3, that's definetly on my list. So is the sport package. so far everyone's said the base sucks.

I just have to figure out if certain options like convenience package are available with the sport package.

I've got plenty of time to think about it. Ideally If we do purchase it, it'll be sometime in August or October at the latest. October is when my CL is completely paid off. So, I wanted to start doing research and stuff now before that time comes.

Crazy Bimmer

Maintanence is basic with any car. You dont NEED to take your car to the dealer for that stuff after 4 years. Any place you TRUST can do an oil changes or change any fluids on it. Just follow your owners manual.

Only major think you should do that is pricey is change the timing belt at around 60-70k miles. That will be around $700 i think.

Of course im not too familiar with the 2.0t and its long term reliablity but i know my 1.8t isnt too bad. Just blows coilpacks somtimes which is just a $20 part and takes 5min to replace. I only had to replace one but there are guys who replaced 3-5 of them. Theres is a thread on the 2.0t blowing them as well in the B7 A4 forum. Other than that my car has been soild for 34k miles now.

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

Yea, I would want it new for the warranty, and if they offer an extended warranty you know I'll jump on that.

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

cool, thanks for the info. It sounds like they aren't that bad of a car too own. I guess when people get one and it happens to have problems they blow it out of proportion and say "Audi reliability sucks" but then again , you hardly hear people rave about their good experiences because the bad ones cry louder.

I do agree with you though, you just have to find a place you trust. I've tried other places to service my older acura, and never found one. hence why I continued to go to the Cerritos Dealer. Hell i know a couple of them well enough where they'd hook me up on a deal for a TSX. but the audi seems so much more fun

Sarlacc

Awesome. I don't live far from the there at all.

You can pretty much load the crap out of an A3 with ALL the packages. Build one online. I would usually load the crap out of it except the cold weather package...and then debate about the navi....audi navi isnt supposed to be so great...but the two SD cards slots behind the screen for music =

Sarlacc

Glendale Acura...formerly Pasadena Acura is great as far as service goes. I always felt like I was getting near Lexus treatment from them...I didnt even buy my Acura from them.

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

You know I never gave them a chance before they moved to glendale. I didn't buy either of my acura's from Cerritos but have always gone there because of their good service.

If my wife and I do move out into the Pasadena area I'll definetly have to look into going there. thanx!

Kighter

Sly Raskal: My wife and I made the same decision you and your wife have. Search for other threads and you'll find my comments.

Here's the gist: The A3 is not big, but as you noted it's basically the same size as an A4 back to the rear wheels. The A4 Avant has a much larger cargo area. We couldn't justify the price difference either, and my wife just didn't like the A4 near as well. But it's working well for us so far. The baby is 2 weeks old now and she's happy as a clam in her seat in the back of the A3. I'm quite tall and she could never fit behind me but my wife is small-to-normal and it's fine behind her. The car is a tiny bit too narrow to fit the stroller in the rear without angling it, but not a problem.

The 2006 will be the last year of included maintenance, so you wouldn't have to worry about it there. If you do get an '07, buy the maintenance plan (which is nothing more than a pre-pay on the scheduled services in warranty period). The only normal service that is expensive is the oil change on the DSG - quite pricey. There's only one of those in the first 4 years, so if you keep it past warranty - be prepared for out of warranty repairs and service. My wife and I expect to outgrow ours before then so it wasn't a big deal to us. Maybe an S4 Avant or a 3 Series Tourer or an RDX by then. Personally, I'd kill for a TSX Diesel Tourer here in the states. My sedan could be for fun and her wagon for practicality and insane gas mileage.

2004 TSX - 6MT Navi
2006 A3 - DSG, Premium Package, Cold Weather Package, Xenon, OpenSky, Bose, Nav+, Sirius

PM or reply if you wanna discuss further.

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

that's what I do. And a fully loaded A3 2.0T came out to be around 33K which wasn't bad. considering my CL cost that amount (including tax and license though)

But the one thing to help me in my corner is that I can register the new car (if I get it) to my home up north and pay a lower tax on it.

