jetblk328i

Hey everyone i am looking to get a used 2006 A3 2.0T.

the one i am looking at has 66K miles and the dealer is asking 14K for it.

Clean carfax.

However, i am not very familiar with the car so i have a few questions:

1. I live in PA decent snow sometimes...usually <12 inches. How will the FWD do?

2. Warranty for this car is gone by now, 66K miles. Is it reliable? I dont want to pour tons of money for repairs soon.

3.Fair price?

4.What are some things to check when inspecting the car that are specific to the A3? maybe the open sky system?

Thanks!

Bruce M

Hi. If the car is clean, no paintwork, no problems after pre-purchase inspection at an Audi dealer (DO NOT SKIP THE PPI), then $14K is a very good price. They sell at the dealer auction in nice shape, inspected, for about $14K with miles in mid 60K range.

The trick is to make sure the car you are considering is all there, meaning no prior accidents/paint (carfax is only 30% of the story), and is mechanically solid with no existing leaks or problems.

I buy Audis for people for a living, so if I can help you, just let me know.

As far as your other questions:

1. If you put four good winter tires on the car, FWD with traction control will be fine. Not as good as AWD, but fine. An AWD drive car with all seasons or summer rubber will be worse than a FWD car with proper winter tires.

2. You can always get an extended warranty to protect yourself (disclaimer: I sell extended warranties). It's hard to say about long-term reliability out of warranty since the car has only been here since 2006. But in-warranty, claims are typical for Audis; electronics, electrics, and some leaks. No major issues. But between 60K and 100K, not many examples to point to.

3. $14K is a fair price for a nice car. The key there is "nice car".

4. You MUST MUST MUST bring the car to an authorized Audi dealer and get a proper pre-purchase inspection done. Trust me, it's the best $150 you'll ever spend. They need to road test, check all major systems, put car on lift and check for body/frame issues, look at all maintenance items (brake pads, etc), check service history, scan car for stored DTC's, and look for leaks.

Good luck!

Bruce

jetblk328i

Thanks for the great info!

however i have another question.. lets say i purchase this from an Audi dealer, the Pre purchase inspection at the audi dealer should already be done correct?

This is not the case for the A3 but i was wondering because theres an A4 i am considering for sale at an Audi dealership

LWNY

If you get it thru the Audi dealer as a Certified Pre-Owned, they would provide warranty until the odometer hits 100k miles or the car is 6 years old from purchase date of initial owner. That might be a couple of thousand over those 'luxury car' depots.

An_A_car

Good car but lots of road noise. very loud.

Bezor

what other cars are you looking at?

my small opinion the best euro used car buy is an E46 BMW (325i/330i) manual.

jetblk328i

i was also looking at a 2002 BMW 330xi steptronic, same price, 20K more miles.

Bezor

I have 64K on my '01 E46. I don't think my Audi will be as tight when it reaches the same age/mileage.

Weak areas for the E46:
Xi's front axles, steptronic (I have the same transmission), water pump, and to a lesser degree than all those other issues is the rear shock tower mounts failing.

jetblk328i

hmm i would be buying the E46 off of a BMW dealer. He says that they have replaced windshield, replaced window regulator, replaced front sway bar, replaced alternator belt and balanced the tires.

Bezor

.....and window regulators. I've replaced three. How could have I forgot that weakness of the E46? Jebus, everyone has replaced at least one regulator.

Sway bar? What's the story with that? OTOH, an alt. belt I can understand. The sunroof shade clips can break also.

Just make sure that the fluids have been replaced before BMW's schedule. This is particularly true for the steptronic transmission. "Life Time Fill" is not acceptable though it's BMW's policy.