Hello
I am considering buying a used A3 - 98 model A3 1.9 TDI with 103000miles on the clock for about 6 grand - Is this good value or is that too much milage - I am only looking to use the car for about 2 years and will need to get at least another 30000 miles out of it before I change it -Do this sound feasible or could I expect major problems within the next 2 years?

Any advice would be much appreciated

Regards
Daniel

Hi

Dan again, sorry not sure which country is main base for this forum, but just to qualify, the 6 grand I referred to before as the price is UK pounds sterling...just to put it into context

not sure on the price - probably about right. depends where you buying from. Obviously you'll never get a car like that from an Audi dealer, so you can't really see what they're charging as comparison - have a good search on Auto Trader and Loot.com

I bought my TDi in Jan '03 (W/2000 - 110bhp 'red-eye') with 87K on the clock for £7K from an auction, a price which I considered very good value. To be honest, and as far as I know, there aren't really any problems with buying high mileage TDi's - I'm told they'll happily go up to 200K and beyond and at the mileage you're looking at any major defects should have already shown up. Things to look for are:

- on cold start-up listen for a rattling noise - this is the valve stem seals and the noise disappears once oil has found its way around them. If it doesn't go after several seconds it's more of problem/something else.

- check for minor electrical faults e.g. doors or boot not registering as being shut when they are

- ensure airbag light goes out after max of 5 seconds - if any longer or it blinks on ignition there's a problem an a new airbag ECU will cost you £400+ inc. fitting from an Audi dealer

- drive the car over small bumps/potholes checking for sqeaking/free-play. If there are either/both symptons then bushes need replacing in the front suspension - not that hard a task and cheap for the new bushes

I'm only giving you advice in terms of what I've found. Don't think that only a used car dealer will give a decent car because this is cr*p the more I here from other people! The best advice I can give and the number one rule when buying any Audi is make sure it has FULL Audi service history - anything less or services missed/not up-to-date then walk away.

Cheers for that advice Chris - Much appreciated