Sarlacc

There are worse places to live then Pasadena

I bet that commute got tired a long time ago.

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

wow, thanks for the input. I'll look for the other threads in my offtime so I can take my time readin them.

How'd you find out that 2006 is the last year of included maintenance? Did you happen to ask what the cost of buying the prepayed maintenance costs? If these questions are answered in your other posts, just say so, and that way I can save you the time of retyping your posts.

Thanks

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

Oh hell ya, I spend a minimum of 2 hrs a day, 60 mile round trip commutes each day.

Some days it's worse. And on very rare occasions it's better. My wife is still finishing up school and so she isn't settled when it comes to where she'll be working yet, so buying a house now isn't the right time for us. It would royally suck if we bought a house out here to only have her land a job in Irvine.

Ideally I'd love to live in Brea. The only thing that sucks about it, is if you want to head west, you have to head 12 miles north to catch the 60, or head about 5 mi south to catch the 91. Or jsut take surface streets which usually blow in that entire area around buena park, fullerton and la habra.

But in the end, I do love to drive, so the commute doesn't hurt me as much as it would hurt the next guy. But damn gas prices is what's making it tough.

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

When you said this, were you referring to buying the car before having kids to plan ahead and pay it off as much as possible???

blxmjx

the a3 is a pretty cool car. Roomier than it seems. If you ever need to test drive one off the lot lemme know. I'm in Diamond Bar so pretty close to you.

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

suite! thanks for the offer! Do you have the 2.0 or the 3.2?

It is a lot roomier than it first appears. When I've seen it, it always appeared to be small. but when we sat in it, there was a lot of room in it. I got in the car and adjusted the driver seat to be where I'd need it, and my wife got in the back seat and she had a lot of room, to move her legs around and so did my best friend and he's almost the same height as me (about 5'9").

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

The A3 I saw last night at Mckenna had RS4 wheels on it with the SLine body kit. It looked awesome!!!

Teh Jatt

get motorcycle


good luck

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

Trust me I want one of those too. But when it comes to the wife and future family, gotta take care of them first before my wants.

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

My buddy has been talking to dealerships and one of them just told him that they have stopped production on '06 models of the A4. If that's the case with the A3, I may have to settle with the '07 model.

just have to wait and see now.

blxmjx

its not mine. Belongs to my buddy who rents a room from me. I can get ahold of it anytime tho. Its a 2.0t.

SodaLuvr

Raskal,

The A3 will not be much different to maintain than any other Audi engine.

Oil Changes are every 10,000 miles with a VW 502.00 approved oil, and should run about $70 an oil change.

Air Filter and Cabin Air Filter will need to be replaced at 40,000 miles. I'm not sure if this model needs replacement of the plugs at 40,000 miles, but some of the 1.8T models did. If it does, then figure in about $60 in plugs for NGK Laser Platinums and a similar amount for labor.

The DSG transmission service is a big ticket item. Formerly, the VW/Audi ZF transmissions had a "fill-for-life" fluid, though it wasn't a good idea (their failure rate wasn't great), transmission service, if done, wasn't ridiculously expensive.

However, on the DSG transmissions, they require a service every 40K due to the design of the transmission. Supposedly, the operation of the transmission generates more wear particles, and prompts the need for a pan cleaning and filter change, along with the fluid change, every 40K.

The fluid and filter, are one special beast. ECSTuning sells the kit with 7L of fluid and the filter kit for $199.95, and the dealer could easily charge 25% more. Factor in about $200 in labor to have the service done (as these aren't particularly easy to change, as you need the computer hook-up for the proper fluid level check), and you could easily be spending $300-$400 alone for an unavoidable transmission service every 40K.

The Timing Belt, Tensioners, Coolant, Drive Belts, and Water Pump should all be replaced some time before 100K, at a tune of about $1000.

