Tunbridge

Now sorted.

Hi Everyone, I got rid of my S3 last year and now I’m in the market for an A4 Avant (2005 – 2008). Must be S-Line and well spec’ed with at least full leather. Ideally a 2.0T Quattro but anything with reasonable poke considered (eg. 3.2, 2.0TDi 170, 3.0TDi). I know you lads on here like to look after your motors so I’m after one in good condition with sensible mileage. I’m on Teesside but will travel for the right car. Please contact me if you think you have the right car for me…

Think I'll just opt for the 6 months now. The SORN option looks like it could be problematic. I'm all in favour of abolishing road tax all to gether and putting the additional tax on petrol. This would surely be the fairest system as the more miles you do and to more poluting the car then the more tax you pay. Can't see it ever happening as the goverment are too scared to put petrol up any further even it would be a fairer system. It seems mad that a super car in the top band which is only used for a couple of 1000 miles a year pays £400+ for road tax but a desiel mondeo doing 20k miles a year is getting it a about half the price despite putting a much greater about of CO2 into the enviroment. Same old sketch, the goverment screwing those of us who like to enjoy our cars.

Cleveland police have a black 5dr one as well.

I’ll re-phase then… (without swapping to a car the government/greenpeace want me to buy)

The wife drives a 2.5 V6 Mondeo Zetec-S on a 2002 plate, it will of course be getting screwed by Darlings clamp down on ‘Gas-Guzzlers’. The car is currently in band F and the road tax is due at the end of this month. I got the reminder in the post which weighed in at £205 but Darling has since put it up to £210 during the budget. Now when the New system comes in from 2010-2011 it will jump to band L as it is 242g/CO2/km which will be £415 year. New Tax Rules I assume that this system will be effective from the April 2009 Budget (although I’ve found nothing to confirm this) so therefore when my renewal comes in next year it will be £415. Yet if I bought a years tax the month before it would only be £210. The question would be, what should I do? I could just buy 6 months tax now and then my renewal for £415 wouldn’t be till October 2009 or can I buy a year now then, cash it in at the end of March 2009 (1 month early) and buy another 12 months then. Does anybody know if this can be done or how you do it, or any better ideas to stop the government taking money of me (without buying a sensible car).

Now SOLD

My thoughts on the reliability are here I think I've had more than my share of unreliability but still loved it.

After 18 months I’ve sold my S3 so I thought I’d put an update on here. Unfortunately it has been the first casualty in a money saving scheme to allow me to move house so sadly it had to go. The car had 49000miles on it when I sold it so I’ve only covered 9000 miles in my 18 months of ownership. My general thoughts on the car are still as mentioned above and if it wasn’t for the fact I needed the money I’d of kept the car. I still love the subtle styling and it is still a joy to drive day to day. Despite saying that I’m still less than impressed with the reliability and had two further problems fixed under warranty by Audi. The first of these was a temperature sensor which caused the engine warning light to come on and the second was a fault with the interior light saying on, this was eventually traced to the driver’s door lock which was replaced. All in all it has left me feeling very disappointed with the reliability of my car and it certainly hasn't lived up to what I expected from a so called prestige brand. Something else I’m less than impressed with is the prices Audi continue to charge for servicing and the intervals between the services. At the time I sold my car it was displaying 600 miles to the next service yet I had only covered 6000 miles since the last service. Admittedly I have only used it for short journey quite a bit of the time but I’m still less than impressed, especially as I’d been quoted another £340 for the next service, which isn’t supposed to be as involved as the last one which cost about the same. Maybe this is a ploy by Teesside Audi to recoup some of the £8 million the impressive new dealership has cost. Since my last update I have fitted some OME 18” RSTT alloys which I picked up second hand and had reconditioned. I have to say that the car looked much better on these and there was no significant penalty to the already crashy ride quality. One other note I would add about the change of wheels is associated with the change in tyres. The tyres fitted to the alloys I got where Khomo branded tyres and wouldn’t have been my choice, despite this I was relatively impressed. Although there was a slight drop in the ultimate amount of grip this wasn’t significant, what impressed me most was how the cars ESP seemed to work much more smoothly and progressively compared to the abrupt way it would interfere on the Continentals previously fitted. So would I buy another one? Well the 8L model is starting to look dated and good examples are becoming few and far between, but I’d certainly consider an 8P S3 in the future when my bank balance allows. I’m still a big fan of the Audi brand and despite my unreliability issues I know plenty of other people who own reliable Audi’s.

Back up for sale due to time waster... Please send me a PM if you are interested.

SOLD

For this price it's worth a day trip upto sunny Teesside

Cheers nordburg, thats the ones only the centre and surrounds on mine are in black which go much better with the current crop of LCD/Plasma TV's around at the moment. Here's some pic's Front pair of Mission M73's Centre Mission M7C1 Rear Mission M7DS's Haven't taken a picture of the sub but the spec is here As stated above, a steal at this price...

