Practice English Speaking&Listening with: Audi A3 (8P) aankoopadvies

The A3 may be the car that made Audi big.

Audi already was at the luxury side of the market with their bigger cars.

The A3 had to appeal to the normal man, the Golf driver. That was a success.

The first generation sold well and the second generation was a bestseller for Audi.

The first generation had 3 or 5 doors.

This generation, the 8P, got a 3 and 5-door Sportback.

That Sportback is longer and has design elements of Audi's Avants.

This made it desirable, especially in the Netherlands.

The Dutch choose about 50-50 between the Sportback and 3-door hatchback.

However, the 3-door hatchback was sold over a longer period of time.

This shows how popular the Sportback was.

The car was introduced in 2003 and got its first facelift in 2005.

The single-frame grille was introduced.

There was another facelift in 2008.

It was replaced by the A3 8V in 2012, which is still for sale.

The diesel and gasoline engines range from 89 to 247 hp.

There's also an S3 and RS3, but those cars have their own set of things to watch out for.

We won't discuss them in this video. We already made a video about the S3.

You can look that one up. We'll save the RS3 for a later time.

We won't discuss the specifics of the A3 convertible in this video either.

You can use the information about engines and such, but we won't discuss the top.

ENGINES gasoline, diesel

About 500 A3s of this generation are for sale on AutoTrack.nl

The prices range from 1,400 to 20,000 euros.

PRICES minimum, maximum

Why would you want to buy an A3? Because it has a premium badge.

The car aged well.

We're driving an early model, but the interior still looks good.

Of course, it has its points, but you can expect that from a 14-year-old car.

It's a comfortable car.

It retains its value thanks to the premium badge.

If it has the right configuration, the car is reliable as well.

Of course there are things to watch out for. First, problems with the transmission.

A car with a manual transmission shouldn't vibrate when shifting gears.

You should feel no vibrations in the clutch.

If you do, the dual-mass flywheel probably needs replacing soon.

That's not very cheap.

The S tronic should also shift gears without vibrations or problems.

If not, the clutch plates need replacing.

This can happen every 100,000 km (62,000 miles) if the car has been abused.

Keep an eye on that if you want to buy an S tronic. It should shift gears problem-free.

Replacing the clutch plates is expensive.

If you want a car with a double-clutch DSG,

the usual DSG problems may occur.

Check how it handles traffic jams, city traffic, driving off from standstill, quick gear shifts, low rpm...

All this should go smoothly. The transmission shouldn't falter.

If it does, you'll probably have to visit a DSG rebuild company.

Another engine thing is a leaking radiator.

That's easy to see. Check if there's enough coolant in the tank.

If not, there's probably a leak somewhere.

I won't have to tell you that a coolant leak causes overheating and a broken engine.

You already know that by now, right? You've watched these videos before.

The 1.8 and 2-liter TFSI engines can burn some oil.

This mainly happens with the 2-liter engines.

Check the oil level of the car you're going to drive.

Ask the seller how much oil went in there in the past few years.

Keep in mind that after you bought the car, you should check the oil level regularly.

The ABS pump is another weak point.

It can break, causing a warning light on the dashboard.

You'll knew when it's broken.

It's expensive to replace, so be warned.

If the light's on, you could haggle over it or demand that the seller fixes it before you're buying.

The timing chains. The 2-liter TDIs need a new chain more frequently than Audi recommends.

Change the chain every 4 years or 100,000 km (62,000 miles).

The 1.4 TFSI has a weak timing chain.

It shouldn't rattle or make strange sounds, or things can go very wrong for the engine.

Mainly the early 1.4 TFSI's timing chains are risky.

This is a known issue. We've talked about this often.

We'll do the timing chains one more time. The 3.2 V6 is a lovely engine. It sounds fantastic.

It has 247 hp. It's a fun engine.

That one has timing chains. Two of them. Those can stretch too.

Check... The 3.2 V6 are older engines, so check if the chains have been replaced.

If not, keep in mind that you'll have to replace them to be sure they won't break.

The final engine thing revolves around Dieselgate.

We know everything about it by now.

Many diesel A3s that have been sold are part of the "scandal".

They had a fix or need one.

Of course, online you'll find complaints that the car doesn't drive well and burns more fuel after the fix.

Things like that. It's hard to judge whether the fix or the driver is the cause.

The car may have been chipped or tuned.

It's difficult. A test drive will tell.

If you don't like how the car drives, you're not buying it.

You can wonder if that's caused by Dieselgate or not.

There are no specific issues with the exterior,

except that the dark metallic colors are susceptible to stone chipping and minor damage.

Check if the car looks good or if it could use some detailing.

You can use this to haggle over.

There's a small thing in the interior to watch out for. There aren't many strange things.

The soft-touch material flakes or scratches when it gets older.

This goes for all the brands that use this material, including Audi.

In general, an Audi interior is good.

One specific weak point is the hinges of the glove box.

Those are made of weak plastic. They can break when stressed or if the glove box is crammed.

Keep this in mind. Check if the glove box isn't broken.

There's one final thing to watch out for. It has to do with electronics.

The A/C pumps are a weak point. They can break, mainly in the early model years.

That's easy to spot. You'll hear strange sounds coming from the dashboard.

Switch the A/C on and check if cold and warm air blows out. Everything should work right.

That's it.

Those were the things to watch out for. We found this car on AutoTrack.

This is a nice one. If you payed attention, you know it has the 3.2 V6.

It has 247 hp. It's a dark blue Ambition edition. It's a chic car to look at.

In this color. With these rims.

It's a cool car.

THIS CAR

If you're looking for a second-hand car and want our help, or if your company has a nice car for sale

of which we may shoot a video, please send an e-mail to tips@autoblog.nl

Subtitles - Maru's Text Support