So you want to buy an A3 8P - Buyer's Guide

A "Quick" buyers guide from my personal experience of owning an A3 8P for a few years now. Hope you find some of the information useful!

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[SIR.KITSUNE]

I’ve got a 2012 8P and I love how large the panoramic roof is on such a small car, and also it’s quite a shame that Audi did not bring the 8P models of the S3 and RS3.

[daprofessor]

Keep these videos coming bud, it's great to finally have some coverage on the 8P.

[vrgls]

I have owned both an A3 sportback and a GTI. It’s really hard to say which one is better. I had a 2006 8P A3 with the FSI motor. The FSI motor was a bit more temperamental than the EA888 motor in my current MK7 GTI. I also had to have the mechatronics unit in my A3 fail. Thankfully that was all replaced under warranty. I loved the look of the 8P A3 because it looks so unapologetically European in style. It’s a really rare car to see here in Texas. Even at Audi specific meets, I would often be the only A3 sportback around. Haha!!

My current MK7 GTI has been a blast to own and I enjoy it for many other reasons. It’s more fun, almost as luxurious and more mod friendly. Both the A3 and GTI are great vehicles. You cannot go wrong with either honestly. Just make sure to buy an A3 with the S-Line package. It looks far better, sportier suspension and more supportive seats. 👍

[chriss]

Hello from Toronto. Great video! Very detailed. Proud owner of a 2011 A3 8P for 7 years now (Quattro, S-Line, Premium Plus w/ blackout or whatever is used to be called). I have put this car through a lot!! It has not failed to impress. It’s good on gas, it’s powerful (enough), it’s AWD and very stable. Not to mention functional - I have moved 3 times and have used this thing like a cargo-van. People have watched me at Ikea loading this thing like a clown car, in utter disbelief of how much I fit into it!! I did have to get a roof box - as you mention, there’s not much room in the trunk when the seats are all up. And that’s usually the case now since this is the family hauler. ✌️

[dzyboolin]

Just bought a 2012 a3 s-line with Quattro, absolutely love it so far!

[keshavv]

this is rlly good work, there’s not much content on 8ps so this is sick. Keep it up

[gunerkaya]

Get the S-line steering wheel,
The one with the flat bottom.

I got that one in My A3 8P 2009
I got the same Grill as yours but a black Audi logo and a red/black sline badge on the side.
I got some nice 18 Inch rims last month which makes the car Look Even more aggresive.
But my Audi is a 3 door version.
1.8 TFSI DSG transmission.
Of course Bose Sound System and S-line seats and everything.
Much love❤️
I Like yours too💪🏼💪🏼
(Sorry for my Bad english, I am German/Turkish)

[georgemadigan]

I have an A3 3.2 quattro.
Have a Milltek complete exhaust system.Manifolds sports cat etc.Drilled and grooved discs, braided lines.Evans waterless coolant.K&N induction kit and had a stage one re-map
Better fuel consumption slightly more bhp, torque and gearbox upgrade.
It has the DSG gearbox and "flappy" paddles.Less tha 62, 000 miles on the clock on an '05.Has been well looked after, sounds amazing.Obviously has launch control and sport mode.
Great car and ahead of its time.

[Syphious]

I have a 2009 A3 8P Quattro, So first facelift model with the EA888. Had to do timing chains in the first few months but I knew they were already on their way out when I got the car.
A lot of A3's weren't covered over warranty for the tensioner for some reason and anyone looking to buying a car with the EA888 should check the tensioner revision, Theres an inspection hole on the timing chain cover. Mine made some noise on startup, Didn't think it was a big deal and I stopped driving it after a bit until I could fix it myself.
If you have chain noise on startup AT ALL, I would not drive it whatsoever even if its intermittent. My chain noise wasn't bad sounding compared to other cars and didn't always do it. But when I got the timing cover off it was much worse than it sounded, Not worth the risk

Its great since doing the timing though, I got a Stage 1 tune and DSG tune from IE and its not even the same car, Just waiting to get a turboback exhaust to install my Stage2 tune cant wait.
Ah, The DSG tune also fixed a lot of the weird shifting issues I had with the trans, It would absolutely throw a fit sometimes when cold and couldn't decide when to shift

[cytherians]

It seems it's hit or miss on reliability. I knew someone who had a 2006 A3 8P and he struggled with all kinds of issues. He loved the car's looks, handling, and torque performance, but he eventually ditched it. I've got a 2007 A3 8P 2.0 FSI DSG S-line, bought brand new (so 17 years now) and I just hit 100k miles. Best car I've ever owned. Super reliable. Never stranded. Extremely agile. And still solid, no creaks, great performance. I wish I'd gotten the OEM roof rails. They sit so flush and look terrific. City MPG could be better (I do get 33 mpg on the highway). I put a Kenwood DDX9904s head unit in it and it's so much better than the RNS-E. I'll probably keep this car for another 2 or 3 more years, then go hybrid or EV.