I'll take some when I get home from work and get them put up

MISSION M7 HOME CIMEMA SPEAKER PACKAGE including Mission M73 Floor Standing Speakers (in Beach), Mission M7DS Rear Bi-Polar Speakers (in Black), Mission M7C1 Centre Speaker (in black) plus Gale Sub 10 Active Subwoofer. All are in as-new condition with no chips or scratches on any of the veneer and all will be supplied in the original packaging. Bargain at only £180 (no offers) Located in Middlesbrough (TS7 Postcode)

Audi A4 Avant 1.9TDi Sport 130bhp 34100 miles MOT’ed till March 08 Taxed Till Feb 08 Registered March 2003 2 Previous Owners Demin Blue 6 Speed Gearbox Immaculate condition both inside and out, no scuffs on the alloys etc. All the usual Sport refinements including, Sports Seats (with Electric lumbar support) Sports Suspension 5 Spoke 17” Alloys (all tyres with good tread) Electric Window Dual Climate Control CD Player Boot Liner Full Audi Service History, serviced at: 17041miles (Wearside Audi) 29493miles (Teesside Audi) According to the DIS the next service isn’t due for another 564 days or 11500 miles. This car is fitted with a Witter tow bar although it’s only ever been used once to tow a small horse box (I now have a Shogun so do not use this car for towing). This car is immaculate; you will struggle to find one with this low mileage, at this price. £11,900 Drop me a PM if you need any more info.

I've just fitted some 18" RSTT's so my 17" Avus alloys are for sale... Audi S3 Avus 17" Alloys - NO CURB MARKS

Also, in the classifieds but here it is again with more pictures.... I have for sale my genuine Audi S3 17” Avus Alloys with Audi center caps. These wheels are in excellent condition with NO CURB MARKS. As can been seen from the pictures these wheels are in excellent condition for their age and are virtually unmarked front and back. They have never been reconditioned, repainted or repaired in anyway, just well looked after. They have been removed from my low mileage Audi S3 and have the following information on them. Audi Part No. 8L9 601 025 17” x 8.5” 5 x 100 PCD Offset ET32 The wheels are fitted with 4 Bridgestone Potenza RE040 tyres, all with excellent tread (These retail for about £110/tyre) The tread depths on each are approx. Tyre 1 = 6mm Tyre 2 = 6mm Tyre 3 = 4.5mm Tyre 4 = 4.5mm You won’t find a better second hand set of wheels/tyres for this price. (Surely the tyres are worth the money on there own) These wheels will fit may other cars from the VW/Audi/Skoda group which use the 5 X 100PCD stud pattern. £350 Collection only please from Middlesbrough Tel. 07905 912241

Cheers for the info, my main concern is that it will feel big and heavy and not be as much fun in the corners.

As per the title, is the handling/ride on the S4 Convertible much different due to the lack of roof and extra weight. I've got a test drive booked in a convertible (04 reg) for the weekend but haven't driven a 4 door or Avant yet? Anything to watch out for?

Yeah I think you could be right, looks miles better with spacers too

I need some advice… I’ve been trying to make a decision on what 18” Alloys to get for my S3 but just can’t decide. I did want some BBS CH’s but they are well pricy new and I can’t find a decent second hand set. So I was think I might just go with the RS4/RSTT style and stick with the OME look, but I also like the Multi-spoke wheels of the TT Quattro Sport and I’m now coming round to the ‘new’ style RS4 wheels but not sure either will suit the car. Any advice/opinions/pictures appreciated…

Welcome Nice wheels, what are they if you don't mind me asking. I been trying to decide for months what to get for mine but keep coming back round to RSTT's but they look like a nice alternative

After adding a review of my current S3 into the Review section I thought it would be a good idea for another index of treads to be created . . .and as I've got nothing better to do on my lunch break here it is . . . The only thing I would say is that I'm a bit disappointed at the lack of reviews I found in the review section. I'm sure there will be some more buried in the A3/S3 forum but finding them isn't the easiest. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is it would be nice if a few more people could write reviews of their cars, post them in the review section, and link them to here. So next time you've got nothing to do on your lunch break get reviewing... Also, if anyone knows of any I've missed please feel free to add them on...and don't forget to keep adding them in the future. (Finally, can one of the mods please sticky this for future reference...Tar) A3/S3 (8L) Reviews Audi S3 (8L) Review by Tunbridge Audi S3 Quattro by Fjfr S3. by Veracocha A3/S3 (8P) Reviews Audi S3 vs Golf GTi by stevie_d 36 hours in my new A3 S-line... by NelsonA3Sline A3 2.0 T FSI DSG Sportback - Review by CarMad Audi S3 Vs Golf R32 by OliH 1500 Mile review. A3 TDI 170 S-Line Stronic (2007) by edowen New S3 Review by AZURES3 A3 Sportback 1.9TDi SE... by NelsonA3Sline End of term review - A3 2.0TDi S-line DSG by audi_smitten A3 2.0T FSI Quattro S-Line Review by UberBlingMeister A3 3.2 Review after 1 year of ownership by StephV6 Audi A3 2.0 TDI S-Line Mini Review by CarMad New A3 2.0 FSi by Paul-S3

Just a link to a review I posted in the Review section for anyone who's intrested... Audi S3 (8L) Review