Ummm Hello?

[Saint Bastage]

I'd like to say something a bit fresher than "Hello, Newbie here" but alas...there's not much more one can say in his introductory line.

I have what I believe to be the highest mileage A3 in the world given its age. I bought it new in ?march? of 1997 as a left over 06 model with <100 miles on it. It presently has over 205,000 miles and still runs strong. The engine burns a bit more oil than I'd like and the power seems a bit down compared to original but still an AWESOME car. Lots of other "things" starting to happen like you would expect in a very high mileage car. Brakes fade rapidly due to excessive rotor wear, wiper motor is failing, suspension needs some attention (bushings/shocks etc...), fuel system needs a good clean out, those crappy coils need to be swapped and lots of little dings scratches. I've given a lot of thought to replacing the car with a E46 M3 but find myself getting lazy about the search. After a few weeks I realized what my problem was...I love the car and can't bear to replace it.

My problem was answered on Friday. I found an identical car (Brilliant black 2006 A3 Premium package, cold weather package, Skyview) at a Nissan dealer. The only differance was the interior color (ebony vs. beige) and the mileage (43K vs, 205k).

They gave me fair enough money on trade and a good deal on the new car so I pulled the trigger. I'll be picking up the new to me car on Monday.

I'm somewhat of a forum junkie as it relates to my cars. The A3 is obviously my Daily Driver. My toy car is a 1993 Ferrari 348 Serie Speciale (#64 of 100). You can find me on Ferrarichat every day.

I'm here to share my sports car enthusiasm and learn a bit more about tuning the new A3. I suppose i'll start with a billet PCV and a K&N intake. After that I'll be relying on this forum to help guide me. I'll also visit EPL in Stratford CT and passing along any tips I learn along the way.

Cheers
SB

 

[turbonutter69]

Welcome to the forum mate.

 

[pgarner]

hey and welcome to the site mate.
that is high mileage only heard of a few getting that far most start to give up around 150k

what engine has the new A3 got ?

 

[Saint Bastage]

2.0T in both of them. Like the engine alot....love the DSG. When I bought the car, it was a compromise. I wanted a stick but Wifey can't drive one and won't learn. The DSG seemed like the perfect solution. Direct connection to the road, quick (enough) shifts, but easy on the leg in serious traffic...Perfect. It's now my prefered choice.

Thinking seriously about a VAG ODB so I can make adjustments to everything in the car. I've read that many aftermarket cables offer problems and the only way to go is the Ross Engineering system. Perhaps that can make me LOVE the engine also. Seems pricey...is it worth it?

 

[pgarner]

not sure i use rosstechs VCDS for reading the ECU .
i wouldnt try and map the car myself but would rather someone who knows what they are doing.


guessing your last car was bout in 2007 and not 1997 as there was no 2.0t back then only the 1.8t

 

[obi_waynne]

Hello and a warm welcome to TorqueCars, nice to meet you. I hope you enjoy the forums as much as we all do.

1) You need a sense of humour
2) You must be friendly!
3) You should love cars

Tick those 3 boxes and you'll be an honorary member in no time!

I hope my A3 goes on for as long as yours did. Were there any niggles you had to deal with?

 

[Saint Bastage]

First off...lemme correct a typo...Car was a 2006 model purchased new in 2007 not 1997. Dunno how I made that mistake. My sons Jeep is a 1997...that must be it.


Niggles...Yes. The first day I owned the car I got a CEL. Dealer had no explanation. I talked him in to a 100K warrantee due to an apparent electrical gremlin. Didn't much matter, 100,000 miles was over in 14 or 15 months and I never experienced so much as a skip. Factory tires (Conti ProContact) last 83000 miles. Bosch Spark plugs lasted 175,000 miles and were changed for no other reason than I thought I should. Got 175K out of the factory cambelt...Yep...Scream at me all you want. I got all those miles without incident. I suppose I'm a gambler at heart. Ohhh...and a couple of Iggy coils went on me.

Just came home with the new (to me) A3 and fell in love again. This low mileage model pulls so much harder, is more stable at speed and has less rattles than I remember. Hot stuff.

I'm thinking K&N typhoon, ECU remap, Darkened windows, and maybe a bit lower ride height. SAAAweeet.

 

[obi_waynne]

You'll have to post us up some pics of your cars when you get to 10 posts, I'm sure we would all love to see them.

I think that cambelts are fairly resiliant if the bulk of your miles are on motorways and freeways. I'm suprised the spark plugs lasted so long though, I guess they were iridium tipped though.

 

[pgarner]

hell it sounds like you were lucky with yours. normally theres alot more niggles with the 1.8
whats shocking me the most is the 83k miles that a set of tyres lasted you. i only get around 25k on mine. you must have very nice roads or drive like a saint