2005-7 ish A3 2.0t (fwd, manual) buying advice please

[StevieT735]

Guys, I’m looking for a new car and the above seem a reasonable amount of car for the money at 3-5k.

To qualify my opinions, I’m a self confessed BMW fanboy, but pickings are slim within my budget so I’m looking to broaden my horizons.
My car will be the ‘fun car’ and my commuter for a 20 mile round trip 3 or 4 days a week on suburban and B roads.

I want something reasonably quick, with a nice quality feel with a bit of comfort and a good driving position. I’ve had Clio 182’s and loved them (note past tense), but they’re not for me anymore. I’ve recently had an E91 330i MSport which went well but was too rusty to keep as a long termer.

I’ve no real interest in the Quattro cars, IMO added complexity for limited gain, I think a 5 door (because kids) 2.0t fwd ticks a lot of boxes, but I know nothing about VAG products.

Please feel free to enlighten me.

[The Cardinal]

These will be pre-facelift 8P models (mk5 Golf era).

I had a 2006 2.0T quattro S Line from 2009-11, then later a 2006 2.0T SE as a stop-gap car in 2018. Both were very high spec for their time and quite hard to find as the 2.0 TDIs without options were so ubiquitous by comparison. I found the later car had aged well overall.

Plus points include that a good one will still feel nice inside, be comfortable and have a decent turn of pace. Parts are in good supply. Beware that at 15-17 years old that many will be way past their best though, once you've found one in the first place. Prices have strengthened by 50% or so based on what I can see and expect 27-29mpg overall with 35-40mpg on a gentle run.

[Bakehouse78]

I had a 2007 A3 2.0t 3 door manual for 5 years. Did 45000 miles in it (60 - 105k). Great car, comfortable, well equipped, quick, reasonably economical and mostly reliable. Had to change the injectors at about 70k miles and it snapped both front springs. It did munch front tyres (8k a set) and you had to keep an eye on the oil level. Only sold it as I wanted 4 doors and a bit more space in the back for a growing son, I guess the sportback would cover that though.

[Belle427]

Not sure if it’s the same engine as the Golf Gti unit of this era but they can burn oil and this is pretty difficult to find out until you own it.

[Bakehouse78]

I sold mine 18 months ago to a guy in my village. He still has it and has put another 40k miles on it with no issues.

[missing the VR6]

Nice cars and engine, but are these actually fun though? Wouldn't an Octavia VRS or Golf GTi be more fun?

[AI1601]

Decent cars but boy are they dated now especially the interior.

[rottenegg]

Belle427 said:

Not sure if it’s the same engine as the Golf Gti unit of this era but they can burn oil and this is pretty difficult to find out until you own it.

It is indeed. Consumption shouldn't be too bad on transverse 'TFSI' (EA113) engines.

It's the engines experimenting with low friction pistons/rings that drank oil, which will be longitudinal Audi installations circa 2008, and 2014ish VW/Audi 'TSI' engines (EA888).

missing the VR6 said:

Nice cars and engine, but are these actually fun though? Wouldn't an Octavia VRS or Golf GTi be more fun?

I was thinking the same but the 8P A3 is very noticeably better made, and the GTI attracts chavs wanting a race all the time.

[aka_kerrly]

rottenegg said:

I was thinking the same but the 8P A3 is very noticeably better made, and the GTI attracts chavs wanting a race all the time.

That isn't my experience, out of all my cars my 2007 mk5 GTI attracts the least amount of unwanted attention. Perhaps being a dark blue with a standard right height & exhaust makes it a fairly off grid

I've also picked up a 2007 A3 2.0T S-Line which has 30k less miles than my Golf so you'd assume that it should feel pretty solid. Both cars are on decent tyres with 18" wheels which ought to help show the difference in suspension/steering/road manners. I MUCH prefer the Golf and having poked around both cars I can't find a great deal of evidence that the Audi is better made.

I haven't checked ETKA part numbers but I suspect the steering racks are different along with other suspension tuning possibly also components that can influence the geometry which make the difference.

[rottenegg]

aka_kerrly said:

rottenegg said:

I was thinking the same but the 8P A3 is very noticeably better made, and the GTI attracts chavs wanting a race all the time.

That isn't my experience, out of all my cars my 2007 mk5 GTI attracts the least amount of unwanted attention. Perhaps being a dark blue with a standard right height & exhaust makes it a fairly off grid

I've also picked up a 2007 A3 2.0T S-Line which has 30k less miles than my Golf so you'd assume that it should feel pretty solid. Both cars are on decent tyres with 18" wheels which ought to help show the difference in suspension/steering/road manners. I MUCH prefer the Golf and having poked around both cars I can't find a great deal of evidence that the Audi is better made.

I haven't checked ETKA part numbers but I suspect the steering racks are different along with other suspension tuning possibly also components that can influence the geometry which make the difference.

Maybe it's a regional/time of day thing then because my Edition 30 gets loads of unwanted attention, which is also sporting its standard suspension, wheels and exhaust. The worst offenders for race goading are actually fellow GTI owners

Are the front wings, tailgate (around the badge) and sills rusting on the A3? They're common spots on the Golf. I rarely see any 8Ps rusting in those areas. The last A3 I worked on had thicker carpet/sound deadening etc than the Golf as well, and fewer creaks and rattles inside but I guess some of that comes down to previous owner treatment. Audi did somehow make the A3 considerably less interesting to drive though, as you alluded to!