New to forum. I'm seriously interested in purchasing an A3 very soon. I have built a 2.0T with DSG and premium pkg (via internet web) but have not visited a dealer nor driven one. I have read almost all A3 inputs to date in this forum. Additionally I would like to hear from A3 owners regarding their likes and dislikes about the A3, especially about reliability, endurance and routine service costs. My wife and I currently own a 2000 VW Cabrio GLS and a 2004 Volvo 2.5T Prem and Sport Pkgs. We intend to replace the Cabrio with an A3 if it meets expectations.

 

Welcome. I replaced a 2002 VW TDI with a new A3 about two months ago. The service cost question is easy since it won't cost you a dime for 4 years or 50k miles. I have no clue of the costs after the warranty is up, but I plan on doing the oil changes and general maintenance myself. I drove both the DSG and 6MT and I bought the manual transmission. The DSG is just awesome though and would be good for almost everyone except a true manual enthusiasts like myself. I also worry about the DSG holding the torque of the many mods I will do throughout the life of the car. I absolutely love everything about the car with the exception of the fuel mileage which has been around 22mpg, although I drive very spiritedly and the DSG should return a couple better than the MT. Also, I just came from a TDI, so it bugs me to see the fuel gauge move.

I wish that the sports suspension was available with the automatic seats and rain sensing wipers too. It's not worth giving up the sports seats, suspension, and tires for the premium package in my opinion. The endurance and reliability should be very good and I like the solid build and design of the engine with the full FMIC. It seems that they over-built the engine for the performance tuning coming from the factory. If you don't mod it at all, then it should last a very long time. On the other hand, it is fully ready to be performance tuned without any changes to the internals.

I drove all kinds of vehicles from the Mini, Acura, Infinity, BMW, etc. and I liked the A3 best of all. I enjoy driving the A3 even more than the A4 with similiar engines and set-ups. Make sure you pony up the additional $1100 for the Sky Roof as well, it definitely makes the car.

Happy hunting and enjoy your new Audi.

Chef