S3 reliability - is it a lease or buy

[donot521]

Hi there
I would like to pull the trigger on 2017 S3, but with all the audi horror stories made me back away from putting my money down.
I really like its styling, tech, how it drives and would love to own one.
Therefore my questions are
Is it a reliable car? The sales told me audi has surpassed Lexus in reliability this year.

Usually I like to keep a car for at least 7 years, and do you think audi will last this long without running into major problems? Or just lease one for 4 years and move on.

Thanks

[mrandrewau]

I was in the same situation. I keep my cars for 7+ years. I ended up buying the S3 (with extended warranty to 7 years), and I have no doubt that this car will be really reliable. Here's my 2 cents on the various components of the car

1. The 2.0 TFSI is in its 3rd generation, and is used in hundreds of thousands of Audi/VW vehicles worldwide across the brand's lineup. This means that they produce these engines with robots in large quantities, where the manufacturing tolerance is low (they cannot afford to screw up an engine on this scale). Parts and knowledge for this engine are available everywhere.

2. The DSG S tronic is proven to be robust. I have only heard of one story where an S3's transmission blew up, and the owner tuned it with an aftermarket software..

3. The haldex failure is probably the most catastrophic failure that could ever happen to our car, but it is rare. Basically, power fails to deliver to the rear wheels, and leads to wheel hopping. You can still drive the car, and you're not stranded. I've seen it happen to a few forum members (here or elsewhere) on their 2014-2015 S3's, so I am really really hoping that Audi has corrected the problem in 2017 (they updated the haldex system altogether).

4. The magnetic ride is an "iffy" thing that is a relatively new piece of technology. I've never heard it fail yet, and even if they did.. we'll just upgrade to coil overs, so no real losses there IMO.

5. The virtual cockpit is also the other "iffy" new piece of tech, but considering that it's using Nvidia technology, and that the same component is used in the TT, Q7, A4, and the new Q5, I will think its pretty reliable.

Overall, you will have the risk of encountering problems for pretty much any car, but the fact that many of the components in this car are so common and used widely by Audi/VW across their lineups, that I think we're in a pretty safe zone. It's not like we're buying a Bugatti where the engine is one of 100 worldwide. If anything were to fail catastrophically, they will most likely to fail within the first few years, where warranty would have covered them anyways. So in conclusion, fear not and just buy it!

[Cairo94507]

Nice summary of potential issues.

[doughboy17]

I was in the same situation. I keep my cars for 7+ years. I ended up buying the S3 (with extended warranty to 7 years), and I have no doubt that this car will be really reliable. Here's my 2 cents on the various components of the car

2. The DSG S tronic is proven to be robust. I have only heard of one story where an S3's transmission blew up, and the owner tuned it with an aftermarket software..

You may want to research you #2. The S4 DSG's have had their share of problems (mech board delamination, etc.). Not saying you should not buy an S3 (or S4); just be aware.

[sean_entrust]

I just picked up an s3 and it's my fifth Audi and I plan to keep it forever!

I bought it to replace my 2010 a6 which I loved but with 100k on it I was worried about what could happen.

The 2.0t seems pretty bulletproof especially since it's now in its 3rd generation. We also have a q5 2.0t with over 120k on it and it runs like new.

I bought the s3 as a fun daily driver that I could enjoy without having to mod a ton.


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[Wr3ks_S3]

I came from a 2013 Subaru WRX to my (bought) 2016 S3. You can't beat the power for the package and the fact that you can get over 30 mpgs on the highway.

I love it and it'll be around for several years unless I fall victim to the RS3 itch down the road.

[diztek]

Horror stories?

[donot521]

Thanks for all the replies. They really help me to make the final decision.

[PsiBlast]

You may want to research you #2. The S4 DSG's have had their share of problems (mech board delamination, etc.). Not saying you should not buy an S3 (or S4); just be aware.

The B8/8.5 S4 uses a different DSG than the S3. From what I've read, the DQ250 in our S3s are pretty rock solid and have been often tuned far beyond their rated torque limits reliably. With regular maintenance and absence of factory defects, there should be no reason why it shouldn't easily last 7+ years, especially if you keep it stock.

[PsiBlast]

Also, Audis (in general) don't lease well. If you want to lease, get a BMW. Those are bargains. When I was shopping around, a lease on my S3 was almost 50% more expensive per month than a similarly-priced 335i.

[ADM17]

Also, Audis (in general) don't lease well. If you want to lease, get a BMW. Those are bargains. When I was shopping around, a lease on my S3 was almost 50% more expensive per month than a similarly-priced 335i.

Agreed, the S models don't lease well at all. I mean, sure you could get a lower payment by putting money down, but who wants to do that on a lease. At least with BMW you can do refundable security deposits if you want to lower your monthly.

I've heard stories about VW/Audi being problematic, but nothing of major concern recently. I feel their reliability has improved greatly in the last 10-15 years. This is my first german car, so we shall see. I've only ever had Japanese vehicles which ended up being extremely reliable, so I'm hoping I don't regret this decision.

[HBird]

Only big issue off the top of my head is the Haldex failure that seems to hit MY2015 cars (mine included). New revisions have come out so it's likely a MY2017 will not see this issue. Like mrandrewau mentioned you can still drive the car, it'll just be FWD.

[pinpointsnipe]

Take this with a grain of salt since its not the s3, but I am still running the same dsg on a 15 a3.

