Considering an Audi A3 wagon - suggestions? warnings? things to look for?

[Shenandoah]

Folks,

One of my daily drivers is my 2005 Jetta wagon (BEW). It's currently at 448k and running great. I hesitate to write that as I'm afraid something will happen.....It has the 09a automatic transmission. I replaced the solenoids around 225k as it was having shifting issues. Timing belt and water pump as been done every 100k. Suspension, brakes, etc as things wear and need to be replaced.

I've been looking at the Audi A3 wagons (2011 -2015) and was thinking of picking one up, if I can find one at a good price. They seem to run anywhere between $10k - $15k. I've read about the DPF systems and understand what options are available. For those of you with an A3 wagon, what are some things to look for? As I have in the title: any suggestions? warnings on things to look out for?

Thanks!

Eric

 

[JELLOWSUBMARINE]

Past ownership and repair records

 

[oilhammer]

Never heard the Sportback referred to as a wagon.

It probably won't age as well as your current car, but they do run and drive nice.

The A3 still continued with the CBEA engine, never switched to the CJAA, so there is always the chance at higher mileage of the hex shaft driving the oil pump stripping out. They are also all DSGs, no manuals for us.

 

[JELLOWSUBMARINE]

Sorry A3 fans but so much more for your $ with the JSW. I never understood VAG for slapping an Audi badge on a stripped JSW. Like OH. said the A3 kept the CBEA that was done with in 2010 JSW
cloth v pleather
No 6 manual
Fugly rims
Minimal extras v JSW
Price for name

 

[McGuirk]

I can confirm at 140000 on my a3 the hex shaft was slightly worn. Not at risk of slipping but I changed it anyway. The job was fairly easy. My stage 2 a3 is smoother, quicker, and handles nicer than my stage 2 JSW did. The JSW got 50mpg vs this a3 which gets 43. (Mpg is based on the same 53 mile commute to work) Overall I'd pick the JSW because they tend to be found for cheaper and have the cjaa engine. I will equate some of the reduced mpg to the a3 18" rims vs the JSW which was on 17". I do love the look of the a3 and the bi Xeon lights vs the JSW. I did end up modifying my JSW with bi Xeon with afs but that's an incredibly difficult mod and expensive.

 

[oilhammer]

The Audi A3 Sportback is NOT a rebadged A5 Jetta wagon. It is more akin to the A6 Golf, with a slightly different shaped rear end. Although all the A5 and A6 platform cars are fairly similar. The Audi also has some nicer trim, as you'd expect it to (it cost more). They also fall closer to a base GTI as far as the suspension tuning is concerned.

 

[JELLOWSUBMARINE]

Yeah I was drawn to the A3 body look but just couldn't get past no 6m or (p)leater. The bi Xeon are certainly a plus.

 

[McGuirk]

If you can find an a3 with the titanium package interior that was mechanically maintained properly snag it. I'm about to pick up a salvage a3 with the titanium package interior and will be swapping out my grey interior and parting out the rest. I picked my a3 up for a bargain but it needed some work mechanically and the interior is not the best. Body wise it was a 9 out of 10.

 

[Shenandoah]

Thanks folks for the suggestions and tips. I'll update if I make a purchase and add it to my collection.......

Thanks!

Eric

 

[Nuje]

As mentioned above, the Audi A3 is basically a Golf. If you're not familiar with the Audi platforms, the generation you're looking at is the 8P (TDI option available), which was followed in the 2016 model year with the 8V (no TDI, but it did have an e-tron plug-in hybrid option - which we have).

Both our 2015 Mk7 GSW and that A3 e-tron are MQB and as noted above, very similar. Both are the top trim level that was available that year and there's not a lot separating them. I enjoy driving the A3 around town (costs essentially nothing because we plug in at home) and it's close to one-foot driving (regenerative braking), while still having decent zip, while the GSW is the highway hauler.

Comfort / luxury feel was a little better in the A3 at the start, but honestly....not by a lot. I've since contracted a bad case of retrofit-itis, with the MIB2.5, Golf R seats, and a few other niceties (see signature), so the GSW has now nudged ahead.

I haven't driven an 8P Audi, though, so I don't know how close that A3 was to the Mk6 Golf. I do find the Mk7 to be a lot nicer (subjective comfort / niceties / less NVH) than the Mk6 cars I've driven (which admittedly, ain't a lot).

I do prefer the look of the 8P A3 over the Golf of that era, though. Both the Mk5 and Mk6 iterations didn't do much for me; the Mk7 was the first since the Mk4 that looked good to my eye.