The Audi Thread

Opinion of Extended Warranty fro 2013 A3 Sportback 1.8TFSI S-tronic

I bought a pre-owned 2013 A3 Sportback 1.8TFSI S-tronic with 122 000km's on the clock (for R200k) at an Audi Dealership and looking at extended warranty. McCarthy have offered me the following warranty options (excludes service)

R50 000 limited liability for 3 year period
1 year – R8670
2 year – R10 991
3 year – R14 824

R100 000 limited liability for 3 year period
1 year – R11 898
2 year – R15 732
3 year – R21 179

The pre-requisite is that you must service at an Audi dealership for the period of the warranty to stay valid.

The vehicle has a complete service history, but these are the major stuff done over the 4.5 year period:
June 2016 - Thermostat - about R6000
January 2017 - Multiple Clutches - about R17 000
February 2017 - Mechatronic - about R23 000

Can you recommend any extended warranty options that's worth looking at given my circumstances?
 
Opinion of Extended Warranty fro 2013 A3 Sportback 1.8TFSI S-tronic

I bought a pre-owned 2013 A3 Sportback 1.8TFSI S-tronic with 122 000km's on the clock (for R200k) at an Audi Dealership and looking at extended warranty. McCarthy have offered me the following warranty options (excludes service)

R50 000 limited liability for 3 year period
1 year – R8670
2 year – R10 991
3 year – R14 824

R100 000 limited liability for 3 year period
1 year – R11 898
2 year – R15 732
3 year – R21 179

The pre-requisite is that you must service at an Audi dealership for the period of the warranty to stay valid.

The vehicle has a complete service history, but these are the major stuff done over the 4.5 year period:
June 2016 - Thermostat - about R6000
January 2017 - Multiple Clutches - about R17 000
February 2017 - Mechatronic - about R23 000

Can you recommend any extended warranty options that's worth looking at given my circumstances?

Go for the 100k cover, you going to need it with the gearbox. History will repeat itself.

That services are going to cost you arm and a leg, I might even say return it and buy something else. The 1.8T motor loves using plenty of oil , and the gearbox has failed before.
 
Go for the 100k cover, you going to need it with the gearbox. History will repeat itself.

That services are going to cost you arm and a leg, I might even say return it and buy something else. The 1.8T motor loves using plenty of oil , and the gearbox has failed before.

shucks... does not sound like good news...
 
shucks... does not sound like good news...

Yeah motor you want is 1.4T, 2.0T or 2.0TDI, solid motors.

S-tronic gearboxes are like lucky packets, some will go on forever and some will fail. This one looks like bad luck one.

You have a few days to return the vehicle, I would try and find different model rather.
 
Opinion of Extended Warranty fro 2013 A3 Sportback 1.8TFSI S-tronic

I bought a pre-owned 2013 A3 Sportback 1.8TFSI S-tronic with 122 000km's on the clock (for R200k) at an Audi Dealership and looking at extended warranty. McCarthy have offered me the following warranty options (excludes service)

R50 000 limited liability for 3 year period
1 year – R8670
2 year – R10 991
3 year – R14 824

R100 000 limited liability for 3 year period
1 year – R11 898
2 year – R15 732
3 year – R21 179

The pre-requisite is that you must service at an Audi dealership for the period of the warranty to stay valid.

The vehicle has a complete service history, but these are the major stuff done over the 4.5 year period:
June 2016 - Thermostat - about R6000
January 2017 - Multiple Clutches - about R17 000
February 2017 - Mechatronic - about R23 000

Can you recommend any extended warranty options that's worth looking at given my circumstances?

Hollard is an option.

Looking at the clutches and then mechatronics a month later I would reckon the dealership was grasping at straws to resolve the problem and just part fitting until it worked.

I would consider it a bonus of knowing you have new stuff all round for a good price and that means less risk of failure going forward over a car that has never failed and carrying more mileage on the original parts.

I don’t believe it’s a case of history repeating itself at all.
 
Last edited:
What would you do in the following situation;

Go on holiday - leave your usual trusted house sitter to look after the house.

Garage is locked, car (2010 A3 1.8t) is also locked, spare key is well hidden in the residence.

Get a call: "SAPS here sir, we have your car here, its wrecked after hitting a tree"

(Ill share some pics after the insurance has been settled...)
 
^ my stomach would have doubled up on itself if I heard news like that! Good luck!
 
What would you do in the following situation;

Go on holiday - leave your usual trusted house sitter to look after the house.

Garage is locked, car (2010 A3 1.8t) is also locked, spare key is well hidden in the residence.

Get a call: "SAPS here sir, we have your car here, its wrecked after hitting a tree"

(Ill share some pics after the insurance has been settled...)

Good luck with that, sounds like a horrible situation.
 
What would you do in the following situation;

Go on holiday - leave your usual trusted house sitter to look after the house.

Garage is locked, car (2010 A3 1.8t) is also locked, spare key is well hidden in the residence.

Get a call: "SAPS here sir, we have your car here, its wrecked after hitting a tree"

(Ill share some pics after the insurance has been settled...)

Buy a bigger better newer one?
 
Makes you wonder how many times the trusted house sitter has gone for a joy ride.
 
Go for the 100k cover, you going to need it with the gearbox. History will repeat itself.