The maintenance is probably a few thousand bucks more in comparison to a similar car, over the course of 150K, but to some, the added cost is worth it due to the driving experience.

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

thanks for all that info.

That sounds about what it costs to maintain my CL (minus the high costs for the oil changes).

However since I'd be getting 2.0T with 6spd, I save the money on the DSG services which is nice.

But overall, the more I'm hearing from people, the happier I'm feeling about purchasing it because it doesn't appear the maintenance costs are that bad at all. And I'm very careful about taking care of my car. I just hope I don't get the lemon of the batch.

Thanks!

SodaLuvr

No way you can predict the maintenance costs for unscheduled repairs once out of warranty...it's a hit or miss type thing.

The 6-spd should reduce your costs greatly...I would still change the fluid periodically, but it wouldn't cost you more than $30 in parts if you did it yourself.

Also, regarding the oil changes, it is a good idea to change the oil a bit more often than every 10,000 miles, the exception of course, is if you're verifying with oil analysis. Otherwise, if memory serves me correct, the sump on the 2.0T isn't very big, so changing the oil once in between the dealer services would be a good idea. Only a 502.00 type oil is suitable for that engine- M1 0w40, Castrol 0w30, Castrol 5w40, or Amsoil 5w40.

Sarlacc

[QUOTE=Sly Raskal

However since I'd be getting 2.0T with 6spd, I save the money on the DSG services which is nice.

But overall, the more I'm hearing from people, the happier I'm feeling about purchasing it because it doesn't appear the maintenance costs are that bad at all. And I'm very careful about taking care of my car. I just hope I don't get the lemon of the batch.

Thanks! [/QUOTE]

Hate to say it dude, but the 6spd sucks in the A3. I was shocked. I'm 5'8 and the seating position in relation to the stick blows. The clutch had a crappy feel to it, and it just was not fun or even enjoyable to drive. I was really disappointed. Then, I drove the DSG....wow. It seriously made me contemplate giving up having a clutch, its that good.

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

Looks like I have some test drivin' to do

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

To be on the safe side I probably would change the oil every 5K instead of 10K because of all the stop-go traffic in LA and just to hopefully, proflong the life of the engine.

Crazy Bimmer

Im waiting for the "i have a friend who has problems" posts.

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

Fixed

Kighter

Yes Sly Raskal my wife and I bought the A3 before the baby. My wife came out of a 94 Accord - no way was I gonna let my family be in that thing all the time. We shopped for wagons and small utes. In order of preference before we bought:

A3 - one of my suggestions that my wife ended up loving (obviously)
325xi - more car than the A3, but 15k more and we couldn't find one anywhere with the right equipment. If there was one on the lot somewhere we'd probably have bought it.
X3 - nice but long in the tooth. Bad mileage.
A4 Avant - too big and blah for my wife. For a little more money the 3 series beat it.
A6 Allroad (there were some leftovers on the lot for cheap when we shopped). Crazy nice but just more of a commitment than my wife wanted to make.

We also looked: Saab & Subaru wagons, Acura MDX (damn RDX was a little too late to be a choice) and briefly considered sedans from Acura (TL, TSX) and Lexus (IS). In the end, the A3 with the DSG is by far the best combination of fun, safety, utility. It's an auto for her and an awesome fun manual for me. It's small enough to toss around, but easy enough to load up with baby junk and go to see the folks.

And I agree with Michael Wan's suggestion - I'm changing oil every 5k - not 10. The first free change is at 5 with the ones following at 15, 25, etc. I'm going to pay for and do extra changes at 10, 20, etc for peace of mind.

Check out www.AudiWorld.com. It's a good board like this one for Audi folks. That's where I read about the maintenance stuff first.

CSI

what is the "two Quattro Systems"? two AWD? 8 wheels drive?

Sarlacc

torson and haldex systems

M TYPE X

How many of you guys take your Acuras/Audis/BMWs/Infinitis/Lexuses to the dealer for routine service vs some kind of independent shop or DIY?