[josephlim]

After my 2010 A3 got rear ended and totalled. I found a 2009 A3 with only 70, 000kms for $10k cdn. Totally lucked out and was quick to act within an hour of listing. The first A3 2010 had some minor issues but I was able to source out auto wrecker for parts. Also did some upgrades like sports seats and speakers from Auto wrecker in Surrey. The Bose ones have drivers and don’t need a sub woofer. This second A3 was serviced regularly by local Audi dealership. The owner just did a major service before he traded it in. New tires was nice too. Since it’s got such low mileage I’ve got about 100, 000kms to catch up with my previous A3. Looking forward to many years of ownership. Just don’t get into collision 💥.

An update, 2009 A3 engine hemorrhage and dealer replaced 2/4 ignition coils. I later replaced all 4 coils with R8 type from CT turbo. Took me 5 mins as it turned out to be a plug n play install. My mechanic replaced front left wheel bearing and flushed out transmission. My transmission was jerky before but after I did coil packs, Holodex made the gear adjustment. No need to do TCU upgrade.

[adhikarautomo]

I use Audi A3 8p sportback 2006 non turbo 2.0 with timing belt, FWD, & 6 speed Torque converter A/T transmission as daily driver. Commuting to work and pick up my wife nearly 60km every day. I take a good care of my car maintenance and restoring the part on the time basis.
Now with 120.000 km on the clock, it still up and running. No major issue with engine, mechatronic, oil, etc. It never overheat. The Only problem is electrical. Grounding wire issue haunted me for years, trip my AC, wiper, honk. Even replacing new alternator do not solve it. Still figuring it out till now.
Acceleration is insane, even without Turbo or tuning. I think that have something to do with me taking out the catalyc converter. Got 0-100 km/hr for 5-6 second.
For mod :
I upgrade my tailight with 2010 A3 facelift + LED strip., its super cool.
Also the boring head unit, I change it to Kenwood aftermarket double din & put Ipod nano as music player.

[Kaassje]

I have one from 2005 with a FSI engine and I’m considering buying a 1.8tfsi or 2.0tfsi just because of the performance increase. I absolutely love this car, in my opinion it’s one of the best looking Audi’s ever made. The interior is fantastic, a lot of aftermarket parts are available, it doesn’t cost all that much to buy and maintain, insurance is very reasonable and as a tall driver(6, 4) it’s one of the best fitting cars.

[kaliebhinds]

Hey man I’ve been watching your videos in random order for months! I just got my 2012 A3 2 days ago. I noticed on your plates it says beautiful British Columbia! Mine says that too maybe we can go for a drive sometime. Keep up the good work

[DerpEye]

I have a 2005 1.6 fsi, with more comfort oriented full package. I don't care about performance, since it's either traffic or speed traps where i live. It even had the navigation unit with maps on CD lol. The car only had 30k kms when i got it in 2017, and it's only at 60k now. The car is 18, and looks and feels brand new.

[tobybayliss-fddz]

got the same as yours but not quattro and in right hand drive as im from the uk. absolutely love the car. mine is pretty high mileage at but drives like a dream. got a nice amount of power. hopefully i will get many more happy miles out of her. great informative video. cheers

[callum]

Just bought a 1.9 TDI 2008 remapped to around 150bhp. Looks like an RS3 and only cost 2400. I would highly recommend anyone buying a car of this age to get a hydroflow clean. Mine has 158000 miles on it and had trouble getting over 3000 revs. Drives fine now and pulls like a horse.

[raccs]

probably one of the most underrated hatchback well sport to be technical especially that 3.2 never selling mine

[dannyBtech]

i have this car 2.0 tdi and its a very common car here in the uk , i love mine

[yasinkaya]

Have this car 2 years now, strangely it grew on me and i like it more and more. So its now at the garage giving a well deserved maintenance inclusive the chain belt replacement😭😄