1999 Audi A3 SE 1.9 turbo diesel

Summary:

I love it, and I'd have another, it's sooo nice to be in

Faults:

Rear wiper stopped working.

Temp sender failed.

Brake sensor (micro switch under the brake pedal)

Radio volume knob plays up.

Middle exhaust section.

Snapped rear spring.

Immobiliser issue (wiped fault log and has been fine ever since, 30 000 miles ago)

General Comments:

Pleasure to drive.

Top build quality.

Comfy safe and solid feeling.

If you want a nice A 2 B motor, it's really nice.

Top second hand car. The faults have been wear and tear, or pretty cheap to fix, no grumbles really.

Amazing reliability. Done nearly 40,000 miles in it.

Handling a bit boring, and not very sporty.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 30th January, 2009

1999 Audi A3 Ambition 1.6

Summary:

All in all a great car

Faults:

Electrical Problems:

-Electric windows working/not working and working incorrectly.

-Brake bulb not working - Due too bad bulb holder - easily fixed

-Indicators - Used to freeze occasionally, seems to have fixed itself!

-Radio - Sometimes will be working fine and after awhile the unit will appear to have turned off, but will still play and you cannot control it, until it decides to switch back on

Burns oil - Don't know why!

General Comments:

No major problems with the car.

The Audi Dealers tend to bring up the price a bit.

The Interior is excellent and very comfortable, all controls are very easy to use and the fact that you can adjust seat height and the steering wheel makes the car very adaptable to all.

Rear view is a bit obstructed due to the car being up higher in the back.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 30th July, 2005

1999 Audi A3 Sport 1.6

Summary:

Over-priced Over-hyped Over-rated

Faults:

Constantly Blown Headlight Bulbs, at the rate of 1 per month.

Rear washer has broken on four occasions.

Faulty Electric windows - go up and down when they feel like it.

Engine idled at 2000 rpm - took FOUR visits to dealer to solve the problem, after new accelerator module and ECU.

Interior lights in boot failed.

Brake calipers stuck on - warped discs.

Nut came off in gearbox - smashed through gearbox housing, subsequent oil leak ruined clutch. (£2100) - 2 weeks after warranty ran out.

General Comments:

Without doubt the biggest waste of money I have ever encountered. Nothing more than a rebadged Skoda, after about 20,000 miles it has developed rattles and squeaks everywhere.

Do yourself a favour - don't buy one of these - all style - no substance.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 23rd April, 2002

3rd May 2003, 14:02

Well, actually the Skoda is a re-badged Audi to be precise.

5th Jan 2005, 02:45

Style? We are taking Audi here= over hyped smart blandness!

24th Oct 2005, 13:34

You must be one very unlucky person. I have owned more than one of these cars, and never encountered any problems.

27th Nov 2005, 14:20

I agree with the gear box problem I had the same!! costing a heavy £1017. but!!! nothing else to complain about smooth and everyone loves it. I like it and I will soon upgrade to a turbo.

11th Aug 2008, 11:48

I think you may be A: Very Unlucky, or B: Neglecting your car.

1999 Audi A3 T Sport 1.8 turbo petrol

Summary:

Great car all round

Faults:

Slight problem engaging second gear when cold, solved by dealer using synthetic oil.

One rear speaker developed a fault (Bose hi-fi fitted), which was replaced by dealer.

General Comments:

Excellent car all round.

My wife had one also (same model, 6 months older), but her car suffered a couple of problems and felt an awful lot slower than mine.

Had a race from the lights with an M3 once and he only got past when we hit 60! There must be something wrong with my car, but whatever it is they all should have it!

Only wish is that traction control was available when I bought it.

After 66,000 miles I still have 2 original tyres (thanks Michelin), same exhaust, clutch and brakes - not bad!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 10th January, 2002

27th May 2004, 05:16

No way was the M3 driver trying if he only got by you at 60mph. Even the first E30 M3 was a second quicker to sixty than your car. My S3 can't beat M3's so you are most certainly talking rubbish. Good choice of car though just don't expect other M3 drivers not to beat you easily.

10th Jun 2005, 12:18

Remember that there are plenty of BMW M3 "replicas" or "lookalikes" around, it may not have been a real M3! And my brother who's just bought an A3 T-Sport reckons it's very fast.

1999 Audi A3 Turbo Sport 1.8 turbo

Summary:

Smooth, fast and safe

Faults:

After collecting the car from the dealer and arriving home I couldn't open the bonnet as the cable was broken/something that was missed in the PDI. The dealer made a temporary fix but I had to wait three weeks for a new cable from Germany.

General Comments:

The turbo engine is very responsive and smooth.

The climate control well worth having.

The car grips the road well and comes into it's own on country roads.

A very enjoyable car to drive which feels solid and safe.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 21st July, 2000

14th Jan 2002, 06:29

How can you award 10/10 for reliability when the car was delvered with a fault?

16th Jan 2009, 12:28

I'm not sure I'd give 10/10 for performance either. They're not especially quick.

In reply to 16th Jan 2009, 12:28

20th Feb 2015, 19:40

Depends on what you're used to driving LOL.

1999 Audi A3 Turbo 1.8 turbo

Summary:

Power, comfort and economy

Faults:

Minor electrical failure after coming out of the car wash (remote locking, lights on warning etc). Took two dealer days to fix it.

General Comments:

Good combination of performance and economy. Very smooth car to drive although the steering is very communicative. Grip and road holding pretty good though.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 24th June, 2000