That services are going to cost you arm and a leg, I might even say return it and buy something else. The 1.8T motor loves using plenty of oil , and the gearbox has failed before.
IIRC by 2012 Q3 the 1.8T engines were rectified w.r.t. the oil guzzling issue.
 
Yeah motor you want is 1.4T, 2.0T or 2.0TDI, solid motors.

S-tronic gearboxes are like lucky packets, some will go on forever and some will fail. This one looks like bad luck one.

You have a few days to return the vehicle, I would try and find different model rather.
The 1.4T and S tronic combo is a bit iffy. The motor is amazing but somehow that gearbox eats clutchpacks. It's the same with VW. 1.4T and DSG seem not to play well. There have been clutch and gearbox updates but 2 clutchpacks on a Jetta later and I'm a bit gunshy.
 
The 1.4T and S tronic combo is a bit iffy. The motor is amazing but somehow that gearbox eats clutchpacks. It's the same with VW. 1.4T and DSG seem not to play well. There have been clutch and gearbox updates but 2 clutchpacks on a Jetta later and I'm a bit gunshy.

Do they run a cheaper dry clutch version like the Polo maybe?

That would explain it.
 
On another note, I’ll possibly be looking at moving out of my 2011 A4 2.0 TDI and getting a 2014 A3 Sedan 1.8 TFSI or a 2013 A5 Sportback 2.0 TDI.

Any pros and cons to the two?

Drove this today:

3ba3c7f27f37d5ef7e62fc91bb4cb754.jpg
So an update to this... Took delivery about 2 weeks back.

2013 A3 Sportback 1.8 TFSI S Tronic. 74k km :)

Has quite a few options and really stood out from the others I checked out...
f87f08cc33461c66be43febb5bb8b0ab.jpg
97cac31805ac21123c712b7714748926.jpg
 
Why Audi SA scrapped 21 derivatives (including the base R8)

Audi South Africa has applied what it describes as an “engine rationalisation” to its local range, quietly culling as many as 21 derivatives.

We reached out to the local arm of the Ingolstadt-based automaker, which confirmed that it had earlier this year discontinued a number of variants, removing them from its official price-list (hat-tip to the studious folks over at duoporta, who first alerted us to Audi’s action).

So, which models have been scrapped? Well, Audi SA confirmed to CARmag.co.za that it has discontinued the S1 (both three-door and Sportback versions) as well as the 1,8T FSI Sport derivatives (again, in both three-door and Sportback guises). That leaves two powerplant options in the A1 range: the 1,0T FSI and the 1,4T FSI.

The automaker also removed the 2,0TDI engine option from its A3 Sportback and Sedan line-ups, as well as killed off the base version of the A4 2,0T FSI. The A4 2,0T FSI Quattro Sport variant is likewise no longer, meaning all models in the regular A4 range (excluding, of course, the S4) are now front-wheel drive.

As many as six derivatives have been removed from the A5 line-up, from the base Quattro-equipped 2,0T FSI and 2,0TDI versions of the Coupé and Sportback (the higher-spec Sport models remain) to the base 2,0T FSI versions (both front-drive and Quattro) of the A5 Cabriolet.

The Q2 range hasn’t escaped the axe either, with all three manual models being discontinued, alongside what was the sole diesel model in the line-up, the 2,0TDI Sport. The 2,0T FSI Quattro version of the Q3 was likewise killed off.

The 2,0T FSI Quattro version of the TT coupé was also culled (leaving a pair of front-wheel-drive petrol variants below the Audi Sport models), while the base Audi R8 V10 also faced the chop (leaving the V10 Spyder and full-fat V10 Plus).

So, why the seemingly drastic cull? Well, Audi SA told us that the action was taken “in an effort to simplify and reduce complexity” of the local model range and to “keep pace with evolving customer and market needs”. In short, that means the brand is focusing on the variants that sell relatively well and getting rid of those that don’t.

http://www.carmag.co.za/news/why-audi-sa-scrapped-21-derivatives-including-the-base-r8/
 
The 1.4T and S tronic combo is a bit iffy. The motor is amazing but somehow that gearbox eats clutchpacks. It's the same with VW. 1.4T and DSG seem not to play well. There have been clutch and gearbox updates but 2 clutchpacks on a Jetta later and I'm a bit gunshy.

I've had the same with my A1 1.4 tfsi S-tronic. I don't think it's the clutches that are fully to blame. Not even Audi themselves could get my car to stop shuddering, I've had the clutches done 3 times and the problem is no better than it ever was so I just live with it now.

This weekend I was visiting a friend in Melville who lives on a particularly steep hill, the car in front of me stopped and then drove off for some reason and when I tried to pull off the shuddering and clunking and vibrations were absolutely insane! I honestly thought something was going to fail. This morning I was stuck in major traffic on a less steep hill. It was shuddering along like normal and then on one occasion I let off the brakes and it was as though the car was in neutral, it just started rolling back at a frightening pace, slammed brakes and I had to use my handbrake like clutch control to get the thing moving again. I'm trading this car in soon. I've had enough.
 
I guess the cull was inevitable. Prior to VW taking over Audi, I recall there only being a handful of derivatives available for each model. But, in typical VW fashion, they flooded the market to try and get their claws into every category. Point in question, why does something like the S1 even exist?
 
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X