1997 Audi A3 purchased as a first car.

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electromic, Sep 23, 10:30am
UPDATE! The car has been serviced, I checked everything and all is well. No stored codes. The brake fluid needed changing but otherwise a well serviced car.
The new sound system is great, cost more than the car!
Jvc head unit
Jvc four channel amp
Infinity speakers
infinity sub

intrade, Sep 23, 10:41am
did you check the coolant with refractometer only G12 or g13 must be used should say so on coolant bowl i have a video on passat how its done correctly my passat had bad coolant needed to flush for a long time with rain water i used via 2 filters to flush the bad crap out.
Also what scantool was used ? only a oem scanner will pull all codes like rosstech is a aftermarket factory level vag only scanner.

electromic, Sep 23, 11:40am
I took the car to an audi garage for the scan. Coolant was flushed and changed by audi dealership 23 000kms ago. It tested fine.

poppy62, Sep 23, 12:45pm
I find it hard to justify huge costs on sounds when the average human has the hearing ability of a deaf mutt. Too loud and hearing aids are on the agenda later in life. There is someone who drives past at 5pm every week day that has me wondering how the heck they hear anymore and how their car has shaken itself to bits. I hear them coming from about 1/2 a KM away and our house reverberates and the chandeliers rattle as they approach from about 200m away. Right outside I'm sure a Richter scale would register 10. Must be a Zombie driving!

likit, Sep 23, 12:55pm
They certainly don't hold their prices these Audi's do they?

electromic, Sep 23, 2:51pm
This system was set up properly for sound quality rather than shake the whole street. The owner is studing music so wanted the appropriate system in his car. It needs to come back to me for a tune up once the speakers have run in a bit. What I like about the audi is the build quality in relation to vibrations. It does not rattle anywhere even when it is at ful power. It also has so much sound deadining that I can barely hear the music outside the car with the doors shut. It isn't a very expensive system but it did cost more than the $800 car.

electromic, Sep 23, 2:58pm
No but I think it is worth more than $800 if I had to put a price on it, I would say 2k. if I could get one for the same price, I would. It is a great car to drive. I gave it a good drive and it has beautiful road manners.

thejazzpianoma, Sep 23, 4:31pm
While I support the premis, not sure what you are hoping to learn from a 20 year old sophisticated for it's time vehicle. They are really in "luck of the draw" territory. Especially at those km.

If it was a 8 year old Audi with 80K on the clock, you might get closer to something almost statistically useful. But even then you only have a sample of one.

electromic, Sep 9, 1:05pm
Friend's son bought his first car, a 1997 A3 without an inspection. He might be very very lucky. It is NZ new, 1 lady owner, 223 000km, full service history. Cost him $800 because the wof and reg were due and the owner had already bought a new audi.
So far he has got a new wof(clean sheet from a testing station), 1 years reg and replaced the stereo.
I am going to personally service his car and use it as a test car for reliability/running costs.
Wish me luck!

franc123, Sep 9, 1:12pm
Don't drive it another foot without knowing what the status of the cam belt is, if it breaks or strips they will bend ALL of the valves.

poppy62, Sep 9, 1:59pm
Heads are cheap $74.00 complete (2nd hand).

kazbanz, Sep 9, 2:25pm
if its full service history I agree with franc--just ensure its had the belt done recently.
Its an $800 car that is running well and flew through for a WOF Mehhh IMO who cares what make /model it is. Change the oil /filter regularly and keep a close eye on the coolant levels.
-Coolant levels thing in case of a split in a plastic coolant fitting.

toyboy3, Sep 9, 3:01pm
I think he is very brave risking twelve months reg

bwg11, Sep 9, 3:10pm
As it was replaced by a new Audi, can't help wondering what the dealership trade-in price was if your friend's son bought it for $800.

slarty45, Sep 9, 3:17pm
If it is driven gently it could last for yonks.
If arse thrashed off it maybe not.
A 5 minute warm up to let the hard bits expand into the worn holes may help.

saxman99, Sep 9, 3:18pm
At $800 it doesn't matter if it blows up after 6 months and if it lasts more than a year you're laughing.

barrie2, Sep 9, 4:36pm
Presume it is not insured? That would double the price.

electromic, Sep 9, 4:48pm
He got 3rd party insurance, couldn't get full cover because the excess would be more than the value of the car.

OR did you mean a mechanical warranty? No warranty as it would cost more than the value of the car.

electromic, Sep 9, 4:55pm
Belt was done 23 000km ago.

sw20, Sep 9, 5:39pm
Spicy!

franc123, Sep 9, 6:23pm
Good, hope it turns out to be a bargain buy that will last a few years.

electromic, Sep 9, 6:47pm
Fingers crossed, but then it's only a $800 car. If he gets a couple of years out of it then it would have been worth it. It is due for a service in less than 2000km. It sounds like she took off what she thought the cost would be for a wof/reg/dealer service/new stereo from her original price.

tgray, Sep 9, 9:30pm
For $800 it sounds like a good deal and If it still runs by 2018, it was a good deal!
And I say that because it cost $800, not because it's an Audi.

desmodave, Sep 10, 10:19am
You haven't mentioned the color , that's very important to the knockers on here . Not silver is it . If its a 1.8 or 1.8t they are a very strong motor and good on fuel . If you plan on working on it yourself a Torx's socket set will come in handy . Plenty of forums with good info on how to work on it yourself on the web .

gsimpson, Sep 10, 10:27am
They are not Ribe tools are they rather than torx? FIAT use the Ribe a bit. Ribe is like Torx but a bit beefier.