considering a 2000 'w' s3

[cornishvr6 52]

spotted it this eve, red, bbs ch's, immaculate condition, 130k tho which is more than my vr, i wasnt on the lookout to replace the vr but at £3895 i am tempted, anybody know if this is good or overpriced?

cheers

[bungy 2]

Depends on history, condition and recent work. Mileage has never put me off for the right car.

[cornishvr6 52]

well had a good look around it and looks mint all around even the black leather recaro's look new, going to pop in the garage tommorow for a chat and get the history,

just think i would miss the vr,

are they really much faster seen as there 225bhp std?

[Nero Mk 2 8]

Hey mate,

The 2001 onwards are 225 bhp(bam engine code), the pre 2001 are 209 standard, Ive had vr's and ive got a s3 now, its been mapped to 260, I loved my vr's but theres no comparison mate.

First thing i do when i get in, switch of the esp. 4wd great car..

[cornishvr6 52]

so the s3 much better then? it just seem very solid, more refined and overall a better package in the long run but it is alot newer than mine as mine is a j plate vr.

[Ben Seabrook 4]

well as you say mate its a much newer and much more expensive car than a VR so you get what you pay for in a way - more luxury, more refinement, better reliability etc but they are nowhere near as responsive to drive, the 4wd seems "boggy" and means the car isnt as sprightly as a vr inmo and in standard form they arent any quicker than a VR either

they are a nice car but for me they arent enough of an improvement over my VR to justify spending the extra cash - now a few more grand for an R32 and your talking

[Nero Mk 2 8]

Hmmm..

Ive certainly never felt it 'boggy' or unresponsive ? with a 0-60 of just over 5 seconds it pulls the pants down on most standard vr's ive driven. The steering has weight to it so it feels like half power steering the 4wd system is the same as 4motion/r32 being haldex.

But its a shame to compare it to a vr as they are both very different cars.

But i'd like to add....

I love a vr6, more so than the s3, its just the s3 is bit more modern, a bit quicker and a bit more comfy as a daily.

Give me a vr6 lump for the noise and fun any day.

[cornishvr6 52]

lol, i may have started something now, thanks for your opinions and i agree to both its just using the vr every day for work on muddy country lanes (40 miles a day) i feel the vr is a little fragile in those conditions and also feel it deserves better. in an ideal world i would have both;)

may just take it for a test drive tomorrow and check its history and keep you posted.

[Ben Seabrook 4]

Hmmm..

Ive certainly never felt it 'boggy' or unresponsive ? with a 0-60 of just over 5 seconds it pulls the pants down on most standard vr's ive driven. The steering has weight to it so it feels like half power steering the 4wd system is the same as 4motion/r32 being haldex.

But its a shame to compare it to a vr as they are both very different cars.

just my opinion when I drove a friends and compared to my VR - was massively underwhelming as a drivers car, also the standard 0-60 of the 2000 car is roughly 6.8 seconds to so not far off the VR's 7.1

[Ben Seabrook 4]

may just take it for a test drive tomorrow and check its history and keep you posted.

yeah defo do that matey

[cornishvr6 52]

and also i should really take the vr to the ring before i think of swapping her

[dman78 1]

im planning on getting a S3 with 275bhp aswell,b4 the vr i had the1.8T quattro with 180bhp so for me it will be like moving into a better house,but i love the grunt and noise my vr gives me

[mike 6]

i considered on until i went into midland vw and the kid in there had an early one like that with a huge list of expensive repairs.. the 4wd system was one...

id say get a 4motion, you could pick up a decent one with 70k on it for 3k

exhaust system on it and you'l see 220bhp

[Nero Mk 2 8]

My S3

[cornishvr6 52]

looks very nice mate, the one thats for sale is red (not normally a fan of red cars)

like i said on 18" bbs ch's and lowered it looks pretty damn good

[Nero Mk 2 8]

Mines is

Bilstein shocks on eibach springs sits a bit lowered but not silly

adjustable rear tie bars,

groved and drilled front and rear,

braided hoses,

revo stage 1

Power flow exhaust

[dman78 1]

i was told if you go too big on wheels it will affect your final drive,is this true? as the S3 comes with 17's and doesn't the 4mo use the same haldex system so surely servicing would be similar?

[craggsy 91]

I have been told that you should keep same size wheels on all 4 wheels.....ie no 8s on front and 10s on back puts to much strain on the system

[dman78 1]

sorry to stray off topic but what about a 3.2 quattro

http://www.gumtree.com/london/41/63638041.html

[Saunders82 0]

S3 are brilliant cars but with 130k on it go over the history with a fine comb.

Check the cambelt was done at 80k and look to see if the hydraulic damper was changed if it hasn't you'll need a cambelt including this also make sure the water pump was done at the same time. Check the clutch make sure it's fine it's a big job to change. They also suffer from clutch master cylinders and broken peddle. I'm getting alot of calls at work about rear diffs so make sure no noise there. Rear springs are common. Front top mounts, front control arm rear bushes again selling alot. Steering arms are common. I'll also be suspect of the turbo at that mileage so make sure the oil is changed at least every 10k and atlesst 5w40 fully synthetic. Also if it is changed every 10k that eliminates the worry about the oil strainer blocking up.

Hope this helps

[xyber 1]

I have been told that you should keep same size wheels on all 4 wheels.....ie no 8s on front and 10s on back puts to much strain on the system

Yep, different amounts of friction, front to rear doesn't agree with it

Also putting big wheels on any car affects FD and the rotational inertia of the wheel/hub assembly and in extreme cases sap power (1.4 saxo's on 19s). I'd only go up 2" max on wheel size, unless you go for lightweights with lightweight brake rotors, then you could go an inch bigger again

[Lukey. 381]

a pre 2001 S3 is a car im on the lookout for as an additional car.

Im waiting for the ideal one to come along though as ideally i want a facelift but pre march 2001 so its a bit lower tax. As the facelifts have variable valve timing, though they are still 210 they are exactly the same engine as the 225 which means the same remap/tuning potential, which is AMK engine code,

In fact the BAM engine only had 15bhp more due to a flashed ECU

[soul-2-soul 3]

Always wanted an S3 & still thinking about picking one up if a good one at the right price comes up

[p0u1 14]

i drove one of the 2008 275hp S3s and all i can say is there very very impressive, there fast i mean first time i put my foot down i hit 130mph without thinking about it, i drive my vr everyday and i just dont think i could swap to a s3 the sound and the power delivery of the vr is just too fun the S3 is like a more refined, safer and probley faster car but it just dont give you the sense of speed like the vr.

i dare to say the s3 felt like a big car too (heavy)

if speed was the issue i would say turbo the vr as it would kill the s3 once your moving.

[Lukey. 381]

no doubt the vr6 feels faster, id do 80 in my a3 and it felt like nothing, in the vr6 80 actually feels fast