hey everyone - new to the forum and hoping to become a regular now that I'm in the market for my first A3. Looking at a 2007 with 35k miles on it vs a 2012 with 75k miles - both about the same price and general options are similar - enough so that the only thing I can't decide on is high mileage vs. low mileage. The 07 is a 3.2 quattro, and the 2012 is a 2.0T quattro.

Also, just coming off an 02 Passat that had become a maintenance nightmare and definitely don't want to repeat the experience with the A3 - so reliability is an important factor in my decision.

Any guidance/opinions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Sean

 

That's a hard decision. Both are out of warranty from the looks of it (since one is too old and the other has too many miles).
I would think that the older model would probably end up costing more in maintenance since you have the bigger engine and well aged parts. Usually newer models fix some known gremlins so the 2012 is probably going to have less problems.
All this is a wild guessing game since I have no information on either car (looks, test drive, etc).
My vote goes towards the 2012.

 

thanks Sheldon, appreciate the advice and probably agree with you. Any thoughts on quattro vs. 2WD? I live in NJ so we do get weather - but I do have a 4WD truck when the heavy stuff comes down (though that too has seen better days). Definitely a lot less used quattros for sale....

 

Personally I love Quattro and would always get it if I can. They are a little heavier than without of course but there are many advantages:
1) The more power you have - the more Quattro becomes important. You want that power on the ground and not smoking up your front tires or feel that wheel-hop
2) Bad weather (no matter if snow, ice or just wet) Quattro wins hands down
3) CVT = bad, at least on the older models. CVT is what Audi uses for their front wheel driven cars with automatic. I've never heard a good story about it.

Bottom line is that if you are getting a manual - front wheel drive is not bad and acceptable if you don't live in an area that gets much snow/ice. But I would not recommend an automatic Audi/VW with front wheel drive that uses CVT (which I think they all use).