Faults:

Engine coils, first one and then a new one, and finally all were replaced, fixed under warranty. This gave me a lot of problems, since the car would cut off suddenly and then work seconds later. It took the dealer many visits to find out that all 4 coils were defective.

A lot of brake problems, especially rear brakes, were replaced 2 times. Paid for it myself.

Various problems with Xenon lights; fixed under warranty.

Sensor problems that gave reluctant acceleration; fixed under warranty.

Heavy oil usage, but dealer said it was normal.

RUST, RUST, RUST. Galvanic slippage. Endemic problem on this car. The car was partly resprayed, but it really didn't help. When I sold it, rust was reappearing on the doors, and on the underneath of the front wings there was serious rust.

General Comments:

Very nice driver, but this car was let down by poor quality and horrible dealer support. The dealer was reluctant to fix paint and rust problems that appeared after a few years. Paint was peeling off the lower part of the car. Even after 2 partial resprays, the car looked scruffy when I sold it. The problem was galvanic slippage that many of these cars suffer from, i.e. the Zinc used to galvanize the lower part of this car doesn't stick properly on the sheet metal and peels off.

Heavy oil usage was also irritating. Never leave home without a can of oil was basically what the dealer said. Any complaints against the importer; forget about it. Nothing helped.

In the end I basically got fed up and sold the car. I considered suing, but simply got rid of this oil-drinking pile of rust. I'll never buy an Audi again!

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

- All though my car is fitted with the smallest engine, it feels quick going from 0-100kmh.

- Very good handling, better than any car I have had before.

- On snowy/slippery roads, the ESP may strangle the engine, but when I hit the "ESP off" button it works good.

- Good combination of comfort, luxury and sportiness.

- Very cheap insurance.

- For me it is the perfect car at this point. I would even get another of these, but then with the 1.4T petrol.

Faults:

Nothing wrong with it.

Previous owner had headlights and foglights changed because they build up fog. All sorted on warranty. Fog in lights occasionally still there, but disappears after 10 minutes of driving.

Previous owner had it serviced at 16.000km when he bought it from the VAG dealer.

General Comments:

Wonderful car to drive. Due to the S-Line suspension it has a firm setup, but it is not too harsh in any way. Bodycontrol is perfect for a hatch. No specific body roll either. If I drive along bad roads, I feel the bumps etc. but it's just the way it's intended.

The engine is a little weak, but then again it is a 1.6 litre, so what can one expect. It's quite revvy and picks up nicely. A little too noisy though.

Mileage is quite good on highway/expressway, about 15 km / L petrol. In the city or you feel inspired it can go as low as 10 km / L petrol.

The interior is rather nice, with a snug feeling to all switches etc. Audi sure know what they're doing.

Sport seats with good side support, but the seats are a bit too short, I think. I'm 1.84 tall and I have little support for my thighs.

My car is the Ambition and S-Line, so there's enough luxury added to the well built interior.

Faults:

First one coil, then all coils was replaced, sensors several times, pressure regulator, window lifter, quality problems in the interior, rattling sound from engine or transmission when accelerating, but dealer says nothing is wrong.

General Comments:

There has been a lot of problems with this car, but I still like the A3 a lot. It has to be the Turbo of course, the Audi 1.8T engine is a little wonder. Steering and handling is one of the sharpest in its class, and I love the styling and quality feel I get when I drive this car. But, and there is a huge, but, the quality of Audis are not the best in the class anymore. You get a quality feel when you drive them, but this illusion breaks when something goes wrong. I had one stop in traffic, and operation has sometimes been jerky due to defective sensors etc. And I must say my previous Audi had similar problems. And I am driving a almost new Audi now (1.5 yrs), but there has been no problems so far.

The main reasons I've stuck with Audi after all these problems are the car drives so well and that the dealer has been fantastic at fixing the problems. Most problems has been under warranty, and has been fixed within a day. But servicing this car is very expensive and this car is not for someone on a budget. If my current car has the same problems, I'll change brand. BMW also makes great cars and has a proven quality and customer satisfaction that Audi currently does not have.