My car has been at the shop for a month and a half now since my transmission completely went. Driving home on the highway one day and all of a sudden at a red light get a transmission error. I cannot go into reverse or shift out of first gear. Car is towed to Audi dealership, Audi runs the diagonostics and error codes, sends em to Audi Germany. They fight back saying I have an intake and a cat-back, but dealer has my back. So then Audi states my transmission completley blew and they need to build a new one and send it out. This is all taken care of under warranty. But I was APR stage one at the time of this, so could obivously had an impact on this. But this is the first and only issue ive had with this platform in the 2.5 years of ownership.

[BillT]

I don't buy the "Audis don't lease well" story. They don't carry as high a residual as the BMWs, but the Audi money factors were much better. You just have to wait for the right lease deal to come around on the Audi, and stay away from the Prestige package. If you are patient you can get a pretty great 3 year lease deal. Never lease for more than 3 years and take as few miles as you can live with. If you go over the miles there is a good chance Audi will waive the overage fee if you lease another one.

[Raacerx]

Also, Audis (in general) don't lease well. If you want to lease, get a BMW. Those are bargains. When I was shopping around, a lease on my S3 was almost 50% more expensive per month than a similarly-priced 335i.

I had 100% the opposite experience around the Bay Area. BMW leases for equivalently priced vehicles were 25-33% more expensive.

I got my S3 lease for around 11-12% under sticker, said and done. It was a better deal for me to lease and have the option of the buy back price, versus buying outright. However, I'm only keeping the car 18 months, it was just a placeholder. In general though, if I work it I can usually find a lease deal that allows me to get pretty much the same overall price of the car in the long run compared to purchasing, but with the option of handing it back in and wiping my hands clean.

I track my car every other weekend as well. I don't feel like buying or leasing matters.

[sean_entrust]

BMWs lease well if you want to give it back. With BMW you aren't in a position to keep it. Audis leases are better if you want to keep the car after the lease.


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[donot521]

How are the maintenance cost of the S3?
Will it be more expensive because it has a S?
I still can't pull the trigger on the car yet and my wife kept telling me to get IS350 for the reliability.

[mrandrewau]

How are the maintenance cost of the S3?
Will it be more expensive because it has a S?
I still can't pull the trigger on the car yet and my wife kept telling me to get IS350 for the reliability.

it's the same amount of maintenance as an a3, and probably not any more than an IS350 with AWD

[donot521]

it's the same amount of maintenance as an a3, and probably not any more than an IS350 with AWD

Where do you take your car to service? Since you are also from Vancouver. And which dealer did you buy the car from?

[mrandrewau]

Where do you take your car to service? Since you are also from Vancouver. And which dealer did you buy the car from?

My brother and I are extremely handy with a garage full of tools, so we buy the fluid and parts to service cars ourselves for simple things like oil change. But for more advanced stuff like Transmission and Haldex oil change, we bring it back to Audi.

Remember, an S3 and its internals are nothing really special. It uses the same 2.0 TFSI that is found in hundreds of thousands of Audi and Volkswagen vehicles around the world.

Just like any other engine, it requires an oil change every X amount of kilometers, coolant change every Y amount of kilometers, transmission oil change every Z amount of kilometers, etc etc. The same is true whether you buy a Lexus or an Audi. Both dealerships charge the same amount for their hourly rate, and require roughly the same amount of time to perform the service, so I don't really see the argument that an S3 would cost more to maintain. It uses the same oil and oil filter as an A3.

I shopped around different Audi dealerships, and ended up going to Audi of Richmond because their sales staff is WAY more friendly than the guys at Boundary and the guys in the North Shore. I recommend you to look for Hiroshi, and you can say Andrew sent you. They are also building a new high tech service facility at the Richmond location!

[donot521]

My brother and I are extremely handy with a garage full of tools, so we buy the fluid and parts to service cars ourselves for simple things like oil change. But for more advanced stuff like Transmission and Haldex oil change, we bring it back to Audi.

Remember, an S3 and its internals are nothing really special. It uses the same 2.0 TFSI that is found in hundreds of thousands of Audi and Volkswagen vehicles around the world.

Just like any other engine, it requires an oil change every X amount of kilometers, coolant change every Y amount of kilometers, transmission oil change every Z amount of kilometers, etc etc. The same is true whether you buy a Lexus or an Audi. Both dealerships charge the same amount for their hourly rate, and require roughly the same amount of time to perform the service, so I don't really see the argument that an S3 would cost more to maintain. It uses the same oil and oil filter as an A3.

I shopped around different Audi dealerships, and ended up going to Audi of Richmond because their sales staff is WAY more friendly than the guys at Boundary and the guys in the North Shore. I recommend you to look for Hiroshi, and you can say Andrew sent you. They are also building a new high tech service facility at the Richmond location!

How did the s3 do this past winter with the horrible snow conditions? I was told it is not really Quattro like other Audi

[mrandrewau]

How did the s3 do this past winter with the horrible snow conditions? I was told it is not really Quattro like other Audi

With proper winter tires, you will rip through the snow. Haldex Quattro is arguably better for getting out of nasty situations in the snow compared to torsen Quattro.. What you lose out on is probably high-speed performance on the track in dry weather.

[Dethsupp0rt]

How did the s3 do this past winter with the horrible snow conditions? I was told it is not really Quattro like other Audi

There's no such thing as "real Quattro". "Quattro" is simply a marketing term for Audi's AWD system, whether it be Torsen or Haldex. They even have "Quattro w/Ultra Technology" now, which isn't a whole lot different than Haldex in a RWD configuration.

Haldex has evolved to the point where it's a really capable system, good enough for 90+% of the people who buy these cars.